Sonos type kit for movies/videos?
Discussion
I've embraced Sonos and it's changed how I'm enjoying my music (ie I'm listening all over the house, and happily playing long forgotten tracks/albums)... so, is there something similar for movies?
I've got around 300 DVDs and maybe 150 Blu-Rays. Is there a system which will stream these to a couple of TVs in the house, with a nice browsing/catalogue system.
I know there are - but I don't want to be spending days/weeks tweaking it/downloading patches/it not quite working. I just want to encode a DVD/BD, then it just works... just like sonos.
It needs to be girlfriend friendly!
I've got around 300 DVDs and maybe 150 Blu-Rays. Is there a system which will stream these to a couple of TVs in the house, with a nice browsing/catalogue system.
I know there are - but I don't want to be spending days/weeks tweaking it/downloading patches/it not quite working. I just want to encode a DVD/BD, then it just works... just like sonos.
It needs to be girlfriend friendly!
I'm assuming you have a media server with a lot of storage!
I've tried various things over the years but I think I'm now settled on a Roku player (50-100) tiny little box that just seems to work. Install the plex app on it and plex server on your media server and you're away. You can also stream from the plex server to an ipad or a PC or laptop and even remote access it (not tried this yet). Control can be via the supplied remote, an I device (or Android) and you can start on one device and finish on another. I like the ability to find a movie on the ipad then tell it to play on the TV.
I've also tried the Apple TV which was a slicker interface and felt a bit more quality but wasn't as flexible for my needs. Ok if your films are in an Apple friendly format but itunes isn't the best at managing non music content. You can use the air play via ATV/ipad so that's a plus. It all depends on how deep you are into the apple eco system/way of doing things.
Both will also support Netflix natively, but only the Roku supports BBC iplayer natively. You need to jailbreak the ATV2 to get that. Both have other channels available. ATV is better for renting and buying content directly (itunes). This may of course change if Apple opens up the ATV to 3rd party Apps.
If you like to muck around then xbmx, Boxee and plex can also all offer similar functionality, then you have stuff like popcorn hour full multi-media HTPC and dozens of other media streamers. PS3 and xbox can act as media front ends but don't really have the Wife Acceptance Factor.
I've tried various things over the years but I think I'm now settled on a Roku player (50-100) tiny little box that just seems to work. Install the plex app on it and plex server on your media server and you're away. You can also stream from the plex server to an ipad or a PC or laptop and even remote access it (not tried this yet). Control can be via the supplied remote, an I device (or Android) and you can start on one device and finish on another. I like the ability to find a movie on the ipad then tell it to play on the TV.
I've also tried the Apple TV which was a slicker interface and felt a bit more quality but wasn't as flexible for my needs. Ok if your films are in an Apple friendly format but itunes isn't the best at managing non music content. You can use the air play via ATV/ipad so that's a plus. It all depends on how deep you are into the apple eco system/way of doing things.
Both will also support Netflix natively, but only the Roku supports BBC iplayer natively. You need to jailbreak the ATV2 to get that. Both have other channels available. ATV is better for renting and buying content directly (itunes). This may of course change if Apple opens up the ATV to 3rd party Apps.
If you like to muck around then xbmx, Boxee and plex can also all offer similar functionality, then you have stuff like popcorn hour full multi-media HTPC and dozens of other media streamers. PS3 and xbox can act as media front ends but don't really have the Wife Acceptance Factor.
I dont have a media server, but qill gladly buy one if it works. I currently use a 1tb nas drive for my music.
I've used a Roku before, in America - but just for netflix - and it seemed pretty slick!
So, I guess now I need to buy a pretty basic PC with a ton of HD space and get ripping my DVDs?
I've used a Roku before, in America - but just for netflix - and it seemed pretty slick!
So, I guess now I need to buy a pretty basic PC with a ton of HD space and get ripping my DVDs?
Check out the HP Microserver, there were some excellent deals on this last year. It has 4 drive bays so in theory up to 8TB if you don't RAID. I have 2x2tb and 2x500gb at the moment. It's powerful enough to run my Squeezebox server, Plex, iTunes, photos, a bit torrent client and do backups of my PC's at the same time. Admittedly it's at 98% if I try to transcode anything but it still works.
There is a thread somewhere.
There is a thread somewhere.
