Best media server/player solution - Plex, Twonky, Popcorn Hour, Dune...?

[GDub25]

So I have a digital media collection of about 6TB, 95% movies and TV shows, that is growing fast.  After searching around I've come across unRaid which seems to be a very popular solution for storing large media collections.  It looks like going with unRaid for storing your media is a near perfect solution from a storage standpoint, but when it comes to serving up the media things are not so clear cut.

 

I started out with a couple external hard drives connected to my desktop, and I watched movies on the computer only.  Then I wanted to be able to watch movies on the living room TV and found Playstation 3 Media Server was able to accomplish this.  Now I am building a new house and am looking for a whole-home media solution with all the movies and TV shows accessable from TVs, computers, tablets, smartphones, etc throughout the house.  PS3 Media Server works, but I have seen so many alternatives that I can't possibly keep them all strait.  Plus, when I do read about them in various forums there is so much abbreviating for multiple devices and terms that it's very hard to figure out what people are talking about sometimes.  From reading the "How are you using unRaid" sticky it's clear that most of you guys are storing large media libraries, so what hardware/software are you using to watch the content?  What have you tried, liked, disliked...?  I don't really even know about all the possible options, but what I see people using are XBMC, Plex, PS3 Media Server, PopCorn Hour, Dune, Yet Another Media Jukebox, Twonky, VLC...

 

Aspects that I'm particularly interested in and assume are shared interest by many others judging from the numerous forum threads I've read on the subject are:

 

1.  Audio compatibility with the lossless formats such as True HD, Master Audio, ect, as well as full surround sound support.

2.  3D compatibility

3.  BDMV and DVD ISO menu support.  I know many of the applications will play the the video from the file but won't support the menus.

4.  Metadata for everything and an easy to use interface, not something that will just play a file (maybe the case with the Dune?)

 

Right now I'm looking pretty hard at Plex as it seems to do most of what I need it to and hopefully with futher development will be the complete package.  I'm interested to see the responses becasue I have yet to find any discussion online to help sort this out and since I'm pretty much starting from scratch, I'd like to do it right the first time. 

[joshpond]

I run with 3, soon to be 4 popcorn hour C200s so this is about the C200. I used to use a htpc before I started getting blu-rays.

 

Why? ---- WAF, easy to use.

 

1.  Audio compatibility with the lossless formats such as True HD, Master Audio, ect, as well as full surround sound support.

I believe it does although some of my gear is a little older but it will decode those down to DTS and DD which not all players do.

 

2.  3D compatibility

Only if .mkv with SBS, so no BDMV or .iso

 

3.  BDMV and DVD ISO menu support.  I know many of the applications will play the the video from the file but won't support the menus.

Supports full menus, doesn't just spit out lite menus. Plays folders but I keep all my stuff in BD.isos, easier with just one file

 

4.  Metadata for everything and an easy to use interface, not something that will just play a file (maybe the case with the Dune?)

Does have NMJ which scrapes your data into a nice looking thing but I've never used it.

I use YAMJ currently, the auto scrape if you have named things properly is probably about 95% accurate.

 

Hope that gives a little insight. Can't compare much as I haven't really tried the others.

 

josh

[jumperalex]

FWIW, add Boxee Box to your list of devices.

 

I used to have a Roku HD-XR forever.  used it for Netflix.  For local media I used my BD player.

 

Then I went to Roku HD-XR + Plex: gave me a pretty front end for viewing local content as well as great meta data.  Plex-Unraid is still frankly a bit twitchy and more important, Roku 1 will not do 5.1 sound with Plex or Netflix.  So I looked further ...

 

Then for about a week (aka last week) I tested out a Roku 2 + Plex:  This got me 5.1 sound via Plex as well as Netflix.  But limited to DD5.1 (plex transcodes DTS) ... and Plex-Unraid still flakey.  Also online content is hit and miss (mostly miss) when using Plex-Linux/Roku App because of a lack of Flash/Silverlight capability.

 

If your intent is to use Plex Windows/Mac then you'll have good access to online content and *might* not be limited to DD5.1

 

So I looked further ...

