AVS › AVS Forum › Gaming & Content Streaming › Networking, Media Servers & Content Streaming › Anyone here using the MB100?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Anyone here using the MB100?

post #1 of 27
1/20/07 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
Is anyone on this forum using or has used the MB100? If so, what was your experience with it?

Thanks
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 27
2/7/07 at 4:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalkid2 View Post

Is anyone on this forum using or has used the MB100? If so, what was your experience with it?

Thanks

I had considered purchasing this box before finding out that there are equivalent boxes at less than two third of its price.

Unless the price gets aligned with competitors, you wont find many MB100 users between the savvy members of this forum.

HD
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 27
2/7/07 at 5:14am
I'm considering exchanging my TVIX M-4000P for the MB100.

TVIX Cons for me:
Takes forever to boot up with the newest firmware, about 1 minute.

RW/FF control is shoddy at best, you can find yourself suddenly at the end of the currently playing file.

Construction - it feels like a hollow 5oz peice of cheap plastic, the front interface buttons are extremely flimsy (they look great in the picture but in person the parts look and feel like they come from those vending machines that dispense the little plastic containers holding a prize lol)

The remote is frequently non-responsive or the units sensor is poorly placed/narrow vision. Quite often I have to reboot the unit several times to get the remote working with it. Oddly enough, the power button on the remote works every time when this happens but NONE of the other buttons will evoke a response from the unit.

Green sparkles using DVI-HDMI at 720p, 1080i (Its not the cable, the issue worsed ALOT after upgrading the firmware but is not worth bothering with considering the rest of my issues)

The fan, while not extremely loud, is as cheap as the rest of it and has rattled and clicked from the first time I powered it on. It sounds more like the fan on my wife's video card did after about 4 years

A friend was not impressed by this issue when I tried to demo the video quality for him. I must have rebooted it 6 times that time, even changed the batteries in the remote. I should mention the M-4000 did not have any network issues.

The MB100 Pros:
Has all of the capabilities of the TVIX and more (as it probably should, it costs more)

Much better build quality, although the form factor of M-4000 is better for my tastes.

The GUI is much more attractive both visually and otherwise, it will display total/current track time for MP3s, for example.

Does not have an LCD display like TVIX, which I consider a plus.

Has HDMI AND it sends digital audio over HDMI

Has no fan, therefore no noise.

Any cons the MB100 has are the same any other HD streamer has and I can live with that. I went with the TVIX due to overwhelming popularity on AVS.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 27
2/7/07 at 5:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by awake33 View Post

I'm considering exchanging my TVIX M-4000P for the MB100.

TVIX Cons for me:
Takes forever to boot up with the newest firmware, about 1 minute.

RW/FF control is shoddy at best, you can find yourself suddenly at the end of the currently playing file.

Construction - it feels like a hollow 5oz peice of cheap plastic, the front interface buttons are extremely flimsy (they look great in the picture but in person the parts look and feel like they come from those vending machines that dispense the little plastic containers holding a prize lol)

The remote is frequently non-responsive or the units sensor is poorly placed/narrow vision. Quite often I have to reboot the unit several times to get the remote working with it. Oddly enough, the power button on the remote works every time when this happens but NONE of the other buttons will evoke a response from the unit.

Green sparkles using DVI-HDMI at 720p, 1080i (Its not the cable, the issue worsed ALOT after upgrading the firmware but is not worth bothering with considering the rest of my issues)

The fan, while not extremely loud, is as cheap as the rest of it and has rattled and clicked from the first time I powered it on. It sounds more like the fan on my wife's video card did after about 4 years

A friend was not impressed by this issue when I tried to demo the video quality for him. I must have rebooted it 6 times that time, even changed the batteries in the remote. I should mention the M-4000 did not have any network issues.

The MB100 Pros:
Has all of the capabilities of the TVIX and more (as it probably should, it costs more)

Much better build quality, although the form factor of M-4000 is better for my tastes.

The GUI is much more attractive both visually and otherwise, it will display total/current track time for MP3s, for example.

Does not have an LCD display like TVIX, which I consider a plus.

Has HDMI AND it sends digital audio over HDMI

Has no fan, therefore no noise.

Any cons the MB100 has are the same any other HD streamer has and I can live with that. I went with the TVIX due to overwhelming popularity on AVS.

