Mede8er v4 FirmWare Update

RazedInBlack

RazedInBlack

RazedInBlack
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Just got this by e-mail:

I felt it was the right time to share the excitement about out new Mede8er release that we have been working on. Our main goal on V4 was to implement HD Audio support for the DD+ hardware and to do our best to improve the general Mede8er experience.

We have had some huge challenges as we had to change to a new SDK (all the normal issues that come with new SDK's) and we also had no Flash memory space left on the Mede8er hardware. To resolve the Flash memory problem we built in support for HFS file system and now the code can be squashed with the net effect of a 50% space saving in the Mede8er Flash. We recognized that our network performance was not up to the market requirements and we have spend a lot of time optimizing this and squeezing every last drop out of our hardware. The improvement in network performance (streaming) is good and we will possibly have one of the better performing Realtek players in terms of network streaming.

To design a GUI that suits everyone is rather challenging and I can also add that its been a lot of weekend and late night work. I think we have more than achieved our design goals after many months of hard work I am pleased to announce that V4 GUI is really looking good.

The browse by cover art has been the highest requested Mede8er user requirement to date, so we decided to implement this functionality but we took this concept one step further. Firstly we designed the wall to be the right size from a normal viewing distance and secondly we made sure that the operational speed was acceptable even over the home network. The ability to custom map folders and shares and consolidate all of these on the wall has made its functionality rather special. We also added the bonus of being able to apply Genre artwork to each shortcut on the wall. We have even allowed for the ability to add custom Genre art to the wall. All in all a very nice experience and I am sure that most of you will enjoy this new functionality.

V4 is basically complete and just needs to pass the Alpha test stage and then it will be released to the Beta team for further testing. Unless we come across a curve ball we are hoping to be on track for a public release in September.
At this point I would like to thank Insomniac , Maasbommel and Getsko for their time spent and valuable input in getting V4 to this stage.

Highlights of V4

• Support Dolby True HD and DTS MA passthrough - DD+ hardware
• New “Video Wall” with mapped share functionality
• New GUI
• Improved network streaming performance (both Samba & NFS / DD+ and DD hardware)
• Improved and fixed SAMBA NTFS write (NAS Mode)
• Shoutcast Radio API implementation
• New SDK and general improvement and bug fix
• Picture Thumbnail Viewer
• Improved upsampled picture quality SD content

Video Wall Demo swf
http://megaswf.com/serve/44912/
Click to expand...
 
@AstroTurf this is a media player, not recorder although I really hope that one day we'll be able to get a device that we can plug into our HD PVRs and record content via HDMI, I seriously doubt that will happen.

But onto the topic at hand, I am very excited about the new firmware and I cannot wait for it to be released. I've had my Mede8er since November last year and I've never once regretted my decision in buying it and just by the fact that they have put so much effort into this release, is a stark reminder of the shear committment they have in their product. Of course we'll see how it plays come release, but they have always released stable firmware updates in the past and I trust that this will be no different.
 
I also have a mede8er and very happy with it... Looking forward to the new firmware...

For Recording I have a Tivo, works well and automatically records all my series.. Check out the TivoZA forum or the Quick Tour for more info...

DTSV Decoder connects to the Tivo and the Tivo to your Tv, also the tivo can change the channels on the dstv decoder, you are also able to pause/rewind/etc 'live' tv
 
Yep, combine the two at a reasonable price and I will be interested.

My OLD PC does all of the above and more. I can for the price of a tivo and a mede8er (along with drives) get a HD capable pc, load it with one of the many free media centres out there and have much more flexibility and functionality than 2 separate devices.
 
PostmanPot said:
Designing a superior unit took extra time. ;)
Click to expand...

Are you referring to hardware? Because then that cannot be used as an argument here wink or no wink :)

I just felt the need to comment as I have read much on other threads about the Mede8er firmware being far superior to that of the ACRyan. I found it interesting reading that they are only talking about releasing this now while the ACRyan firmware for the new SDK came out almost a month ago. Yes, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done on it to fix some bugs but from the sounds of this Mede8er one they expect much the same problems.

