What media player do you use?

[GFOviedo]

I use a Dune D1 with Zappiti in the living room with the 7.1 surround sound, and a PCH-A210 with YAMJ for the master bedroom.

[PeterB]

I need to investigate whether powernow-k8 works with the E450 processor, and whether it is included in the OpenELEC Fusion build.

 

Yes, powernow is included and working - the problem is that the default setting is 'performance', which means that the processor runs at full speed all the time.  If I set it to 'conservative', the clock frequency will go down to half speed, and the cpu temperature drops by at least 2C.  Even playing a 1080p video, the processors run at 70% capacity (of 200%), when clocked at 825MHz.  If the clock is increased to 1650MHz, then the processor usage drops to 40%.

[skank]

 

I haven't investigated games - I have a Wii and Xbox 360/Kinect for games.

 

It seems you can launch wii games from xbmc, and you dont need your wii hardware anymore

[opentoe]

I currently have popcornhour c-200, which I've been using for 2 years now, and before that, i had another popcornhour product...

 

I'm happy with it, but suffering with manual jukebox creation (YAMJ).

 

I bought a Boxee, but didn't use it much.....

 

I also tried XBMC, i like it....

 

also Plex, I like a lot...

 

My plan is to build a small system (probably a MacMini) dedicated to plex only, with a remote control....

 

 

Who the heck wants to run a whole computer to stream your media content? Once I got a Dune and Popcorn Hour, I never looked back.

[PeterB]

 

I haven't investigated games - I have a Wii and Xbox 360/Kinect for games.

 

It seems you can launch wii games from xbmc, and you dont need your wii hardware anymore

 

Yes, but only by quitting the xbmc process, which you can't do with OpenELEC.  However, there does seem to be a promise that games emulators will become a priority after OpenELEC 2.0 goes final.

 

OT:  Are you the same Skank who posts in xbmc forums?

[PeterB]

Who the heck wants to run a whole computer to stream your media content?

 

I do!  Anyway, what's a 'whole computer'?  I have a mother board (integrated processor), a couple of ram sticks I had in my 'old parts' box, and a gash psu - now it's functioning as an htpc.  I may get a small case for it, or I might simply fix the mobo to the TV bracket.

 

Once I got a Dune and Popcorn Hour, I never looked back.

 

My OpenELEC system is already doing all that my C200 was doing, and more.  I'm not expecting to go back to a PCH.

[Influencer]

I've looked at the plug-and-play types like PCH, WD Live(yes I said I have it, but it was free), Dune. I've looked for something that is dead simple for my parents, and one for my sons room(where the WD is), but I don't want to give up the pretty interfaces that other "htpc" options give. I know some of the mentioned PnP's have nice interfaces, but from what I've seen(and haven't researched too much) they require very specific folder structures, and are not very customizable.

 

For this reason, my preferred choice is a custom built htpc, I can have it do as much(or as little) as I want. Like starting this week I'm finally setting the HTPC in the living room up for all of the wonderful emulators so I can play the games I grew up with. Reason for this is I just bought my 5 year old super mario 64 DS and have played a few levels with him, and it brought back fond memories.

 

Right now I have a Micro-ATX htpc in the living room, but am looking at going for a smaller, mini-itx type build, just haven't had the time to research them.

[skank]

 

I haven't investigated games - I have a Wii and Xbox 360/Kinect for games.

 

It seems you can launch wii games from xbmc, and you dont need your wii hardware anymore

 

Yes, but only by quitting the xbmc process, which you can't do with OpenELEC.  However, there does seem to be a promise that games emulators will become a priority after OpenELEC 2.0 goes final.

 

OT:  Are you the same Skank who posts in xbmc forums?

 

yep thats me

[skank]

I currently have popcornhour c-200, which I've been using for 2 years now, and before that, i had another popcornhour product...

 

I'm happy with it, but suffering with manual jukebox creation (YAMJ).

 

I bought a Boxee, but didn't use it much.....

 

I also tried XBMC, i like it....

 

also Plex, I like a lot...

 

My plan is to build a small system (probably a MacMini) dedicated to plex only, with a remote control....

