I’m trying to figure out the best way to get “instant” access to our kid movies without having to fight with an aging DVD player that works about half the time. To do this, I want to rip the movies, and put them on something connected to the TV to have them all accessible at all times.

Originally, I was going to install XBMC on an original xbox my brother was going to get rid of – and it’s still an option. But I still have to do the softmod, and upgrade the harddrive for it to meet my needs.

How should I go about this? XBOX? Small form-factor PC / Nettop? Is there some kind of all-in-one video player? Other? Wired network access is out of the question for now – either need wireless for streaming, or decent harddrive space. Also, I don’t need anything above Standard Def (it would be hooked to an old 4:3 Samsung).

7/8/2010 11:39:44 AM

HTPC is the way to go, IMO.

just set up a nice desktop with multiple HDDs, get a video card with the appropriate output (preferably HDMI if your TV has it).

You could always do streaming from a main computer to one hooked up to the TV, if you have/can afford that

7/8/2010 11:48:37 AM

I have had alot of luck with my Popcorn Hour

7/8/2010 12:48:58 PM

wdtv live + external hard drive

/done

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 12:55 PM. Reason : and cheap. can be done for < $200 easy]

7/8/2010 12:54:41 PM

^^^ worried about cost w/ that option

^^ don't know much about that... will look into

^ sounds pretty good... i actually have an external HD lying around that i really don't use much... may be the way to go

with ^ and ^^ - are there any potential issues with file formats? there just seem to be a lot

7/8/2010 1:02:00 PM

i've never found anything that the wdtv live wouldn't play and my understanding is the popcorn hour is even less picky. the only weird thing about it is a few really high end HD audio formats will only pass through to the optical out on the wdtv.. but yeah, i can't imagine that would be an issue with what you're wanting to do. i've only had that problem on one or two 1080p movies i've downloaded.

wdtv live is super cheap and easy as shit to use.. it's as simple as it gets. no idea on the popcorn hour

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 1:25 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/8/2010 1:24:20 PM

Quote :

"wdtv live + external hard drive /done"

^^

Quote :

"Video - AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9 "

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 1:34 PM. Reason : .]

7/8/2010 1:29:10 PM

also, the only negative about the wdtv live is the remote control that it comes with. it is fucking HORRIBLE. i use a logitech instead--just something to think about it. it works fine, but is not good

7/8/2010 1:49:10 PM

thanks... definitely leaning toward WDTV now...

that popcorn hour is $$$$$

7/8/2010 2:00:01 PM

Quote :

"Originally, I was going to install XBMC on an original xbox my brother was going to get rid of – and it’s still an option. But I still have to do the softmod, and upgrade the harddrive for it to meet my needs. "

This is what I use. If you have the xbox and a PC connected to the same network you wouldn't have to upgrade the HD on the xbox.

I just rip ISOs to the HD on my PC. XBMC can read the ISOs through the network. The only downside is that the PC has to be turned on when you want to watch. (I've definitely restarted my computer while streaming an ISO and facepalmed when the movie froze.)

7/8/2010 2:09:56 PM

^ my issue there is that it won't be networked (unless wireless - which is more money)

7/8/2010 2:13:37 PM

yea i really like mine. i've had a htpc and i just never really liked it. it worked, but still felt like a pc with some bs that tried to play movies and use a remote put on top of it and cost way more than it should have

i seriously use the wdtv live probably 2-3 hours a day a lot of days instead of paying for cable i just download whatever shows i want to it and watch them that way

7/8/2010 2:16:09 PM

^what model did you get? i'm starting to think i may not need more than the "mini" model

7/8/2010 2:21:09 PM

the "wd tv live" version.. i didnt know they had that many options actually

the mini won't do any sort of networking though would be my biggest problem with it. once you have a hard drive connected to the higher versions you can access it over your local network and add movies or whatever else you want to do. soo, to me feature was pretty important to have so i didnt have to keep moving the hard drive around to put new media on it

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 2:46 PM. Reason : asfd]

7/8/2010 2:45:27 PM

good point... last thing i wanted to ask you was the file type you generally use - the mini model supports a few pretty common ones, it just sounds like you have plenty of success so i was wondering which format you used.

thanks again for the help

7/8/2010 3:25:55 PM

mkv, not sure beyond that though. i know mkv's can vary very very widely.. so yea, usually that's what stuff i download ends up being in

7/8/2010 4:26:50 PM

If you are opting for the WDTV Live (which you should), go ahead and get the WDTV LIve +. It adds netflix support and DVD menus from .isos. So if you rip your dvds to .iso files, you still can use all of your menus. You will appreciate this later.