Or are they just piggy backing on the ACRyan one? ;)
 
AstroTurf said:
Yep, combine the two at a reasonable price and I will be interested.

My OLD PC does all of the above and more. I can for the price of a tivo and a mede8er (along with drives) get a HD capable pc, load it with one of the many free media centres out there and have much more flexibility and functionality than 2 separate devices.
Click to expand...

I also have the “PC Solution”, but it does not work out cheaper than a mede8tor, and its deffnitaly not better, you need at least a PentiumD 2.0Ghz with 1gb ram, then you need at least a Gforce 6series Graphics card, and even with this you still need a sound card capable of trueHD with the required outputs, and this alone costs in the R1500 range, and besides the price, a pc is big and noisy, and if you want to watch a movie you have to wait ages for the thing to start up, and if you have more than one TV/Plasma in you home, you need to unplug the whole bulky thing and set it up again in the other room
I would swap my pc any day for a mede8tor
 
LancelotSA said:
Are you referring to hardware? Because then that cannot be used as an argument here wink or no wink :)

I just felt the need to comment as I have read much on other threads about the Mede8er firmware being far superior to that of the ACRyan. I found it interesting reading that they are only talking about releasing this now while the ACRyan firmware for the new SDK came out almost a month ago. Yes, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done on it to fix some bugs but from the sounds of this Mede8er one they expect much the same problems.

Or are they just piggy backing on the ACRyan one? ;)
Click to expand...

Lol no, the unit in general, silly. :D
 
NBS said:
I also have the “PC Solution”, but it does not work out cheaper than a mede8tor, and its deffnitaly not better, you need at least a PentiumD 2.0Ghz with 1gb ram, then you need at least a Gforce 6series Graphics card, and even with this you still need a sound card capable of trueHD with the required outputs, and this alone costs in the R1500 range, and besides the price, a pc is big and noisy, and if you want to watch a movie you have to wait ages for the thing to start up, and if you have more than one TV/Plasma in you home, you need to unplug the whole bulky thing and set it up again in the other room
I would swap my pc any day for a mede8tor
Click to expand...

The problem with media players is they can not record, for the price of a mede8er, Tivo and the hard drives you will need I could buy a laptop with HDMI and a USB tv card.


Mede8er is great as a player, but in essence that is all it does.
 
What do you want to record?

SD DSTV isn't really worth recording (unless you're watching it on a laptop screen), and HD DSTV you're not going to record with a USB TV Card....
 
AstroTurf said:
The problem with media players is they can not record, for the price of a mede8er, Tivo and the hard drives you will need I could buy a laptop with HDMI and a USB tv card.

Mede8er is great as a player, but in essence that is all it does.
Click to expand...

So then buy an A.C. Ryan Playon!DVR-HD... it's basically the same hardware but with a record function for slightly more in terms of cost.

http://www.playondvr.com/en/
http://www.acryan.com/en/
 
xrapidx said:
What do you want to record?

SD DSTV isn't really worth recording (unless you're watching it on a laptop screen), and HD DSTV you're not going to record with a USB TV Card....
Click to expand...

I'm with you!!

The whole point of a media player is that you have a large library of the latest movies that you want to watch. Why the hell would you want to record what is on TV?
 
LancelotSA said:
The whole point of a media player is that you have a large library of the latest movies that you want to watch. Why the hell would you want to record what is on TV?
Click to expand...

Its pointless - how must the device change channels (on DSTV/TopTV decoder)? Where's it going to get the guide? etc. etc.

I ran a media center since XP Media Center... its not a simple task, replacing it with a HDPVR was the best thing I did. TV recording and media playback are easier seperate in SA.
 
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I agree with Lance.... To be honest, I have not seen the need to record anything from TV or DSTV in South Africa. You can get it all off the internet.
 
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