 

 

Who the heck wants to run a whole computer to stream your media content? Once I got a Dune and Popcorn Hour, I never looked back.

 

what do you think your dune is?

[opentoe]

I currently have popcornhour c-200, which I've been using for 2 years now, and before that, i had another popcornhour product...

 

I'm happy with it, but suffering with manual jukebox creation (YAMJ).

 

I bought a Boxee, but didn't use it much.....

 

I also tried XBMC, i like it....

 

also Plex, I like a lot...

 

My plan is to build a small system (probably a MacMini) dedicated to plex only, with a remote control....

 

 

Who the heck wants to run a whole computer to stream your media content? Once I got a Dune and Popcorn Hour, I never looked back.

 

what do you think your dune is?

 

 

Then my electric toothbrush is a computer. Anyone can say that anything with a logic solid state board is a computer. An HTPC "IS" a computer in the sense that when people say "computer" they think of a desktop type computer. If you look at a media player like the Dune or similar you don't think "desktop computer". I'm jaded I guess. I got tired of running Windows updates all the time, keeping anti-virus stuff up to date, just the same old crap of keeping / maintaining another "desktop computer" just to watch movies got tired. My Dune / Popcorn can be turned off for weeks at a time and when I power it back up I don't have to worry about a hard drive booting, running updates, drivers, etc....it it just too much work for me. If you link to tinker and spend time doing that stuff then maybe an HTPC (home theather personal computer) might be the thing for you. I use my Dune / Popcorn to play media files. Audio and video. If there was something an HTPC could do much more better then a stand alone media player like a Dune then I must have missed it.

 

Also I have noticed most people run an HTPC for one reason over a single type media player, the jukebox interface. Fortunately for me I'm old school and view my movie lists by folder/file style. No jukebox or pretty pictures. Yea, they still are all organized via a backend program but I don't care for a pretty UI. I'd rather have superior video playback  and audio then anything.

 

Out of curiosity what are the reasons why people choose to run a complete HTPC over a media player like the Dune?

 

 

[PeterB]

...

An HTPC "IS" a computer in the sense that when people say "computer" they think of a desktop type computer. If you look at a media player like the Dune or similar you don't think "desktop computer". I'm jaded I guess. I got tired of running Windows updates all the time, keeping anti-virus stuff up to date, just the same old crap of keeping / maintaining another "desktop computer" just to watch movies got tired.

 

Why do so many people equate "computer" with "Windows"?  I hate Microsoft/Windows with a passion - I don't have any computer running Windows.

 

My HTPC is very similar to an unRAID system - it boots from a memory stick and runs a dedicated Linux build.  It has no hard drive, it has no need for 'updates all the time' or any 'anti-virus stuff'.

 

My Dune / Popcorn can be turned off for weeks at a time and when I power it back up I don't have to worry about a hard drive booting, running updates, drivers, etc....

 

... exactly the same as my OpenELEC htpc!

 

it it just too much work for me.

 

No hard work here.

 

If you link to tinker and spend time doing that stuff then maybe an HTPC (home theather personal computer) might be the thing for you. I use my Dune / Popcorn to play media files. Audio and video. If there was something an HTPC could do much more better then a stand alone media player like a Dune then I must have missed it.

 

I'm not familiar with Dune, but I know that my htpc does several things better than my Popcorns.  And yes, I do like to tinker - in order to make things work the way I want them to work.  I'm sure that all these big companies producing proprietary products do their market research but, clearly, they don't ask for my opinions, or those of like-minded potential customers.

 

Also I have noticed most people run an HTPC for one reason over a single type media player, the jukebox interface. Fortunately for me I'm old school and view my movie lists by folder/file style. No jukebox or pretty pictures. Yea, they still are all organized via a backend program but I don't care for a pretty UI. I'd rather have superior video playback  and audio then anything.

 

Sure, quality of playback is a very desirable attribute for any media player. Fortunately, my htpc is better than my 200 series Popcorns in this respect.  I have some movie files in my collection which exhibit random, but regular, 'stutter' when played on the Popcorns.  This has never been properly fixed in the Popcorn firmware - OpenELEC plays these files perfectly.