Thank you for the detailed input. I am willing to pay more for a NMP provided it does the job and is well constructed.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 27
2/7/07 at 9:33am
PMS has their own forum which is also a good source for getting first hand user feedback. Click here.

____
Axel
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 27
2/7/07 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Axel View Post

PMS has their own forum which is also a good source for getting first hand user feedback. Click here.

____
Axel

Thanks for the link. I have been popping over there every so often.

By any chance do you have an MB100 or 200? If so, what is your experience with it?
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 27
2/7/07 at 10:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by awake33 View Post



Any cons the MB100 has are the same any other HD streamer has and I can live with that.

How about no sound over HDMI? I would imagine that would be a deal killer. Read the scary postings at pixelmagic's forum and I'm gonna guess you will want to hang on to your tvix. Pixelmagic firmware seems to be extraordinarily bad and they don't seem to know what they are doing. Like all Pixelmagic products, it's way overpriced for what it does.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 27
2/7/07 at 10:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny View Post

How about no sound over HDMI? I would imagine that would be a deal killer. Read the scary postings at pixelmagic's forum and I'm gonna guess you will want to hang on to your tvix. Pixelmagic firmware seems to be extraordinarily bad and they don't seem to know what they are doing. Like all Pixelmagic products, it's way overpriced for what it does.

Do you have or did you have a MB100? I have been to their forum and have seen the post regarding the audio over HDMI.

What I am really looking for is personal direct experience with the MB100.

Forum information is useful and should be done as a part of the selection process but it is has to be used carefully. After all, forums tend to be frequented by a relatively small number of people as compared to the actual number of people that own the particular device. Those who do frequent the forums can be very opinionated and have unreasonable expectations and or unique problems caused more by their environment than by the device itself.

Having said that I do get the sense that there are not many of the MB100's out there and that FW/Support is a potential issue. It does also seem over priced but that is hard to say for sure because they are one of the few NMP that state that they upconvert and they at least make it seem like they do more to provide the best PQ possible.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 27
2/7/07 at 11:14am
I have and use a MB100. Here's the skinny...

Good hardware with a lot of potential marred by crappy, buggy, software...

but

...with almost monthly firmware updates, the thing has come a long way since I bought mine last year. It still has issues but, if Pixel Magic's track record with this device is any indicator, I think they'll get resolved.

Do to it's poor performance with streaming video, I initially used it as a player I could load up with DVDs and HD TS files, put it on a little HD LCD in my camper, and have a wealth of content to select from. In this capacity it worked great. Now it's hooked to a 1:1 46" 1080p LCD and I'm pretty darn satisfied with it. It replaced a AR Digital MediaBridge that had some quirks of it's own. It's discontinued and unsupported (a whole another story).

While the AR Digital MediaBridge's software was beautiful to behold it severely lacked in the hardware department. The Pixel Magic HD MediaBox is just the opposite. The interface is... spartan. If your looking for colorful graphics, thumbnails of box covers, etc., the MB100 isn't there yet and it may never get there. It does, however, what I need it to do and that's stream DVD IFO, ISO, and HD TS files from Windows shares. DVDs look great and HD looks like it should. 1080i TS files that my HTPC has a hard time deinterlacing look great on this device.

A couple of firmware updates ago this device really started coming into it's own. It's starting to deliver on it's promises and I'm starting to be really happy with the thing. 6 months ago I wouldn't recommend this thing to anyone unless they wanted to pay to be a beta tester. Now I wouldn't be as hesitant but any potential buyer should know exactly what they are getting into. The Pixel Magic forums are a great resource for that.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 27
2/7/07 at 12:11pm
Thread Starter 
@Ktulu_1

Thanks for the input, it is quite helpful.

I currently have an Linkplayer2 that I purchased in Oct 2005 but it has moved in the opposite direction as the MB100...it started out pretty good but successive FW updates have made it worse and support has disappeared completely. When I first got the LP2 I would have recommended it but currently I would not.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 27
2/7/07 at 1:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalkid2 View Post

Thanks for the link. I have been popping over there every so often.

By any chance do you have an MB100 or 200? If so, what is your experience with it?

I have neither an MB nor any other network media player - even though I keep looking for a simple, yet reliable network player that allows me to play SD-DVD material. This player would replace my HTPC.