 

And now I am testing a Boxee Box (since Saturday): To use a universal IR remote you need to buy an MCE ir reciever, but it works (so I'm told, I have not done it yet).  It can handle just about any thing you throw at it media wise, and has great online media sources.  There is a current bug in HD audio that is causing drop outs for some people, but I haven't had trouble so far.  I pushed Black Swan BD rip (personally ripped) and used MakeMKV ... it played DTS-HD perfectly for about 20 min before I turned it off.  ETA on new Intel kernel drivers to fix drop-outs is March/April due to DTS/DD/etc certification requirements (per bug tracker).  Final major downer, and your other choices have this as well: no NetFlix 5.1 sound.  So ... I kept the Roku 2 just for NF and use the BoxeeBox for everything else.  The no OEM IR remote annoys me but there is a fix. For local content as well as online stuff it is really quite a winner. 

 

Oh yeah ... I assume it can do 3D since I saw it in in the options setup, but I don't have 3D so I have not paid any attention to how well it handles it.

 

Video_TS ... it does it ... did it last night with the DVD The Aristocrats.  Only thing is you have to then browse via files and not "movies" or "shows" that means no metadata ... but I didn't try an ISO, so that might be my next step as it might give me metadata.

 

BDMV: no idea, but the boxee forums can likely answer your question.  From what I have read, it is hit or miss on many platforms anyway short of full blown HTPC's with PowerDVD installed. And maybe not even then.

 

I tried for a long time to like Plex on Unraid.  I even thought I wasn't suffering fom the problems of others (memory leaks).  But for right now, there is a bug causing transcoder crashing, it does not like DTS-HD, iirc it won't do DVD/BD menus ... oh and you still need something to stream it too like a Roku (unless you hook your TV to the HTPC).  To be fair, I actually like plex's web interface and Roku App UI better than Boxee, but they work on different paraigms and Plex's is more "me" than Boxee.  But Boxee will have a decent WAF.

 

I don't think Plex does any 3d stuff [shrug]

[mbryanr]

FWIW, add Boxee Box to your list of devices.

1.  To use a universal IR remote you need to buy an MCE ir reciever, but it works (so I'm told, I have not done it yet).  

2.  There is a current bug in HD audio that is causing drop outs for some people,

3.  Oh yeah ... I assume it can do 3D since I saw it in in the options setup, but I don't have 3D so I have not paid any attention to how well it handles it.

4.  Video_TS ... it does it ... did it last night with the DVD The Aristocrats.  Only thing is you have to then browse via files and not "movies" or "shows" that means no metadata ... but I didn't try an ISO, so that might be my next step as it might give me metadata.

5.  DDMV: no idea, but the boxee forums can likely answer your question.  From what I have read, it is hit or miss on many platforms anyway short of full blown HTPC's with PowerDVD installed. And maybe not even then.

[shrug]

1.  It works on MCE2 receivers, although the improvements to the IR mapping were rejected by Boxee after Dan Conti left (worked at Microsoft, provided some of the original LIRC code) :-/ http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-8206

2.  http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-7914 <low level kernel issue that required Intel to provide a new SDK..and now requires Dolby recertification>

3.  3D SBS <Vudu also started offering 3D titles>

4. Correct

5.  No menus from a BDMV file structure.

I'd suggest another format for your BDs for ease of use..but your decision.

 

Edit:  Having said that, it is still my favorite media player at this point for "one box that does it all".

btw, I use one of these with my Harmony

 

[jumperalex]

FWIW, add Boxee Box to your list of devices.

1.  To use a universal IR remote you need to buy an MCE ir reciever, but it works (so I'm told, I have not done it yet).  

2.  There is a current bug in HD audio that is causing drop outs for some people,

3.  Oh yeah ... I assume it can do 3D since I saw it in in the options setup, but I don't have 3D so I have not paid any attention to how well it handles it.

4.  Video_TS ... it does it ... did it last night with the DVD The Aristocrats.  Only thing is you have to then browse via files and not "movies" or "shows" that means no metadata ... but I didn't try an ISO, so that might be my next step as it might give me metadata.

5.  DDMV: no idea, but the boxee forums can likely answer your question.  From what I have read, it is hit or miss on many platforms anyway short of full blown HTPC's with PowerDVD installed. And maybe not even then.

[shrug]

1.  It works, although the improvements to the IR mapping were rejected by Boxee. :-/ http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-8206

2.  http://jira.boxee.tv/browse/BOXEE-7914 <low level kernel issue that required Intel to provide a new SDK..and now requires Dolby recertification>

3.  3D SBS <Vudu also started offering 3D titles>

4. Correct

5.  No menus from a BDMV file structure.

I'd suggest another format for your BDs for ease of use..but your decision.

