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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?"
For example, you can't create playlists or autoplaylists (playlists based on rules.)
/. post) but I will point out that this appears to be a sneaky advertising trick to try and sell units. "Here we'll just publish an ad and call it a review."
While I sympathize, as playlists should be a feature in any player... Because you explained the autoplaylist feature, you should not expect it as a standard feature. The rest of what you're saying makes perfect sense to me and begs the question: why was this posted at Slashdot if the On3 networked multimedia system appears so lacking? Also, calling something The On3 (The One, ie: Neo), certainly appears to be a misnomer if the system is so utterly lacking.
Also, I must take issue with that review because it lacks any definative bottom line summary. They don't come out and say : this rocks, or, this is a bad buy. I think it might have something to do with the fact that the reviewers are selling this product. I won't cry "Slash-ad!" (because of the insight in this
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Sorry, but playing back in order of how the files are named? That makes the thing more or less completely useless unless you have a very, very short list of songs you always want to hear in the same order; how the heck do you get to market without the basics that you'd have expected from an MP3 player five years ago?
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
I'm trying to find a non-microsoft, out-of-the-box solution
Check out SLIMP3 and/or various offerings from Apple just to name two sources off the top of my head for audio. For video, just build a custom linux box with MythTV or something and stick it in one of those spiffy home entertainment cases. Or pay lots of money for the commercial equivalent.
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
I will say that I don't much care for the way it handles large amounts of tracks though... it needs a better UI for setting up playlists.
Agile Artisans
It supports OggVorbis. What else is there?
-- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
If it's a shortcoming in the OS, it's fixable, though maybe not feasible (depending on the problem). But these shortcomings are in the app, which is not necessarily open source. Just running on Linux doesn't mean you can hack its code. Since the article mentions neither explicitly that the app is OSS, nor its license (which might imply OSS), you probably just get the app binary embedded in the device. So unless you want to hack the kernel to intercept and "fix" app functions (maybe impossible), it's not easily hackable at all.
--
make install -not war
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!
From TFA:
This seems a bit odd, since MPEG-4 is an encoding standard, DivX and XviD are implementations of MPEG-4, MOV and AVI are container file formats. Saying it plays MOV and AVI files presumable means that it can play MPEG-1/2/4 streams inside MOV and AVI containers, but this is highly ambiguous.I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Tom's Networking just did a review that covers this subject, including how to serve tunage to it over a Linux server (they mention the hacked NSLU2 project, but it sounds like any Linux box could do the job).
Or, heck, skip the network and just use CompactFlash.
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!
I don't think that the particular Focus Enhancements chip on the Xbox can generate an HD signal.
If you have a wee bit more money, there is the upgraded Xbox...
Celeron 1.4 ghz instead of the 700 Mhz, 128 Mo Ram instead of 64...
Available as a reboxed set @ 399 US $.
For the more adventurous, you can have just the modded xbox mobo for 260 US $...
So you still have a microsoft box (which you don't want), but now with extra juice to run all apps...
No ultra-compressed video stream should pose problem anymore, and you have better perf on all Original Xbox Games (tm)...
+ Having access to just the mobo should give you the opportunity to mod your own media center, if you're into that...
As parent said, no video capture.
But you have everything else now possible 8)
It takes 40+ muscles to frown, but only four to extend your arm and bitchslap the motherfucker
Actually, forget Roku and check out the Squeezebox. It's a great player, much more reliable than the Roku and sounds better. Plus, the open source SlimServer app which runs the back end of both players is provided by SlimDevices, who make the Squeezebox. Roku "borrowed" it (which is fine, it's open) for the Soundbridge, but it works much better with the Squeezebox, and to be honest the Roku experience left a bitter taste in many people's mouths.
Slimserver is perl and is supported on Win/Max/Linux/BSD, supports most file formats, streaming, etc etc. Very cool.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
Is there anything as good as the Slimserver/Squeezebox combo? If there is, I don't know it yet. Populate your house with a few squeezeboxes connected to a central server and you have all you need...
http://www.slimdevices.com/
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.
Support the company that actually develops and supports the server software used by Roku for their product.
http://www.slimdevices.com/
Last I heard, Roku gives back nothing to the project, possibly in violation of the GPL.
Finally, you offer just hard drives imaged w/ pre-made images of the full computers you offer. Along with the image you include the hardware that the setup requires.
Every person who installs MythTV should not have to take the hours and hours to get it running. It should be distributed in a few forms (hdtv/dvd/music/pvr/combo) created for specific hardware. (Obviously an idea akin to this is the reason for KnoppixMyth's popularity.)
I do security