[Soundwave GI]

I haven't been able to find an answer point blank on this question and my head is spinning a bit with all the info/arguments out there. My situation is this. I have a PS3 and 360 in my theater room. I am buying an apple TV for my living room (for the family). I want to rip all of my DVDs where they will sit on a central server and get accessed by apple TV and my PS3 (I've given up on 360 as it does not support support streaming 5.1 from an mp4...I think, plus a 360 could always do without the extra wear and tear). I want to have a format that will be read by both my PS3 and Apple TV that will support 5.1 thru mp4 (or is something else better?). Currently my plan, which may be way off base, is to rip the movie via DVD shrink to a video_ts folder, open that with handbrake and package it in mp4 format (apple tv preset) and add the ac3 as second audio in hopes that I can play in prologic off the apple tv and still maintain 5.1 thru my PS3 when playing in the theater room. Audio and picture quality are important, file size is not. For the record, I can stream right to my TV (pioneer pro-151fd) which outputs audio directly to the receiver via optical. I've never really messed with streaming right to the pro-151, so I'm virgin there. So I thought I'd turn to the pros...any ideas and/or suggestions on the best way to do this? Thanks in advance!

Justin

 

[dbone1026]

Justin,


I have the same setup as you (PS3/AppleTV/Xbox360) but because of all the headaches with formats decided to instead use HTPCs or dedicated extenders (like the PCH, HD200, etc..) to play back my media. One suggestion you can look at is to install Boxee on your AppleTV which will open up the formats that are allowed. Other options are to use software like tversity or PS3MediaServer which will transcode your movies on the fly so you can play on devices that don't support those files (I have had limited success with this but I know others who have this working). Here is software which is good for editing mp4 files ( http://www.videohelp.com/tools/YAMB ). Best bet before you spend time going through your whole collection would be to just try out with one movie and test on your PS3/AppleTV to see if you get the result you want.


I am sure others here can chime in, I basically gave up on trying to get a universal solution working for the PS3/AppleTV/Xbox360. I save all my movies to either mkv or ts and play back on my HTPCs and/or PCH/HD200. I use my PS3 strictly for Blu Ray. XBox for gaming, and AppleTV collects dust (I do have the boxee hack on there).

 

[Soundwave GI]

The HD200 looks very interesting as an alternative to apple tv. Can anyone make the comparison? Is there a streaming device better than the HD200? Thanks again to dbone and anyone else who jumps in the help me out.

 

[dbone1026]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Soundwave GI /forum/post/16868102


The HD200 looks very interesting as an alternative to apple tv. Can anyone make the comparison? Is there a streaming device better than the HD200? Thanks again to dbone and anyone else who jumps in the help me out.

The HD200 plays almost every format. The UI on the AppleTV is about as nice and easy to use as you get, but the file limitations just kill it for me. The HD200 integrates well with WHS for an ideal Server/Client setup. The two caveats with the HD200:


1) It is only HDMI 1.2. What this means is that it cannot downmix HD Audio (i.e. DTS), so if you connect the HD200 directly to your tv and the video being played back only has HD audio you will get no sound. A way around this is to add a second AC3 track for playback and switch to that track when needed (see write up I just did regarding this - http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/0...converter.html ). If you are connecting the SageTV HD200 to a receiver that can decode the HD Audio then you will get sound (i.e. the HD200 will only extract the core audio for playback).


2) To get the full benefits of the HD200 you are going to want to purchase the SageTV Media Center Software, which adds another $50 to the cost.


Here is a write up I did of the HD200 - http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/0...and-setup.html


Here is a write up I did of a new UI called SageMovieWall currently in beta - http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/0...-released.html


The stock UI on the Popcornhour stinks but it plays everything under the sun and you can add additional add ins such as YAMJ. There are also a new crop of players out there (Xtreamer, Ultio, PlayOn, etc...) but aside from reading about I have never used.

 

[Soundwave GI]

One would run directly to the TV, the other would run thru my receiver. I would probably just use the 2 tracks. I may just leave my movies as Video_TS folder as it seems to support that. Would it run them from the DVD menu just as if I had a dvd in a dvd player? That would be amazing. Another nice feature would be netflix support. I read up on the HD200, but am a bit hazy on the streaming netflix support. That would be a HUGE bonus. Thanks again dbone!

