[zr123]

Hello,


We're looking for a 1080p media server that we will be using in our Home Theater room. Looking for something that will either let us download (from the web) or upload via HDD, etc.


It should play in full 1080p HD with at least 5.1 audio out.


HDMI is a must.


Should be able to play all the fancy H.264, MP4, etc files.


Budget is around $500... would we be able to find something decent in that range? or would it be better to build a custom PC? Just for space and configurability we'd prefer to have something ready to go like a Media Server rather than a custom PC.


Any help is greatly appreciated !

 

[oldpainless68]

 NMT...Dune/HDi should be within your budget

 

[zr123]



Quote:
Originally Posted by oldpainless68 /forum/post/15471405

NMT...Dune/HDi should be within your budget

Thanks... Do you have particular model numbers or links to their website? I wasn't able to find anything when googling "Dune" or "HDi".


New at all of this... sorry for the hassle.


Thanks again!

 

[zr123]

bump

 

[Shai-Tan]

that Dune player looks like an interesting option if you wanted a combo with Blu-Ray..


I have a PS3 and don't need Blu-Ray


I personally use Popcorn Hour (NMT), however I don't use the internal hard drive option, I stream off a DNS-323


"download from the web" is ambiguous so I don't know exactly what that means. If you mean download from web pages I haven't tried that and wouldn't know. I do, however, know that with an internal hard drive it can download from newsgroups, torrent or whatever


as for "all the files" hardware based players don't have 100% compatibility with everything but players like NMT cover most needs (will have trouble with obscure codecs, x264 L5.1 with too many reference frames, some irregularly used codec combinations in some containers might have problems although it can sometimes be solved by changing containers... but generally pretty much everything plays). some users may have some very specific needs that may not be met compared to something like an HTPC which just plays everything (but also comes with downsides like price, maintenance, issues with case sound, etc)

 

[zr123]

So then is there not something that's maybe a bit more higher end and will play all those files?


I've looked into the popcorn one, but then if it can't play a complicated X264 file, I'm not too sure I'd want to go for it.


Thanks!

 

[zr123]

bump

 

[Shai-Tan]

most x264 will play (on any of the Sigma based players). I think for most users compatibility will be 90+ but it depends on specific details. For example people who want to watch scene releases off the internet will find that they pretty much all work... will maybe only run into issues with 1080p content sometimes that is encoded by random people who don't know what they are doing. Some people who watch anime maybe run into problems as encoding is done by more amateurs using old or unusual container/codec combinations; however PCH has been improving some of these. For example, I had some video in mkv format that had an ogg audio stream and it didn't work but now works with more recent firmware, however iirc I have some other file in mp4 container and mp3 audio stream and the mp3 in mp4 wasn't supported. That said, I haven't checked if this was ever fixed because I converted those files into an mkv using mkvmerge.


So your compatibility will differ depending on the types of files that come up in your usage, for some small n it may cause issues with normal (not exceptional) usage, for others it will play pretty much everything (with rare exceptions). This applies to all types of functionality. For example if you use Hulu and want a player to stream Hulu for you there are few standalone hardware players which will do that for you at the moment. It's one example of a desired function that will or wont matter depending on what you want

 

[zr123]

Thanks!


So then say within the $500 - $600 budget that we have, which one would be considered the best bet? Including support, firmware updates, etc.

 

[GizmoDaddy]

It really does sound like any of the networked media tanks would meet your criteria. I personally haven't had anyone complain about any MKVs that won't play. I have had customers report that some AVIs with GMC, WMA & M4A with artwork, Canon AVIs from a digital camera won't play.


As far as streaming online media goes, NMTs do a fairly good job of this. You can even watch Netflix and Hulu ondemand video. Marshall of RealHT.info has done a nice walk-through of how to use PlayOn to stream to a NMT.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/180374..._and_xbox_ps3/


Hopefully I'll find some time soon to give it a try.

 

[ablevy]

If the NMT has a uPnP server built in, you can use PlayOn on a Network PC to stream Hulu, CBS, CNN, ESPN to your TV.


Alan

 

[ce_runner]

Just got one of these.. Latest firmware boasts 1080P and Matroska H.264 support. Wireless N clips at between 240 and 300 mbps. I can vouch for the Matroska support. Do not own a 1080P TV so I cannot say about the 1080P. 720P looks really good though. HDMI, Optical/Coaxial audio. Can run most video from UPnP compliant NAS. TVersity makes it rock.


Chris

 

[spinsic]

Tvix M6500a is always an option. It looks like they might be releasing blu-ray (trick play) support soon. A far as I know, the only other products out there that support this come from HDI. (I'm not sure they can be purchased yet) From what I've read, most people prefer sigma based player over the sybas NMTs. I don't own a NMT so I cant tell you first hand. The tvix players do have a very nice 1080P picture via HDMI 1.3... Bugs exist with all of these players though.

 

[hcour]



Quote:
Originally Posted by zr123 /forum/post/15479641


So then is there not something that's maybe a bit more higher end and will play all those files?


I've looked into the popcorn one, but then if it can't play a complicated X264 file, I'm not too sure I'd want to go for it.


Thanks!

What is a "complicated x264 file"? My PCH has played every single thing I've thrown at it, except in the case when the file itself was corrupt and even those played after being re-encoded.