Review: HDI Dune BD Prime 3.0

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[url=http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5260&Itemid=236]Original Article Link[/url]

Andrew,

Do you think that this is a good option for a slightly techie friend or family member?  I’m trying to get my brother set up with a decent DVR and movie archive system, and we started out with SageTV.  The HD-PVR system isn’t working for him because it is too hard to set up and maintain stability so he is going back to the Dish Network DVR which he likes.  But, we’re still thinking about the HD200 for movie archive. 

We’ve already run into problems with the HD200 not handling HD PCM audio properly in movies like Ratatouille and there are instances where it picks the wrong playlist and you get the directors commentary.  The Watchmen is a good example where the longest playlist contains the directors commentary overlaid over the movie.  BD television shows like Battlestar Galactiva are particually nasty because there are mutliple shows on the disk and you have no idea which one is which.  It’s possible now to chose another playlist, but the BAF isn’t perfect using a HD200 for BD movie playback.

The timing on this Dune review is perfect because I am searching for other options for him.  One of those options is the Dune because it should be able to allow his family to enjoy their movies without popping in the disk every time and will eliminate the issues I’m dealing with when using the BD-Lite features on the SageTV HD200.

But, right now he is backing up the entire film.  All 40-50GB of it.  That adds up fast even on a 6TB HP WHS.  If he used something like ClownBD to rip out just the film, we would be back to the same issue as the HD200 has, because ClownBD also doesn’t tell you what playlist the main movie is on.  And backing up shows like BSG is pretty much impossible with ClownBD because of all the effort it takes to figure out which episode is which.  Is it worth it to switch to the Dune and forget using ClownBD?  Or should we keep using the HD200 and deal with the occasional issue that arises.  I admit that it is pretty rare that a movie has a problem like Watchmen.  But, nearly every TV show on BD i’ve tried doesn’t work well using BD-Lite.

[Andrew Van Til]

I think the the lack of media aggregation (a “jukebox”) is probably the biggest issue for non-techies because you need to browse around and be comfortable selecting a specific file for playback.  Zappiti and MM solve that issue, but both require maintenance when changing available titles.  I completely agree on your points around the current BD-Lite implementation in Sage for TV series on BD.  It’s one place where menu support is really important so a significant portion of the BD “testing” I did with the Prime was with those kinds of disks – and it worked great 🙂 

If he would prefer a smaller form factor (like the HD200) it might we worth checking out the modular Dune Smart lineup that should be coming later this month.

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Form factor isn’t an issue. He’s got a whole closet dedicated to HT gear.  It’s a pretty awesome theater. 

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1152809

He’s going to want Netflix and Vudu so he’s already got a cheap BD player.  The Dune would be a second BD player, and I’m guessing that it would become the main BD player, with the other cheap player focusing on streaming media.  I’d do that to keep the UI the same for all movies. 

I don’t know much about MyMovies (MM) or Zappiti so I will have to look into how much maintenance is required.  I was hoping to use MM on SageTV also but I hadn’t started to look into it closely.

[Andrew Van Til]

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Form factor isn’t an issue. He’s got a whole closet dedicated to HT gear.  It’s a pretty awesome theater. 

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1152809
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WOW.  I want one of those 🙂

[Andrew Van Til]

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I don’t know much about MyMovies (MM) or Zappiti so I will have to look into how much maintenance is required.  I was hoping to use MM on SageTV also but I hadn’t started to look into it closely.
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You need to manually run Zappiti whenever a title is added or removed.  I think MM will automatically add titles (it does on the PC), but (like the PC) you need to delete them manually. 

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He should be able to handle deleting movies manually.  The rest of the family will us the BD player if they want to pop in a movie that isn’t already loaded.

Yeah.  I really want a dedicated theater. It’s pretty awesome.  I thought my home system was pretty good, but the 2:1 screen size and the BIG sub made it a very cool experience.  I could feel the bass resonating in my chest.

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