Unraid and Popcorn Hour

[Blade]

My unraid server is working great so far.

 

I am now going to be starting to rip some of my blu rays to the unraid server and was looking at the Popcorn Hour. Which model of the popcorn hour would be the best?

 

I have read about issues with streaming the movies from the unraid to the PCH. I will be ripping all the blu rays to ISO files using AnyDVD HD. I have heard that HTTP is the best to use. I think it was called llink. Is there a step by step guide for installing llink on my Unraid flash drive. I want to use the best way of streaming the blu ray to the PCH from the unraid server.

 

I would appreciate any info on this

 

Thx

Bob

[neilt0]

Don't use ISO, rip to folders:

 

Moviename

    BDMV

    CERTIFICATE

 

To install llink, google is your friend... http://tinyurl.com/ycb2qft

 

With the A-110, you can use llink, with the C-200, use Samba or NFS if you want the additional features (as opposed to the main movie). The C-200 is fine with Samba streaming up to 50mbit/sec. The A-110 needs llink.

 

I recommend the C-200 if you want full BD functionaliity (I have both models now).

 

Note that the C-200 has very buggy firmware right now. You may not be able to stream at all -- I can, but I may be lucky with my particular hardware.

 

Here's my review of the C-200 for this very purpose: http://neilt0.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/18/

[Blade]

Nice review. Thx

 

OK now the C-200 scares me a little with the buggy firmware. Is the A-110 pretty solid now?

 

Why do you say not to use ISO? I just like the idea of having just one file instead of a lot of files for each movie.

 

[neilt0]

Nice review. Thx

 

OK now the C-200 scares me a little with the buggy firmware. Is the A-110 pretty solid now?

 

Why do you say not to use ISO? I just like the idea of having just one file instead of a lot of files for each movie.

 

 

For BD, ISO won't work on the A-110 or C-200. At all. May work with C-200 later on.

 

I advise waiting a week or two until the first "proper" firmware release for the C-200. If you want to play BDs, I would not get the A-110. The C-200 is waaaaay better. So, wait until the new firmware is out, and see if it meets your expectations. The C-200 is a great BD player even with the crappy beta firmware.

[Blade]

My whole purpose of getting a popcorn hour is to play my blu rays.

 

Is there a site where it mentions when a firmware update is coming for the C-200? The C-200 does look nicer.

 

[neilt0]

Is there a site where it mentions when a firmware update is coming for the C-200? The C-200 does look nicer.

 

 

http://www.networkedmediatank.com/index.php

[Blade]

Yikes.

Judging by the number of people that have not received their C-200 it looks like I am in for a very long wait if I want one.

 

I amy need to look at something else.

 

[Beck38]

Nice review. Thx

 

OK now the C-200 scares me a little with the buggy firmware. Is the A-110 pretty solid now?

 

Why do you say not to use ISO? I just like the idea of having just one file instead of a lot of files for each movie.

 

 

For BD, ISO won't work on the A-110 or C-200. At all. May work with C-200 later on.

 

I advise waiting a week or two until the first "proper" firmware release for the C-200. If you want to play BDs, I would not get the A-110. The C-200 is waaaaay better. So, wait until the new firmware is out, and see if it meets your expectations. The C-200 is a great BD player even with the crappy beta firmware.

 

You 'are' talking about s/w programmers, right?  Two weeks?  Try 2 months to 2 years.

 

I've been using an A110 to play BD rips for a couple months now (since I got the machine) with absolutely no problems.  BUT, my network is 'non-blocking' (fully giga-switch) although the A110 of course is 100Mb only, of course, and they are being streamed not from an unRAID box (yet), but from a standalone.  

 

The highest bit-rate I've seen on the PCH site is somewhere around 50-60Mb/s on one specific BR disc (can't remember which one, but it was a concert disc if I remember correctly).  When the C200 gets a little more mature, I'll get one.  But there's a lot of 'polishing' that needs to be done just on the s/w for the previous models, so just when it will start looking 'good' is a question.

[Blade]

I will mostly be using the PCH to stream blu rays (in the BDMV structure) from my unraid server to the PCH.

If the A-110 will do it with no issue then that would be great but I have not seen any threads staing that it will 100% work.

