Hello guys, I’ve been using my WD TV Gen 1 for about 6 months and I love it, but for the last few times its been acting weird, specially with 1080p movies, it plays fine, but at random times of the movie the video and sound would stutter, sometimes it goes back to normal, but sometimes it doesn’t, they only way I found to fix it when I’m watching is to go backwards a few second and hit play again, then everything is back, but even so, depending on the movie, it happens 10-20 seconds later.

Yesterday watching the Surrogates was terrible, every 10 min or so that was happening. I have my unit plugged to a receiver with optical cable and then to my Sony TV. And that leads to another question the files I’m playing are 24p, should I set my wdtv to 24p? Right now is at Auto.

General
Complete name : C:\Users\Rafael\Desktop\saturn-surrogates-1080p.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 7.95 GiB
Duration : 1h 28mn
Overall bit rate : 12.8 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2009-12-29 16:51:16
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.9.7 (’Tenderness’) built on Jul 1 2009 18:43:35
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@4.1
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 28mn
Bit rate : 11.1 Mbps
Nominal bit rate : 11.3 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 800 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.301
Stream size : 6.85 GiB (86%)
Writing library : x264 core 80 r1376 3feaec2
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0×3:0×133 / me=umh / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8×8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=11346 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English

Audio
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 1h 28mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Resolution : 24 bits
Stream size : 957 MiB (12%)

Back up and restore have always been an important aspect of computer usage….

This post will focus on how you can backup and restore your Acer Revo 1600 (or Any Nvidia ION System) with Drive Image XML and BartPE.

DriveImage XML can be downloaded for free here and backing up an image is straightforward and well documented elsewhere…

http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

The package below is everything you need to create and USB boot Stick which can boot on a Revo and allow you to completely restore an image you created over the network using SMB.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NVRX208I

This can be useful for:

1. cloning a revo setup for friends and family (already done 3 of these)
2. recovering from a disaster (like the nvidia drivers breaking the HDMI audio)

I am still at work and need to go home and repeat some steps to document the restore process and a few tricks along the way.

Building the USB Stick.

NOTE: It took me more than a few tries to get a working stick. hopefully with some others here providing feedback we can get this process dialed in. Once I get some feedback I can add some more pictures to this part of the process.

1. I had bad luck with 1GB sticks even though they should work. I ended up successfully using a 4GIG stick.
2. format the stick for USB HPUSBFW.exe program
3. Using the PEtoUSB program burn the BartPE folder to the USB THumb Drive.

Restoring a Drive Image XML image using Bart PE for ION.

1. you need to change the hard drive mode from sata to IDE to allow bartPE to work. (you also need to change it back when done). failure to do either of these steps will result in fatal errors with bizarre messages.

STOCK is AHCI

Change to Native IDE

2. insert the USB Stick and boot it….. you should seem something like this….

3. when boot completed you should see this screen. Answer YES

4. Select DHCP and hit OK

5. Driver load will fail. thats OK! hit OK

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bOHj0kP1agQ/S2…0/IMG_0139.JPG

6. We are not at the main BartPE screen (the green icon in the lower left is the start menu)

7. Select GO->System->Network->Load Network and File Share Support (DHCP/Auto)

8. Let the network drivers load. now we can go test it by mapping a network drive.

9. type in the name or IP address of the server that contains the DriveXML Image you want to restore.

10. open the file manager tool and make sure we can connect correctly to the drive we mapped and see its contents….

11. All is good we can see the Network drive contents….

12. Now we are ready to run Drive Image XML….

13. Drive ImageXML is running… pick the partition we want to restore…..

14. click next and browse to drive Z:\ and select the image you want to restore…. and follow the wizard….

SORRY FORGOT SNAPS HERE. Will add…..

15. When restore is complete. remove USB stick and reboot. remember to press F2 and go back into the BIOS and re-select AHCI mode under Integrated Peripherals or windows will BSOD when booting….

Thats it… Please let me know if anything is unclear and I will evolve these instructions over time. There is nothing specific about this process for Revo except for the BartPE tree I provided that has been customized to include the Nvidia ION network drivers. I have tested this process on a Zotac ION system with the same results as well.

