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Video Appliance For a Large Library On a Network?

Posted by timothy on from the wants-it-all-in-one-place dept.

devjj writes "For the past year or so I have been trying (and failing) to figure out a reasonable solution for bringing my large media library to my living room. All of my media lives on an Ubuntu server that sits on my network. It's been very reliable and it's fast enough for streaming purposes. My content is exposed via SMB. It's the living room side where I keep running into problems. I am currently using Windows 7 and XBMC, but the case is too big and noisy, I don't particularly care for Windows, and the whole thing just seems overkill. What I want is a device that can present a decent UI that the non-Slashdot crowd would be able to use, but that is still powerful enough to stream full-fidelity 1080p. I dream of a small box that can transcode video over a network, but that's probably a pipe dream. The new Apple TV would be great if it could connect to network shares. What say you, Slashdot? Is what I'm looking for possible, or should I just give in to the iTunes/Amazon/whatever juggernauts?"

8 of 516 comments (clear)

  1. Mac Mini + Plex by drivelikejehu · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you can afford it, get one of the new Mac Minis and install Plex. The new version that came out yesterday is incredibly slick. It'll do all you want.

    1. Re:Mac Mini + Plex by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A Mac Mini is just way too expensive to be abused as a streaming media player.

    2. Re:Mac Mini + Plex by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1, Insightful

      A Mac Mini is just way too expensive to be abused as a streaming media player.

      Or as a personal computer.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  2. XBMC + Asrock ION by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    check out the nvidia ion based boards and systems.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856158009&cm_re=asrock_ion-_-56-158-009-_-Product

    enough muscle for 1080p, all packed into a tiny, quiet package

    1. Re:XBMC + Asrock ION by 0123456 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Seconded. An Ion system with xbmc is what I use and so far we haven't found anything it can't play... case isn't much bigger than a DVD player and even with the optional CPU fan installed it doesn't make much noise.

  3. Appliances may not be upgradable by syousef · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The beauty of a PC is that it's no big deal if a new codec comes around, and if you don't like the interface you have others to choose from.

    Appliances have limitations, may not allow new codecs to be installed etc.

    Find a quiet PC

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  4. Re:Popcorn Hour by blair1q · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I just looked all over their website and I can't make head or tail of what the thing really does.

    Do I have to load data on it or is a just controller and link manager? Does it have native wireless capability (the spec pages say no, the comparison page says yes)? How many boxes do I need to handle 2 PCs , 1 dual-tuner satellite dish/PVR, a BD player, and 3 TVs?

    I will never understand why anyone tries to sell a product the customer can't visualize. I will never understand someone who buys something the seller can't explain simply.

  5. Re:Mac Mini + Plex: TRANSCODING SUX by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    WHY DO YOU PEOPLE WASTE TIME TRANSCODING ANYTHIGN???

    SO I CAN WATCH IT ON MY HANDHELD!!!

    (why are we shouting?)

    Seriously, there's lots of reasons to transcode. Not all movies are available for download in friendly formats. I recently got a beautiful DVD set of the silent film Greed by Erich von Stroheim and I wanted to watch it on something that didn't have an optical drive, away from home.

    How else but to transcode?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.