 

[dbone1026]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Soundwave GI /forum/post/16868590


One would run directly to the TV, the other would run thru my receiver. I would probably just use the 2 tracks. I may just leave my movies as Video_TS folder as it seems to support that. Would it run them from the DVD menu just as if I had a dvd in a dvd player? That would be amazing. Another nice feature would be netflix support. I read up on the HD200, but am a bit hazy on the streaming netflix support. That would be a HUGE bonus. Thanks again dbone!

Here is a thread on Netflix for SageTV ( http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...hlight=netflix ). If you have the PlayON service you can get Netflix through there as well.


As for the DVD menu just depends on how you rip. If you rip the entire disc and keep it in tact (i.e. Video_TS) then yes, it will appear as if you are playing the disc from a DVD. If you don't care for all the extra stuff in dvds you can just rip the main movie, which when you play will just automatically jump to the start of the movie. FYI...keeping the Video_TS folder will not work for the PS3, you will end up having to play each vob separately which defeats the purpose.


The HD200 has an audio button on the remote, so if I play a movie and get no sound I just hit this button and it switches to the secondary audio track (of course assuming you have a seconday audio track). If you keep your movies in Video_TS you won't have this problem. You can always download the SageTV Media Center software to your PC and play around with to get a feel for (they have a 21 day trial). The UI is a little old and outdated when compared against other programs out there, but if you are looking to set up a function network of extenders in your house it works well (you can watch live tv from each extender if you tuners set up at the server, pause a movie at one extender and finish watching at another, etc...). A great resource if you are interested in SageTV/HD 200 is geektonic.


Do you have a server set up already?

 

[Soundwave GI]

I'm just beginning to set it up as a sever for the whole house. I am running Vista Ultimate and have always shared out my music to my 360 and receiver by media player and media center for the theater room only. The networking part is a snap and I am a network engineer. It' just getting a handle on all of the options out there for streaming...devices, apps, formats, etc. Honestly, the biggest reason I'm doing this is to do away with the DVD player in the living room. I have a son that just turned 3 and he loves to scratch up DVDs when he gets his hands on them. He does not have access to daddy's of course, but he has ruined several of the ones we keep in the living room. This way there are no "fun" moving parts or interesting trouble to get into. Having all my media at anytime anywhere in the house is attractive as well. I'm going to keep on reading the write-ups, but the HD200 is looking great. A dated interface is not a deal breaker for me. I have had XBMC for a long time and everything is very pretty, but performance is lacking. Additionally, I like the thought of having a contained box without moving parts that can't get destroyed by my offspring. Thanks again!

 

[dbone1026]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Soundwave GI /forum/post/16869026


I'm just beginning to set it up as a sever for the whole house. I am running Vista Ultimate and have always shared out my music to my 360 and receiver by media player and media center for the theater room only. The networking part is a snap and I am a network engineer. It' just getting a handle on all of the options out there for streaming...devices, apps, formats, etc. Honestly, the biggest reason I'm doing this is to do away with the DVD player in the living room. I have a son that just turned 3 and he loves to scratch up DVDs when he gets his hands on them. He does not have access to daddy's of course, but he has ruined several of the ones we keep in the living room. This way there are no "fun" moving parts or interesting trouble to get into. Having all my media at anytime anywhere in the house is attractive as well. I'm going to keep on reading the write-ups, but the HD200 is looking great. A dated interface is not a deal breaker for me. I have had XBMC for a long time and everything is very pretty, but performance is lacking. Additionally, I like the thought of having a contained box without moving parts that can't get destroyed by my offspring. Thanks again!

Haha, my son is 2 and I have another on the way. All my son's movies are on my server ( I am currently running WHS on my HP MediaSmart Server, about 8TB worth of data), so I can appreciate trying to avoid having discs lying around!!! The biggest challenge for me now is my son knows his movies are on the HTPCs, so anytime I try to use the HTPC for myself he comes over to me with his cheerios and milk, and I am forced to put on Curious George

 

[Soundwave GI]

Oh yeah, I know that movie Upside Down...

