Tired from media center on PC / Move to NMT

[yeti]

Hello,

I was using a PC as media center until now, but I'm tired spending time to fix configuration problems and spend time trying to make mediacenter running - and the PC is really noisy!

I'm thinking about moving to Popcorn C-200 that seems to fit my needs:
- Streaming music and movies from a server (WHS)
- Good media jukebox management - should be usable by kids !
- Display - allowing navigation without TV ON - and possibility to remote control using iPad
- NO configuration nightmare!

Will it match?
I have a few doubts with the following elements:
- How is maintenance/stability/configuration? I'm not afraid to sepdn some time, but when working it should be reliable.
- If I install a local HDD, which transfer speed is expected (using GB Ethernet) from my other machines. SMB is probably slow, but can we expect more than 10MB/s using FTP or other? Between 2 Win machine, I'm up to 60MB/s.
- To manage my movie catalog, I was using ANT Catalog Movie. Is the jukebox functionality similar? Can I handle French easily?
- How silent is the box once you have mounted a BD-ROM?
- What is the usual boot time?
- Should I wait 2012 fo new CPU/box? Or, as I want reliability, it is better to go with a boy that exists for some years?

I really want to have something reliable working nicely once configured.

I like the concept of the box - near to buy it .

[marmotamarmota]

Hi,
First of all to all who reads this thread: this post contains my very subjective view and based on my own requirements and expectations for this device and you may get absolutely different impression.
I'm new user of A-210. Was searching for a full-feature, stable, fast/intuitive UI, finished product. However it did not meet up to my expectations in MANY ways.
I was searching for device that I would use: 70% time for music (headless playback of lossless music via Upnp/DLNA or MPD through SPDIF interface), other 30% for videos.

So here are my observations about different qualities and aspects of PCH products (possibly not directly answering your questions, but you may have new questions then).
1. It is a video box, not media. Using audio and photo browsing tools reminds me of using Microsoft Paint for graphics (more on this later ).
2. Those boxes are more hacker-oriented than consumer-oriented. Expect to have a new hobby on tuning and tinkering your PCH and making things work. Stock software, especially UI-related has poor quality if targeting standards of consumer device that is titled as "Rolls Royce of Media Player".
Basic UI is just nothing more than a simple file/folder browser.
3. UI is designed for a vary basic usage.
"new UI", or NMJ for video is better, however if you have large video library (I have ~ 380 movies) accessible through network, NMJ startup time is really long (sorry, I will not be precise - lazy to measure currently - a few minutes).
"new UI" for audio is literally unusable (collection of > 9000 songs). After media scan interface just hangs or if you are lucky - you can make one "move" through music wall every few minutes.

4. UI is not consistent as well as remote control. Remote of this device has 49 buttons, all have different functions, however in different menus expect different buttons to do the trick (back, left, stop, eject - need to use different in different windows). Some buttons work only from some windows (for example if you get into error page, you cannot navigate to home directly. You must either press back, or go to setup page, from there - you can (depends on situation) navigate to home screen). Takes time to memorize in which window, which button calls which function. Currently I'm still not capable to use remote without looking into it Remote requires long button press time or second button pressing often. In some resolutions dialog boxes jump out of the screen range, impossible to navigate further.

5. If ANYTHING goes wrong from PCH software to you network, pc or whatever configuration, you are left with cryptic "Error processing a request" message. Expect to spend evenings in searching for answers on simple questions.

6. User manuals lack in information. It includes obvious things, however excludes crucial details (for example that PCH does not support NMJ on non HD tv's)

7. If you will install alternative UI (jukeboxes) MOST LIKELY you will not be able to be independent of PC (for example to generate YAMJ, or Music Jukebox content you need PC. On my PC regenerating YAMJ content takes about 11 hours). Expect interfaces running on PCH only to be either slow or lacking features. Anyway do not expect any support on non-stock software.

8. Headless UPNP/DLNA playback after various tests on different pcs/mobile devices, different software seems to be lacking of stability, especially on wireless. Not sure if its NMT's fault or all other software problems (tried ~4 clients). Latest MPD build also works correctly on 50% of time. So currently still haven't found robust and stable way to play to manage media on server and playback remotely. Will try more streaming options, however it takes enormous time of trials and errors. Still haven't tried non-stock UPNP solutions.

9. However, community has done just wonderful job in making all this alternative software accessible and working (more or less), and If you have time and will (and as I understand - you don't) install, try, read forums, try and read forums again) - possible you can make this thing to meet your expectations.

[chris57]

I'll just answer your questions.

The C200 can be noisy if you use the BD ROM. If you don't then it has no fan and apart from HDD noise is silent.

The best way to suipply files is via shared folders, WHS has shared folders and uses SMB (Samba). That at around 66Mb/s is fast enough for even Bluray 1:1 backups. If you are transferring content then I get 11MB/s (88Mb/s) via SMB and 16MB/s (128Mb/s) on my gigabit switch setuop, i bypas the router.

There is an inbuilt jukebox from Popcornhour called NMJ. That scrapes itself and requires no PC. There are also third party jukeboxes some do require a PC and some don't.

There is a LCD screen on the front, it's hard to read unless you are directly in front of it and less then 4 feet away.

Any new player will be more unstable as although Sigma provide the best picture quality from their chips they seem to provide poor and very slow SDK releses in support of their chips. PCH have looked elsewhere but the quality of playbackis not on par with Sigma and why the top players stick with them rather than cheaper Realtek chips in their players.

You can see a few screenshots and get lots of help on the NMT WIKI:-
http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki

The box does require a little bit of technology experience. However fromt he questions you have asked I don't envisage you having any problems. A lot of members actually find great advice here on other matters such as scripts, Linux, and decide to take on projects, its a great community.