 

I do like a jukebox interface - I cannot remember the details of every movie stored on my unRAID server - it is very useful to be able to select a movie by genre, or lead actor, or director or ....  The only jukebox interface I found to my liking on Popcorn (significantly better than the jukebox which was recently added to the standard Popcorn build) has very sporadic development and still has some flaws.  The interface on OpenELEC is much more to my liking, and is customisable.

 

Out of curiosity what are the reasons why people choose to run a complete HTPC over a media player like the Dune?

 

Well ... for one thing, you're not tied to proprietary hardware.  I can have a working Gigabit ethernet interface - unlike the Popcorn where the system hangs if you leave it set to auto speed selection.

 

Also, I've already had to replace the psu in my C200 once.  Now the replacement is showing signs of failing - and I have to order replacements through Popcorn.  With my htpc, I can walk into any computer store and buy a replacement off the shelf, if it becomes necessary.  However, I'm not accustomed to my computer psu's failing at less than two years on a regular basis.

 

The remote for my C200 failed recently, necessitating the purchase of a replacement through Popcorn.  I can control my htpc with my TV remote - no more fiddling with one remote to control volume etc, and another remote to control the player features.

 

From a point where I was a very enthusiastic supporter of Popcorn a few years ago, in the unfounded belief that all the shortcomings would be fixed, I now believe that I will never buy another Popcorn product.

[Influencer]

This is the biggest difference.

 

Some people want something that just works, no frills, just plain works.

 

Others like the added features, the jukebox features. These largely "just work" but may require, or atleast give the option to tinker.

 

I myself am a tinkerer, whether it is my car, dirtbikes, a door that doesn't shut just right, or my home media experience. I absolutely love to mess with features.

 

I even find myself bored with my setup even though everything works perfectly. My unraid server works without a hitch, as do all of my media players, yet I find myself planning to try out esco(with no good reason to use it) as well as try other media players again in the next few weeks. I just can't resist the temptation to tinker with it. Therefore I am usually put off by the likes of roku. Only interest I have in something that just works with little to no configuring is for the kids room, and only then because kids will be kids and could blow up a bomb shelter without trying.

 

I've never looked hard at dune, but I wouldnt consider it a computer, much as my DVD player or my trusty 4 head hi-fi VCR will never be considered a computer. Granted the dune will be more like a computer.

 

Everyone will always have their own opinion on the best players, the important thing is we have the different products that even give us the reason to have this never-ending debate.

 

But hey, I love to tinker, so the more options I have, the better

[sureguy]

To me the problem with standalone media players, vs a full fledged computer with an open source product, is that the manufacturers have a disincentive to release new firmware to support newer codecs.  All they have to do is say that the current hardware can't support the new features, but hey, our new product has capable hardware, upgrade and you'll be fine.

 

With products like Openelec, Plex, XBMC there isn't any incentive to make the product less capable.

[PeterB]

Some people want something that just works, no frills, just plain works.

 

I guess that the difference between 'us' and the masses is that I expect my high-tech appliances to work in a way that I find intuitive, rather than me having to adapt to the way that those items happen to work because, as an IT professional, I know that it is possible.

 

I even find myself bored with my setup even though everything works perfectly. My unraid server works without a hitch, as do all of my media players, yet I find myself planning to try out esco(with no good reason to use it) as well as try other media players again in the next few weeks.

 

I guess that is how I came to OpenELEC.  I was on the point of buying into the latest range of devices from Popcorn - the 300 series - but, partly because of posts on here referring to xbmc, I thought that I would spend an evening investigating xbmc by installing it on my desktop computer.  From that evening, there was no return!

[tboggie]

Popcorn Hour A-210 & Apple 2 (Netflix Only) - LivingRoom

Popcorn Hour A-300, Apple 1 jailbroken & Apple 2 (Netflix Only) - BedRoom

WDTV Live Streaming Media Player - Guest Room

 

Idevices can access all my media via UnRAID (Plex Server)

 

@ XBMC

A while ago, i tried XMBC with Aeon Skin (nice jukebox btw) but it could not handle some of my movies with HD audio. Any idea if xbmc can now handle BDMV files and DTS-MA & TrueHD passthrough?