 

Edit:  Having said that, it is still my favorite media player at this point for "one box that does it all".

 

 

1) yeah I saw that thread last night.  The Devs are tards, but that said, BASIC function is still there.  They are just wasting a chance for free help to make boxee better to use with serious remotes [shrug].  IMO the bigger foul is that Ir support isn't built in.  roku 2 has both RF and IR on the unit so my universal just worked.  Confused the hell out of me for a few minutes when I couldn't do the same thing with the Boxee (picture me pointing my boxee remote at my Harmony for it to learn hahah)

 

2) yeah .. I mention that ... and that it isn't ubiquitous [shrug]

 

5) ahh fair enough.  Can it use the .miniios files that DVDFab creates?

 

Finally, great summary of my rather rambling post   ... I'd have written you a shorter post, but i did not have the time ;-)

[GDub25]

Boxee, yeah I forgot I've seen that out there too.  I also forgot to mention the Roku, which I have read about and knew that it has a Plex app.

 

I can already see that this is going to get confusing trying to keep track with the pros and cons of all the options.  Which has 3D, which has menu support, which has surround sound, and then bring in the multitude of online streaming services...

 

I'd like to hear more about the Popcorn Hour.  Sounds like it's pretty solid.  Just visited their website and it looks like it's a set-top box and is a plug and play kind of deal, and watched a youtube video

that demonstrates the user interface pretty well.  Can you change the way you view all your movies to a list type view or are you forced to have the movie covers tiled across the screen?

 

I still need to look into the Boxee a little more but it takes quite a bit of time to read up on these things.  The problem with all these set-top boxes is that they only take care of the one room they're in.  Compare this to something like Plex which can stream the content to phones, laptops and tablets as well.  I've used Plex on my iMac and really like it, but like you pointed out jumperalex, it does have some limitations.  However, I'm still not sure how much of these limitations are Plex and how much are the device Plex is installed on.  I believe using a Mac Mini with Plex installed gives the most features/compatiblity.  But then you're spending a lot more than for a Roku or similar.  When you say Plex and unRaid is still flakey, can you explain.  Do you mean having Plex installed on the unRaid server is causing the problems, or Plex installed somewhere else accessing media on the unRaid server has problems?

 

[jumperalex]

I will save you some time right now with this:  Nothing out there will give you everything you want.  Sadly every single one of the options is still lacking in at least one "low level" feature.  By low-level I mean things that really most people will find desirable, as opposed to other features that perhaps might not be considered important by one person but essential by another. 

 

That said one thing to consider at the least:  Plex is free on both unraid and windows/mac.  So ... any piece of hardware you get, regardless if you use it to support plex (like a Roku) or not does not prevent you from ALSO using plex for the sole purpose of streaming to your Android/iPhone.

 

That said, it appears that Boxee Box does have iPhone support but I honestly have not looked into it because, like 3D, I don't have an iPhone and thus don't care.  But I did notice they have no Android support, hence why I will still turn on Plex when I travel, but leave it off otherwise.

[GDub25]

The more I look into all this I am starting to think one of the set-top boxes is going to be the way to go.  I will have a dedicated theater room in this new house and that's where things get picky.  I would like to have HD audio full surround sound, 3D capability, and Blu-ray menu support for the theater room.  If it weren't for this then it seems Plex would work for everything.  The good thing about Plex is that it can work on the Roku, Samsung and LG smart TVs, iOS devices, android, Mac and Windows, and probably some things I'm forgetting.  The solution may be as you've just described, use something like Boxee, Dune, or PopCorn Hour in the theater room to get my HD audio, Blu-ray menu support and 3D, and then have Plex or something similar to work everything else.  Like has been mentioned, Plex is free and I can certainly try it and if it doesn't satisfy I'm not out anything.

 

The Plex UI is very nice and I'm able to use it first hand on my Mac for free so I know what it's like.  If there were a way to try out a PopCorn Hour or Boxee and see how I like it then that would be great, but I don't know if I could buy one and be able to return it or not.  I need to check on that.

 

 

That said, it appears that Boxee Box does have iPhone support but I honestly have not looked into it because, like 3D, I don't have an iPhone and thus don't care.

