May 9, 201016 yr Guys, I just bought myself an unRaid server and I want to know what my options are for connecting it to the tv so that I don't have to do what I do now which is put my movies on a passport drive and connecting it to the WD TV. SImple enough but I'm very lazy and dont' even want to do that. I will have a laptop with wifi and touch screen and a workstation apart from the unraid if that matters. Oh, and if you reply, please keep it simple as I'm a bit of a dumbass! Thanks George
May 9, 201016 yr I thought the WD TV can stream movies from samba fileshares. If that's true, you configure your WD TV to use those fileshares.
May 9, 201016 yr Another thing you can try is using an Acer Aspire Revo as a HTPC. If you install XBMC Live it will play just about anything you throw at it. There are a few members on the board that are doing this (JoeL, Rajahal to name a few). I have XBMC running on an old xbox which works great for standard def stuff but is limited in the HD it can handle. The xbox just can keep up.
May 9, 201016 yr If your laptop is up to snuff. You might be able to use that with XBMC and a VGA cable to your monitor. Set up a share on unRAID and have the laptop access the share. You can download a windows version or test it with a Live! Bootable CD version. Once you determine if that works well enough, you can consider a nettop box and install XBMC Live! there. I built a HTPC, dropped in an SSD and installed XBMC Live! on the SSD. Boots up in less then 20 seconds, ready to serve. I've tried all sorts of media boxes over the past few years. XBMC has been my favorite. I should have looked into it sooner, I never would have purchased the other media boxes.
May 9, 201016 yr I thought the WD TV can stream movies from samba fileshares. If that's true, you configure your WD TV to use those fileshares. That's more or less correct. I use a WDTV with modified firmware and NFS fileshares. The first version of the WDTV does not come with network access, but with modified firmware and a USB network adapter it can be used with either samba or NFS shares. But NFS is necessary for most HD video. The newer WDTV Live model includes network access out of the box. See: http://wdtvforum.com/ http://wiki.wdtv.org/doku.php http://wdlxtv.com/
May 10, 201016 yr Author Prostuff, the Revo will cost more than the WD TV Live. Weebo, that was pretty much Greek to me Can I just do the WD TV Live, hook the network cable between it and the unraid, fire up the WD TV Live and it'll see the unraid and I'll be done with it or not? Thanks guys George
May 10, 201016 yr My understanding is that XBMC cannot yet handle the BLU Ray Hi Def audio streams yet. By handle I mean provide them is a non-transcoded lossless bistream. I am also told that it is a hardware software problem. I believe I know how to solve it hardware wise but the card to do so costs more than the entire PC it would go into.
May 10, 201016 yr My understanding is that XBMC cannot yet handle the BLU Ray Hi Def audio streams yet. By handle I mean provide them is a non-transcoded lossless bistream. I am also told that it is a hardware software problem. I believe I know how to solve it hardware wise but the card to do so costs more than the entire PC it would go into. Pretty sure this has now been resolved. (and yes it requires specific hardware)
May 10, 201016 yr Chris, Do youi possiblky have a reference or link to someone who had done it, in particular the hardware they are using. The hardware I found to do this (HDMI sound card, that takes in HDMI video from graphics card and produces hdmi 1.3a output) is well over $200
May 10, 201016 yr My understanding is that XBMC cannot yet handle the BLU Ray Hi Def audio streams yet. By handle I mean provide them is a non-transcoded lossless bistream. I am also told that it is a hardware software problem. I believe I know how to solve it hardware wise but the card to do so costs more than the entire PC it would go into. Perhaps something like this hdmi switch that provides digital coax and optical s/pdif output. You could feed that to the appropriate pre/pro or receiver. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=5557&seq=1&format=2
May 10, 201016 yr Chris, Do youi possiblky have a reference or link to someone who had done it, in particular the hardware they are using. The hardware I found to do this (HDMI sound card, that takes in HDMI video from graphics card and produces hdmi 1.3a output) is well over $200 Here's the post I found before I think :- http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=59877&highlight=uncompressed+audio I haven't tried it because I don't have a compatible receiver.
May 10, 201016 yr Chris, Do youi possiblky have a reference or link to someone who had done it, in particular the hardware they are using. The hardware I found to do this (HDMI sound card, that takes in HDMI video from graphics card and produces hdmi 1.3a output) is well over $200 The new ATI HD 5xxx series video cards have the protected audio path so they can do bitstreamed HD audio. I think something like a HD5450 isn't much, maybe $50. Peter
May 10, 201016 yr Can I just do the WD TV Live, hook the network cable between it and the unraid, fire up the WD TV Live and it'll see the unraid and I'll be done with it or not? George, I believe you would plug both the WDTV Live and your unRAID server into a router or switch. That way you can transfer files from your workstation or laptop to unRAID as well. I hope it will be plug-n-play, but I don't know for sure since I've never dealt with a WDTV Live personally. I can guarantee that the Revo running XBMC Live is plug-n-play, since that's what I use at home. I understand it is nearly double the price, though. It also has the disadvantage of not being able to be turned on via the remote (at least as far as I can tell). What WeeboTech was saying is that you can use your laptop to test out XBMC to see if you like it or not. If you do like it, then you can buy a Revo and go from there. However, it sounds like the WDTV Live is probably your best option since you don't want to mess around too much.
