Media Centres - where to start?

techead said:
yup yup :D

I have one small peeve though. On the folders while you browsing you can see the album art, but when you go into the folder nothing pics up. Though I suppose its not really needed
Click to expand...

Yeah, i have been fiddling with a program called ThumbGen. The WDTV uses XML files instead of NFO when displaying information.
 
techead said:
and any luck? :p
Click to expand...

Somewhat. It displays all the information. But when browsing the movies its delayed in changing the background picture. It does a transition animation for each movie and it waits for the transition to finish before it loads the next movie sort of thing. Not sure if it makes sense. :p. I have just stuck with using it in the list view mode. Much quicker to navigate and i am sure i can figure out what movies are about without reading the overview :p.
 
I have an AC Ryan and I can say that having one of these out of the box solutions is cirtainly the quickest/easiest/sable-est option. Med8ter/ryan/WD are all great.

Sure you miss out on all the fancy things that other guys have with their microservers. However, when you sit down and turn it on everything works. No technical issues or installs/updates, they are also easy to transport.

I'm still trying to build an HTPC and I have just found out that my old PC is way under spec for XBMC. After all the time I spent installing and setting up XBMC is unusable.
Luckily the Boxie client is much better.... so not a complete waste.
 
DJ...:8120326 said:
AntiThesis said:
I used XBMC until I got plex. Only real difference is that Plex makes streaming much, much easier. Can even stream to work with almost zero config and it transcodes on the fly.
Click to expand...

Streaming of what? I'll admit I haven't streamed much apart from a few youtube videos. I'm curious as to what one can stream that's worth the move to Plex? I'm always keen to upgrade...

EDIT: oh hang on. I think I might be misunderstanding the streaming bit. You mean streaming your Plex setup to other devices?
Click to expand...

Everything really. Movies, music, tv, YouTube, TED. I start watching something in the lounge, move to the kitchen and switch to my Flyer, go to the bedroom and switch to laptop without missing anything or having to hunt for the place I was. Port forwarded plex via myplex and I can manage and watch from work as well.

Add sickbeard et al to the mix and I have a zero maintenance setup.
 
coz we all move locations 4 times while watching a movie

do you have separate drinks and popcorn(s) stands in each room?

:D
 
If picture and sound quality is important look at the Popcornhour or Dune media streamers. They have the Sigma chip which is superior(and more expensive) to the Realtek chip used by most mainstream manufacturers like Wd live, AcRyan,Mede8er...etc.
 
AntiThesis said:
Everything really. Movies, music, tv, YouTube, TED. I start watching something in the lounge, move to the kitchen and switch to my Flyer, go to the bedroom and switch to laptop without missing anything or having to hunt for the place I was. Port forwarded plex via myplex and I can manage and watch from work as well.

Add sickbeard et al to the mix and I have a zero maintenance setup.
Click to expand...

This is the kind of thing that I'm really aiming for at the end of the day but I really don't know how to go about doing it properly. I've seen that with the google android plugin I can watch and control my xbmc setup through the network via wifi but it was a little unreliable. If Plex is the answer then I'm keen to give it a shot - I'm downloading it now.

What I was going to do was install the HP in the lounge and then connect all my other computers via an 8 port switch that I just bought. I was then going to install XBMC on all of the other devices and have them use the HP as a central "server" type thing. I'm not very technically adept but I'd love to be able to switch from room to room with the same media and be able to watch different media in each room at the same time if necessary. Is this possible with XBMC?
 
AntiThesis said:
Port forwarded plex via myplex and I can manage and watch from work as well.
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that I could set this up with XBMC as XBMC installs the media server as default. I then need to just tweak a few settings but I have no idea what they are...
 
Actually I'd love to be able to take it one step further - I'd love to be able to automate my home fully at the end of the day. I'd like music to switch on by default when I enter certain rooms; I'd like lighting to be automated according to time of day; I'd like blinds and curtains to open and close automatically at certain times of day; I'd like the alarm system to be integrated and I'd like all the media available throughout the entire house, from a central storage point.

And I'd love to do this on my own as a long-term project...
 
Yeah that's a bit more complex, requiring things like proximity and light sensors etc. Sorry bud, you're on your own there :D
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Yeah that's a bit more complex, requiring things like proximity and light sensors etc. Sorry bud, you're on your own there :D
Click to expand...

I've been reading up on it and I can get some android software that will control it all. I just need various X10 switches/devices and use an android server, but I suspect that the media will have to be separate...
 
Enter X10 and a whooooole lot of cash.

I'll do a blog post on mybb later with the whole step-by-step for anyone that's interested
 
AntiThesis said:
Enter X10 and a whooooole lot of cash.

I'll do a blog post on mybb later with the whole step-by-step for anyone that's interested
Click to expand...

I'm very interested. I don't mind spending a bit of cash on something as rewarding as home automation but I've kept putting it off in favour of learning to do it myself instead of hiring a company to do so...
 
I'm in the same boat as DJ... on this one.

I want to do it, but I want to do it on my own rather than have some company come in and charge me a fortune for it...
 
ToxicBunny said:
I'm in the same boat as DJ... on this one.

I want to do it, but I want to do it on my own rather than have some company come in and charge me a fortune for it...
Click to expand...

Yeah I had a company come in and quote me R75k for home automation a few years ago and since then I've been put off having a company come in and install bog standard software and electronics I can get from the store. My brother-in-law is an electronics-nerd so he can help me out with the necessary wiring if necessary...
 
You can very much do it yourself, it's just getting hold of the kit (and in sufficient quantities for what you're wanting).

X10 do a full alarm systemas well which integrates nicely with their units - and you can control your X10 units via plex with Indigo.

There is one X10 supplier that I know of in SA but I haven't really had a good look at the pricing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X