Moral-Flexibility.Net

Our networked media system is regularly becoming more diverse, as I keep experimenting with different media players. We presently have six different media players scattered throughout the house.

For the benefit of my two loyal readers I thought I’d summarize my experiences with these devices. So here, then, is a quick comparison of each player, their cost and any pros or cons that spring to mind.

Egreat R1 Media Player – $90 CDN +/-
The Egreat R1 was the first dedicated media player we acquired. It deals with almost every media format, allows you to view local and remote network shares or UPnP/DLNA media servers.

The interface is rather utilitarian, but allows previews of video files, 32x speed fast forward and “time seek” options. This player will also automatically move on to the next file in the directory when finished viewing the current one (nice if you’re watching a series).

Newer versions have attempted to add internet functionality to these units (youtube and other online services) but these features on the unit I tested just plain didn’t work.

Includes both HDMI and composite outputs and so will work on new and old TVs alike.

This media player is inexpensive, tough as nails and readily available.

Western Digital HD TV Live – $110 CDN +/-
A Recent acquisition the selling point of the WD HD TV Live Media Player (aside for the catchy multi-letter name) is that in addition to streaming video from network shares of UPnP/DLNA sources is that it allows netflix access.

We did encounter some problems with this unit when we began using it, but after rolling back the firmware one version those problems disappeared.

The interface is a little prettier than the Egreat unit, but essentially the same. The unit DOES NOT allow time search or skipping ahead in videos, and has a 16x fast forward.

Netflix is a nice touch, and at the cost made this the preferred media player for a short time. The firmware issue is of some concern, but is resolved by rolling it back (or may even have been resolved by Western Digital as I write this).

HDMI only, if your TV requires composite or coaxial inputs you are SOL.

A good balance of cost and functionality.

Patriot Box Office Media Player – $120 CDN +/-
The Patriot Box Office Media Player looks like a clone of the Egreat Unit both in physical appearance and user interface. The only down side is that the supplied remote died one month after I acquired the unit, and a replacement turned out to be nearly impossible.

This Unit remains in use in our network, but only for online viewing (in conjunction with my Slingbox as it provides its own “remote”).

HDMI and composite outputs.

Not recommended. The Egreat unit is identical and less expensive, and the WD HD TV Live has more features and still costs less.

Boxee Box – $210 CDN +/-
The most recent acquisition, the first unit bricked itself immediately after automatically downloading an up to date firmware. The replacement unit functioned as advertised, and took approximately 6 hours to index and then “associate” our media collection.

Once this process is completed it presents your collection as a series of thumbnails along with IMDB cast and synopsis information.

The Boxee Box includes Netflix, and a collection of online media (tv episodes available free online, usually “ad sponsored” – a commercial every 6-10 minutes).

I’m both pleased and impressed with the second boxee box, but this unit has the distinction of being the ONLY media player to Brick following a routine firmware upgrade, and this has me questioning the dependability of the Boxee Box.

Remote control includes a qwerty keyboard, but can be a little hard to use in the dark.

HDMI output only, composite audio out.

I’d recommend this with a little reluctance, at least until it’s proven itself. Also, at this price it might be more economical to spend a few extra dollars and buy a PS3.

Playstation 3 – $250 CDN +/-
This is where it all started for us. Watching movies on the PS3. The PS3 is a UPnP/DLNA media player, and while it will not recognize network shares, it will stream movies from a DLNA server (how this is organized is entirely dependant on the server, rather than the PS3).

Netflix is also available for the PS3 along with internet browsing etc, which makes it the most expensive option on this list.

If you already have a PS3 however, don’t spend the money on a media player, you’ve already got one (and if you have an Xbox 360 don’t ask me how to stream movies, I still haven’t figured that out – must be a windows thing).

Recommended, but obviously expensive.

So, the NAS features of the Linksys E3000 appeared to be causing some conflicts with our home media network. There ARE open source firmware upgrades for this router, but with so many things relying on our home network, I didn’t want to take a chance on bricking the device (and then having to hunt around for a replacement in a hurry – “hurry=expense”).

I’ve swapped in a used Linksys E2000 router (urgh, the configuration is a nuisance – a result of the extent of our network, rather than the ease of use of the E2000) and have successfully upgraded the firmware on the E3000 to Tomato USB, which offers a host of improvements for the DIY SOHO type, and which I can hopefully switch back if the experiment proves successful.

More updates as we approach stability.

We’ve experienced some occasional flakiness with our media server. On occasion the Samba share becomes invisible to the media players. This is usually resolved by going into the router settings and turning its built-in media server off and on.

This problem has been compounded since we began using the WD TV Live Plus media player, which will lose the samba share AND UPnP media server (which is still visible to the PS3, so I’m assuming the WD TV Live Plus is less robust).