Sean

OK,

I know that there’s half a zillion players on the market that will play about 90% of every digital format ever conceived. However, most of those solutions seem to be focussed on delivering video.

I am looking for something that will deliver the many, many thousands of mp3 (and some ape and flac as well) files that currently reside on a synology NAS (which does upnp, dlna and all sorts of other cool abbreviations) to my hifi system, a somewhat dated but still very good system composed of kenwood components and very fine speakers homebuilt by someone who knew what he was doing.

Now there’s quite a few devices on the market that can do that but almost all of them don’t seem to me like it would be easy to navigate trough the files and folders and albums.

I looked at the logitech squeezebox series. I like the touch but that doesn’t seem to be on the European market yet and it’s expected to fetch around 300 euros which I find a bit steep. The radio looks interesting as well but lacks a decent output. In addition to that I fiddled around a bit with the squeezecenter server software on my synology nas and wasn’t very convinced by the web interface.

Philips has the streamium series. I like the looks of the np2900 unit but don’t care much for the build in speakers. Add to that the fact that it has RCA in but not out. Not my ideal unit either. The NP2500 is better suited but the screen looks stone age and it doesn’t seem to play anything losssless. Seems a rather dated unit.

I also looked at Apple’s airport systems since my synology can also do an itunes server but that would require buying an ipod touch or iphone and that makes it a rather expensive solution.

What I’m looking for is something that can playback the collection on my NAS via the amplifier I have in my living room, that makes navigation trough a large colleciton possible without using a computer or TV. Any ideas?

Dear all,

I have been looking at the ASrock new ion 330ht devide, to put xmbc on it and software BeyondTV, but don’t know if such a setup will work and i am fairly newb at it to be honest.

Below i listed 3 devices which came across my path, but for the frist 2 no reviews or good comments ar found and that is a bit to risky for me to consider then, the Emtec has been discussed and looks reasonable.

I have a fullHD tv, but not using digital tv, just cable as I do not want to pay x€/month for it. Is recording possible without having digital tv?

In short, my requirements:
- be able to play all video format (mkv, avi, dvd,…)
- recording is a must (analog, full hd tv but with cable (xoax) no digital tv
- music, pictures, youtube,…(internet services) is not needed
- wifi N is nice but not required

If I would not take the recording as an option I would go for Xtreamer or WDTVlive.

1.supportDVB-T function.
Support multi-track audio and subtitle record at the same time.
Record one program while watching it;
Record one program while watching another one;
Record one program while watching HD movie from hard disk;

StoryBox also enables you to receive the free DVB-T channels, including the High Definition (HD) channels, and even to record them. The DVB-T records (Direct, Timeshift or scheduled) are done on the USB storage device or the memory card.

A Full HD Personal Video Recorder :
- Record your favorite programs in Full HD or watch them anytime with the Time Shift function.
- Thanks to the AV/IN connection record directly on the hard disk of the Movie Cube all video sources connected to your TV like TV, DVD, DVB -T, cable, Satellite, VHS….

Thanks for reading and regards,
DorG

From Ecoustics.com …

Hello All…

Sneak Peek At my Upcoming Skin LEDTV for Movie Flow …
LEDTV running on the A100 ….
It requires the Next Firmware release for the A1X0 Player
to work ….

[ATTN POSTER: YouTube Insert Error: Something went wrong. Please make sure you added the video correctly. Click here to see how YouTube videos should be embedded. There could also be a technical issue that's not your fault. Click here to view the video on YouTube's site. If this link doesn't work, you did something wrong.]

Sorry all for the poor video quality I have a old cam corder

Check it out …

Screen shots of My latest Version of LEDTV … now it has Three
Skins in One List Modes, Theatre Mode and Wall Mode …

Just Press the source Button on the Remote to Cycle between Modes … Fast and Easy … The way Your PCH skin was meant to be …

Below is the New Actor/Movie Info Page already active… on all Movie Flow Skins ….

Enjoy …

Michael T.

I apologize up front because I am brand new to this idea. I have been using AppleTV for a couple years. Music works great with it, and movies aren’t bad either, but obviously, it is a pretty closed system and it doesn’t do 1080p or play MKV files.

