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eweazel
join:2008-12-09
Etobicoke, ON

eweazel

Member

A good media player to replace boxee box

I am looking for a media streamer to replace my boxee box. I have been looking online for a few weeks now, but they all seem to have their hits and misses. Short of building my own HTPC, I would rather have an all included type of deal especially so the wife can use it, I also want to keep it as cheap as possible, nothing over 300.00, as south of that as possible. Must be able to stream my videos from my pc, and of course have huluplus and netflix access. Any help is appreciated.

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS

Premium Member

Some are listed here:
»popbox v8-where to buy
I haven't bought it, but I'm looking to replace my wdtv live.
What's the issue with Boxee?

eweazel
join:2008-12-09
Etobicoke, ON

eweazel

Member

They no longer support it, no more updates. There are problems streaming some files. It tends to shut down a few times. It just seems it needs a maintenance update. Even Netflix might stop working on it in the near future.
analog andy
join:2005-01-03
Surrey, BC

analog andy to eweazel

Member

to eweazel
Don't get the WD ones. Fucking slow as molasses and get slower the longer you leave it on. Eventually you have to do a full reset to get the speed back which lasts for a day. If they could fix the speed it would be nice as it has dns settings built in which the ROKU doesn't so you have to set it router side.

Also read ROKU requires you to use a cc to register or phone them, wtf is that? I have NO desire to register before use, luckily read about that before I bought it.

My Linux based HTPC's work the best.

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
Premium Member
join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

elwoodblues

Premium Member

said by analog andy:

Don't get the WD ones. Fucking slow as molasses and get slower the longer you leave it on. Eventually you have to do a full reset to get the speed back which lasts for a day. If they could fix the speed it would be nice as it has dns settings built in which the ROKU doesn't so you have to set it router side.

HUH?

I use it every day playing content from my server, it's not "slow" nor doe sit "slow down".

eweazel
join:2008-12-09
Etobicoke, ON

eweazel

Member

I do have a question. I am a bit technically inclined, so maybe I shouldnt rule out the HTPC angle. But what exactly should I build.

Again it has to be under 300.00 wife would kill me otherwise so it also has to be appealing, not look like a computer.

I also dont mind buying a part here and there until I get it all together. But dont even know where to start.

I have tried the Raspberry PI but found that slow like molasses.

LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

LazMan to eweazel

Premium Member

to eweazel
Avoid the LG "Smart TV Updater" - I tried one, PoS...

I like my Apple TV's - but due to the number of iDevices in the house already; had most of my media in iTunes to start with, and I don't mind the walled garden, it doesn't keep me from doing anything I want to do.

AppleTV is slick, smooth, clean, and fast - but you have to like (or at least tolerate) iTunes... And I don't know if it does Hulu - but it is awesome for Netflix...

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS to analog andy

Premium Member

to analog andy
Do you build small form factors?
H-ware wise, what's your typical build price?
After looking at all the offerings, perhaps this is the route I'll go.
But I'll need multiple units.

eweazel
join:2008-12-09
Etobicoke, ON

eweazel to LazMan

Member

to LazMan
said by LazMan:

Avoid the LG "Smart TV Updater" - I tried one, PoS...

I like my Apple TV's - but due to the number of iDevices in the house already; had most of my media in iTunes to start with, and I don't mind the walled garden, it doesn't keep me from doing anything I want to do.

AppleTV is slick, smooth, clean, and fast - but you have to like (or at least tolerate) iTunes... And I don't know if it does Hulu - but it is awesome for Netflix...

When it first came out I wanted to pick up the LG Smart TV Updater, but even the guys at tigerdirect told me not to. Thats when I picked up the boxee.

I am not a fan of anything to do with Apple. I dont find it appealing. I like to be able to play any video I want, and not have to go through Itunes.

reboot
@cgocable.net

reboot to eweazel

Anon

to eweazel
I have a WDLive loaded with WDLXTV and I have 0 issues.

I turn it off when its not in use so I don't leave it on all the time.

I came home once and the wife had all the mp3's loaded and playing and she had only seen me use it once or twice, so its definitley user friendly.

Mine is hardwired to my router and has no lag and no issues playing anything I have.
zod5000
join:2003-10-21
Victoria, BC

zod5000 to eweazel

Member

to eweazel
I've been a big fan of the Popcorn Hour Series. I've owned both an a110 and recent the a400.

They are a bit more on the higher end. A bit more power, internal SATA port to house an internal 3.5" hard drive.

The downside with popcorn hour devices is they release them premature. If you buy one right at release its guaranteed to be riddled with bugs.