As with the earlier issue turning the E3000s built in media server off and on resolves the problem.

The E3000 media server is not something I use anyway, it’s less user friendly than the one I use and it’s a “bonus” feature I just don’t need.

At this point I am considering downgrading to the E2000 (which is essentially the E3000 without the USB port and media sharing features).

Another option is to install custom firmware, such as the DD-WRT firmware, which has positive reviews.

…I’ll let you know how I proceed.

Ok, this is not a “general interest” thing, and so I’ll keep the techno-blather below the cut for those actually searching for a solution for this issue.

Continue Reading »

Right now we have a high-tech hodgepodge when it comes to home media distribution.

The Living Room has the PS3, which streams media from the central server using UPnP only, the PS3 also has Netflix which has a nice variety of changing childrens shows for Jilly.

The remainder of the TVs have Egreat Media Players which can stream video using “samba share” or “UPnP”, and have some limited internet functionality.

There is also a Patriot Box Office Media Player (which appears to me to be a rebranded Egreat, but who am I to judge) in the basement hooked up to my Slingbox so that I can watch my movie collection while away from home or on my Android phone.

I did want a little more from our system, and after some reading decided that the Western Digital TV Live Plus (runner-up of the 2009 Longest Product Name award) was my best bet, as it was available over at Newegg.ca for the princely sum of $90.

The WD Digital TV Live Plus was attractive because it offered all the features of the Egreat units, along with being a Netflix capable device at a price that wouldn’t break the bank.

It arrived yesterday, I’ll tell you how it works soon.

I’m impressed with the Slingbox unit. Truly impressed.

At present I’ve managed to take an old Patriot Box Office media player (which had been surplused by me a year ago when the remote died and could not be replaced), connect it to the slingbox and with a quick google search get the two communicating.

Using Slingboxs web based interface I can remotely access the unit and with a virtual remote control I can scroll through the options as easily as if I was sitting in my living room.

Slicker than cat shit on linoleum, seriously.

Ok, so at this point each TV in our home is paired up with a hardwired media player that pulls content from a central server / NAS arrangement.

This wasn’t good enough, I wanted to be able to access that content from off site as well. My first experiment in this regard was an abysmal failure, and involved the IP 9100A Network Video Server.

In theory this device is capable of delivering 4 video and 1 audio stream over the internet. In practice unless you are prepared to install a specific active-x control (and this of course means you are a windows user) then what you get is a refreshed jpg image.

Sub-optimal.

Enter Slingbox with the Solo, which not only takes a composite video/audio feed and allows remote access, but also has an IR commander which allows you to use a virtual remote to control your video source (set top box, digital video recorder, media player etc).

Initial “proof of concept” testing is impressive as I am offsite watching my television at this moment (no controls activated, so it’s the same channel).

More specific techno-babbling later…

It should come as no shock to you, loyal readers, that we are heavily reliant on our home network for our digital entertainment (tv and internet), gaming, telephony and even the new surveillance cameras sit on the end of a length of Cat5.

The router is the heart of this, and recently the heart of our home network began beating erratically.

A few times an hour the router would reset itself disrupting telephone conversations, movies, and internet connections. Not fatal, but certainly irritating (the only thing I hate more than something that doesn’t work, is something that cannot be relied on to work consistently).

Our router was an old D-Link WBR-2310, and it had served like a trooper, but it was undoubtedly time to replace it.

Given the service we had received from the WBR-2310 I went down to the local technology store and bought a D-Link DIR-655, hooked it up and immediately our VoIP began acting strange (every second phone call would lack audio on one end of the conversation). I spent about 5 hours trying to trouble shoot this (problem experienced even in the DMZ) and finally gave up dragging the thing back to the store, where I was upsold to the Linksys E3000.

The extra $30 must have been worth it, because the linksys worked right out of the box (an attribute I can appreciate).

(There is some irony in that the E3000 comes with a USB port and built in UPNP support)

A stand alone NAS using multiple USB HDDs, providing UPnP/DLNA service and a bit torrent client for under $50CDN, the WLX652 USB Network Server bills itself as the piece of hardware for the job, but is it?

At a cost of $40CDN shipped the units description suggested it would easily deliver all the features that I needed right out of the box with no hassle on my part. Sadly the reality entirely failed to live up to the promises, and worse the units hardware had been “upgraded” and the firmware could no longer be easily updated with a third party solution.

The unit appears incapable of running for more than 48 hours without requiring a manual power cycle to clear some sort of catastrophic failure.

While it does what it says, and it required much less hacking than my “in use” NAS, the reliability is just not there. I would not recommend this unit to those shopping around for options.

(annoyingly detailed information on this NAS below the cut, continue at your own peril)

Continue Reading »