Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Mythtvnz

Media Player Frontends?

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nick.read at engineer

Feb 21, 2010, 11:16 PM

Post #1 of 9 (2098 views)
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Media Player Frontends?

Hi all

Has anyone had experience or recommendations in connection with using a media player box as an alternative to a Myth frontend? The reason I ask is that I have an HD TV and can easily pick up DVB-T broadcasts, but would need a fairly major hardware upgrade to my mythbox to be able to play HD. It strikes me that I can keep my existing box as a dedicated backend with the additon of a DVB-T tuner and just use a media player as a frontend.

Pros:
Much quieter unit in the lounge (assuming I move the backend elsewhere)
Probably a fair amount cheaper than a new mythbox that is HD ready

Cons:
Loss of myth frontend interface for scheduling etc (would use Mythweb)
Loss of recording categories (could possibly adapt pretty script to create folders for categories)

One unit which looks very interesting is the http://www.expansys.co.nz/d.aspx?i=188892"]Hisense unit. For $125 plus shipping ($191 all up) you get an HD ready frontend. It appears to cope with H.264 and uses PnP to pick up media. Would prefer it if there was an SMB share facility but perhaps PnP will do?

Anyone else tried this unit or got any other recommendations? I've seen some Popcornhour references in the past but not sure if they are recommended (or still available).

Nick

hoiho.nz at gmail

Feb 23, 2010, 1:07 AM

Post #2 of 9 (2008 views)
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Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:15, Nick & Ann Read wrote:
> <br>
> One unit which looks very interesting is the <a
> href="http://www.expansys.co.nz/d.aspx?i=188892">Hisense</a> unit. For
> $125 plus shipping ($191 all up) you get an HD ready frontend.

I would ask very specific questions about support for LATM flavour of AAC audio support If you don't want to transcode every DVB-T programme you record.

Regards

Tony Sauri
--
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice,
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
- Winston Churchill

nick.read at engineer

Mar 7, 2010, 11:30 PM

Post #3 of 9 (1818 views)
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Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

An update in case anyone was interested. I managed to get on of the Hisense units (MP800H) for $50 off TradeMe so thought it was worth getting to experiment. After a bit of playing around with MythTV recorded HD samples, and a firmware update, here are my conclusions:

Pros:
Very quiet and power efficient front end (apparently <18W but I didn't measure)
Cheap :-)
Plays TV3 and TVNZ HD very well, no artifacts, sound was fine (analog, HDMI or optical SPDIF). No issue with MPEG2 from DVB-S or PVR350.
Even played the AVCHD lite video files from my Panasonic TZ7 (ZS3)
Works off SMB network shares or uPnP
Runs embedded Linux, so in theory at least should be expandable/flexible in features

Cons:

No myth frontend scheduling, recording categories, deleting files etc
Playing off SMB shares, it won't read symbolic links (eg the pretty directory, but tv & video recordings are otherwise fine)
Playing off uPnP, it can't jump in time, REW, or FFW beyond 2x. Didn't work with Myth uPnP but FUPPES was OK.
No jump during playback (eg 30s forward, or 10s back)

The last point is pretty much a killer for me right now. Assuming I find a way around the symbolic links issue (any ideas?), it is possible to FFW up to 32x, or jump to specific times in the file, but it really sucks compared to just skipping forward a few times to get past adverts. As a second frontend it would be fine for occasional use but not something I think I could use every night. Worth noting also that it only has HD outputs (HDMI/component). The remote is pretty basic but apparently easily replaced with a Harmony programmable (the Hisense unit is in the database) or other learning remote.

There is thread http://www.avforums.com/forums/streamers-network-media-players/1091137-hisense-media-player.html"]here which is quite interesting and suggests the possibility of further non-official development of the firmware.

Nick & Ann Read wrote:

Hi all

Has anyone had experience or recommendations in connection with using a media player box as an alternative to a Myth frontend? The reason I ask is that I have an HD TV and can easily pick up DVB-T broadcasts, but would need a fairly major hardware upgrade to my mythbox to be able to play HD. It strikes me that I can keep my existing box as a dedicated backend with the additon of a DVB-T tuner and just use a media player as a frontend.
<snip>
One unit which looks very interesting is the http://www.expansys.co.nz/d.aspx?i=188892"]Hisense unit. For $125 plus shipping ($191 all up) you get an HD ready frontend. It appears to cope with H.264 and uses PnP to pick up media. Would prefer it if there was an SMB share facility but perhaps PnP will do?

killerkiwi2005 at gmail

Mar 8, 2010, 12:16 PM

Post #4 of 9 (1801 views)
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Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

mythfuse might be better for the file names

dont spose its possible to start a webbrowser?

