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The Best Streaming Media Player
DeviceGuru writes "It's looking like 2012 will be a watershed year for cord-cutters wanting to replace expensive cable TV services with low-cost gadgets that stream movies and TV shows from the Internet via free, subscription, and pay-per-view services. Accordingly, this DeviceGuru smackdown pits five popular streaming media player devices against each other. The smackdown compares Roku, Google TV, Apple TV, the Boxee Box, and Netgear's NeoTV, tabulating their key features, functions, specs, supported multimedia formats, and other characteristics, and listing the main advantages and disadvantages of each device. Then, it provides a summary chart that attempts to quantify the whole thing, so you (theoretically) can pick the best one based on what characteristics are most important to you. Of course, the market's evolving so quickly that the entire process will need to be redone in 6 months, but what else is new."
All fine and well if you don't want updates that the manufacturer won't give you. There's a lot of cases where this comparison review lists software deficiencies, but firmware lockdowns make things worse.
Never mind the content issues that come along with these devices.
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Apps are written in Python. There are currently about 250 now.
I was shocked when I saw a friend's AppleTV... there was no web browser - stay in the garden children.
I'm yet to see a review that takes under account the ability of the media player to re-negotiate HDMI mode to match the frame rate of the source material.
Most players are guilty of either a single frame rate (atv2, I'm looking at you) or having to manually change modes (great user experience, right?).
Of all players I know, only the Popcorn Hour ones have the ability to configure which modes you want it to auto-select. This results in silky-smooth playback.
Otherwise, try playing 24000/1001 fps on 25fps display or 25fps material on 30000/1001 fps display. It's always jerky and fugly.
But I guess it's more important that the thing plays protected content or that you can watch cats on youtube.
Pfft, get off my lawn.
(captcha: bashing)
In most areas, the cable and internet come from the same provider who has a monopoly. If enough people cut cable, they will just raise internet prices to keep the same profits. Hell, they're going to raise internet prices for everyone regardless because we all use too much bandwidth in their opinion.
I got my WD Live for $80 about a year or so ago. Plays 1080p mkv flawlessly off of a samba share from a linux server. It just works.
Looks different and a little more expensive then mine, but probably still worth getting: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136997
Because reading a normal desktop's output from 15 feet away on the couch is hard. The nice thing about these is that the UI is designed for easy reading and navigation with a remote.
-dave
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Apps are written in Python. There are currently about 250 now. I was shocked when I saw a friend's AppleTV... there was no web browser - stay in the garden children.
True, if you use the simple -out-of-the-box- minimal remote that comes with the device.
But if you use your iPhone/iPad/iPad Touch as a WiFi remote (with the free Remote app from Apple), you have a really sweet remote that also does mirroring via Airplay. Anything visible on the screen of the i-Device shows up on the TV.
I'm always surprised at how many I-Device owners had no idea that they could use their device as a remote control and display content on their TVs.
At family gatherings we just turn on the TV, fire up the AppleTV and then everyone pulls out their iPhones and shares photos.
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One thing the reviews leave out is scriptability/hackability.
Roku actually has a pretty easy and open-ish api.
Roku channels can be written in a scripting language called Brightscript (feels mostly like VBScript). The SDK also comes with C header files if you'd rather write something low level. I wrote a basic channel that takes reads an XML manifest file from my webserver and lets you pick from any of my home videos (or backups of my DVDs or infringed video) and streams it on the TV. I did this in about 15 minutes of coding on the roku side, including a "cover flow" style menu. (Of course, you aren't going to escape the need to transcode your video files, unless you are doing it hot on the webserver)
later when they upgraded the OS (without breaking any compatibility) I was able to write a page to run on my webserver that allows me to go to a browser from any of the computers on my network and select any movie (accessible by http) and directly launch it on the roku from the browser (which is very helpful for when I want to watch a horror/pr0n movie with the wife after the kids go to bed, but I don't want the kids to have access to it during the day)
I wrote an HTML/AJAX remote control app to run on our tablets/iphone/laptops to control the roku if we misplace the remote, which was also really simple, due to the easy/open API
I have tried many set top solutions, and THIS is the one my 3 year-old and my grandmother can use, but that I can still force it to do what I want.
They seemed to have missed a bittorrent client in the list of features. How about letting me load up what *I* want to watch from the device, instead of what *you* want me to watch. Plus, if they can't mount shares, how can you connect the one upstairs with the one downstairs? These things can't stream to each other?
On another note, it seems odd my old PCH A110 can still "out feature" some of these newer players on the market. It plays from samba, nfs, or upnp shares, includes a bittorrent client, and of course handles almost any format you can throw at it. Of course, it's also very long in the tooth by now.
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I have a PS3 and a Roku, I can tell you they both do netflix and hulu plus, and the PS3 even has a much better interface for netflix... we still use the roku more. The PS3 has to install an OS upgrade every week or so, the "controllers" or remote control system will use up the batteries completely in about 10 hours of idling, the device itself gets really hot even idling, etc. So for the roku, it is always on, the remote always works. For the PS3 we have to turn it on, wait for a firmware/OS upgrade, then remember to turn the controllers off while we watch TV. It does way too much to be an appliance. The PS3 is a game console with streaming, the Roku is an appliance, and there still is a big difference.
So what did that all cost? And how long did it take to set it all up?
Was it more than $99? And was it more than 15 minutes?
Not being a dick, but if it's all so easy to do what you say, you would be in business competing against Apple I would have bought your box instead.
If it IS that easy and you CAN give me a near $100 box and a near 15 minute setup time with hardware and SOFTWARE that beats these other devices then quit your day job and get cracking. I want to buy your system.
BUT: If it's more like $300 and as elegant as a volvo chassis with a Hemi engine and an airconditioner duct taped to the window, then I'll keep my Apple TV. Which I have not had to touch since installing a year ago.