[HiSoC8Y]

Hello

 

I added few other media players in the list, found them during your discussion in this thread.

 

 

[chickensoup]

Just a quick note on the topic of standalone players & them forcing you to upgrade to support new codecs etc.

 

The WDTV Live's I have work great if you don't want all the cover art/thumbs etc. They seem to do regular f/w updates which include support for different codecs as they are released as well as minor bug fixes or improvements. Personally I have converted from this to XBMC/Openelec + mySQL on unRAID hosting the thumbs, coverart etc. Keeps all the HTPCs in sync and gives me the pretty thumbs. The XBMC laptop that is in our bedroom is controlled with the iPad app XBMoteC which lets you view your entire library; including thumbs and synopsis, select anything to play while xbmc is sitting on the main menu & doubles as a remote control if you feel like browsing with the XBMC UI. Works a treat The only thing I want to add is a standalone remote control as the XBMoteC remote control function isn't overly great. On that note...

 

I can control my htpc with my TV remote - no more fiddling with one remote to control volume etc, and another remote to control the player features.

 

How do you do this? Universal remote or factory TV remote?

[Influencer]

Most TVs support cec (consumer electronic communications IIRC). This allows the remote to control components connected via hdmi, as long as the component supports it. For xbmc there is a plugin I believe, but you have to purchase a pulse-eight cec converter to use it with your xbmc installation.

[PeterB]

I can control my htpc with my TV remote - no more fiddling with one remote to control volume etc, and another remote to control the player features.

 

How do you do this? Universal remote or factory TV remote?

 

Factory TV remote and a Pulse8 cec-usb interface on the OpenELEC box.  If your TV remote includes buttons to control Home Theatre/DVD player and your TV implements cec (Bravia Sync/ Viera Link/Anynet+ etc), then it should work.

[Bizarroterl]

@ XBMC

A while ago, i tried XMBC with Aeon Skin (nice jukebox btw) but it could not handle some of my movies with HD audio. Any idea if xbmc can now handle BDMV files and DTS-MA & TrueHD passthrough?

 

There was a project to update audio in XBMC (Audioengine).    It was released into the nightlies and is available now.  It'll do most of the HD audio formats.  IIRC the ability to do them is somewhat hardware related and one of the DTS variants wasn't done yet.

[tboggie]

@ XBMC

A while ago, i tried XMBC with Aeon Skin (nice jukebox btw) but it could not handle some of my movies with HD audio. Any idea if xbmc can now handle BDMV files and DTS-MA & TrueHD passthrough?

 

There was a project to update audio in XBMC (Audioengine).    It was released into the nightlies and is available now.  It'll do most of the HD audio formats.  IIRC the ability to do them is somewhat hardware related and one of the DTS variants wasn't done yet.

 

Thanks i'll check it out

[LinuxGuyGary]

I use several,  and would suggest the poll be set to allow multiple votes, if folks care to see a true count.  I would bet most of us use more than one device.

[HiSoC8Y]

hi

 

i tried changing the poll results to multiple, but im not able to.

 

sorry

[Joe L.]

I use several,  and would suggest the poll be set to allow multiple votes, if folks care to see a true count.  I would bet most of us use more than one device.

True.  Also OpenElec is a bundled version of XBMC, so all the votes for it can be added to those for XBMC. 

(it is XBMC bundled with a minimal linux OS, very similar to unRAID in that is has a bzroot and bzimage that are uncompressed into their respective files.)  Other popular XBMC bundles are "xbmcfreak" and "xbmcbuntu"

[Influencer]

I think they can be counted as xbmc by the user but should remain separate, its nice to see which bundle is most popular.

 

I was surprised to see I'm the only person that has voted for mediabrowser, and as I use xbmc as well I chose to vote for MB as its currently what is used in the main viewing area. This is subject to change in the near future though. Now that the house is empty I'm going to finish setting up openelec.