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Re: What's currently the best box for streaming ripped DVD content?



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Thanks all for the responses so far.

I have been ripping DVDs to VOB files in video_ts folders for many years
no=
w. I don't have any blu-ray rips, - I had no inclination to start
buying/re=
nting yet another optical disc format.. So I have some 600-700 odd movies
r=
ipped from DVD. I therefore don't care about the ability to play anything
e=
lse, including 1080p as I don't have any content in that format, and to be
=
truthful, although it does look nice, I'm not sufficiently impressed by
the=
resolution improvement to make a switch to blu-ray, with all the extra  sp=
ace that requires... Frankly, I'm more concerned with the 'quality' of the
=
movie itself (acting, dialogue, FX, script, cinematography etc.) I'd far
ra=
ther watch a 'good' film in DVD quality than a shite film (anything by
Mich=
ael Bay??) in high res...

They're all on a QNAP NAS, which does have a plex client available, which
I=
did try (with plex client on Apple TV). It looked lovely, and all seemed f=
ine until trying to actually play something... It will not play my
content.=
.. I presume it does not like video_ts folders.

PC based solutions are not desirable, regardless of whether it's running
wi=
ndows or Linux, or even a mac... I don't want power hungry devices or fans
=
running all the time. It needs to be a small box, totally silent (no fan)
a=
nd very low power.

It needs to have an attractive user friendly UI, with cover art, and
ideall=
y movies synopsies, in a simple to navigate interface. As I said before,
IM=
O the native Apple TV one is the best I've seen yet, so the closest it's
po=
ssible to get to that would be my ideal.

Still looking...

Sent from my iPad

> On 3 Nov 2013, at 07:28, "Robin Edwards"
<robin@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>=20
>=20
>=20
> I'm using Popcornhour C200 seems to do the job for me.  There's a
newer m=
odel not sure how it improves on the C200.  I originally had all my mkvs
al=
ong with my flacs on a bubba2 however it only had a 1TB hard drive and was
=
close to full.  I put a 2TB drive in the popcorn and moved the mkvs onto
it=
.=20
>=20
> It has a reasonable UI including info and art from imdb.  I have
played m=
p3s on it as well but only to see if they work.
>=20
> I make my mkvs with Handbrake on Mint and move over with filezilla,
just =
a simple setup
>=20
> Robin
>=20
> There are three kinds of people in this world, those that can count
and t=
hose that can't.
>=20
> Robin Edwards
> 07773-674010
>=20
>=20
>> On 2 Nov 2013, at 19:59, Paul Gordon <paul_gordon@xxxxxxx>
wrote:
>>=20
>> Thanks. I'll look into the dune offerings.... Of equal interest as
the p=
layback of my chosen format, is the UI... the *perfect* UI is the Apple TV
=
one... Nothing else comes close... So many of the other streamer boxes
I've=
seen have a shite file explorer like interface... No cover art, no metadat=
a, etc...
>>=20
>> I've seen and used xbmc in the past, and liked it, but I will not
have a=
PC involved in the setup.
>>=20
>> Not played with rpi... Not interested in cobbling together DIY
solutions=
... I want something I can buy, unwrap, plug in, and watch movies...
>>=20
>> Looked at plex, but try as I might, I absolutely could not get it
to pla=
y ripped DVDs although the interface did look jolly nice.
>>=20
>>=20
>> Sent from my iPad
>>=20
>>> On 2 Nov 2013, at 20:38, "Brian Smith"
<brian@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>=20
>>> Hi Paul
>>>=20
>>> I have a couple of Dune players (a 101 and 301) and they have
played ev=
erything I have asked them to.  Never quite got around to it but they also
=
support control via the mymovies iPad app if that's of interest.
>>>=20
>>> If there is any you want me to try file format / bit rate wise
then let=
me know.
>>>=20
>>> Cheers
>>>=20
>>> Brian
>>>=20
>>>> On 2 Nov 2013, at 19:10, Paul Gordon
<paul_gordon@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>>=20
>>>> Ok, so I'm sitting here looking at my jailbroken Apple TV2
contstantly=
saying "Loading"... 15 minutes now and impatient kids waiting for
Star War=
s,... Another 5 minutes and it's going out of this 2nd floor window....
Lik=
e pretty much anything that isn't genuine apple, it's utter shite...=20
>>>> The software is slow, buggy, and not a patch on the real
thing... If I=
could I'd just go to iTunes and pay for the damn movie (again) just to get=
the media I want when I want it, but unfortunately, the Star Wars films ar=
en't on iTunes... They are all on my NAS of course, as ripped DVD's in
vide=
o_ts folders... So sick am I of the piss poor performance of jailbroken
kit=
, that I am now resolved to find another box that does this better...
>>>>=20
>>>> So, the question is, what *is* the best box for streaming
my own perso=
nal content? Most of the front runners don't do it... I tried a windows PC
=
for a couple of years, - I'm never going down that route again... Roku
does=
n't do local content... Apple TV doesn't do it without jail breaking, and
d=
oing that to it turns it into a pile of shite...
>>>>=20
>>>> Surely in this day and age, it cannot be beyond the wit of
mankind to =
make a box that is as good as a proper Apple TV, but which will play my
rip=
ped DVD's... Is that really so much to ask?
>>>>=20
>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>=20
>>>> > On 28 Oct 2013, at 09:32, "Mark McCall"
<lists@xxxxxxx> =
wrote:
>>>> >=20
>>>> > http://autoho.me/1aOd65H
>>>> >=20
>>>> > M.
>>>> >=20
>>>> >=20
>>>> > ------------------------------------
>>>> >=20
>>>> >=20
>>>> > Yahoo! Groups Links
>>>> >=20
>>>> >=20
>>>> >
>=20
>=20
>=20

