Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Users

Slightly OT: Simplest way of playing HD .mkv's/.avi's on a TV?? (Out of the loop about FEs, help!)

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bobbygill at rogers

Nov 24, 2009, 11:32 AM

Post #1 of 4 (423 views)
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Slightly OT: Simplest way of playing HD .mkv's/.avi's on a TV?? (Out of the loop about FEs, help!)

A friend of mine just bought an HD TV and I do all his computer tech support
as it is, so I'm looking for a way by which he can play video files directly
on the TV (no DVD/disc preferentially). I know there are DVD players that
are "DiVX compatible" but most of my stuff is HD .mkv content, and we'll
both be using the TV, but when I'm not around I need the /simplest/ way for
him to watch what he wants.

The way I see it:

a) He has a laptop (brand new, we bought it about a week ago), and of course
they only have the VGA input so would this make sense to pop files onto the
laptop and do a TV OUT to watch? Wouldn't a VGA->HDMI connection cut
quality? I am just guessing this isn't the /optimal/ method, but I could be
wrong.

b) Preferred solution: A simple device I can purchase that will store video
files and allow for him to directly plug his TV in via HDMI, select the
video file desired and watch it, bada boom bada bang?

I admit I have barely glanced at threads on the list pertaining to ION,
atom, etc. frontends and if any of these are reasonably priced ($100-$250
range?) and can do what I'm asking here, then great, appreciate any
recommendations.

P.S. It's fine if the device runs via linux, I can surely set up everything
and maintain it if need be, but of course the MAIN thing here is that the
interface and viewing experience is pretty simple. I don't know if this is
getting into "build a myth BE/FE" territory or not, though I'd rather avoid
that as again, this guy needs coaching on how to select the right disc with
his multi-disc receiver, heh...

Thanks fellas
Bob

jarpublic at gmail

Nov 24, 2009, 11:59 AM

Post #2 of 4 (401 views)
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Re: Slightly OT: Simplest way of playing HD .mkv's/.avi's on a TV?? (Out of the loop about FEs, help!) [In reply to]

> I admit I have barely glanced at threads on the list pertaining to ION,
> atom, etc. frontends and if any of these are reasonably priced ($100-$250
> range?) and can do what I'm asking here, then great, appreciate any
> recommendations.
>
> P.S. It's fine if the device runs via linux, I can surely set up everything
> and maintain it if need be, but of course the MAIN thing here is that the
> interface and viewing experience is pretty simple. I don't know if this is
> getting into "build a myth BE/FE" territory or not, though I'd rather avoid
> that as again, this guy needs coaching on how to select the right disc with
> his multi-disc receiver, heh...

Well it looks like you don't want anything to do with mythtv so you
are more than slightly off topic. You are probably better off with
google. There are lots of ION systems available in the $200 range.
Again google. The Aspire Revo is popular and can be found for $200 or
less. You can run windows or Linux on these. Check out XBMC or Boxee
for media center software. But you are probably better off somewhere
else this is the mythtv-users list not a general purpose home media
center list. Check out AVS forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/) for
more general home AV discussion.
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travis at tabbal

Nov 24, 2009, 12:19 PM

Post #3 of 4 (406 views)
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Re: Slightly OT: Simplest way of playing HD .mkv's/.avi's on a TV?? (Out of the loop about FEs, help!) [In reply to]

On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 12:32 PM, Bobby Gill <bobbygill [at] rogers> wrote:

> A friend of mine just bought an HD TV and I do all his computer tech
> support as it is, so I'm looking for a way by which he can play video files
> directly on the TV (no DVD/disc preferentially). I know there are DVD
> players that are "DiVX compatible" but most of my stuff is HD .mkv content,
> and we'll both be using the TV, but when I'm not around I need the
> /simplest/ way for him to watch what he wants.
>

Most of my video is .mkv files, most HD quality. Myth plays them all fine
with GPU decoding. Something like the Revo would work, but you need a lot of
storage for those files. Do you have a place to store the files already? If
so, a Revo with MythVideo and a NFS/SMB mount should get you going. If
you're not recording, I don't think the combined BE/FE would be bad. You
could also use XMBC or Boxee, both of those get good reviews, but you're
less likely to find people on this list that can talk to you about it.

If you don't already have the files on a NAS or similiar, you might want to
add some storage to that price.

Another option if you're working mostly with content you already have is the
Popcorn Hour and friends. The interface isn't as pretty, but I hear good
things about them.

oeschey at gmail

Nov 25, 2009, 12:57 AM

Post #4 of 4 (378 views)
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Re: Slightly OT: Simplest way of playing HD .mkv's/.avi's on a TV?? (Out of the loop about FEs, help!) [In reply to]

2009/11/24 Bobby Gill <bobbygill [at] rogers>:

> b) Preferred solution: A simple device I can purchase that will store video
> files and allow for him to directly plug his TV in via HDMI, select the
> video file desired and watch it, bada boom bada bang?

Look at the current Relatek devices, i.e. Xtreamer or AC Ryan
PlayonHD. I have both of them (planning on getting rid of them, not
flexible enough), and they do exactly that: Simply play files from a
internal or external disk. There's a bit more about them, like
shoutcast etc., and they run cheaper than a ATOM/ION box imho...

Lars

--
www.perforations.de
www.raahoorkhuit.de
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