HTPC What do you use as a Media Player?

Hi Everyone,

So i have come to a bit of a standstill on trying to find an appropriate media player device to play all my content natively from my NAS. (Synology DS412+) I have noticed HTPC and media content is quite a common subject around here, and I may just be being very stupid! so help would be greatly appreciated.

So my end objective is to play most/all if possible content natively from my NAS. And also have the ability to use a simple controller to navigate through the content. e.g a PS3 remote TV remote etc. My NAS can't trans code all my content at 1080p and tends to stutter when trying with larger files. (Around the 3GB Size) I would also like the ability to use other services on the device I.E Netflix, Blinkbox iPlayer etc.

So my first attempt at this was using a device I already owned.. A PS3! I understood right from the get go this would not be the best device as it does not support a massive array of media formats. But to my surprise it worked fairly well. Admittedly fairly slow navigating through 500+ movies and takes a while to load. But it managed to play around half of my content natively and trans coded the rest. This solution also allowed me to use the PS3 media remote which is perfect and it had the added bonus of a Blu-Ray player, you know.. just in case I had to resort to that century old format.

My second attempt was buying an intel NUC and putting XBMC on it and then linking it up with a media remote... EASY! I thought?!

So installing XBMC was a breeze and it all ran fairly well, I managed to link it up to my NAS either using a 3rd Party PLEX app or using an SMB share. Now came the fun part of linking it up with my PS3 media remote. Now I consider my self fairly IT competent as my day job is an IT Technician, but I sure as heck can't code. I eventually manged to hook my PS3 remote up to the NUC via terminal. But it did not turn the NUC on and it also forgot the device every time I turned the device off. I also found the content support for XBMC very lacking and had no real killer Apps. I understand this being a free OS not to expect a massive amount. but lack of Netflix app was a killer for me. Admittedly it did play all most content natively very well.

So my third attempt was installing Windows 8 on the intel NUC and using Windows 8's metro interface for navigating through content, and once again linking a remote. Installing Windows 8 was easy as Pie. Setting up a PS3 remote was fairly easy using a 3rd Party app called PS3Blumote. I then installed PLEX and Netflix App. Netflix app worked great, but to my surprise the PLEX app still insisted on trying to trans code content using the Win 8 App. Whereas running it on the desktop using VLC it worked fine. I also once again came to the problem where I could not turn my NUC on remotely using the PS3 remote.

So my fourth and final attempt, after coming to the end of my tether, which I'm sure you are after reading this post Was buying an actual media player device. After a little research it looked like there were 3 main competing devices. Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV & Roku 3. I decided to go with the Fire TV as it had the best spec and was the cheapest at the time. I understand that media formats were limited on this device but I thought it should play most. The fireTV is perfect from a form factor design navigation design and good app support. But once again playing content through the PLEX app it plays about 1/4 of content natively and tries to trans code the rest. Which is a great shame because I really like the device.

So in summary after a bit of a long winded post. What device would you recommend to play my content natively, has good app support and I can navigate easily/ Turn ON/OFF with remote?

As always thanks guys!

Sam

 

Nuc + Plex server client + Plex app on phone/tablet.

Will grab content from NAS, Transcode on Nuc can be controlled by phone or tablet.

I have an Amazon Fire TV, Amazing bit of kit for the money. Currently running Plex + Netflix(which is supported) and I have also sideloaded xbmc/kodi for all my online grey area content.

As for transcoding, none of the small settop boxes will do it. They can only run the Plex client, not the server software. Try side loading xbmc/kodi as that supports many of the file formats the Fire tv natively does not.

Another option is to install the Plex server software on your home pc/laptop and use that as the transcoding hub to push content to the tv/house. Or simply take the time and re-encode all your media into a format that can be read by all devices.

 

Thanks allot for the suggestions guys really appreciate it. Going to give both suggestions a go and see which one works best for me. I had a friend who tried WMC on the NUC but could not get that addons to work, I will see how I get on anyway. And I have a feeling the NUC I have won't trans code terribly well as it's the base model.

Perhaps it may run better using a stripped down version of linux?

Failing that may just try and re-encode my content that's not supported. Any suggestions on programs that would be fast and effective at doing so without losing audio/video quality?

 

So I managed to getting my NUC working to my liking! kinda... I currently have WMC running on it, with the Plex theater add on being integrated in. I also have managed to get the Netflix add on working but it only seems to work with american DNS.

So I have a quick couple of questions if that's ok?

Number 1: Is it possible to get Netflix working without american american DNS?

Number 2: Can I get my NUC/WMC/Plex to work with my remote control, for example like XBMC does on the raspberry Pi (Through the TV). I'm currently using my TV's remote (Samsung) but I also have a play station remote available as well. I can provide details if needed.

I don't mind purchasing an after market remote if it's going to work better or even at all. But I don't really want to spend a great deal.

Number 3: I want the ability to control and turn on my NUC and TV with one remote, as I say don't mind having to purchase a 3rd party remote if needed.

Thanks

Sam

 

I assume your Samsung tv is 'dumb'?

 

Yes it's dumb!

Its an old 4 Series, model: LE40C530.

 

Is there a specific Logitech Harmony remote you can recommend? I must admit I really like the look of them, but the ones on amazon are really expensive, like £100+ not sure if i can get a away with an older model?

And in regards to Netflix could not agree more, seems to be very hit and miss. Worst case scenario I can watch in a browser or continue to use my PS3 just for Netflix.


Logitech Remotes: Logitech Remotes Link

 

I can do £25! Will get it on order and let you know how I get on, once again thanks for the help really appreciate it.

 

Don't suppose you know if the Logitech Harmony 350 will turn on the NUC as well?

 

I use a Samsung UE55HU7500 TV with Plex app which acts as a media player and a NAS (QNAP TS-670 Pro ) as a plex server. Works great.

 

My smart Samsung TV streams from my 48TB Ubuntu rack server running "Serviio" (a DLNA server software).
I suspect a Chromecast would also see the server.

 

I think you need to add a few more hard drives to that!

 

That's a hellova lot of porn redundancy

 

Just to give you a quick update. I eventually received the Logitech Harmony remote, and it works an absolute treat I'm happy to say! Turns on my NUC and TV, and controls everything I need. I have had to order a PS3 adapter as the PS3 does not support infrared but fortunately it was on sale at the Logitech store.

Finally just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the help and comments, cheers guys!

 

Plex is now available for PS3 and PS4, as well as 360 and One, and various other devices.

Sam

 

RPi running Openelec (Kodi) for video. This gets MKV video via NFS from my server. Linn DS for music which uses uPnP.

 

A chromecast! And a NAS which doubles as a HTPC

 

Got a spare Core2Duo box with around 4GB RAM running Plex Media Server; it handles transcoding just fine.

In the lounge I've got a Roku 3 with the Plex client for streaming and "general purpose" media playback. I've also got a light gaming box in the lounge which connects directly to an SMB share on the server so that I can play back videos natively using XBMC/Kodi and use 24p refresh rates (the Roku 3 is locked to 60hz, IIRC).

Plex is a bloody brilliant piece of software; streaming to any of my devices over the internet is just the icing on the cake.

 

I'm using either a raspberry pi for XBMC duties (gotta love CEC!) or a Chromecast for Netflix/PLEX.

The only way that I would trade in the Raspberry Pi would be if I could get my hands on a USB CEC adapter and a cheap NUC.

 

I seem to have missed the point, why the transcoding?

My TV is DLNA capable, shouldn't I get away with using a DLNA-able-NAS?