Smurfin
Distinguished Member
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- Aug 13, 2002
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Hi all
In my never ending quest to achieve streaming nirvana, I'm considering different options. For those who don't know this is where I'm at:
* Built a PC to rip my Blu-Rays; I have a mapped network drive on the main PC and an internal HDD in my PCH.
* My network is hard wired.
* The intention is to rip and play uncompressed Blurays in .ts format, so basically 1080p/24 with lossless audio.
Experiences so far:
* Wireless doesn't work full stop, even with homeplugs. Doesn't matter now though as I've drilled a hole in the ceiling and now have a wired network.
* The Popcorn Hour doesn't work. Well, that's not strictly true, but SEVERAL .ts rips don't play properly. Some of the failures are catastrophic, i.e. file is unwatchable, others just drop the odd frame which is irritating and unacceptable. And others just judder all over the place.
* I contacted the dealer who I bought the PCH from and they sent another one, which was DOA.
I'm now at the stage where I'm utterly fed up with the whole thing, but if I could just see the light at the end of the tunnel I'd be much happier. I don't mind putting in hours of work and having a steep learning curve if I get the end results I'm aiming for, but it just doesn't seem to be happening for me.
The trouble is I don't know if there's a hardware problem with the PCH, or it just simply can't handle uncompressed BluRays and the bit-rate spikes that come with it. What makes it more confusing is that various forums are littered with playback problem posts, and some in the know have acknowledged that the PCH can't handle heavy bitrate spikes.....yet other users report flawless playback with uncompressed BluRay rips. (a further complication is that one person's definition of flawless HD playback is not necessarily the same as mine e.g. a 9GB MKV file is NOT an uncompressed BluRay rip).
The plan up until this weekend was to get a HDX-1000 as a replacement to the PCH. Before anyone jumps in, I know it's identical to the PCH in terms of innards, it just looks a damn sight better than the PCH which looks like it was thrown together and feels...well flimsy. And if the issues I've experienced are hardware related then potentially...problem solved.
Now with the imminent arrival of the Eva9150, I'm beginning to wonder if I should opt for this instead. Sure it's expensive, but actually not much more than the HDX-1000 when you consider it comes with an internal HDD. The positives to the Eva are:
* Wireless N (although currently this has no impact on my setup or method of streaming).
* The "next gen" of media streamers, with a more powerful processor/chipset than the current NMTs.
What I can't see from the specs are:
* Can the EVA9150 pass through Dolby True-HD? (it only says downmix in the specs)
* Will it output 1080p/24?
* Will it alter resolution/ output frequency automatically? (i.e. 24hz for BD, 60hz etc for DVD)
* Does the front end contain lots of info about the movie a la YAMJ?
I guess nobody knows the answers as this isn't out yet, but this is what I need to consider when it does arrive. I've also noticed it mentions in the specs that the max bitrate is 40mbps, and I'm not sure this is any different to the HDX/PCH?
Aaargh I'm so confused. Any advice?
Cheers
Matt
In my never ending quest to achieve streaming nirvana, I'm considering different options. For those who don't know this is where I'm at:
* Built a PC to rip my Blu-Rays; I have a mapped network drive on the main PC and an internal HDD in my PCH.
* My network is hard wired.
* The intention is to rip and play uncompressed Blurays in .ts format, so basically 1080p/24 with lossless audio.
Experiences so far:
* Wireless doesn't work full stop, even with homeplugs. Doesn't matter now though as I've drilled a hole in the ceiling and now have a wired network.
* The Popcorn Hour doesn't work. Well, that's not strictly true, but SEVERAL .ts rips don't play properly. Some of the failures are catastrophic, i.e. file is unwatchable, others just drop the odd frame which is irritating and unacceptable. And others just judder all over the place.
* I contacted the dealer who I bought the PCH from and they sent another one, which was DOA.
I'm now at the stage where I'm utterly fed up with the whole thing, but if I could just see the light at the end of the tunnel I'd be much happier. I don't mind putting in hours of work and having a steep learning curve if I get the end results I'm aiming for, but it just doesn't seem to be happening for me.
The trouble is I don't know if there's a hardware problem with the PCH, or it just simply can't handle uncompressed BluRays and the bit-rate spikes that come with it. What makes it more confusing is that various forums are littered with playback problem posts, and some in the know have acknowledged that the PCH can't handle heavy bitrate spikes.....yet other users report flawless playback with uncompressed BluRay rips. (a further complication is that one person's definition of flawless HD playback is not necessarily the same as mine e.g. a 9GB MKV file is NOT an uncompressed BluRay rip).
The plan up until this weekend was to get a HDX-1000 as a replacement to the PCH. Before anyone jumps in, I know it's identical to the PCH in terms of innards, it just looks a damn sight better than the PCH which looks like it was thrown together and feels...well flimsy. And if the issues I've experienced are hardware related then potentially...problem solved.
Now with the imminent arrival of the Eva9150, I'm beginning to wonder if I should opt for this instead. Sure it's expensive, but actually not much more than the HDX-1000 when you consider it comes with an internal HDD. The positives to the Eva are:
* Wireless N (although currently this has no impact on my setup or method of streaming).
* The "next gen" of media streamers, with a more powerful processor/chipset than the current NMTs.
What I can't see from the specs are:
* Can the EVA9150 pass through Dolby True-HD? (it only says downmix in the specs)
* Will it output 1080p/24?
* Will it alter resolution/ output frequency automatically? (i.e. 24hz for BD, 60hz etc for DVD)
* Does the front end contain lots of info about the movie a la YAMJ?
I guess nobody knows the answers as this isn't out yet, but this is what I need to consider when it does arrive. I've also noticed it mentions in the specs that the max bitrate is 40mbps, and I'm not sure this is any different to the HDX/PCH?
Aaargh I'm so confused. Any advice?
Cheers
Matt