 

[Soundwave GI]

Hey dbone1026, hopefully you might see this message. I think I may purchase the hd200 today. In your opinion is that the best streaming device out there? I read a lot about popcorn hour and some of the other devices, so it makes it a tough choice. Obviously, everyone has a different opinion, often influenced by what they've purchased, but you seem to have similar needs compared to mine, so I trust your opinion. Let me know. Thanks!

 

[dbone1026]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Soundwave GI /forum/post/16896003


Hey dbone1026, hopefully you might see this message. I think I may purchase the hd200 today. In your opinion is that the best streaming device out there? I read a lot about popcorn hour and some of the other devices, so it makes it a tough choice. Obviously, everyone has a different opinion, often influenced by what they've purchased, but you seem to have similar needs compared to mine, so I trust your opinion. Let me know. Thanks!

Hmmm...Right now I don't think there is a best streamer out there, more depends on preference. I have a popcornhour but I never really took to it like others (right now my PCH is less then a year old, barely used, and already looks like part of the hardware is broken). Here is actually a thread I started on another forum regarding SageTV( http://www.mediasmartserver.net/foru...hp?f=13&t=4334 ), I know a few other members who were in a similar situation as you and are very happy with the HD200.


Did you ever try out the SageTV Media Center software? This would give you a good feel . Basically you can use the HD200 in standalone mode or in extender mode (which would use the UI of the SageTV Media Center software). Most likely you are going to want to use in extender mode, which means you would need to have SageTV loaded on your vista machine as well (you would just set it up as a service running in the background). I have been testing a new version of SageMovieWall ( http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/0...-released.html ) that is looking real good, once the new version goes public I will post some screenshots (i.e. you would be able to use this view on the HD200). Also, and I can't remember if I mentioned this, but if you put in a dvd/Blu Ray into the rom on your Vista PC, you can actually play it back on your HD200 which is pretty neat.


So, from reading your posts I think the HD200 would fit well into your setup ( you would get the added benefit of livetv/placeshifting, etc... if you go that route down the road). Hope I answered your question, I have a habit of rambling on!!!

 

[Soundwave GI]

That's fantastic, I especially like the idea of having the Video_TS folders and playing from those. That would really speed up the process. What format did you use. I was especially interested, Kung Fu Panda as an example, of your jacket setup and movie summary display. Did you have to use a specific format for this or just have the jacket art in the directory??? Wait, also there is the background pic. Maybe that's too much too explain. I just want to know how easy that was...looks TIGHT. Thanks again as always!

 

[dbone1026]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Soundwave GI /forum/post/16896361


That's fantastic, I especially like the idea of having the Video_TS folders and playing from those. That would really speed up the process. What format did you use. I was especially interested, Kung Fu Panda as an example, of your jacket setup and movie summary display. Did you have to use a specific format for this or just have the jacket art in the directory??? Wait, also there is the background pic. Maybe that's too much too explain. I just want to know how easy that was...looks TIGHT. Thanks again as always!

Really I have two formats for my movies. One format is just doing a straight rip and keeping the video_ts folder as is ( I generally just rip the main movie instead of the whoe disc, but just a personal preference as I don't have a need for the dvd menu). The other format is mkv/ts which I use for my Blu Rah/HD DVDs.


As far as getting the artwork (coverart, backgrounds...) the format is irrelevant. The key is to make sure when you rip your movies you label everything correctly and give each movie its own folder. The structure I use, and I know many others who do as well, is to have one folder where all your movies will be. You can have subfolders if you want, but otherwise within this central folder you would have an individual folder for each movie. Make sure the name of the movie folder is as close to, if not an exact match, of the name of the movie. As an example, with my setup:


For Video_TS movies:

\\\\SERVER\\Videos\\Spaceballs\\Video_TS


For HD MKV movies:

\\\\SERVER\\Videos\\Casino Royale\\Casino Royal.mkv


Following this format will make it easier to get the correct artwork (SageTV has programs that will try to automatically pull the correct artwork based on the name of the folder/movie which is why it is important to try and name correctly).


Hope this has gotten you in the right direction, definitely don't hesitate to ask any other questions