My recommendation would be to go for an Acer Revo RL70 or a Lenovo Q180 depending on budget. Either will run OpenELEC (XBMC) and will work like an appliance (rather than a nerdy PC) so has Wife friendly credentials.
Alternatively an Acer Revo R3700 will run OpenELEC perfectly but they're discontinued now.
All the above will use a NAS or external storage for movies and will do 1080p stuff without problems.
Alternatively an Acer Revo R3700 will run OpenELEC perfectly but they're discontinued now.
All the above will use a NAS or external storage for movies and will do 1080p stuff without problems.
Aye, your budget determines a lot.
High end = Phone a Bang & Olufsen or Loewe dealer and have them quote you for a beautiful solution. (The B&O movie management software is surprisingly nice.)
Low end = Buy a Mac Mini, hide it in a nice cabinet under your TV and install Plex. (Might need to be a PC/Linux alternative if you need Blu-Ray ripping)
There’s plenty of options in the middle somewhere, obviously.
High end = Phone a Bang & Olufsen or Loewe dealer and have them quote you for a beautiful solution. (The B&O movie management software is surprisingly nice.)
Low end = Buy a Mac Mini, hide it in a nice cabinet under your TV and install Plex. (Might need to be a PC/Linux alternative if you need Blu-Ray ripping)
There’s plenty of options in the middle somewhere, obviously.
I'd hope to spend maybe £1000-1500 maximum to get it up and running, then add extra HDDs to it as I fill it up.
Something else I'm looking into, the flat I'm buying for it has cat5 cabling throughout, so might make use of this, rather than wireless - although I'm not 100% sure where all of the sockets are at the moment.
I'll only need it in 2 rooms really (maybe 3 in the future); it is as much about doing away with DVDs/BDs and nicely cataloguing all of my films, than anything else (and being able to build a film library over the next few years).
Something else I'm looking into, the flat I'm buying for it has cat5 cabling throughout, so might make use of this, rather than wireless - although I'm not 100% sure where all of the sockets are at the moment.
I'll only need it in 2 rooms really (maybe 3 in the future); it is as much about doing away with DVDs/BDs and nicely cataloguing all of my films, than anything else (and being able to build a film library over the next few years).
Maxf said:
I'd hope to spend maybe £1000-1500 maximum to get it up and running, then add extra HDDs to it as I fill it up.
That's quite a healthy budget for this.One option would be to run a PC/Mac somewhere with iTunes on it and then buy an Apple TV (1080p version) for each room. They'll share your movies from the main PC with a nice interface that you can also use to rent movies from iTunes or watch stuff on NetFlix.
You wouldn't need a particularly powerful PC and I'd probably get
- £300 (after cashback) - HP Microserver ( This would do nicely) with 4GB RAM, Windows Home Server and 2x1TB disks with room to add more. Maybe get the company to put a bundle together with whatever storage you need
- Free - Run iTunes from the Microserver
- 2x£100 - Buy two Apple TVs
- Free - Put all your music on the Microserver in iTunes format so you have the option of playing via Sonos or the AppleTVs
Maxf said:
I'm reasonably invested in Apple already, so a Mac solution would be nice. However, I always assumed that the best media servers were windows based?
I would still urge you to consider the Microserver to act as your NAS (I'm picking Windows Home Server so you can run iTunes on it. Otherwise I'd recommend FreeNAS).If you use a Mac Mini then you'll have redundancy on the disk unless you buy the server version (£££) and you'll therefore need an external disk to backup your media in case of data loss.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Have to say, it looks bloomin’ awesome on one of their giant screens. The 85" 3D demonstrator in my local store runs it.My budget’s at the other end of the scale, sadly. I’m happly running Plex on my old Mac Mini hooked up to a 42" Samsung. I do have to use a PS3 for Blu-Ray and for 3D though, since Macs don’t support it.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
It totally depends on the client and the system the film needs to be played on. There is nothing to rival a BluRay streaming wise at the moment and if you have just spent a decent whack on a home cinema then streaming crap through it makes no sense. We still sell a lot of them although usually alongside Apple TV's etc. I do agree streaming has to be the future though hence Kaleidescape dipping their toe in with the online store.Laughing at B&O being high end! They aren't they are just a collection of shiny boxes put in a room.
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