On 8 March 2010 20:30, Nick & Ann Read <nick.read [at] engineer> wrote:
> An update in case anyone was interested. I managed to get on of the Hisense
> units (MP800H) for $50 off TradeMe so thought it was worth getting to
> experiment. After a bit of playing around with MythTV recorded HD samples,
> and a firmware update, here are my conclusions:
>
> Pros:
> Very quiet and power efficient front end (apparently <18W but I didn't
> measure)
> Cheap :-)
> Plays TV3 and TVNZ HD very well, no artifacts, sound was fine (analog, HDMI
> or optical SPDIF). No issue with MPEG2 from DVB-S or PVR350.
> Even played the AVCHD lite video files from my Panasonic TZ7 (ZS3)
> Works off SMB network shares or uPnP
> Runs embedded Linux, so in theory at least should be expandable/flexible in
> features
>
> Cons:
>
> No myth frontend scheduling, recording categories, deleting files etc
> Playing off SMB shares, it won't read symbolic links (eg the pretty
> directory, but tv & video recordings are otherwise fine)
> Playing off uPnP, it can't jump in time, REW, or FFW beyond 2x. Didn't work
> with Myth uPnP but FUPPES was OK.
> No jump during playback (eg 30s forward, or 10s back)
>
> The last point is pretty much a killer for me right now. Assuming I find a
> way around the symbolic links issue (any ideas?), it is possible to FFW up
> to 32x, or jump to specific times in the file, but it really sucks compared
> to just skipping forward a few times to get past adverts. As a second
> frontend it would be fine for occasional use but not something I think I
> could use every night. Worth noting also that it only has HD outputs
> (HDMI/component). The remote is pretty basic but apparently easily replaced
> with a Harmony programmable (the Hisense unit is in the database) or other
> learning remote.
>
> There is thread here which is quite interesting and suggests the possibility
> of further non-official development of the firmware.
>
> Nick & Ann Read wrote:
>
> Hi all
>
> Has anyone had experience or recommendations in connection with using a
> media player box as an alternative to a Myth frontend? The reason I ask is
> that I have an HD TV and can easily pick up DVB-T broadcasts, but would need
> a fairly major hardware upgrade to my mythbox to be able to play HD. It
> strikes me that I can keep my existing box as a dedicated backend with the
> additon of a DVB-T tuner and just use a media player as a frontend.
> <snip>
> One unit which looks very interesting is the Hisense unit. For $125 plus
> shipping ($191 all up) you get an HD ready frontend. It appears to cope with
> H.264 and uses PnP to pick up media. Would prefer it if there was an SMB
> share facility but perhaps PnP will do?
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtvnz mailing list
> mythtvnz [at] lists
> http://lists.ourshack.com/mailman/listinfo/mythtvnz
> Archives http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/mythtvnz/
>
>

--
"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely
pointless. " - Calven

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nick.rout at gmail

Mar 8, 2010, 2:37 PM

Post #5 of 9 (1814 views)
Permalink

Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Nick & Ann Read <nick.read [at] engineer> wrote:
> An update in case anyone was interested. I managed to get on of the Hisense
> units (MP800H) for $50 off TradeMe so thought it was worth getting to
> experiment. After a bit of playing around with MythTV recorded HD samples,
> and a firmware update, here are my conclusions:
>
> Pros:
> Very quiet and power efficient front end (apparently <18W but I didn't
> measure)
> Cheap :-)
> Plays TV3 and TVNZ HD very well, no artifacts, sound was fine (analog, HDMI
> or optical SPDIF). No issue with MPEG2 from DVB-S or PVR350.
> Even played the AVCHD lite video files from my Panasonic TZ7 (ZS3)
> Works off SMB network shares or uPnP
> Runs embedded Linux, so in theory at least should be expandable/flexible in
> features
>
> Cons:
>
> No myth frontend scheduling, recording categories, deleting files etc
> Playing off SMB shares, it won't read symbolic links (eg the pretty
> directory, but tv & video recordings are otherwise fine)
> Playing off uPnP, it can't jump in time, REW, or FFW beyond 2x. Didn't work
> with Myth uPnP but FUPPES was OK.
> No jump during playback (eg 30s forward, or 10s back)
>
> The last point is pretty much a killer for me right now. Assuming I find a
> way around the symbolic links issue (any ideas?), it is possible to FFW up
> to 32x, or jump to specific times in the file, but it really sucks compared
> to just skipping forward a few times to get past adverts.

I disagree, I use sticky keys in my frontends now, which speeds past
the ads. I prefer it to a jump.

As for symlinks, is the device mounting via the cifs module or the smbfs module?