7/8/2010 5:04:57 PM

Quote :

"wdtv live + external hard drive"

We use 2 of these at work every day to run kiosk-type TV's with announcements and stuff. Stream 720p video over the network works like a charm. With 3rd party firmware they can even roll wireless.

Backup for me would be something like a eeePc with ION, or just go ahead and build a proper HTPC.

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 5:11 PM. Reason : FWIW, we backup the ISO files to network, then encode the whole thing to XvidHD,]

7/8/2010 5:10:19 PM

to me it's sad that in 2010, digital video playback on a TV is barely in its infancy.

7/8/2010 5:35:20 PM

WD TV Live HD on sale $90:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=a3055259

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 6:36 PM. Reason : ,]

7/8/2010 6:36:11 PM

Quote :

"to me it's sad that in 2010, digital video playback on a TV is barely in its infancy."

agreed. if a bunch of old [minded] fucks didn't run the business we'd all be a lot better off.

Quote :

"With 3rd party firmware they can even roll wireless."

yeah you can do just about anything.. they have news and torrent clients even now for some of the firmware that exists. the processor really can't handle it very well, though.. in my experience anyways

Quote :

"If you are opting for the WDTV Live (which you should), go ahead and get the WDTV LIve +"

this isn't a bad idea.. i have to agree that i can get kind of annoying not having that feature. although i also don't understand why they don't add it to the regular wdtv live.. bc it has to just be a firmware thing, or so i'd think?

anyways. yeah, either way, pretty sure you'll like the wdtv live or live+ and either will do what you want

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 6:50 PM. Reason : asf]

7/8/2010 6:39:33 PM

If I had to have something today, I'd go with the WDTV Live, as mentioned.

But there are a metric ton of next gen boxes right around the corner (including the value priced PopBox and the Boxee Box) that might be worth holding out for. If that's the sort of thing that interests you.

7/8/2010 9:29:15 PM

^Boxee has yet to impress me. Other than looking amazing I can do everything it can with my WDTV box, all for ~$70 with network adapter and 3rd party firmware.

Paired up with Tversity I'm satisfied. Stream to N800, blackberry, iPod, TV, computer and most other stuff - and it can pull in everything except hulu. It comes in goes as they battle in who updates more.

7/9/2010 4:40:41 AM

I honestly haven't bothered to look much at any of the new offerings, but I just wanted to point out that there are plenty of them coming. The WDTV is ok for what it is, but it's fairly scarce when it comes to extras. It plays your media, and does Youtube and Pandora and that's about it. The UI is about as crappy as I could imagine but it gets the job done. For some (most?) people that's all they're looking for. I just know that I personally would be pissed as hell if I bought a WDTV at this point in time and then found out a month from now that I could have gotten [insert whatever awesome new product here] for the same price that has 3 times the features.

7/9/2010 6:24:05 AM

i ended up getting the wdtv mini from newegg for $60

i only need the bare-bones for this situation - it's for some kid movies on our old 4:3 tv downstairs. for anything other than that, i would have the live+ or something else, but i didn't need it here. i appreciate all the responses - definitely some good info ITT

^^ what 3rd party firmware are you referring to and what does it do for you?

7/9/2010 7:48:31 AM

http://b-rad.cc/wdlxtv/

B-Rad with the Optware package. http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/Optware/Packages?from=Unslung.Packages

7/9/2010 12:44:43 PM

i would go with the xbox. it's meant to be treated like a toy and is dirt cheap to replace. you don't need to upgrade the harddrive in the xbox, you can just stream the data from any network share in the house. softmod is super simple too

7/9/2010 1:39:00 PM

WD TV Live Plus adds Netflix and other premium streaming content, only a few bucks more

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MVZ60I/

7/9/2010 3:16:49 PM