I currently own the A-400 and I think I bought it in October and only now am I finding the firmware to be mature enough to handle most tasks. I quite like it though.

Anav
Sarcastic Llama? Naw, Just Acerbic
Premium Member
join:2001-07-16
Dartmouth, NS

Anav

Premium Member

Thanks Zod, I looked at them awhile back and the maturity kept me at Bay. I use WD products andd quite successfully for my needs. The only caveat is to never never use any fimrware release until its been tested by real users. For example the last iteration screwed up the WD TV live (original version 1st one to have ethernet -which I use) and thus I am happy with an older firmware but cannot use the smartphone app that came with the updated version. Updates regardless of any company seem spotty, not regular, and their quality assurance is wanting.

milnoc
join:2001-03-05
Ottawa

milnoc to eweazel

Member

to eweazel
Today, Asus has released the "Cube", a Google TV appliance, for $139, $60 less than the Sony appliance. No idea if or when it'll be available in Canada.

»promos.asus.com/us/asuscube/

It's even got voice search, and I can attest in advance that it works great since I already have it on my Nexus 4.

Don't know how you stream your media from your PC though.

urbanriot
Premium Member
join:2004-10-18
Canada

urbanriot to eweazel

Premium Member

to eweazel
said by eweazel:

I do have a question. I am a bit technically inclined, so maybe I shouldnt rule out the HTPC angle. But what exactly should I build.

My primary HTPC was recently upgraded to an Intel NUC (two HDMI ports, ethernet, 2 USB, wireless) and I'm extremely happy with its silent operation and it being a PC, it can play anything.

I have it hooked up to a Microsoft media PC remote control so it has a decent looking remote for Media Center (Windows 8)...

I've been quite happy with the WD TV Live I have in the kitchen as well, works great for Netflix and playing .mkv files from the server, trips up on the odd file maybe 1/20 but for the most part it's great.

I tried a $49 Netgear unit that was on sale at Best Buy and it forgets the wireless network every time its powered on and powered off, it's terrible.

We also have a Sony Blu-Ray player I picked up for $69 at Future Shop and it surprisingly plays everything the WD TV Live can play (mkv's, avi's, etc.,) and has some bizarre 'channels' that actually play random weird foreign stuff that's kind of fun to watch. And it plays blu-ray discs!

loosedobbs
join:2006-06-13
Toronto

1 edit

loosedobbs to eweazel

Member

to eweazel
said by Gone:

I'm still running a WD TV Live Plus and while it does its job it seems to be getting long in the tooth and the interface lacks some basic features I would give anything to have. I'm tempted to take a chance on getting something like this and loading XBMC on it:

»dx.com/p/mk8080b-dual-co ··· k-175870

Only thing I wish it had was wired Ethernet.

LOL. I just bought that exact same for no reason.
Wanted to buy WD live as I need one player for long time but not sure when. And then saw the cheap android and bought it. It is shipped from Singapore.

A Lurker
that's Ms Lurker btw
Premium Member
join:2007-10-27
Wellington N

A Lurker to reboot

Premium Member

to reboot
said by reboot :

I have a WDLive loaded with WDLXTV and I have 0 issues.

I have the hub version, and this may be what he's talking about. I just checked, and mine is about 2 yrs old. I do see the little spinning arrow a little more often lately. I'm assuming it's the hard drive becoming fragmented. I have to check later, but I think I tried (and couldn't) de-frag the hub drive from my system tools.

It's not annoying enough to make me look for something that would de-frag a networked drive. I also figured I could plug in an external and use that.

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4 to eweazel

Premium Member

to eweazel
The LG600 smart TV Upgrader can do all that, if you can find it. $49 on sale from Dell when I got mine. You need to set it up to US mode for HuluPlus and to play all video formats from USB. It streams as well from a PC.
J E F F4

J E F F4 to LazMan

Premium Member

to LazMan
AppleTV does HuluPlus, as long as US is selected.

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
Premium Member
join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

elwoodblues to Anav

Premium Member

to Anav
said by Anav:

Thanks Zod, I looked at them awhile back and the maturity kept me at Bay. I use WD products andd quite successfully for my needs. The only caveat is to never never use any fimrware release until its been tested by real users. For example the last iteration screwed up the WD TV live (original version 1st one to have ethernet -which I use) and thus I am happy with an older firmware but cannot use the smartphone app that came with the updated version. Updates regardless of any company seem spotty, not regular, and their quality assurance is wanting.

i agree about the firmware, and there is a third party app (not as slick) you can use.

eweazel
join:2008-12-09
Etobicoke, ON

eweazel to loosedobbs

Member

to loosedobbs
said by loosedobbs:

said by Gone:

I'm still running a WD TV Live Plus and while it does its job it seems to be getting long in the tooth and the interface lacks some basic features I would give anything to have. I'm tempted to take a chance on getting something like this and loading XBMC on it:

»dx.com/p/mk8080b-dual-co ··· k-175870

Only thing I wish it had was wired Ethernet.