 

 

I hear you there.  I don't have any 3D content, nor do I have any Blu-ray image files so looking for something that will handle both of these issues is just me looking to future proof.  I see more and more people using Blu-ray image files which I assume is because storage space is becoming much more affordable.  I see some say that the picture and sound quality are much better using the raw data versus compressed with h264 but I'm not sure.  I can't see a difference on my 50 inch screen, but I am not sure that will hold trye when I get this theater room finished and am projecting the picture onto a 120 inch or larger screen.  As for 3D, I havent seen enough to know if I like it or not, but since so much stuff is being produced in 3D I figure it would be nice to have the option available.

[jumperalex]

I believe the Boxee UI is very similar to the Boxee Box UI ... and Boxee is free I believe.  So again, you can sorta get an idea.

 

And while not always an ideal scenario, Boxee Box is available retail at BB, Target, Walmart ... you can try and return if you don't like it.

[GDub25]

I didn't realize the Boxee Box is sold at Best Buy and other local places.  That's very helpful.  I may start there.  Still want to hear more about the PopCorn Hour, and haven't completely ruled out using Plex with a Mac Mini.  It will support 3D, doesn't have HD audio (yet, may be coming?), and doesn't support Blu-ray menus but it will play the video out of the image file.  Using the mini in the theater room would allow me to have one platform throughout the house that is simple and easy to use which may prove to be more important than HD audio, 3D, etc. 

[jumperalex]

FWIW, if you are talking about whole house efforts, you might want to start looking at things like HDMI matricies (matrixes? hehe) ... buddy of mine has one (my current partner in crime right now when it comes to roku, plex, boxee, boxeebox, evaluation), and it seems to be THE way to go about it.  He has a 4x4 that seems like a really sweet setup.

 

Another thing to keep in mind: the more systems you have the more power they will all draw and the more UI's you deal with the lower the WAF (if that matter) but even if WAF isn't an issue, I know I get annoyed dealing with multiple UI's ... just something to keep in mind as you consider multi device solutions.  Of course this comes from a guy using a Roku 2 for netflix, Boxee Box for all local files + pandora + a few internet streams, and eventually Plex for android streaming.  But that last one doesn't count because I won't really be using their UI anyway.

 

EDIT Matrix mentioned above: octava 4x4 ethernet HDMI matrix

[batt01]

I use a combination of Plex, XBMC in my home.  In my bedroom I run Plex Media Center on my desktop and have a 15ft HDMI going to the TV. It functions as a regular desktop and the dual monitor card lets me use Plex at the same time.

 

In the den I use a Zotac Zbox

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173005

I also have a jailbroken ATV2 running XBMC, I have not gotten around to adding Plex.

The Zotac is tiny and out of sight, mounted to the back of the TV. If you dont mind spending a few more dollar, a full PC will always outperform any set top box. No transcoding issues or problem with flash or silverslight. We no need to transcode, you can go with a less power hunger CPU on your Unraid box. I current run with a Qnap with a 1.6ghz Atom. I will be switching to Unraid when HDD prices come down.

If you use a PC you can also install ATSC tuner(s) for you live TV as well. The Zotac runs WMC7 and I have two ATSC tuners for OTA HD and a Genpix Skywalker DVBS for Satellite TV. All the TV is integrated into WMC7 into a single guide. It family friendly and you seldom need to touch a keyboard or mouse.

[GDub25]

FWIW, if you are talking about whole house efforts, you might want to start looking at things like HDMI matricies (matrixes? hehe) ... buddy of mine has one (my current partner in crime right now when it comes to roku, plex, boxee, boxeebox, evaluation), and it seems to be THE way to go about it.  He has a 4x4 that seems like a really sweet setup.

 

 

I looked into this and don't really see the usefulness of it.  Does someone want to explain what I'm missing?

 

 

Another thing to keep in mind: the more systems you have the more power they will all draw and the more UI's you deal with the lower the WAF (if that matter) but even if WAF isn't an issue, I know I get annoyed dealing with multiple UI's ... just something to keep in mind as you consider multi device solutions.

 

 

This is a huge concern.  I should have included it in my original list of important things to consider in my first post.  The more I think about it the more I am starting the believe having a single system/UI would be worth sacrificing HD audio or menu support for blu-rays.  What I'll probably do is get everything set up and try out something like a popcorn hour or boxee box  and see how much difference the HD audio makes.  If the difference isn't substantial then it would give more reason to stick with something like Plex. 