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<div>Thanks all for the responses so
far.</div><div><br></div><div>I have been
ripping DVDs to VOB files in video_ts folders for many years now. I don't
have any blu-ray rips, - I had no inclination to start buying/renting yet
another optical disc format.. So I have some 600-700 odd movies ripped from
DVD. I therefore don't care about the ability to play anything else,
including 1080p as I don't have any content in that format, and to be
truthful, although it does look nice, I'm not sufficiently impressed by the
resolution improvement to make a switch to blu-ray, with all the extra
&nbsp;space that requires... Frankly, I'm more concerned with the
'quality' of the movie itself (acting, dialogue, FX, script, cinematography
etc.) I'd far rather watch a 'good' film in DVD quality than a shite film
(anything by Michael Bay??) in high
res...</div><div><br></div><div>They're all
on a QNAP NAS, which does have a plex client available, which I did
try (with plex client on Apple TV). I
t looked lovely, and all seemed fine until trying to actually play
something... It will not play my content... I presume it does not like
video_ts folders.</div><div><br></div><div>PC
based solutions are not desirable, regardless of whether it's running
windows or Linux, or even a mac... I don't want power hungry devices or
fans running all the time. It needs to be a small box, totally silent (no
fan) and very low
power.</div><div><br></div><div>It needs to
have an attractive  user friendly UI, with cover art, and ideally movies
synopsies, in a simple to navigate interface. As I said before, IMO the
native Apple TV one is the best I've seen yet, so the closest it's possible
to get to that would be my
ideal.</div><div><br></div><div>Still
looking...</div><div><br>Sent from my
iPad</div><div><br>On 3 Nov 2013, at 07:28, "Robin
Edwards" &lt;<a href="mailto:robin@xxxxxxx";>robin@xxxxxxx</a>&gt;
wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote
type="cite"><div>







