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Prisimq MediaServer Support For Linux
martinde writes "The Prismiq Media Player is a networked set top box that can play MP3s, streaming media, browse the web, and do other cool stuff. It runs Debian on the dedicated hardware client, but in the past it has required a Windows server on the backend. It looks like now there is
beta support for Linux in the backend. Anyone tried this device, with or without Linux?" This is a device that I've been playing with/testing - our sister (Yes, Virginia, they are owned by OSDN) site Thinkgeek sells them. Pretty cool device - reminds me of a XBox Media Player in terms of function, but with less soldering, and a keyboard. I'll be trying the Linux backend server - that would solve one of my major complaints, which is that the media server currently is Windows-only.
Begin "This is shameless thinkgeek advertising" whining by lamers in 3...2...1...
it's available on Thinkgeek, the box is Debian based, there is now a server (back-end) available for Linux (which has oddly enough only been tested on RedHat and SuSE when the box runs Debian?), and it's similar to what you can get w/the XBox for only $100 more (and not quite as much effort or "illegal" behavior).
Does that about answer it?
Pretty cool device - reminds me of a XBox Media Player in terms of function, but with less soldering, and a keyboard.
Less soldering? How can you have less soldering than *none*? Have you found some way to quantify negative soldering amounts?
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
The xbox media player XBMP, can do everything this can do and more. xbox=$179, chip=$20, media player which is constantly updated=free. Plus you can play some fun games.
This is just another ad for thinkgeek crud.
-eric
I *thought* that 802.11a/g wasn't available in Linux as of this time. If this machine runs Debian, where's the drivers? And where can I download them?
This is a test. This is a test of the emergency sig system. This has been only a test.
The biggest problem I see with this (or with using an X-box for similar things) is the lack of any display or controls on the box itself. I don't want to have to turn on the TV to listen to music, and I don't really want to have to search for a remote either. Why can't people put a very simple user interface on the front of the box??? Something as simple as the iPod interface would be great and very functional.
Lemme get this straight... getting linux to run on a TRS-80 and form a beowulf cluster with a modded atari 2600 is slashdot material, but a linux-based PVR solution isn't?
Yes, my only tool is a hammer. And you're starting to look like a nail.
With a wireless 802.11g card and the ability to play back a ripped DVD it would make a great video jukebox.
Such products frustrate me to no end, because the idea is good, but the execution is poor.
Then again, these limitations might have something to do with tyhe influence of the MPAA w.r.t. playblack resulution via analog outputs (still, that doesn't explain not having component out at at least 480p).
You could've hired me.
buy.com has this on sale for only $189 after $50 mail-in rebate. It's their 'price mistake of the day' item. There is currently a free shipping coupon available at my site. See link below in my signiture to find the coupon.
Looking for any old 8-bit Heathkit/Zenith software/hardware - http://heathkit.garlanger.com
to many features that I wont use. For my movies, I got a DVD player. For IM, I rather use my computer since reading text from TV is too painfull for my eyes. For mp3s, I want something that fits my home stereo equipment and connects to my iTunes library (AAC + playlists).
This brings me to the related question : why is there so little hardware available that plugs into my home stereo (a Marantz system in our living room, pretty decent and it used to cost me half a leg so I'd rather not replace/extend it with a computer that takes up to much space and would just sit there doing nothing in a hidden corner) and in my airport network ? All I really want is a stereo tower box that is stylish, fits my stereo and performs the features of my iPod (okay, forget parachute) without having to haul my iMac to the living room. the iTrip is one way to go, but I would prefer something that goes wirelessly straight to my music library.
Could it be that too many hardware vendors are tied to much to the recording industry, which still considers mp3 pretty much illegal ?
When will I end this grieving ? When will my future begin ?
Checkout "Audiotron"n /producthome.asp
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/audiotro
Its music only, but it doesnt require a TV. Internally, i think its based on WindowsCE, but it uses SMB so any Samba server (including linux) can drive it. Its very slick.
*clap *clap* -- Another wonderful, gramatically correct, hyphen/(parenthesis)-laden sentence from a /. (slashdot (Thinkgeek's sister site)) editor. I, (for one--ofcourse), thought he was talking about playing with his sister (or something )--but that was before before I managed to read it through.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Well, if you read the post you will see that they are currently experimenting with linux. Which means they probably will have to change the requirements to Win98SE or better...
This product was actually covered in a previous slashdot story from a couple of months ago, seen here.. The Seattle Wireless group reviews this product, gives a live video demonstration of it, and basically describes how it works. You can see the video here under the July archive. It's the last segment in the video.
I just got a Prismiq, and I have to say that for playing MP3 files, it isn't there yet. In order to run the linux server, you have to install on windows first, import the media files and then copy some control files over to windows. The bad news is that the server on windows is a bit flaky when dealing with large numbers of files. The documentation says that the limit is 50k files, and I am nowhere close to that.
The UI doesn't make it easy to find anything as it all based around a flat list of 'playlists'. I suspect that the model is that you are supposed to construct playlists on the PC and then import those. *WRONG* This is supposed to be a consumer device that is no more complex than a cable box to operate.
By comparison, I also have two Rio Receivers ($99 each) being controlled by jreceiver (runs on Linux). These boxes only do MP3s and have a (small) LCD display builtin. They support hierarchical navigation by album/artist/genre/etc. This actually makes it possible to play all your 'Pink Floyd' (or whatever). With the right firmware, the Rio also supports a jukebox mode where you can add new tracks/playlists to the current queue.
