Does anyone know of a solution for playing Netflix, Hulu, and streaming 1080p MKV Bluray rips over my home network? I know people are going to say I need to get a Mac Mini or build a computer for that purpose, but I'd like to see if there is a cheaper route (i.e. ATV2, Roku, etc). Thanks.
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Solution for Netflix, Hulu, and 1080p Bluray Rips
- Thread starter mrhat
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrhat
Can it stream 1080p MKV's over my network?
The Roku Media Player channel doesn't stream over your network. You need to attach a USB drive to the box. Reviews of this feature have been pretty negative.
Originally Posted by mrhat
Can it stream 1080p MKV's over my network?
The Roku Media Player channel doesn't stream over your network. You need to attach a USB drive to the box. Reviews of this feature have been pretty negative.
Boxee Box will choke on many Blu-ray rips, but I am not aware of a set top type of device better than it is at those types of files.
I have streamed full blu ray rips at 1080p to the boxee box amd I haven't experienced any issues. These are full unaltered rips straight from the disk that range from 30 to 40gb. The only issue I know of is the hd audio bug that affects true hd and dts hd tracks.
A cheap PC shouldn't cost more than a few hundreds so if you want maximum compatibility, it's not actually a bad investment.
I know I could do a cheap PC and I've thought of that, but I would want it to work like a stand-alone box for ease of use for others who aren't as computer savvy, i.e. I would want it to be able to boot directly into the whichever media program is used (Plex, XBMC, Boxee, etc.) and then be able to access Netflix/Hulu/network files all within that program without requiring exiting out of one program and going to another.
Get the latest model WDTV Live Streaming Media Player (or the older WDTV Live Plus as the new model seems to be in short supply).
I have the WDTV Live. That model doesn't have Netflix, Hulu, etc., but it's great at streaming almost media type (including full bandwidth Blu-Ray rips) from my local network.
At first I had written off WD's offerings, but I just took a look at them and they seem to be able to much of what I want. How's the interface? Any problems with yours?
Honestly dude I would just make a cheap Hackintosh and put 2TB in there with awesome software called Plex. By far the best out there. It's like a giant iPad, like there are apps for Netflix, Hulu and such.
If you can't get a Hackintosh up then build a PC with Boxee. Edit: Like Plex but not the best interface, good but not the best.
If you can't get a Hackintosh up then build a PC with Boxee. Edit: Like Plex but not the best interface, good but not the best.
The interface is pretty basic. Definitely not as pretty as the ATV, and it doesn't do much with metadata. It has a couple of different modes you can use it in, but I usually just browse into the folder on my shared disk with the video I want to play and select it.
Problems? Mine used to hang often when connecting to my Mac. However, with the latest firmware, this rarely if ever happens to me now.
