pittsoccer33

[pittsoccer33]

I sell tv’s at one of the big boxes so this is how I approach the question when people come looking to do what you’re talking about.

1) You have to know what kind of video you have and exactly what you want to do with it.  As previously mentioned, codec support is limited (Samsung has to be the best overall).  Beyond codec/container is bitrate.  Even though Samsung tv’s can play mkv files w/ h264 video, the maximum bitrate is limited to around 18mbps in practice.  You couldn’t simply remux a bluray disc to mkv and play it over usb.

2) Some tvs cannot play NTFS formatted drives.  I think for 2011 most have gotten with it, but it is something worth double checking if that will be relevant to you.

3)DLNA is (in my opinion) no where near ready for an average consumer to work with.  There are too many variables at play, and there is no one server software suite that works equally well with all formats.  If your sister leaves her PC running all the time then possibly TVersity w/ transcoding set might work for her to allow all files to play to the television.

4) Most manufacturers abandoned their 2010 smart tv platforms for 2011.  2010 tvs are not getting new app updates by and large, and even if they were their chips might not be able to run the newer programs.  

A tv is a one every 5-10 year purchase.  A small box, like a Boxee or WDTV is a bit more consumer friendly and cheaper/easier to replace when it becomes obsolete.

[pittsoccer33]

 

1. Comcast
2. City of Pittsburgh
3. HBO Copy Once, Encore can be either once or Copy Freely.  All others Copy Freely.
4. SDV Status: No SDV
5. Self-Install: Unknown, was not available previously 

[pittsoccer33]

im actually speechless right now that you knew exactly what the odd, very specific problem was that i was having and knew exactly how to fix it.

this revue box is neat for giving me access in my bedroom (where i use an extender) to hbo go, xfinity on demand, and netflix.  I am pretty surprised how well the ir blaster works, since ive always had this awful opinion of them.  i actually prefer using its keyboard to control the tv and extender. 

but overall it’s shortcomings are ridiculous.  no dts (decoding or pass thru) and no mpeg2 video (huh?) are kind of unbelievable.  allegedly the coming honeycomb update will fix that but i wont hold my breath.

thanks again for helping me sort that one out.

[pittsoccer33]

Are there switches where some of the ports are 1000Mbps, and other ports are only 100Mbps?  Would a higher quality one allow you to select the max speed of the port?

[pittsoccer33]

Thanks for all the responses.  Since TGB shut down I’ve been on my own trying to troubleshoot.

Like I said, I don’t want to screw with settings on it more than I have to, I just want it to work the way my current wifi router does: plug the devices into it and they all have access to the internet/to each other.

Just say for the sake of discussion I go to Best Buy tonight and buy their most basic 8 port gigabit switch.  How will I connect everything to it, and what about it is going to disappoint me and make me wish I had bought a better one?  What is it about the Xbox’s non gigabit connection that will cause a problem, what types of issues would they be?

[pittsoccer33]

Why do you recommend those over, say, monoprice’s $25 one?  I understand there is probably an element of “you get what you pay for” but I guess my problem is that I don’t know what I need to be paying for.

I’ll NEED four ports.  5-10 would give me room to grow.  

[pittsoccer33]

yea I run WMC.  I am just out of space in my smaller living room case for hard drives.  I am going to set up another computer in a tower that has room for about 10 drives in the full atx case.  I am not going to run any server software, just run W7 and allow the drives to be accessed on the network.  I am def not very network savy.

I have an ATI DCT now, I’d like to upgrade to a Prime.  That way I have one tuner for the bedroom and two for the living room.  I rarely have conflicts now with only one, so I figure that setup will be enough.  My only Copy Once channel is HBO so I am lucky in that regard.

I have thought of upgrading in my living room to newer hardware, but I would lose all of my HBO movies, and honestly, it runs pretty snappy, and it works, so why mess with it?

So my idea was that since there is going to now be second computer tower involved running W7, why not plug it into my second tv?  That would allow me to do all the things the 360 will not, like play bluray, Netflix, Hulu, etc.

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