[macaddy]

Hi. I'm wanting to get a Dune prime 3.0 but there's some things I'd like to know about it first before I go and buy it.


I've got a WDTV and although I'm happy with it there's some minor annoyances and problems with it, and it doesn't look like they'll ever sort them out through firmware updates!


I'm not up on technical things at all so be gentle!

Here's what I'd like to know:


1 - I've got a 1TB HDD full of movies and covers (Movie.mpg & movie.jpg). Will the Dune play the movies and show the covers the same as the WDTV does? I can just plug the Hdd drive in to the Dune and off I go?


2 - It says there's 3 USB ports. So I can plug in 3 HDDs? I hard somewhere that the WDTV wouldn't work with 4TB drives, Will the Dune work with any size?


3 - Is it possible to write files to the HDD with out having to unplug it and take it to the computer every time I want to add something?


4 - Can you have list view for some folders and thumbnail view for other folders? Example - Red Dwarf (Series in thumbnail view) > Series 1 (Episodes in list view)


Seeing I'm here, 5 - Is the mymovies application difficult to set up for someone who doesn't have much of a clue about wireless networks and technical stuff?


Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[bluewhale1]

I have a Base. There are 3 usb port i have a thumb drive and an external hard drive attached. When i select usb i can pick either one so yes you can use all three.



I can copy files from my computer to my internal and external hard drive thru my computer but its really slow


My movies was easy to set up. I have a folder on my computer with all the movies in it.(each movie is in it own folder. I use something called file2folder which i downloaded put in the folder and double clicked it which put each movie in its own folder...

 

[macaddy]

Thanks bluewhale1!

Anyone else want to help me out with some answers?

 

[skipuppy]

# 4 can be done by editing and proper placement of the dune_folder.txt files I have several series type isos with multiple iso for each season and I did make them look right after tinkering with the dune_folder.txt files (icon view first with list view in the folder etc..).

Also I too had a WDTV device before my dune and I have to say the music and photos are better handled on the WDTV device but everything movie wise is by far better on the Dune. That being said we are waiting on new firmware from Dune so far it seems they are listening to the community through their voting section on the Dune-hd.com website. They have said they will soon have NTFS write abilities and music tags, photoslide show with music I believe will be there soon. I believe that MyMovies is the best out there for the dune right now, soon other programs will be avialable for the movie art etc...

All in all the Dune has lived up to my expectation and I will soon be implementing a NFS or SMB solution for movie storage to centralize everything.

Skipuppy

 

[macaddy]

Brilliant skipuppy! That answered that question nicely! Thank you very much

 

[bbanderic]

Like the original poster, I'm considering getting a Prime as well. Are these All region players and do they play PAL formatted DVD as well as NTSC, like a computer does? I live in the U.S. but have a few PAL videos in my collection and before I spend the big bucks on a Prime, I need to know that they'll palyback with no problem.


Thanks

 

[skipuppy]

According to manual the device does play pal

Quote:
.....Video output flexibility: output video in any resolution and format (from SD to 1080p,

24p/PAL/NTSC).

For the region setting there is a file over at MPCclub that allows region code to be selected and changed. Here is the link for the Region Free Patch over at MPCClub.com.

Skipuppy

 

[MikeTheRipper]

you will have no trouble with a greater than 4tb partition.


Mike
www.duneplayer.com

 

[bbanderic]



Quote:
Originally Posted by skipuppy /forum/post/18175184


According to manual the device does play pal For the region setting there is a file over at MPCclub that allows region code to be selected and changed. Here is the link for the Region Free Patch over at MPCClub.com.

Skipuppy

Thank you. Gotta get this player.

 

[bbanderic]

While researching the Prime 3.0, I've read that the BD drives can be quite noisy during playback, does anyone here have one of the newer batches of players that were just shipped last week and can confirm if this is true with those?


Also, can anyone comment on the BD drive performance as far asloading times, playback quality etc? Would you say it's up to par with a PS3 or newer standalone Blu-ray player?

 

[MaxBurn]

I had concerns on the drive too because in computers optical drives, fans and power supplies are the high failure components. Get a base that doesn't have a drive in it and save the money, actually it is great we have that option. I recommend getting a computer bluray drive and just ripping everything, if that drive dies you have no problems getting something off the shelf quickly. You might even be able to do a network share for that drive and play the disks directly assuming you have anydvdHD removing aacs. It has been discussed but I don't think an external USB drive is going to work because there isn't anything removing or processing aacs in that situation.

 

[bbanderic]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxBurn /forum/post/18176817


I had concerns on the drive too because in computers optical drives, fans and power supplies are the high failure components. Get a base that doesn't have a drive in it and save the money, actually it is great we have that option. I recommend getting a computer bluray drive and just ripping everything, if that drive dies you have no problems getting something off the shelf quickly. You might even be able to do a network share for that drive and play the disks directly assuming you have anydvdHD removing aacs. It has been discussed but I don't think an external USB drive is going to work because there isn't anything removing or processing aacs in that situation.

I would prefer a Prime so I could have the option of doing both. I have a BD-ROM and a Blu-ray burner on my PC already. The copy protections from all of my Blu-ray's and DVD's have been removed with AnyDVD HD and are stored on external USB/e-sata hard drives. However, a Base isn't out of the question if the BD drives are too noisy or under perform compared to newer Blu-ray players. For $450 I would expect a reasonably quiet, reliable Blu-ray drive.

 

[MaxBurn]

Well I have a base so I can't comment on noise but my Zenith DVB318 set top DVD player makes some noise I don't like. I don't know that you can expect spinning media to be perfectly silent all the time.


On the noise front there is a fan in the dune but I can't hear it, may only run on demand.

 

[GotHDTV?]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bbanderic /forum/post/18176933


I would prefer a Prime so I could have the option of doing both. I have a BD-ROM and a Blu-ray burner on my PC already. The copy protections from all of my Blu-ray's and DVD's have been removed with AnyDVD HD and are stored on external USB/e-sata hard drives. However, a Base isn't out of the question if the BD drives are too noisy or under perform compared to newer Blu-ray players. For $450 I would expect a reasonably quiet, reliable Blu-ray drive.

I have a Prime 3.0 from the first batch in December. I have not used the drive in a while, but I rented "The Collector" last night and the drive was noisy the whole movie (not a very good movie BTW). Normally, you hear a high pitched loading wine and then it gets quiet (only getting loud when it needs to load). Last night, it was like a high pitched hum the whole movie (not as loud as the Loading, but noticable because it is high pitched). It wonder if it had to do with the latest beta firmware because I have not play a BD disc since I updated it 2 weeks ago (and I don't feel like downgrading).