May 10, 201016 yr The WDTV Live (either directly connected or via switch) is going to be the easiest option. For what it's worth, my local Costco had them for $109. Same price as on Newegg. I did similar to another poster, and just added a USB ethernet adapter ($20) and a 2GB flash drive ($10) to my older-style WDTV and it essentially has similar capabilities as the Live does now. You might consider that option if you don't want to drop the $100+ on the Live. One of several enhanced firmwares can be found here: http://b-rad.cc/wdlxtv/ So in short, yes, the WDTV Live will solve your problem, but you may be able to get away cheaper if you want, since you already own a WDTV.
May 10, 201016 yr Lionel, Chris Thanks for the replies. The 5450 looks like it might fill my bill. I just want unmodified video and audio so I can feed my Pre/Pro which will do all the video scaling de-interlacing etc. and all audio decoding. What bothers me about each card I have seen is that they are geared towards games fed directly to a monitor, as opposed to HDTV with a processor between the player and the display. Also the frame rates I have seen spec'd in the reviews do not come near 60fps and some only approach 18-20fps. I was looking for higher frame rates to support 3D as I suspect 3D may end up at 120 fps with a 60fps to each eye. If I feed a BR disk at 24 fps then what I want is that stream untouched at 24fps. Like wise for a DVD at 480i 30fps or 60fps which is its native resolution. I guess I am looking for a "Pass through" card but can not find one!
May 13, 201016 yr Author THanks boys. I have a friend that wants the regular WD TV so I'll just get the live and be done with it. I need simple. I'm too stupid to do the other stuff nor do I want to buy yet another computer AND, I am REALLY happy with my WD TV. Much more so than the Iomega Screenplay piece of $hit of which I have had FOUR units and none work and STILL no refund!
May 13, 201016 yr Author Alright boys ,maybe this is something yall can use.. http://tanga.com/products/ultra-slim-3-port-hdmi-switch-w-remote-control
May 13, 201016 yr Guys, I just bought myself an unRaid server and I want to know what my options are for connecting it to the tv so that I don't have to do what I do now which is put my movies on a passport drive and connecting it to the WD TV. SImple enough but I'm very lazy and dont' even want to do that. I will have a laptop with wifi and touch screen and a workstation apart from the unraid if that matters. Oh, and if you reply, please keep it simple as I'm a bit of a dumbass! Thanks George ....so the goal is to present the media/movies on your unRAID server in a way that is accessible by your TV set in a local fashion, right? If you have a wireless setup at your place and are able to use a USB stick or drive for media, why not try this: http://hsti.com/product.php Edit: Their support forum claims that it will work with a WDTV... I am looking forward to get my hands on one of these as soon as they are available in good old Europe BTW: European Broadband/WiFi Router Manufacturer AVM has released a similar thing for their old wireless G USB-Stick...they call it "Streaming Stick" and they offer a firmware upgrade for free. Downside is, that it works only in conjunction with one of their top-notch routers, like the Fritz!Box 7270.
May 13, 201016 yr Looks like a neat device, but I doubt that it will be able to handle full HD video. For SD it should be fine, though.
May 14, 201016 yr Looks like a neat device, but I doubt that it will be able to handle full HD video. For SD it should be fine, though. Yes, sort of. There currently seems to be a limit of 1TB per share and 4GB per file. The first can be overcome by switching shares (the device has it's own web based config, so you'll be controlling it remotely without the need of (un-/re-)plugging it. For the second you'll probably apply some "DivX" to your movies... The thingy is brand new...according to their forum, the limits should be resolved with one of the future firmware upgrades. The AVM solution I mentioned is able to connect to and stream media from a UPnP media server....
May 14, 201016 yr It also has the disadvantage of not being able to be turned on via the remote (at least as far as I can tell). Sure ya can, if you configure it to sleep you can wake it via remote.
May 14, 201016 yr I've messed around with that, but it doesn't sleep, it just turns completely off after a while. Can you point me in the right direction to get that working? It also has the disadvantage of not being able to be turned on via the remote (at least as far as I can tell). Sure ya can, if you configure it to sleep you can wake it via remote.
May 14, 201016 yr In my case, all I needed to do was set it in the Power Savings Settings (http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=System_Settings). Once set to 'sleep' instead of 'off', the power button on my Harmony turns it on/off without fail... I've messed around with that, but it doesn't sleep, it just turns completely off after a while. Can you point me in the right direction to get that working? It also has the disadvantage of not being able to be turned on via the remote (at least as far as I can tell). Sure ya can, if you configure it to sleep you can wake it via remote.
May 17, 201016 yr Author Thanks Ford. I got the WD TV live on order so I'll try that first. Why do you have to wait till it's available in Europe? Just get it from here.. George
May 17, 201016 yr Why do you have to wait till it's available in Europe? Just get it from here.. ...they currently do not ship to other countries than the US and Canada :'(
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