 

I want to be able to just tell it to open the BDMV folder and then the blu ray menu will show, just as if I put the blu ray in my Sony blu ray player.

 

Has anyone used the HDX 900 NMT?

 

 

[betaman]

I want to be able to just tell it to open the BDMV folder and then the blu ray menu will show, just as if I put the blu ray in my Sony blu ray player.

 

I'm fairly certain the A-110 will never be able to play a BDMV folder structure due to licensing issues.  I've been keeping up with the C-200 threads and of course there are a lot of issues but most are firmware related at this point.  Several people are successfully streaming BDMV folders as well as BD iso's so I'm sure in a few months the C-200 will be much more stable.  I'm betting that any player which cannot accept a BD ROM will never be able to stream BD content direct from the mfg'r firmware.  This just screams piracy so I for one am thankful that the C-200 can do what it can without actually having to buy a BD-ROM drive.

[batfink]

I want to be able to just tell it to open the BDMV folder and then the blu ray menu will show, just as if I put the blu ray in my Sony blu ray player.

 

I'm fairly certain the A-110 will never be able to play a BDMV folder structure due to licensing issues.  I've been keeping up with the C-200 threads and of course there are a lot of issues but most are firmware related at this point.  Several people are successfully streaming BDMV folders as well as BD iso's so I'm sure in a few months the C-200 will be much more stable.  I'm betting that any player which cannot accept a BD ROM will never be able to stream BD content direct from the mfg'r firmware.  This just screams piracy so I for one am thankful that the C-200 can do what it can without actually having to buy a BD-ROM drive.

 

Just my 2 pence worth....

 

I have a c200 and an A100. As mentioned above, the C200 FW is buggy. To date, all of my movies have been on my unraid box but I have also tested some locally stored content. Some of my Bluray .iso's play but others do not. Of those that do not some are are 'region b' and despite my setting the C200 to region b are prevented by working by a FW bug. Stripping regions and BD live function is recommended by some and not by others. You may need to be a keen 'tweaker' to go the C200 route in the short-term.

 

Blurays stored in the folder structure play (video is ok) but again, a FW bug prevent certain audio from working (HD Dolby Digital I believe - my DTS & DTS HD based rips seem to work). Werner replied to one of my posts over at the NMT forum saying they hoped a stable FW would be available within a week or so........ but who knows if all issues will be resolved.

 

The A100 (and A110) won't play Bluray .iso and I'm fairly sure never will (licence issue as mentioned above). My A100 does however play from the folder structure (I should clarify - it plays the m2ts files. It does not support menus etc) over my giga-network despite the device being 100Mb.

 

I will say that I love my C200 already though, despite the bugs. I've had my A100 for ages now and, to a degree, the FW went through similar stages. If you want to keep complete .iso's (as I do for my kid's movies) then C200 is the way to go. Go on, you know you want to.

 

One final word of warning.... there is a rumour that TNT are marking up the shipping value to some destinations resulting in extortionate VAT/admin charges. I have yet to receive my invoice so cannot confirm.

 

Regards

 

 

 

 

[Blade]

Well I just bought a C-200 from a user who was selling theirs. They installed a bluray reader in it and a Western Digital Scorpio Blue HD. He said that he is just not technical enough to get it working right now with the bad firmware.

I paid $475 for all of it. Not bad I guess considering I also get a bluray reader and HDD already installed and working in the C-200.

 

I am looking forward to try it out. It will be here Monday or so.

 

Hopefully a new firmware comes out before then

 

 

[daniel.boone]

I read final FW was scheduled for the week following the 9/4. Its a bit late and final is never really final. What are we gonna do?

 

Good luck with the C-200. Mine is en-route from the main land.

[Blade]

Well it arrived today.

 

The remote is a little touch and go on the response.

I got it connected to my network using a 10/100 24-port switch and I am streaming Fringe season one directly from my Unraid server to the PCH C-200 with absolutely no issues at all.

 

The firmware on it is a 9/16 release it looks like. It is definitely newer than the 9/4 release.

 

So far so good. It is working perfectly so far

[Kaygee]

Try turning repeat off, especially if using a ir repeater.