The good news is that the Prismiq people appear to be actively developing the product, so there is hope.
DVD-ROMs can be had for ~$30 or less retail now. I'd buy the unit right now if it could do everything it claims (well) and play media off of a DVD or CD (including true DVDs). As it is right now I'd still have to have two boxes to do virtually the same thing.
:)
Know what can accomplish all this for $200 or less? The X-Box with XBMP (X-Box Media Player) and the DVD remote can do everything this unit can AND it can play DVDs (even in progressive scan mode with some hacking) and it can be done with software hacks. I bought an X-Box specifically for this and it works wonderfully. I just don't play any games on it or use X-Box live so I avoid MS patching their wonderful dashboard holes.
This sig is worse than my last.
They say the device plays DivX, but since it doesn't have an MPEG4 decoder, it all has to be done in software, and I'm skeptical about the device's ability to play high-bitrate MPEG4 (DivX, XVid, others) streams. And while they say that the device will be easily extensible to support future formats, if they are anything like MPEG4, then it certainly won't be fast enough to play them.
MIPS is kind enough to provide a newsletter which comes up in a search for "4210A" which contains the following interesting paragraph:
But, as the specifications for the PrismIQ show, they are not in fact including a VR5500A, just the VR4120A-based PD61130. I assume this plays the majority of MPEG4 content today, or else they wouldn't be selling it, but as bitrates rise, I believe that they will be in trouble.
Note that I have never seen let alone tested one of these, so I am just wanking in the dark here, but it doesn't seem likely to really provide the necessary longetivity. We all know that amazing things can be done with a 200MHz MIPS chip, go ait down at an SGI Indy sometime if you don't believe me, but I think the lack of an MPEG4 decoder will hurt them in the long run. There are numerous MPEG4 hardware solutions available today, and unfortunately, they did not see fit to use any of them.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The majority of people already have dvd players though, but they don't have streaming music/video players. I don't want my streaming device to also play dvd's. I'd rather have separate devices so I can upgrade items when I want to and not run the risk of losing functionality.
First, the theory behind this device is fairly good. There's limited processing on the client device, and the heavy lifting gets done by the server, the way things ought to be.
The actual configuration files are human-readable with a little bit of effort, and I've even hacked mine up with some success to redo playlists to make more sense.
The bad news is that for large collections of audio (and probably also video) the playlist navigation on the client is really unacceptable. There's only a single level of playlists, so you can't do a lot of things that you would normally do with a hierarchial setup that makes navigating easy. The other problem is that scrolling through the playlists is very, very slow, so in reality a old Rio receiver is faster to navigate, which is a real bummer since I got mine in hopes of having a clean replacement for the Rio's lackluster playlist navigation :-(
On the positive side, they have a user site prismiq.org with good forums that a number of users have been using to communicate how to make limited improvements on both the client and server side. I do think it shows a lot of promise, but don't expect it to be an out-of-the-box instant solution to your media problems...
- Mike
Workable price. Usable feature set.
Don't plan on being able to surf the web or really be able to do IM with this toy unless you've got a top of the line TV.
NTSC television has an average effective resolution of something like 480x480. If you've got a decent TV, that is. A higher quality set may have as much as 512x480 and a lower quality set will have something along the lines of 320x240 resolution- many televisions are at THAT resolution. While you can get a 640x480 scanline converter to allow you to display pictures, etc. on any TV set, the effective resolution trims the edges of the image on the screen and makes it blurry as all get-out on over half of the TV's out there.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
This will be out in stores shortly as the Game Shark Media Player...
Supports Linux!!!
Works with your PS/2... GREAT PICTURE on my big screen, lots of features, plays DivX,Xvid,mp3s and still picture slide show...
A STEAL at $50....
Run Linux, Windows, Mac, whatever on the backend, use your PS2 on the front end. Even use the handy DVD remote. Available from BroadQ or shortly from GameShark it has all the functionality I can glean from the Prismi?q box without yet another piece of hardware.
I had a Rio Receiver, then moved up to the Audiotron.
Hardware quality- I would rate the hardware quality as pretty high. Optical out is nice, the unit feels sturdy, the LCD Display is excellent (I can read it from about 10-15' away easily), the knobs , buttons , switches and remote are all what you'd expect of a decent consumer device.
Software Stability- I'm not sure what you mean here. The unit itself stays on at my house 24/7. I've never had it lockup, and I've never had it go offline for a reason it had anything to do with (ie power outages). I've made it skip perhaps twice, I suspect some kind of weird combination of high network traffic, and high harddrive use of the computer serving it.
SMB- I've used a samba server, and also a windows share box. Neither has caused me any problems at all. What isn't compatible?
The only downside I have is that it takes a long time to initially grab the list of shared files from different computers. You can save this configuration however, and use it to load from so you don't have to do the complete research when your audiotron gets cut off from power. (It takes about 10-15 minutes at least to initially discover 11,000 mp3s and wavs)
The other plus side is the API for the device is available on the turtle beach site, so you can hack together little scripts, or full featured gui in a pretty short amount of time.
Care to explain what your problem with the audiotron was?
If you already have a PS2, just stick a network interface on it ($30), and get the QCast Tuner software ($50) from BroadQ.
Their server runs on Java, and will work on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.
Turns the PS2 into a nice multimedia platform.