I have a lot of digital music files (400gig) and many DVD movies that have been ripped to my HD (500gig). One of my friends just offered me his BluRay collection that has been ripped to MKV files (about 300 movies). I have no way of storing or playing them right now.

Here is my thought, please give me some guidance.

My network is an Apple AirPort Extreme. Connectivity to my primary PC is hardwired. I have ethernet hardwired to both my theater and my family room TV locations so speed is not an issue.

For mass storage, I am thinking al connecting a RAID chassis to my AirPort Extreme router. The AirPort Extreme has USB and supposedly will act as a NAS. It is compatible obviously with my MACs, and is also compatible with Windows as long as Bonjour is installed.

Some of my music was purchased on iTunes so it has DRM. The stuff I ripped myself is mostly Apple MP4 files.

Most of my standard DVD files were ripped to be played on Apple TV in Apple’s format (I think M4V).

I would like to get some sort of Box for both my theater and my family room that would pull videos, music and photos off of my AirPort connected storage.

My wants for the box include:
-1080p
-No attached Hard Drive
-Ability to stream content off of AirPort Extreme connected storage
-Ability to stream content off of the internet such as Hulu, Youtube, etc
-Compatible with all MKV and other video files without conversion
-Bonjour compatible (I think this is necessary)
-Ability to stretch picture vertically to remove black bars on 16×9 projector in the theater.

I know this is a lot of questions, but I have learned so much from this web site over the years so I know there are people that can help. Am I on the right track? Am I asking too much in a media device for my theater and TVs?

Thank you so much in advance.

:confused: Who has bought ASUS O!Play ?

No offense, just wondering who has bought the Asus Oplay and wondering who can confirm and answer just a very simple question that I would like to know.

Is it capable to play DTS DownMix ? I read so and I really want that someone who already tried it let me know. please read below.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Media Play
His strengths comes in to picture when we treat him to a collection of all kinds of video and audio formats. Finding network shares is good rap, like the opening of the content on usb devices. Video zone plays almost all the files easily and 1080p resolutions played only one ogg file was mistakenly seen as an audio file, while we really wanted to watch a video.

The player can play mkv files with a dts soundtrack mixes down on the HDMI connection, which is striking because the vast majority of the competing players that can transmit surround signals only to an external surround amplifier . As compared to the many media players based on Sigma chipset strikes, the quality of the Asus player the picture looks crisper and sharper, and in particular the average color is natural.

The playback, however, remains seriously short, forward and rewind is certainly possible, but only when viewing DVD iso’s there is the possibility to browse chapters. The fact that the volume is not the player can be adjusted, leaving it again to another remote to be grasped, is a significant irritation point. Asus is expected that these serious omissions partially repaired with a new firmware version. A resume function is happy as it exists.

Playing sound and viewing photos is good experience. It is possible to zoom in on images. Also the player can handle the popular lossless flac format and with all common image formats.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The source where I got this info is here —-> ASUS O!Play .MKV DTS DownMix codec?

Hey folks,

I searched everywhere and did not find a thread dedicated to IPTV, so I figured I would start one.

I would like to see this thread to be about households that have discontinued or are considering dropping, cable and/or satellite service in favor of IPTV. A place where we can post what methods and applications are being used, a place where if someone were considering going IPTV they could ask questions.

Here is a run-down of what I use. About 7 months ago, my wife and I decided that satellite was just too damn expensive, considering the content provided. Several Christmas’ ago, I received a D-Link DSM-520 as a gift. At the time, the only purpose I thought that it would serve would be to dish out MP3s and VOB/MPEG 3s. I began to setup an ever growing NAS, where I began ripping CDs and MP3s. I found it very cool that I could potentially deliver this content in every room of the house.

Well, time went by and the DSM was used less and less until finally it began collecting dust. That was, until the day I got my PS3. I’m not a gamer. Actually, I am but it consumes so much of my time that I have to force myself not to get started. The initial primary purpose of the PS3 was that at the time, it was the least expensive Blu-Ray player.

When the puppy went live, I noted a myriad of icons related to media rendering. At first, I used the PS3 in the same way the DSM was used. I then began to do a lot of research on the web regarding IPTV. The first product I picked out was TVersity. It was full of features, yet it was so very buggy. Again, it was used initially only for local content.