Picture quality is key to me in my setup: 110" Firehawk, Ruby 1080p, VP50, Tosh A1, and HTPC.
My fear is that no player available today can truly compete with an HTPC in regards to picture quality, also when adding a video processor to the mix. This is based on what I have read and learned from others. However, I have not actually tried it yet, but would love to, so I could finally put this topic to rest till the next generation of video chips has been released. So far I am still looking for a less costly solution other than mail ordering one, briefly trying it, and very likely returning it. This would cost me roundtrip shipping and restocking fee.

(Anybody in SE MI who has such player and interested in a shootout please pm me....)

______
Axel
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 27
2/7/07 at 3:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny View Post

How about no sound over HDMI? I would imagine that would be a deal killer. Read the scary postings at pixelmagic's forum and I'm gonna guess you will want to hang on to your tvix. Pixelmagic firmware seems to be extraordinarily bad and they don't seem to know what they are doing. Like all Pixelmagic products, it's way overpriced for what it does.


Thanks for the heads-up, I missed that one.

However I will take my chances anyway, as long as it has no sparkles on video output and no fan to make noise I will be happy.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 27
2/7/07 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Axel View Post

I have neither an MB nor any other network media player - even though I keep looking for a simple, yet reliable network player that allows me to play SD-DVD material. This player would replace my HTPC.

Picture quality is key to me in my setup: 110" Firehawk, Ruby 1080p, VP50, Tosh A1, and HTPC.
My fear is that no player available today can truly compete with an HTPC in regards to picture quality, also when adding a video processor to the mix. This is based on what I have read and learned from others. However, I have not actually tried it yet, but would love to, so I could finally put this topic to rest till the next generation of video chips has been released. So far I am still looking for a less costly solution other than mail ordering one, briefly trying it, and very likely returning it. This would cost me roundtrip shipping and restocking fee.

(Anybody in SE MI who has such player and interested in a shootout please pm me....)

______
Axel

I have never had an HTPC and for our family that approach does not work. In Oct 2005 I took the plunge and purchased a NMP and for the most part it has been an excellent investment and was quickly accepted and is used daily by my family.

The NMP I currently have has been very reliable and stable. It was very easy to setup and is easy to use. PQ is very good but I should say that my 50" Sony LCD HDTV monitor has built-in up scaling...so I am not really sure how much my NMP does in regards to improving PQ...However, I am fairly certain it does not hurt it!

Our main family PC is also the server and the PVR. Schedule recordings, find commercials, cut them, watch and delete in a semi-automatic mode.

The main reasons I do not purchase another of the NMP I already have(Linkplayer2) is that the vendor's support has gone from very poor to none at all. Each of the last 3-4 FW updates has actually broken more things than it has fixed. I am also looking for a little more robust play back of 1080i ts files. The LP2 plays ts with bitrates up 18Mbits/sec smoothly but if the bitrate gets any higher than that I start to get stuttering. If I do not find an alternative soon, I may end up purchasing another LP2.

BTW my comments above are not a plug for the LP2 but is a plug for NMPs.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 27
2/8/07 at 6:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalkid2 View Post

The main reasons I do not purchase another of the NMP I already have(Linkplayer2) is that the vendor's support has gone from very poor to none at all. Each of the last 3-4 FW updates has actually broken more things than it has fixed. I am also looking for a little more robust play back of 1080i ts files. The LP2 plays ts with bitrates up 18Mbits/sec smoothly but if the bitrate gets any higher than that I start to get stuttering. If I do not find an alternative soon, I may end up purchasing another LP2.

You might need to run an NFS server on your PC to achieve bitrates of 18Mbits/sec and higher with the MB100.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 27
2/8/07 at 7:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ktulu_1 View Post

You might need to run an NFS server on your PC to achieve bitrates of 18Mbits/sec and higher with the MB100.

Thanks for the input. My current server, which is also the family PC, has XP Home, which will not work with MS SFU. I am planning in the next few weeks on starting from scratch and installing XP Pro and then installing MS SFU.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 27
2/9/07 at 5:52am
Does the Pixel Magic HD MediaBox MB100 work well over Lan and connections to samba on a NAS [not windows] ? does it cope with .iso & vobs without stuttering like the tvix and mvix players to ? what is everybodys experience. NFS is not an option on my nas at the moment, unless i build a firmware myself, but trying to avoid that.


