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PostPosted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 1:42 pm 
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I'm currently running a HTPC with XBMC Dharma. I leave it on 24x7 but it generates a lot of heat as it is a full fledged PC even though it's quite small (Asus eee EB1012). Turning it off isn't really an option as it takes too long to boot up.

I've tried the AC Ryan Mini 2 (what a disappointment that was!) and the Asus O!Play HDP-R1 but neither of them will index the content of the MSS.

Does anyone know of a media player that meets these requirements?
  • High WAF (wife acceptability factor)
  • Interface as good (simple) as XBMC's
  • Indexes movies on the MSS
  • Scrapes box art from a site like TMDB
  • Doesn't require navigating a series of folders to play a movie

I was looking at the Dune HD Smart media players this morning but it's difficult to tell what the interface is like or if it'll index the content on the MSS. The only user guides they had available are the Prime players. Maybe the interface is the same but I couldn't be sure.

If I can find the right media player at the right price I'll get several of them for different rooms in the house but right now I despair of finding anything.

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:05 pm 
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Have you seen Damian's reviews of the Dune? They are pretty in depth and may give you some of the answers you are looking for.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:54 pm 
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I have read those reviews and the Dune does sound pretty close. I'll likely give one a try. It appears that Dune is updating the FW more often than AC Ryan. One of the items Damian has mentioned that Dune needs to do is, allow the user to pick an application they want to be automatically started. As Damian suggests that would be a Jukebox like Zappiti or yaDIS.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 12:00 am 
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Not sure if you have tried the new firmware for the PlayOn, it certainly looks better and is easier to use than it did but you still have to navigate which has been my main gripe.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:55 am 
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TxDot wrote:
I have read those reviews and the Dune does sound pretty close. I'll likely give one a try. It appears that Dune is updating the FW more often than AC Ryan. One of the items Damian has mentioned that Dune needs to do is, allow the user to pick an application they want to be automatically started. As Damian suggests that would be a Jukebox like Zappiti or yaDIS.


Hi TxDot,

I have been using the Dune Players (BD Prime and Smart D1) and overall I have been very happy with. WAF has been high with as well. Actually, WAF was taking a bit of a hit with my HTPCs due to general instabilities/inconsistencies, so having her use the Dune has made a big difference. You are definitely going to want to use a jukebox (such as Zappiti, MyMovies, or yaDIS 2.0) which you run on a PC. These jukeboxes will gather all metadata/artwork and then create a jukebox to export which is then viewed back on the Dune. It is not as flashy per se as XBMC but for me does everything I need (sorts by Movies/TV Shows, Genres, newest release etc...). There is no need to drill down into folder on top of folder in a Windows explorer type view with these jukeboxes which is a big plus. One other item of interest, My Movies has an iPxx/Android App that will allow you to view your entire movie collection on your device and initiate playback on the Dune directly from the device, as well as can be used as a remote to control the Dune. Pretty neat, I might have a brief writeup up today.

The one downside of the Dune is that there is practically no online content unless you use a 3rd party app like PlayON. This is not that important to me, but thought it worth mentioning.

Other options would be the PCH or the Boxee Box. The PCH has a built in jukebox (so you don't have to run a program from a PC) but it is rather flaky and I wouldn't recommend, so instead you would want to use a 3rd party app like YAMJ. Boxee Box scrapes all content itself (so no need for 3rd party jukebox) and has a solid amount of online content (Netflix, Vudu, etc...). There are still some issues with audio dropouts that I am waiting to see fixed

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:09 am 
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Cougar wrote:
Not sure if you have tried the new firmware for the PlayOn, it certainly looks better and is easier to use than it did but you still have to navigate which has been my main gripe.
I downloaded the latest FW yesterday and applied it. No real big change in my view. Still need to navigate folder by folder and that lowers the WAF to an unacceptable level. Comparing the O!Play to the ACRyan Mini 2, the O!Play is way better in my view. Navigating within it is really pretty fast. It is painfully slow in the Mini 2. I can't tell you how many times I've had to back up because I pressed a key twice thinking the device hadn't received the first key press. In an attempt to over come that I'd sometimes sit there waiting and waiting when in fact the key press hadn't been received. With the O!Play you know right away if it got the key press.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:48 am 
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dbone1026 wrote:
TxDot wrote:
I have read those reviews and the Dune does sound pretty close. I'll likely give one a try. It appears that Dune is updating the FW more often than AC Ryan. One of the items Damian has mentioned that Dune needs to do is, allow the user to pick an application they want to be automatically started. As Damian suggests that would be a Jukebox like Zappiti or yaDIS.