Not long after that, I discovered PS3 Media Server, or PMS for short. This product is by far, the best local media server I have ever used. It just works and it eats everything! No more manually updating the database when something is added or deleted. No more constantly updating codecs. It is just plain awesome.

Now, PMS does have the ability to stream Internet content. However, the process is so very cumbersome that it just makes it not worth the effort. Then, The Media Mall’s PlayOn hit the streets. This product changed everything Even during its beta days, PlayOn had a plethora of media content. The most useful being Hulu and Netflix. This was the product that I had been waiting so long for! As time went on, more and more content was added to PlayOn. And more and more content was added to Hulu and Netflix.

I’ve always had a nice Yagi antenna in my attic. I was into DTV since the earliest days when all that was available were demo loops of local parks and natural scenery. Now, there are even commercials in HD and Dolby Digital 5.1! And since OTA is not compressed to the degree that cable and satellite are, it was very quickly becoming a no-brainer…Satellite had to go.

As it stands now, I have two servers dedicated to streaming media to four areas of my house. The HT/family room, the master bedroom, the living room and my 6 year old son’s bedroom. We currently use a PS3, 2) DSM-520s and a DSM-320. I also have a NAS with just over 4 TB of space. On both machines, I run PMS, TVersity and PlayOn. We have access to literally 1000’s of shows, some at or near DVD quality. Now, this is a big caveat. It is a big crap-shoot when it comes to video/audio quality. Let’s face it, some of this stuff was only meant to be played on a computer monitor. We have a 27" CRT, a 37" and 52" LCD and 60" LCoS televisions. Blowing stuff up to, especially the two larger television sizes, leaves you with a crappy picture at times.

However, things are improving. And let’s face it…It’s free! And in these tough economic times, I don’t know about you guys but not having to spend that $125.00 a month really helps. Granted, we did have to throw in an extra $7.00 a month to upgrade to a 30 Mbps data line but this is money I would have spent anyway.

I can see this getting huge! I’m just curious as to how many of you folks have done something similar and how you are doing it. I hope this thread doesn’t wither and die away. I’m really hoping to hear from a lot of members on your thoughts about the current state of the art. Sorry about the long post and thanks in advance for your time…Will

I read the suggested setup for a NAS setup in the htpc section but some of the items were outdated. Here is the checkout that I came up with through newegg. Can anyone give me any suggestions on if this setup will work out and if they are good replacements for the older suggestion.

quantity of item 1

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136218
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$69.99

select item 2 quantity of item 2

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139009
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$20.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card17-139-009

$159.99
$139.99

select item 3 quantity of item 3

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145184
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy

-$5.00 Instant

$56.99
$51.99

select item 4 quantity of item 4

SUPERMICRO AOC-SAT2-MV8 64-bit PCI-X133MHz SATA Controller Card - Retail

SUPERMICRO AOC-SAT2-MV8 64-bit PCI-X133MHz SATA Controller Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16815121009
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$199.98
($99.99 each)

select item 5 quantity of item 5

NORCO RPC-4020 4U Rackmount Server Case - Retail

NORCO RPC-4020 4U Rackmount Server Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811219021
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$10.00 Instant

$299.99
$289.99

select item 6 quantity of item 6

AMD Phenom 9750 2.4GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD9750XAGHBOX - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

*

AMD Phenom 9750 2.4GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD9750XAGHBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103250
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

*

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128387
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$20.00 Combo

$229.98
$209.98

Subtotal: $961.92

Here is the older suggestions

* Case: NORCO RPC-4020 4U Rackmount EATX/ATX, $290.
* PSU: Corsair TX850W CMPSU-850TX 850W, $104.
* CPU: Athlon 64 X2 5200+ ADO5200DOBOX 2.7GHz AM2, $57.
* CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler, $0.
* Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA780G-UD3H AM2+ AMD 780G chipset ATX, $90.
* Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $27.
* Graphics: Radeon HD 3200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
* HBA I: Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI-X Card, $100.
* HBA II: Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI-X Card, $100.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $70.
* Total Cost: $838 (storage drives are not included)

Also I noticed that NORCO offers a case that looks like a newer version of the 4020 labeled 4220. Does anyone have any experience with the two?

Thanks,
Adam