Looking to update my set-up but need a few suggestions

Krank

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Cheers for the help, I've gone for a couple of Dune players, namely a TV-101 and a Smart B1. :cool:



I've already gained some knowledge reading this forum and from a couple of chaps on various threads but i've been advised to put up my own thread so here it is.

I'm looking to jig my lounge and bedroom kit around a bit and looking to find alternatives for the following:

Lounge
LG BD390 - Region B Blu-ray playback and network streaming
Philips BDP 3000 - Region A Blu-ray playback

Bedroom
PCH A-110 (No HDD)

I'm quite happy with the above but have the following niggles:

1. LG BD390 cannot play certain files and don't want the hassle of converting all of my library.

2. No video wall on the LG

3. Wondered if I could fit my set up in one box e.g. Dune HD Smart B1 and not miss anything. (quality, speed of use, multiregion BD/DVD)

4. Would like a video wall (i think that's what I want) on the PCH but don't my NAS (QNAP TS-210) is powerful enough. Don't fully understand how they work but didn't want it installed on the PC as it's hardly ever on.

(Still not got around to trying Smurfins guide but will)

Basically, it needs to be:

Easy; smooth and quick to use for the kids.

Compatible with my harmony remote

All we use it for at the moment is streaming video (hard wired to NAS) so no HDD or other features* required.

Any advice gratefully received. Thanks.




* At the moment.
 
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Putting the movie wall on your NAS is not going to be a problem AFAIK. All that it does is store images that the media player then displays, so nothing too taxing there. You would create the movies wall on the PC and then store the output on the NAS, the PC can then be turned off and you can still access the movie wall.
My movie wall (Zappiti) is on my NAS and works fine - although my NAS is a home built PC really, but it doesn't have to be to work - I'm sure Yamj (or whatever) for the A-110 would also be fine.

The Dune Smart B1 would be a good replacement for your current setup IMO. The BluRay drive is easy to make fully multi region/zone with a simple program you run on the Dune, so no hardware mods required. My older Dune Prime plays all my discs fine (although no zone A BD's in my collection) so as long as 3D BD is not required I'm sure you will be happy with a Dune.
If you think you may want to use an internal HDD with the Dune in the future then also look at the HD Max, although about £130 more it does have a hot swap HDD bay - although this can be added to the Smart B1 with an HE expansion module.

Mark.
 
Cheers Mark, very helpful. I hadn't even heard of the Smart B1 until you mentioned it on another thread and it seems to tick all the boxes. If I went for this do you think it would be better to replace the A-110 with another Dune player, just a streamer, so I'm just running Zappiti or will it not make a difference running YAMJ as well. My thinking being it will be easier for me to look after.

Also, where's the best place to buy one from? And are there any other models coming along in the near future similar to the Smart B1 that you know of? Cheers.
 
Zaapiti have an iOS app coming out so it might be easier to control via if you have an iOS device as it will play the content on the Dune when selected.

Alternative option is Iomega Boxee Box, this is brand new and does almost everything with a built in jukebox that auto scans media (no PC or setup required), very family friendly however it does not have any disc drive and does not display BD menus. It also has IR remote so the Logitech Harmony will work with it unlike D-Link Boxee Box. However the prices are nuts at the moment way higher than Iomega's recommended retail price.
 
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One of the forum Assured Advertisers sells them - Dune HD Media Players - Items - Custom built Home Theatre PCs from my-HTPC
Graham is also an active member on the forum so is around to help with any issues - although he is not allowed to help with sale questions on here, but will help with questions about the products he sells.

If the A-110 is ok and does all you want then I would say keep it. Yes Yamj & Zappiti will take twice as much work to keep updated, but it is the cheaper option :D
Zappiti can also run from an Android phone/tablet - https://market.android.com/details?id=babachan.android.dunemediacontroller&hl=en

There are 2 new models from Dune - the TV101 & TV301 but neither have a full BD license and are lower end models compared to the Smart's. Other than that there is the HD Pro due towards that latter part of next year, but at an estimated cost of around £2,000 is probably a bit out of budget (although it should be full 3D BD compatible) :devil:

Mark.
 
@ next010
That iOS app could be quite useful, cheers. The Boxee would be a good alternative to the PCH but if it's a bit pricey at the mo then it's a no go at the moment.

@ MarkE19
Yes, I've seen Graham knocking around so good to know there's support for the product around. I may pop a wants thread up for a few days to see if I can save a few pennies before getting a new one, not that many come up for sale.

I was going to stick an old HDD in the A-110 and give it to my folks just as a HDD player as they have n o internet :eek:. So I could do that and pick up a new streamer or I could keep itand get the folks a cheap HDD player ...I see another thread coming on :D. Does anyone do just a basic HDD only media player?

That's good news for me that Zappiti has an android app too.

3D will not be an option for me, at least until the kids start asking but we're a long way off that, thankfully. And you're right, that new machine is just a tad over my budget :laugh:
 
Also, how quiet are these when in use and in standby?
 
when in standby they should be silent. The HDD versions of smart by default still spin the disks for a while after but that can be turned off. The b1 having no hdd will be silent during operation too has it has no fans. It can sound a bit 'clunky' (as can the Dune HD Max) while it chews through the disk to determine its contents. But once its running its just the whirring of the drive at x1 speed to play the film.

getting the b1 now and then adding 1 or 2 HE modules is a better solution than the Max if you want to spread the cost, but the Max also has the integrated display. Its more like a D1 with a HE and BE module attached. Thats the beauty of the Smart range - its very modular as budget requires.

If you are going to buy two smart modules I'd recommend getting the rails to attach them together too.
 
Thanks Graham, I think the B1 will do all that I need right now but as you say it's nice to have the option to add at a later date. Not fussed about a display as I'm sure it has an OSD facility. I believe I'll need a USB memory stick for updates, is this true?

Any AVForum discount codes going around? :devil:
 
You will need some kind of local storage to download any updates. We've started doing really small 8gb sticks that are as big (or as small) as the bluetooth dongles for keyboards. Really small so they dont protrude out of the back so can be knocked out. Not so much a problem on the d1 and h1 as they can be mounted inside.

no discounts I'm afraid - not huge margins in them :)
 
Thanks again. I've popped a wanted thread up today but I'll most probably put an order in by the time I get back from work tomorrow :smashin:

I'm many miles away from Leeds so I won't expect you to hand deliver mine :D :laugh:


Thanks chaps for helping sort out my lounge set up, anyone got anymore thoughts on my PCH A-110?

1. If I keep it I'll need a cheap HDD media player for my folks and there's no network to worry about and have a few 3.5" drives lying around.

2. If I give my folks the A-110, I'll need a nice little streamer (No HDD). Only reason to shift the A-110 is probably to get another Dune so I'm not running two jukeboxes. What's the cheapest Dune that'll do a similar job to the PCH?
 
I hand deliver all over the country :). Last weekend I did a 577 mile round trip with about a dozen deliveries. 14 hours on the road but loved it!

The closest dune to the a110 would be the h1 as its the cheapest model that has a hdd bay. But if you wanted to stream from the nas then the tv101 would be fine if you didn't need full bd menu support.

You can also run something like my movies on the pc to generate both dune friendly .aai files and popcorn friendly .nfo files at the same time so you don't need to run both zapitti and yamj. It also has an iPad pp
 
I agree that the TV101 would be a good second media player for the bedroom etc. As stated it does not have the full BD menu support, but then again neither does the A-110.

Mark.
 
Cheers guys. The TV-101 sounds good, I'll go and have a read of that thread. It looks nicer than the A-110 too.
 

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