Hi TxDot,

I have been using the Dune Players (BD Prime and Smart D1) and overall I have been very happy with. WAF has been high with as well. Actually, WAF was taking a bit of a hit with my HTPCs due to general instabilities/inconsistencies, so having her use the Dune has made a big difference. You are definitely going to want to use a jukebox (such as Zappiti, MyMovies, or yaDIS 2.0) which you run on a PC. These jukeboxes will gather all metadata/artwork and then create a jukebox to export which is then viewed back on the Dune. It is not as flashy per se as XBMC but for me does everything I need (sorts by Movies/TV Shows, Genres, newest release etc...). There is no need to drill down into folder on top of folder in a Windows explorer type view with these jukeboxes which is a big plus. One other item of interest, My Movies has an iPxx/Android App that will allow you to view your entire movie collection on your device and initiate playback on the Dune directly from the device, as well as can be used as a remote to control the Dune. Pretty neat, I might have a brief writeup up today.

The one downside of the Dune is that there is practically no online content unless you use a 3rd party app like PlayON. This is not that important to me, but thought it worth mentioning.

Other options would be the PCH or the Boxee Box. The PCH has a built in jukebox (so you don't have to run a program from a PC) but it is rather flaky and I wouldn't recommend, so instead you would want to use a 3rd party app like YAMJ. Boxee Box scrapes all content itself (so no need for 3rd party jukebox) and has a solid amount of online content (Netflix, Vudu, etc...). There are still some issues with audio dropouts that I am waiting to see fixed
I noticed that Dune has introduced support for the iPad and iPod Touch for interfacing as well. Of course since you're not a Apple Fanboi that won't interest you. :mrgreen:

Will the Boxee Box index the content on my MSS?

I like the idea of managing the jukebox from a PC as doing lot of navigating with a remote quickly becomes tiresome. Also, as you point out in your reviews of Zappiti and yaDIS, all Dune devices get any changes automatically.

One device you didn't mention is the syabas popbox. Do you have any experience with it? It looks like it could fill the bill.

Online content such as Netflix is important. I currently use a Sony BluRay player which I'll need to keep unless I decide to get the Dune that has the BluRay player in it. However, Dune doesn't offer Netflix so I'd still need to keep the Sony BluRay player.

Have you ever thought about hacking the Dune to automatically launch a 3rd party jukebox app? If it runs Linux that ought to be possible if you can telnet into it.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 7:09 am 
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TxDot wrote:
I noticed that Dune has introduced support for the iPad and iPod Touch for interfacing as well. Of course since you're not a Apple Fanboi that won't interest you. :mrgreen:

Will the Boxee Box index the content on my MSS?

I like the idea of managing the jukebox from a PC as doing lot of navigating with a remote quickly becomes tiresome. Also, as you point out in your reviews of Zappiti and yaDIS, all Dune devices get any changes automatically.

One device you didn't mention is the syabas popbox. Do you have any experience with it? It looks like it could fill the bill.

Online content such as Netflix is important. I currently use a Sony BluRay player which I'll need to keep unless I decide to get the Dune that has the BluRay player in it. However, Dune doesn't offer Netflix so I'd still need to keep the Sony BluRay player.

Have you ever thought about hacking the Dune to automatically launch a 3rd party jukebox app? If it runs Linux that ought to be possible if you can telnet into it.


Yes, there are a few remote applications for the Dune on the iPxx that I have tested out already and they work well (tested out on my iPad, and my wife's iPhone). The My Movies iPxx App though is the only one that allows you to actually start a movie on your Dune from the iPxx (will definitely come in handy).

Yes, the Boxee Box will index content from your MSS. I think in the next update (May) they will add full support for XBMC nfos, so that should give you more control over your jukebox as well.