 

I use a combination of Plex, XBMC in my home.

 

I've used Plex and know what it has to offer.  I like it pretty well and wouldn't mind using it.  I've never used XBMC.  How does it compare to Plex.  They are basically the same type of software right?  Do you think one is clearly better than the other in any way?

 

I've never seen that Zotac Zboc before.  I see that there is an abundance of set top boxes out there, looks like you could pretty much take you pick on which to use.  From what I can tell they all work pretty well.

[squirrellydw]

I use PLEX.  It runs on my Mac Mini which is hooked up to my main TV, I also have an Apple TV (black) that I jailbreaked and installed PLEX on that so I can watch it on my bedroom TV.  I also have the PLEX app for my iPad and iPhone so I can access my media anywhere.  Not sure if it meets all your requirements but it is dead simple to setup and "it just works"

[aht961]

I use both. Plex has its origins in xbmc and somewhat less powerful. It is the only option for iPad/Iphone since one cannot install xbmc on these devices. The plex cannot handle video_ts or mpeg transport stream files for which I need xbmc. In addition linux plug-in for spotify does not function in Plex, xbmc's plugin does function. In short, if I had not have these mobile devices, I would not need Plex at all. I have the following prefences as I wrote in an another thread:

- Plex >> ipad iphone

- XBMC >> all win based players

- Twonky >> whatever media application (dedicated, any html or flash browser), numerous streamers/devices

- AirServer >> ipad iphone when a live conversion required (e.g. From video_ts via ffmpeg)

[mazma]

Being a CableCutter, Plex is the sole provider of media in our house. Does it have flaws, some but it works 95% of the time and seen as its free, thats good enough for me. I went Plex + unRaid because I didn't want to be tied in to just one hardware platform for a media player, and unRaid it a robust and cheap way to build massive storage (ours is 14Tb).

 

Plex combined with unRaid is great, its not for everybody as it does require some hands on at times but its easy enough. Hopefully in the near future Apple will release a Mac Mini that will decode DTS-MA etc, and if they do, its a perfect setup. What I especially love about this setup is when its combined with Sickbeard etc. TV shows automatically appear in Plex without me having to do anything and I can play them on any device in our house!

[GDub25]

mazma, it sounds like you've got the setup that I'm looking to have, Plex on unRaid serving the whole house.  There certainly are some shortcomings (HD audio for example) but I think Plex has the most to offer in the "whole home solution" scenario.  What clients are you running Plex on, Roku, Apple TV, Mini? 

 

As for the Mini not supporting HD audio, I've been wondering if it would be possible to build a hackintosh version of a mini with the proper hardware to allow HD audio.  Or, is the problem not hardware related at all?

[mazma]

Just Mac Mini's and iPad. I'd thought about going the hackintosh route but in the end couldn't be bothered with the build process or any hassles when wanting to upgrade the OS. In the future I'd look for a smart tv with Plex on it or a Roku.

 

I only have two issues with the setup and I'm sure will be fixed going forward. One is the Plex Media Server crashes without warning when run on unRaid, its not very often but it can be annyoying, there's a thread about it in the forum. The other is with HDMI handshaking which has been well discussed on the Plex forums, but there both minor in the grand scheme of things.

[squirrellydw]

I have plex running on my mini and it works great. I have not had any problems with the hdmi handshake.

 

I also have it on my jailbreaked atv2 and use the iOS client on my iPhone an iPad. No problems at all

[mrlittlejeans]

I have two Dune D1's.  They play every file I throw at them.  The only thing it won't do on your list is play 3D frame packed iso/BDMV folders.  If you rip to an mkv with SBS, it will play fine.  That said, 3D media players won't be ubiquitous until the Sigma 8910 chip comes out later this year.  There are some realtek based players right now but reports are they are buggy.

 

One of the great things the Dune does that I think the PCH players don't (I could be wrong but when I did my research they didn't) is decode both Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA HD to PCM if you have an older receiver that doesn't decode the new codecs.  I have one hooked up to just such an old receiver and another down in the theater with a newer prepro that does decode everything.  I use Zappiti as a jukebox and have a 16TB collection.  I couldn't be happier with the Dunes.