Thank you all in advance.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 27
2/9/07 at 7:08am
Don't know about a NAS but I can play IFOs and HD TS files from Microsoft SMB (an implementation of Samba) shares without stuttering. IFOs are a recent development. ISOs have been ok for a long time.

I would check the Pixel Magic forums for other users who have experience with a NAS running Samba.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 27
2/9/07 at 9:17am
Ktulu_1/Jeff;
Please check your pm.

Thanks!
_____
Axel
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 27
2/9/07 at 5:26pm
Thread Starter 
I have heard that the MB100 has to be rebooted often and to do that the unit has to be unplugged. Has anyone on this forum who owns a MB100 or 200 experienced this?

Update: This problem is real and is widespread as confirmed by browsing the Pixel Magic forum. The worst aspect of this is that Pixel Magic is pretty much ignoring the problem and has been for quite some time.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 27
2/12/07 at 7:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalkid2 View Post

I have heard that the MB100 has to be rebooted often and to do that the unit has to be unplugged. Has anyone on this forum who owns a MB100 or 200 experienced this?

Update: This problem is real and is widespread as confirmed by browsing the Pixel Magic forum. The worst aspect of this is that Pixel Magic is pretty much ignoring the problem and has been for quite some time.

The only time mine locks up is when I get too agressive with the fast forward and/or rewind on HD TS files. When that happens I need to unplug it to get it back.
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 27
2/12/07 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ktulu_1 View Post

The only time mine locks up is when I get too agressive with the fast forward and/or rewind on HD TS files. When that happens I need to unplug it to get it back.

This is an issue that is a show stopper for me. I have an Hauppauge MVP that requires unplugging on an all to frequent basis and is a real pain in the as....

My Linkplayer2 has its faults but I have never had to unplug it in the 16months that I have been using it and it is used daily.

I think the worst thing about this issue is that it does not appear that Pixel Magic even acknowledges it is an issue.
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 27
2/12/07 at 8:01am
I just checked out the first couple of posts in the thread on the PM forum entitled "Why do I have to keep unplugging and plugging my MB100 to get it working?"

I don't have problems like that, but I don't use the HDMI interface. From what I've read, the MB's HDMI is problematic at the very least.
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 27
2/12/07 at 8:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ktulu_1 View Post

I just checked out the first couple of posts in the thread on the PM forum entitled "Why do I have to keep unplugging and plugging my MB100 to get it working?"

I don't have problems like that, but I don't use the HDMI interface. From what I've read, the MB's HDMI is problematic at the very least.

Sorry to keep sounding negative but I plan on using HDMI and I play(myself and the rest of my family) a lot of ts HD files...that makes the count 0 and 2!

Thanks for your input though.
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 27
2/12/07 at 8:59am
I understand. No need to apologize. Please let us know what alternative you come up with.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 27
2/12/07 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ktulu_1 View Post

I understand. No need to apologize. Please let us know what alternative you come up with.

I will do that....however it may be a while.

In this thread we are specifically talking about the MB100 or 200 BUT as many of the posters to this forum have found...there are no NMP that do not have issues. So either we wait or go with a NMP that has a track record of decent support and a low number of issues...that is about as good as it will get for the forseeable future!

From what I have seen over at the Pixel Magic forum, their support is marginal and spotty. In fact they(Pixel Magic Support) deleted my post about this issue that I posted early yesterday...thats the first time something like that has ever happened to me. I reposted today to see if they delete that one also.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 27
1/5/08 at 5:59pm
Hello, everybody. I have been offered a used MB200 for 120$. Do you think it is worth the money by today's standards or should i go for the popcorn A-100instead? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 27
9/5/08 at 10:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by haydude View Post

there are equivalent boxes at less than two third of its price.HD

What devices are you referring to? I've looked around just briefly, and this was the cheapest device I could find and the only solid state system (other than the optional drive) that has a monitor output that allows you to use it's interface to play your audio. Everything else is a full component or something that requires I have another PC running software and piped into my amp.

I'd love to see some other options if they are out there, especially cheaper than the $350 that this runs for...

Any recommendations??
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Gaming & Content Streaming › Networking, Media Servers & Content Streaming › Anyone here using the MB100?