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FIA On3 Networked Multimedia System Reviewed
Anonymous Howard writes "Designtechnica has reviewed Fia's On3 networked multimedia system. It uses Linux for its OS, supports Samba, audio & video (including Ogg), but the On3 seems to be marred by a lack of some important features. For example, you can't create playlists or autoplaylists (playlists based on rules.) You can only play music sorted in folders, so if your music is sorted by artist and album, you can only listen to each folder at a time. Files are played back in alphanumeric order, so playback order depends on how the tracks are named. The On3 does not handle ID3 tags and track names are simply the name of the file. I'm trying to find a non-microsoft, out-of-the-box solution for a networked media system. Are there any other solutions out there? How do they compare? Are they worth it or does the industry still have a lot of growing to do?"
I've worked at a few of those, actually. Always sucks to see your name on something that is so obviously bad.
The original poster is asking for a system he can go out and buy. Does anyone sell MythTV set top boxes?
Mod point free since 2001
I've often thought of making a little spreadin' around money from building MythTV systems and selling them. I think a lot of people would buy them, especially if they don't have to deal with TiVo.
Really, the only three things holding me back are a lack of time, a lack of money, and liability issues should one of them catch fire and burn someone's house down or something.
You have two hands and one brain, so always code twice as much as you think!
Hell, I would. If it was at a Tivo comparable pricing, looking vaguely like a tivo (game console sized box), and ran myth TV, I'd get one. I just don't have time to go build one (or several) myself.
Mod point free since 2001
This device actually comes close to what I want. I have 3 children, 2 of which are old enough to put DVD's into the machine. The problem is they don't always hold them right (hey, they're only 5 and 2 years old, go easy), and because of that, the DVD's are getting scratched up.
I've been thinking about buying a mod-chip for my Xbox for some time (cost: about $70 including shiping/handling for the no-sauter kind) and using the Xbox Media Center, using Handbrake on the DVD's, leaving them on the Powermac, then streaming them to the TV through a SMB share. DVD's stay in the cases, kids get to see movies, and Daddy doesn't kill anybody.
But the idea of using a "real" product (not just a self made hack) is always appealing - but $500 is a lot of money to spend. Then again, my iPod cost $399, so I really can't talk for a similiar device that does video as well as audio.
Still, you'd think they could create an iTunes like system for the video and music files. I mean, is a database of MP3 tags really that hard to come up with?
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
I dunno if gid will post this, but he made a networked media player for linux using php and icecast - find it here. Fantastic peice of work. Any number of people can add or remove files from the current playlist, you can save the playlist, and you can veto the current song. I think you can hack it to broadcast video as well. Go check it out!
I submitted this story last night, and it didn't get posted.
Or you could do custom systems. How much would someone pay for a personal "On Demand" system? That is, a big server with multiple tuners and a RAID in the basement with MythTV serving up recorded shows and DVD rips and music, networked to every TV in the house wirelessly or wired using cheap front-end boxes (about the size of a router), with permissions so you could let your kids use it without worrying about them seeing inappropriate programming. I bet you could get a contract to set one up for $10,000 and make 50% profit. Plus support costs! Now *that's* a money-maker.
You have two hands and one brain, so always code twice as much as you think!
Really, the only three things holding me back are a lack of time, a lack of money, and liability issues should one of them catch fire and burn someone's house down or something.
I can't help you with the first two; but as for the third, well, that's what they make lawyers for.
After one finds the time and the venture capital, a good lawyer usually is the next smart move, though I'd think one should be more worried about the entertainment industry than about catastrophic product failure.
spiralscratch,
We haven't modified the SlimServer software, we're merely a client for it. No GPL concerns enter into it.
It should be noted that SlimServer is just one of MANY servers we support including iTunes (directly, using licensed DAAP from Apple) and many UPnP-AV Servers (including Windows Media Connect with support for DRM'd WMA files).
So, if you're considering the Squeezebox, you should do yourself a favor and consider the SoundBridge since it can do what the Squeezebox does and MUCH MUCH more, and look better doing it (IMNSHO). Oh and do it for less money.
For those of you that are NSLU2 fans, Twonkyvision has a build of their UPnP Server for it and there's an open source DAAP server available for it. Cool stuff.
Patrick
Sr Software Engineer, Roku
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