 

For hassle free playback, I would stick with either a Dune or a PCH.

 

Check out AVS Forum or www.mpcclub.com for more information on media players.

[GDub25]

Just Mac Mini's and iPad. I'd thought about going the hackintosh route but in the end couldn't be bothered with the build process or any hassles when wanting to upgrade the OS. In the future I'd look for a smart tv with Plex on it or a Roku.

 

I only have two issues with the setup and I'm sure will be fixed going forward. One is the Plex Media Server crashes without warning when run on unRaid, its not very often but it can be annyoying, there's a thread about it in the forum. The other is with HDMI handshaking which has been well discussed on the Plex forums, but there both minor in the grand scheme of things.

 

Good to hear you're happy enough with it to use it in the future with a smart TV or Roku.  I've read all over the unRaid forums about Plex crashing and the memory leak problems.  It seems people are having varying degrees of problems.  If I were fortunate enough to end up with a system that allowed Plex to run for 10-15 days between crashes then I'd be ok with it.  Any more frequently than that and I think I'd start looking for something else.  I'm thinking I'll at least give it a try, Plex is free so why not.

 

 

I have two Dune D1's.  They play every file I throw at them.  The only thing it won't do on your list is play 3D frame packed iso/BDMV folders.  If you rip to an mkv with SBS, it will play fine.  That said, 3D media players won't be ubiquitous until the Sigma 8910 chip comes out later this year.  There are some realtek based players right now but reports are they are buggy.

 

One of the great things the Dune does that I think the PCH players don't (I could be wrong but when I did my research they didn't) is decode both Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA HD to PCM if you have an older receiver that doesn't decode the new codecs.  I have one hooked up to just such an old receiver and another down in the theater with a newer prepro that does decode everything.  I use Zappiti as a jukebox and have a 16TB collection.  I couldn't be happier with the Dunes.

 

For hassle free playback, I would stick with either a Dune or a PCH.

 

Check out AVS Forum or www.mpcclub.com for more information on media players.

 

Good to hear from a Dune user.  Been wondering if anyone was using them.  Seems like they are more in the European market.  From the information I've gathered over the past few weeks reading about this stuff I think I would have to agree with you on the Dune or PCH being the more hassle free options.  The more I weight the options the more I am starting to realize what a maintanance free system is worth.  After all the great information that's been posted here I still don't have a clear choice on what I should go with, but I do think that I have all the information I need to make a very educated decision. 

[batt01]

I have had plex running on a newly built unraid box for about 3 weeks. I have not had nay crashes yet. No issues at all to speak of. It out performs my Atom based Qnap 259.  When hard drive prices come down a bit. I plan on moving all my media to the Unraid box.

[N3MIS15]

I am a long time XBMC user, so my opinions may be bias.

Everything your after can be achieved in XBMC running on windows using external players (XBMC does not officialy support HD audio/BD menus/3D). But if you dont mind a bit of configuration, you can set it up to launch an external player such as powerdvd when you select a BD movie. http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=957966&postcount=1

 

[GDub25]

Well I went and bought a Roku 2 XS and installed the Plex channel and while it looks nice and it does work, it wasn't quite what I expected.  It is a little slow, taking between 30-42 seconds from the time I choose the Plex channel to the time the Plex menu actually loads, and scrolling throught movies is also slow with a .5-1 second pause between each movie.  Having 600+ movies makes slow scrolling a real problem and would actually take me more than 6-7 minutes to scroll all the way through them. 

 

I've decided that whatever I choose it will need to be uniformly used throughout the house.  It will be too much of a hassle to keep up with using two or three different interfaces and it will only complicate things with the rest of the family.  I'll end up spending a lot of time starting movies for my wife and kids if I don't have one system that we can all get used to and learn how to use.  I'm going to try putting Plex on an Apple TV 2 and see if that works any better.  I read that it doesn't have the slow scrolling problem.  I am thinking I may try XBMC or a set top box like the Popcorn Hour, Dune, or Boxee Box.  Only thing with the boxes is that I'd have to buy one for every TV which would be expensive, but if their interface and metadata can come close to hanging with Plex then they may work. 

 

To have XBMC running on every TV in the house, would I need to have a HTPC for every TV, or can it be installed on some of the set top boxes? 

[mazma]

From what I understand the Plex client on Roku isn't as far along as the regular desktop client as it separately developed.