<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=utf-8">





<div>I'm using Popcornhour C200 seems to do the job for me.
&nbsp;There's a newer model not sure how it improves on the C200.
&nbsp;I originally had all my mkvs along with my flacs on a bubba2
however it only had a 1TB hard drive and was close to full. &nbsp;I put
a 2TB drive in the popcorn and moved the mkvs onto
it.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>It has
a reasonable UI including info and art from imdb. &nbsp;I have played
mp3s on it as well but only to see if they
work.</div><div><br></div><div>I make my mkvs
with Handbrake on Mint and move over with filezilla, just a simple
setup</div><div><br></div><div>Robin<br><br><div>There
are three kinds of people in this world, those that can count and those
that can't.</div><br><div>Robin
Edwards</div><div>07773-674010</div><div><br></div></div><div><br>On
2 Nov
2013, at 19:59, Paul Gordon &lt;<a href="mailto:paul_gordon@xxxxxxx";>paul_gordon@xxxxxxx</a>&gt;
wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote
type="cite"><div>







<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=utf-8">





<div>Thanks. I'll look into the dune offerings.... Of equal interest
as the playback of my chosen format, is the UI... the *perfect* UI is the
Apple TV one... Nothing else comes close... So many of the other streamer
boxes I've seen have a shite file explorer like interface... No cover art,
no metadata,
etc...</div><div><br></div><div>I've seen and
used xbmc in the past, and liked it, but I will not have a PC involved in
the setup.</div><div><br></div><div>Not
played with rpi... Not interested in cobbling together DIY solutions... I
want something I can buy, unwrap, plug in, and watch
movies...</div><div><br></div><div>Looked at
plex, but try as I might, I absolutely could not get it to play ripped DVDs
although the interface did look jolly
nice.</div><div><br><br>Sent from my
iPad</div><div><br>On 2 Nov 2013, at 20:38, "Brian
Smith" &lt;<a href="mailto:brian@xxxxxxx";>brian@xxxxxxx</a>&gt;
wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote
type="cite"><div>













<div>Hi Paul</div><div><br></div><div>I
have a couple of Dune players (a 101 and 301) and they have played
everything I have asked them to. &nbsp;Never quite got around to it but
they also support control via the mymovies iPad app if that's of
interest.</div><div><br></div><div>If there
is any you want me to try file format / bit rate wise then let me
know.</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers</div><div><br></div><div>Brian<br><br>On
2 Nov 2013, at 19:10, Paul Gordon &lt;<a href="mailto:paul_gordon@xxxxxxx";>paul_gordon@xxxxxxx</a>&gt;
wrote:<br><br></div><div></div><blockquote
type="cite"><div>














<span style="display:none">&nbsp;</span>



<div id="ygrp-text">


<p>Ok, so I'm sitting here looking at my jailbroken Apple TV2
contstantly saying "Loading"... 15 minutes now and impatient kids
waiting for Star Wars,... Another 5 minutes and it's going out of this 2nd
floor window.... Like pretty much anything that isn't genuine apple, it's
utter shite... <br>
The software is slow, buggy, and not a patch on the real thing... If I
could I'd just go to iTunes and pay for the damn movie (again) just to get
the media I want when I want it, but unfortunately, the Star Wars films
aren't on iTunes... They are all on my NAS of course, as ripped DVD's in
video_ts folders... So sick am I of the piss poor performance of jailbroken
kit, that I am now resolved to find another box that does this
better...<br>
<br>
So, the question is, what *is* the best box for streaming my own personal
content? Most of the front runners don't do it... I tried a windows PC for
a couple of years, - I'm never going down that route again... Roku doesn't
do local content... Apple TV doesn't do it without jail breaking, and doing
that to it turns it into a pile of shite...<br>
<br>
Surely in this day and age, it cannot be beyond the wit of mankind to make
a box that is as good as a proper Apple TV, but which will play my ripped
DVD's... Is that really so much to ask?<br>
<br>
Sent from my iPad<br>
<br>
&gt; On 28 Oct 2013, at 09:32, "Mark McCall" &lt;<a
href="mailto:lists@xxxxxxx";>lists@xxxxxxx</a>&gt;
wrote:<br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; <a href="http://autoho.me/1aOd65H";>http://autoho.me/1aOd65H</a><br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; M.<br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; ------------------------------------<br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; Yahoo! Groups Links<br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; <br>
&gt; <br>
</p>

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