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  1. #1
    DF Admin maltloaf's Avatar
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    Help New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    Hi all,

    I've been using a WDTVLive for over a year and it's served me well but it's poorly and I get lots of graphical nasties now and then so it's time for something new.

    Things I need...
    Netflix
    Play sd and hd media from my network. I use a pc in the spare room which stores stuff on network shares at the moment.

    Things that would be nice...
    iPlayer
    Itv player
    Anything else
    Etc etc.

    My media is anything you can think of. From 480 up to 1080p and every video format. Avi, mp4, mkv etc.

    And it's got to be simple enough that the missus can drive it.

    What do you guys suggest and why?

    Fire TV? Chromecast? Revo? Other?

    Many thanks,

    Malty
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  2. #2
    DF VIP Member reverend's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    It may be worth picking up a cheaper Roku temporarily and waiting for something like the Fire TV or the new wave of media players that support h265 for 4k etc.

    I've seen some scene releases turning up as h265 for 1080p and the file sizes are smaller than current stuff.

    The Fire TV appears to be the fastest and slickest out there so far but they just need to work past some of the bugs.

    Thanks to reverend

    maltloaf (12th April 2014)  


  3. #3
    DF Admin maltloaf's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    To be honest bells and whistles are nice but anything that'll do the essentials will be enough.
    Fire TV looks really flexible but will undoubtedly be aimed at the Amazon prime film thingy surely?
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  4. #4
    DF VIP Member reverend's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    They've already got XBMC on there and Plex - there are issues to iron out but supposedly Amazon let anyone hook into the voice control API which would be good.

    I'm still waiting for the perfect media player! The main one I use is still a WDTV Live SMP and it's played everything - just a shame the interface is shit!

    Thanks to reverend

    maltloaf (12th April 2014)  


  5. #5
    DF VIP Member reverend's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I've just had another look through the Plex forums and it does doing like there are limitations with the Fire - they've still not gotten multichannel audio working and sounds like it has a maximum bitrate it can handle.

    If the next WDTV had Plex, Amazon Instant Video and did the 4k stuff it would be about perfect!

    Thanks to reverend

    maltloaf (12th April 2014)  


  6. #6
    DF Admin maltloaf's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I've been perfectly happy with my WDTV but in all honesty I should never have sold my Revo.
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  7. #7
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    +1 for the revo. got mine running sickbeard and sab in the background, downloading all my shows...

    and xbmc as a constant up front display with regular library updating, so easy the missus can use it using the xbmc remote on her phone

    Thanks to CallmeGoose

    maltloaf (12th April 2014)  


  8. #8
    Mummy's little soldier I Black Belt's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    Slightly off topic, but perhaps relevant, do you guys actually rate Amazon prime?
    I've been off work for some time and took the free month trial.
    Have to say, somewhat less than impressed.
    Virtually every TV series they have is available on project free
    and as for the films..The free stuff is very dated IMO.
    Pretty much every search I did for stuff that I wanted to watch, some of it quite old, produced results, but very little of it was free. It was available of course, for a price.
    I'm going to have a look at Netflix next, but in truth, bugger paying for a service which has such limitations.

  9. #9
    DF VIP Member Bobby Bouché's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I took ages to get a good media player and went for a Roku3 in the end. Won't get a Amazon fire unless it can do loads. I do like XBMC and i use PLEX daily. netflix and Lovefilm are so so.

    Thanks to Bobby Bouché

    maltloaf (12th April 2014)  


  10. #10
    DF Admin maltloaf's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I love netflix. The missus and I always manage to find something to watch on it. I've happily paid my sub since it launched in the uk and I'm likely to carry on doing so.

    I've actually been playing with the Plex media server this afternoon and got almost all my content playing on my ps3 but I'm having to go through renaming stuff especially tv series as it wasn't identifying them properly.

    I'm quietly impressed with how it's working if I'm honest.

    What I would like to know is if there's a current working netflix client for xmbcbuntu or xbmc linux as I have a spare pc with a hd capable video card. Might answer all my problems at once.

    cheers,

    malty
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  11. #11
    DF VIP Member stimpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I've been using a RasPi with RaspBMC with a similar setup to yours (separate server in another room for streaming from).