For me that is the biggest benefit of managing a jukebox via a PC. I have two Dunes, so I know any change/addition I make to my library automatically gets added correctly to each player. Also, I can manage my jukeboxes remotely, and I am in complete control as to when my jukeboxes are updated on the Dunes

As far as the Popbox, it has made a lot of progress, and the addition on the YAMJ PopApp gives an additional jukebox option. It was a bit of a disaster at launch, so I haven't spent much time with since I found it to not be usable. Latest fw updates have fixed much of this, so I hope to spend more time with for my review in the next few weeks.

I am not a Linux guy so I wouldn't even know where to start as far as hacking to get auto launching of a jukebox.

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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2011 10:22 pm 
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I finally got a Boxee Box for my BDAY (May 8th). Nice little box it was a pain getting it to see my content on the MSS. When I created my user account for it I didnt notice the name was typed wrong. hahaha 20 min wasted trying to figure that out.

Where I am at now if how to get the Boxee Box to sort my collection and keep it soted correctly. Like on the appletv I have a show listed Big Bang Theory, The on Boxee its listed at The Big Bang theory. I did figure out how to get it to ignore "the" when alphabetizing them which was nice. I read that I can set up NFO's but not sure what that is all about. Also in some of my series they have webisodes like sanctuary before the series officially started which I consider season 1. Boxee doesnt understand that an mislabled a few episodes No fun to fix 1500 uncategorized files. also what do you do when you cant find info when Boxee tried toidentify files. Like the sanctuary webisodes arent found when you search for them. do they still show up? can you get them out of unidentified and in the main list? does this make sense? There are definitely benifits to this over Appletv. What are repositories? and something about googletv can wok on boxee??


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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2011 11:18 pm 
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I have a PCH and the WD Live HUB, and have experience with Roku and Seagate. NONE are HIGH WAF, if that includes ease of use.

Although I also have a WHS for media, I really like the WD Live Hub. Has a built in 1TB drive, and will get media art with little intervention. I use the 1 TB drive for wifes TIVO stuff like Oprah, Dr OZ. Stuff I dont need to keep on the server.


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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2011 6:39 am 
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T-Bone wrote:
dbone1026

I finally got a Boxee Box for my BDAY (May 8th). Nice little box it was a pain getting it to see my content on the MSS. When I created my user account for it I didnt notice the name was typed wrong. hahaha 20 min wasted trying to figure that out.

Where I am at now if how to get the Boxee Box to sort my collection and keep it soted correctly. Like on the appletv I have a show listed Big Bang Theory, The on Boxee its listed at The Big Bang theory. I did figure out how to get it to ignore "the" when alphabetizing them which was nice. I read that I can set up NFO's but not sure what that is all about. Also in some of my series they have webisodes like sanctuary before the series officially started which I consider season 1. Boxee doesnt understand that an mislabled a few episodes No fun to fix 1500 uncategorized files. also what do you do when you cant find info when Boxee tried toidentify files. Like the sanctuary webisodes arent found when you search for them. do they still show up? can you get them out of unidentified and in the main list? does this make sense? There are definitely benifits to this over Appletv. What are repositories? and something about googletv can wok on boxee??


That is one of the drawbacks of the boxee Box. If it does not recognize a show it sits in the uncategorized section and currently there is no way to move it into the library. I believe the addition of nfo support will eventually fix this (this should be coming with the next FW update due in May).

The repositories are for user created content (3rd party App). Basically as new Apps are added you can add to your Boxee Box via the reporsitory (I believe it requires knowing the specific url for that repository). I have never used GoogleTV so not sure how it would coexist with Boxee

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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2011 7:11 am 
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I have tried numerous media player and in my opinion the PCH or a HTPC are the best choices. I have two HTPCs and even though I dont turn the off they do go to sleep when not in use. Since i dont use them for anything else other than to play videos so they boot up relatively fast. I also have a Mac Mini with Plex but thats a more expensive choice.
If your budget is short there are lot of unexpensive deals out there that will serve you well. Both of my HTPCs cost me about $750 to build, very cheap.

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PostPosted: Sun May 15, 2011 6:49 pm 
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Check out the Netgear NTV-550. It has it's flaws too, but it works well for local media playback, although it has some bugs and shortcomings with TV episodes.


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