[winst3]

(10-04-2011 11:29 PM)marmotamarmota Wrote:  Hi,
First of all to all who reads this thread: this post contains my very subjective view and based on my own requirements and expectations for this device and you may get absolutely different impression.
I'm new user of A-210. Was searching for a full-feature, stable, fast/intuitive UI, finished product. However it did not meet up to my expectations in MANY ways.
I was searching for device that I would use: 70% time for music (headless playback of lossless music via Upnp/DLNA or MPD through SPDIF interface), other 30% for videos.

So here are my observations about different qualities and aspects of PCH products (possibly not directly answering your questions, but you may have new questions then).
1. It is a video box, not media. Using audio and photo browsing tools reminds me of using Microsoft Paint for graphics (more on this later ).
2. Those boxes are more hacker-oriented than consumer-oriented. Expect to have a new hobby on tuning and tinkering your PCH and making things work. Stock software, especially UI-related has poor quality if targeting standards of consumer device that is titled as "Rolls Royce of Media Player".
Basic UI is just nothing more than a simple file/folder browser.
3. UI is designed for a vary basic usage.
"new UI", or NMJ for video is better, however if you have large video library (I have ~ 380 movies) accessible through network, NMJ startup time is really long (sorry, I will not be precise - lazy to measure currently - a few minutes).
"new UI" for audio is literally unusable (collection of > 9000 songs). After media scan interface just hangs or if you are lucky - you can make one "move" through music wall every few minutes.

4. UI is not consistent as well as remote control. Remote of this device has 49 buttons, all have different functions, however in different menus expect different buttons to do the trick (back, left, stop, eject - need to use different in different windows). Some buttons work only from some windows (for example if you get into error page, you cannot navigate to home directly. You must either press back, or go to setup page, from there - you can (depends on situation) navigate to home screen). Takes time to memorize in which window, which button calls which function. Currently I'm still not capable to use remote without looking into it Remote requires long button press time or second button pressing often. In some resolutions dialog boxes jump out of the screen range, impossible to navigate further.

5. If ANYTHING goes wrong from PCH software to you network, pc or whatever configuration, you are left with cryptic "Error processing a request" message. Expect to spend evenings in searching for answers on simple questions.

6. User manuals lack in information. It includes obvious things, however excludes crucial details (for example that PCH does not support NMJ on non HD tv's)

7. If you will install alternative UI (jukeboxes) MOST LIKELY you will not be able to be independent of PC (for example to generate YAMJ, or Music Jukebox content you need PC. On my PC regenerating YAMJ content takes about 11 hours). Expect interfaces running on PCH only to be either slow or lacking features. Anyway do not expect any support on non-stock software.

8. Headless UPNP/DLNA playback after various tests on different pcs/mobile devices, different software seems to be lacking of stability, especially on wireless. Not sure if its NMT's fault or all other software problems (tried ~4 clients). Latest MPD build also works correctly on 50% of time. So currently still haven't found robust and stable way to play to manage media on server and playback remotely. Will try more streaming options, however it takes enormous time of trials and errors. Still haven't tried non-stock UPNP solutions.

9. However, community has done just wonderful job in making all this alternative software accessible and working (more or less), and If you have time and will (and as I understand - you don't) install, try, read forums, try and read forums again) - possible you can make this thing to meet your expectations.

---

Very well stated.
I received my A-210 last December and finally got some use out of it June, it is quite tiring to get it to work.
And; the documents so very poor, if you are not a wizard be prepared to spend a lot of time searching all related forums just to get tidbits of information.
I have bought:
1 AC Ryan
2 Meber8
3 Sage TV300
4 Roku
5 Sony SMP-N100
6 Sony SMP-N200
6 Apple Tv1
Just ordered a QNAP nmp-100P, all because I just want a device that plays video and great quality audio
from a NAS.
So far thew closest are the A-210 and the Sony; the Sony having the very best in response from remote

[marmotamarmota]

Hi,
Here is a note for those who are considering alternatives:

Give a serious look at google tv platform. It seems Google TV Apps are available now.
Potential is not of 10 active community developers. It opens potential for all existing Android developers to contribute (community and commercial).
And android development it is just light years ahead of what I have found on PCH (by all possible means).
So I would give it a year to leave all other players with home-grown OS'es/platforms far far behind.
And from years of experience with google products I'm pretty sure that you would not need to do any tinkering to stock firmware, stock UI, etc...

http://googletv.blogspot.com/
http://www.google.com/tv/

[chris57]

Google TV

Syabas were offered Andriod many months if not in fact a couple of year ago by Sigma. HDX took up the challenge and you can see the consequences in the HDX Bone and now HDX has had to retreat back to chine and do not supply any other markets..

If you want a media player that has network capabilities and can play Bluray then googleTv is not the one for you. If you dont care about picture quality and want want widgets and very limited file playback then perhaps it may be at sometime in the future.

GoogleTV is not for serious users who require the likes of Bluray playback at the best picture quality with the likes of HD Audio.

[neyenlives]

marmotamarmota said it well. Make no mistake, you will not be plugging in your new PCH unit and a hard drive and be off and running after coming from a PC setup. You will be very disappointed in the stock experience and will instantly want to get the pretty images of the custom firmware/apps/skins, etc.....such as YAMJ. That being said, it will consume a lot of your time just maintaining it, setting it up, and recovering from upgrade snafu's.

Honestly, I am dumping my popbox for the very reasons marmotamarmota mentioned above....it's just too much....

[Willem53]

It is a balancing act of trade-offs between Usability, Image and Audio quality, Eye candy and budget.... and for each user the importance given to each Item is different.

Therefor the product is a compromise....for most users

Live with it..

And enjoy the fact that your not handling thousands of CD, DVD and BD disks