    Can't really fault it, it supports CEC so I can control everything from the TV remote. SMB shares are a little flaky so I set them up as NFS and they have been flawless ever since.

    The only downside is no real Netflix support.

    Thanks to stimpy

    maltloaf (12th April 2014)  


  12. #12
    DF Admin maltloaf's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I have a raspberry pi somewhere but god knows where, might try and dig it out but tbh I want something with wireless networking.

    I've just been looking at roku3, do the roku boxes play from lan shares ?
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  13. #13
    DF VIP Member bub's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    Lovely bit of kit http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Aspir...item3f30631817, I don't know if you want to spend that much but this does everything I want and more. I installed w7 on it and it runs superbly. I ended up getting 2 for both my rooms. I still have my old Revo R3700 which uses the older Atom processor. The i3 processor makes a huge difference. Best of all they use so little power. The seller above has an option to pick up in any Argos

    Thanks to bub

    maltloaf (12th April 2014)  


  14. #14
    DF Admin maltloaf's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I think I'll keep my eye out in case a cheap 3600 3610 or 3700 come up. I can't justify 200 quid on something at the moment tbh.
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  15. #15
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    What is the new Revo like when playing 1080p films? R3700 uses the graphics card for video playback and uses hardly any cpu but the new one has integrated graphics so assuming it'll use lots of cpu?

    Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

  16. #16
    DF VIP Member andmor's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    Get yourself a roku box.. has netflix plugin and plex plugin so you can stream from your server as you now have plexmedia server installed on it..

    I would have suggested the £10 nowtv box but i'm not too sure about netflix working on it

    Thanks to andmor

    maltloaf (14th April 2014)  


  17. #17
    DF VIP Member bub's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by liveseytowers View Post
    What is the new Revo like when playing 1080p films? R3700 uses the graphics card for video playback and uses hardly any cpu but the new one has integrated graphics so assuming it'll use lots of cpu?

    Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
    1080Ps no issues whatsoever, you can adjust how much video memory is used from the Bios. you can always throw another 4gig of ram if needed as ram is used for graphics

    Thanks to bub

    liveseytowers (12th April 2014)  


  18. #18
    DF VIP Member reverend's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    I've just been doing some digging and turns out the Roku 3 has the same 20Mbps max nitrate as the Amazon Fire TV - maybe it's the same chip or something.

    To be fair for MKV stuff it shouldn't be a problem - it's more raw Bluray rips that will hit that.

    Like you I'm going to dig out an unused Microserver and have a play with that as a front end.

    Daft question but why is it we're all having to find something to pass the mrs test - they always want equality but most can't work anything other than a Sky HD box :/

    Thanks to reverend

    maltloaf (14th April 2014)  


  19. #19
    DF Admin maltloaf's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    Many of these players seem to have the same failing it seems, they require some sort of server software to play files remotely. As you well know, the wdtv can play the files itself.

    The more I think about it, the more I think I need a small pc/revo
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  20. #20
    DF Probation Goldberg's Avatar
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    Default Re: New streaming media player needed. Which one?

    Of all the media players I have had over the years (and still have stashed), the one I am currently actively using is the built in media player on the Samsung TV I have!
    It plays everything that is thrown at it and it does it really well.

    Yes you lose the bells and whistles of Box Art and some file types cannot be fast forwarded or rewound (although you can jump to a time point).
    But for one less box and the ease of use I recommend it.

    As for the Smart TV functions, it has iPlayer, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Amazon Prime, Netflix etc.. etc.. The iPlayer app is cool and lets you favourite shows.
    It also has a web browser (with Flash) and I can confirm that the streaming sports sites do work with it.

    I know it is extreme to go out and buy a new TV, but the media functions of TV's are getting better and do just as much as the boxes if not more.
    Just one to consider . If you wanted the same experience (albeit a slower UI) then the Bluray players have it all built in too. I got one with the TV and have used it in the other room from time to time. There are apps available to use your phone/tablet as the virtual keyboard & mouse for easier navigation.

    On a side note, I am going to grab an Amazon Fire TV but mainly for the games. I will use it on another TV which does not have the Smart Functions. It is probably going to replace my Apple TV 2 which I get little use out of.
    We all make mistakes sometimes

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