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nick.rout at gmail

Mar 8, 2010, 2:45 PM

Post #6 of 9 (1806 views)
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Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 11:37 AM, Nick Rout <nick.rout [at] gmail> wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Nick & Ann Read <nick.read [at] engineer> wrote:
>> An update in case anyone was interested. I managed to get on of the Hisense
>> units (MP800H) for $50 off TradeMe so thought it was worth getting to
>> experiment. After a bit of playing around with MythTV recorded HD samples,
>> and a firmware update, here are my conclusions:
>>
>> Pros:
>> Very quiet and power efficient front end (apparently <18W but I didn't
>> measure)
>> Cheap :-)
>> Plays TV3 and TVNZ HD very well, no artifacts, sound was fine (analog, HDMI
>> or optical SPDIF). No issue with MPEG2 from DVB-S or PVR350.
>> Even played the AVCHD lite video files from my Panasonic TZ7 (ZS3)
>> Works off SMB network shares or uPnP
>> Runs embedded Linux, so in theory at least should be expandable/flexible in
>> features
>>
>> Cons:
>>
>> No myth frontend scheduling, recording categories, deleting files etc
>> Playing off SMB shares, it won't read symbolic links (eg the pretty
>> directory, but tv & video recordings are otherwise fine)
>> Playing off uPnP, it can't jump in time, REW, or FFW beyond 2x. Didn't work
>> with Myth uPnP but FUPPES was OK.
>> No jump during playback (eg 30s forward, or 10s back)
>>
>> The last point is pretty much a killer for me right now. Assuming I find a
>> way around the symbolic links issue (any ideas?), it is possible to FFW up
>> to 32x, or jump to specific times in the file, but it really sucks compared
>> to just skipping forward a few times to get past adverts.
>
> I disagree, I use sticky keys in my frontends now, which speeds past
> the ads. I prefer it to a jump.
>
> As for symlinks, is the device mounting via the cifs module or the smbfs module?
>

Reading man smb.conf, follow symlinks should be on by default on the
server/backend, but check that it hasn't been switched off.

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hads at nice

Mar 8, 2010, 3:03 PM

Post #7 of 9 (1794 views)
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Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

On Tue, 2010-03-09 at 11:37 +1300, Nick Rout wrote:
> I disagree, I use sticky keys in my frontends now, which speeds past
> the ads. I prefer it to a jump.

I like jump as I can press 4 then right and jump most TV1/2/3 prime time
ad breaks quickly.

hads

--
http://nicegear.co.nz
New Zealand's Open Source Hardware Supplier

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nick.rout at gmail

Mar 8, 2010, 4:04 PM

Post #8 of 9 (1795 views)
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Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 12:03 PM, Hadley Rich <hads [at] nice> wrote:
> On Tue, 2010-03-09 at 11:37 +1300, Nick Rout wrote:
>> I disagree, I use sticky keys in my frontends now, which speeds past
>> the ads. I prefer it to a jump.
>
> I like jump as I can press 4 then right and jump most TV1/2/3 prime time
> ad breaks quickly.

Yeah i used to do that, but minimyth which I use for one machine came
with sticky keys by default, and it grew on me.

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nick.read at engineer

Mar 10, 2010, 12:45 AM

Post #9 of 9 (1752 views)
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Re: Media Player Frontends? [In reply to]

Nick Rout wrote:

On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 11:37 AM, Nick Rout <nick.rout [at] gmail> wrote:
On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Nick & Ann Read <nick.read [at] engineer> wrote:
An update in case anyone was interested. I managed to get on of the Hisense units (MP800H) for $50 off TradeMe so thought it was worth getting to experiment. After a bit of playing around with MythTV recorded HD samples, and a firmware update, here are my conclusions: <snip> Cons: No myth frontend scheduling, recording categories, deleting files etc Playing off SMB shares, it won't read symbolic links (eg the pretty directory, but tv & video recordings are otherwise fine) Playing off uPnP, it can't jump in time, REW, or FFW beyond 2x. Didn't work with Myth uPnP but FUPPES was OK. No jump during playback (eg 30s forward, or 10s back) The last point is pretty much a killer for me right now. Assuming I find a way around the symbolic links issue (any ideas?), it is possible to FFW up to 32x, or jump to specific times in the file, but it really sucks compared to just skipping forward a few times to get past adverts.
I disagree, I use sticky keys in my frontends now, which speeds past the ads. I prefer it to a jump. As for symlinks, is the device mounting via the cifs module or the smbfs module?
Reading man smb.conf, follow symlinks should be on by default on the server/backend, but check that it hasn't been switched off.

Yes I have checked 'follow symlinks' is not off (specified it on) but no dice. Not sure how to tell how the device is mounting the share?

It doesn't show the symlinks at all in the directory listing (as opposed to showing them but not following them). It shows other files (not symlinks) that I put in the pretty directory. The /myth share is public, guest access, writeable, force user/group to mythtv. I can see the symlinks fine from a WinXP client so I don't think the problem is on the server/backend.

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