LOL. I just bought that exact same for no reason.
Wanted to buy WD live as I need one player for long time but not sure when. And then saw the cheap android and bought it. It is shipped from Singapore.

I am so tempted to get this too. I have purchased things from these guys before so I do trust them..but wow, not sure if I should try this though.

TigerLord

join:2002-06-09
Canada

TigerLord to eweazel

to eweazel
I've purchased Popcorn Hour media tanks since 2007. I'm satisfied with it.

QuantumPimp
join:2012-02-19

QuantumPimp to elwoodblues

Member

to elwoodblues
said by elwoodblues:

HUH?
I use it every day playing content from my server, it's not "slow" nor doe sit "slow down".

Ya, it does. Both the WD TV Live and WD TV have this problem. Reset lasts more than a day for me but the period is not consistent ... sometimes longer than a week. I never turn the unit off so maybe that causes the problem.

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
Premium Member
join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

elwoodblues

Premium Member

said by QuantumPimp:

said by elwoodblues:

HUH?
I use it every day playing content from my server, it's not "slow" nor doe sit "slow down".

Ya, it does. Both the WD TV Live and WD TV have this problem. Reset lasts more than a day for me but the period is not consistent ... sometimes longer than a week. I never turn the unit off so maybe that causes the problem.

I have not turned mine off in weeks, and i have had ZERO problems. It's the only way I can watch TV/movies since I don't subscribe to any BDU's or any other content provider.

zong
Premium Member
join:2005-07-21
Scarborough, ON

zong to analog andy

Premium Member

to analog andy
You loaded the latest firmware didn't you? The current one, and the previous firmware that was released and pulled offline two days later are slow as hell.

I am running what is now the most recent previous (not including the now unlisted one) firmware update and she's fine. Netflix would bog down after an hour, and yes, you'd have to pull the power. I'd suggest a downgrade, and then blacklisting support.wdc.com in your router so your WD's stop annoying you with the upgrade firmware message.

I run three Live Plus' none exibit this symptom after the downgrade.

edit: Spelling /add info

QuantumPimp
join:2012-02-19

QuantumPimp to elwoodblues

Member

to elwoodblues
said by elwoodblues:

I have not turned mine off in weeks, and i have had ZERO problems. It's the only way I can watch TV/movies since I don't subscribe to any BDU's or any other content provider.

The symptom is like a memory leak. Unit gradually gets slower until the user interface no longer responds to the remote. Normally the thing just works without becoming yet another home IT project. Doesn't happen so frequently that I want to trash the device because otherwise it plays everything I throw at it.
Gza14
join:2002-12-31
Scarborough, ON

Gza14 to eweazel

Member

to eweazel
I'm curious to try the Pivos Xios DS with the latest version of XBMC.

If I already didn't have a WDTV Live (mainly for watching rips), I'd be all over this in a heartbeat.

TOPDAWG
Premium Member
join:2005-04-27
Calgary, AB

TOPDAWG to eweazel

Premium Member

to eweazel
The ouya is coming out soon with full XBMX support so I may try one of those myself. It should have enough power to run pretty much any video. here is a video of someone running xbmc on it. Mean issue is the missing netflix and hulu if you want that and I'm willing to bet they won't get netflix and the like cause they're making the unit so open.

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· H4j9hfLE

Guspaz
Guspaz
MVM
join:2001-11-05
Montreal, QC

Guspaz to eweazel

MVM

to eweazel
It may not matter, it runs Android, and the Android Netflix app was long ago made to run on arbitrary Android devices back when Netflix tried to limit it to certain devices.

TOPDAWG
Premium Member
join:2005-04-27
Calgary, AB

TOPDAWG

Premium Member

ah interesting. I know with the WD box they had to add a DRM chip to get netflix on the thing. with ouya being open I just see netflix not wanting their app on there or the content owners who netflix must bow down too.

Guspaz
Guspaz
MVM
join:2001-11-05
Montreal, QC

Guspaz to eweazel

MVM

to eweazel
There are probably some standardized Android encryption APIs that Netflix uses so that it can run on any device. Ouya uses a common SoC (the unfortunately crappy Tegra 3) as well as a modified version of Android 4.1, so I don't see any reason why you couldn't in the worst case sideload the Netflix APK.