dasinc Posted March 29, 2007 Posted March 29, 2007 G'day people, I have been told that you are a very knowledgable lot - and looking at some of the posts this seems to be the case. So I have a question! Later this year I am looking at upgrading my HT setup. Basically new everything. Now I am not an audio/video phile but I do want good stuff. I am happy enougth to stumble my way through buying the tv/speakers etc. What I really want to know and have nfi where to start looking etc is: What can I get to stream things off my computers hd - or the pvr etc? Basically what my xbox does now, but a good, professional type setup. I am thinking of either going silly and spending $10,000 on the new setup - maybe only $7000 and $3000 for some kind of cool movie chairs...any ideas?
pgdownload Posted March 29, 2007 Posted March 29, 2007 Also also look into getting a PVR if you're getting a big screen here. But to streaming and well something like the new AppleTV does a pretty good job of streaming. Wouldn't be so quick to throw away the XBox solution - lots use it. And hook it up to the new MS Media Centre for some impressive controls (You can get ICETV for a 7 day EPG and auto timer setting) Many users have also set up a mini Mac to act as a Media Centre. But for more 'professional' solutions something like the Mediagate is what you're looking for. However if you really want some serioushome distribution firepower, twin tuner HD PVR functionality etc. then the BeyondWiz (out next month apparently) would be the pick. Regards Peter Gillespie
dasinc Posted March 30, 2007 Author Posted March 30, 2007 ....<snip>But for more 'professional' solutions something like the Mediagate is what you're looking for. However if you really want some serioushome distribution firepower, twin tuner HD PVR functionality etc. then the BeyondWiz (out next month apparently) would be the pick. Regards Peter Gillespie Thanks for the reply - the BeyondWiz looks like exactly what I want. Will have to look into it. The xbox does the job very well - however it won't last forever and I am too lazy to setup the IR on and off function, so I can't totally control it with my harmony remote.
Gino Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 Any idea on the price of the 2 models from BeyondWiz? I'd buy these for sure if they definitely support playback of my 720p/1080i .ts and .h264 files
fat Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 Any idea on the price of the 2 models from BeyondWiz? I'd buy these for sure if they definitely support playback of my 720p/1080i .ts and .h264 files The prce given by BW was $1499 for the DP-S1 but AFAIK they have never given any idea on pricing for the DP-H1. As for the .h264 files Dave® has tried a 720P and 1080P and the 720P played fine but not picture from the 1080P. He was not able to find a 1080i .h264 file so maybe you should send him one to try.
miagi Posted March 31, 2007 Posted March 31, 2007 https://www.genesys.net.au/product_info.php?products_id=7716
dasinc Posted March 31, 2007 Author Posted March 31, 2007 https://www.genesys.net.au/product_info.php?products_id=7716 wow that is pretty cheap, doesn't do 1080p though...strange
Gino Posted March 31, 2007 Posted March 31, 2007 The prce given by BW was $1499 for the DP-S1 but AFAIK they have never given any idea on pricing for the DP-H1. As for the .h264 files Dave® has tried a 720P and 1080P and the 720P played fine but not picture from the 1080P. He was not able to find a 1080i .h264 file so maybe you should send him one to try. Who is Dave?
sulimo Posted March 31, 2007 Posted March 31, 2007 The new Netgear thing (EVA8000) is looking pretty good. I'm not quite sure when its out locally though.
Curious Posted April 1, 2007 Posted April 1, 2007 Who is Dave? He he, reminds me of an old Cheech and Chong sketch ("where's Dave?"..."Dave's not here"...) It's ok, my madness is only fleeting... Curious
brooksy Posted April 2, 2007 Posted April 2, 2007 Another option the the Zensonic Z500 (now know as Ziova) Z500 Website It's coped a lot of flack since its release in december '05 for flakey firmware, but with the latest version fw (1.6.1) it is very stable and will play anything i throw at it. I feel very confident in saying this - i've owned it since its release and have used every firmware released thus far. HD xvid/divx/wmv/mp4/ts files and even iso files (however no support for x.264 codec - unless using server software for transcoding). Region free (with remote code) upscaling dvd player. HDMI & component outputs. 1080i50/60, 720p50/60, pal/ntsc progressive output resolutions. Mass storage devices are supported off its USB2.0 port, including NTFS file systems. Another thing i love about it is there is no need for server software on the PC (although the option is provided). It utilizes windows SMB shares, and there is no delay at all for playback of files, including HD files (i use a wired connection, so not sure about the wireless option). The user forums are very good, company reps actively participate and take on-board customer feedback. Ziova Forums I'm looking at the Beyonwiz as well, but if i didn't need the pvr functionality, another Z500 for me is a no-brainer. If the firmware of the Beyonwiz is not as good as the current Z500's, i'll forgo it in favour of another Z500 plus HD tuner card/s for the PC (which would be a lot cheaper than the Beyonwiz).
cheezo Posted April 2, 2007 Posted April 2, 2007 I can vouch for the Zensonic too.... lots of my friends have them and with the revised firmware they r much better
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