***** New To OCuK***** Patriot Box Office Media Player *****

GoogalyMoogaly said:
So to watch a DVD I own I need to put the DVD in a computer, rip the DVD, encode it to a supported media type then copy it to removable media or stream it direct from a PC? (Which my XBOX allows me to do anyway)
Putting a DVD in a drive seems easier and quicker.
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Yes, but you do that ripping procedure once. You could then store say almost 200 DVDs on 1TB drive, even without compression.

Surely you can see the benefits there, no discs, instant access etc ;)
And also, DVD itself is NOT a form of media, its a media storage format. The files on the DVD are stored in a different file format. As example, you can put mpg2/divx/h264 on a DVD, and it's still a dvd, but the actual file type varies.

A media streamer plays multiple formats, as suggested by its name, streamed from various sources. A DVD drive/DVD is only one possible source of media :)
Sorry if any of this sounds condescending, but once you add compression, the chance of possible disc damage, or even just space [physical for 200 discs], there are very valid reasons for digital file collections :)
 
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Alexrose1uk said:
Yes, but you do that ripping procedure once. You could then store say almost 200 DVDs on 1TB drive, even without compression.

Surely you can see the benefits there, no discs, instant access etc ;)
And also, DVD itself is NOT a form of media, its a media storage format. The files on the DVD are stored in a different file format. As example, you can put mpg2/divx/h264 on a DVD, and it's still a dvd, but the actual file type varies.

A media streamer plays multiple formats, as suggested by its name, streamed from various sources. A DVD drive/DVD is only one possible source of media :)
Sorry if any of this sounds condescending, but once you add compression, the chance of possible disc damage, or even just space [physical for 200 discs], there are very valid reasons for digital file collections :)
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But you still need to own the discs or it's illegal. So you can't just throw away 200 DVDs only now I need to buy another Hard Drive to have access to them.
And as I say, my DVD player will play back various Video formats and that cost £30. It also allows me to play DVDs. The only thing it lacks is the Network connectivity. And that would require your NAS or PC to be on as well.

But I'll just leave it at me not wanting it but it might suit other people that want multiple copies of their films in various different formats.
 
Yes, you need to own the discs, but that doesn't account for the space, finding the discs, or wear and tear.

Once the file is ripped, providing a drive doesn't die, its there, its not prone to scratching, and the original can go into a case somewhere for all I care; the actual film is much easier to find (going on average space requirements) in an alphabetic/genre-organised file list than it is amongst 200 other DVD cases.

Most people don't have the room in thier lounge for 400+ DVD cases, nor is it necessarily easy to sort, and is time consuming, plus DVDs can and do occasionally crack. Then add your music collection and the amount of CD/LPs that could consume (not even considering digital purchases these days).

A media player can run all this with less than 50cm by 50cm of space, 500 films and 1000 albums could fit on 1* 2TB HD with room to spare, with the originals all in storage somewhere [aka the loft], not to mention a passive media player and HDD is usually quieter than a DVD player too! On a sheer laziness point of view, its all there at a few clicks of a remote as well, so you dont even have to switch discs :)

Perhaps you can't see the benefit, but I certainly can, and the fact these are becoming more popular suggests Im not the only one.
 
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I suppose if you've bought 400 DVDs then space will be an issue and money less so.
I can see there are benefits to it, I just think that having a DVD/Blu-Ray drive would've been a nice addition.

Also, my DVD is very quiet when it's not using the DVD drive (i.e. playing files off a USB drive).

I guess the other issue is that I don't tend to re-watch a lot of my DVDs often enough to make this seem as useful as I'm guessing some people do (I guess if you own 400 films then it'll take a while before you start re-watching the same film again).
 
Most people use these to watch downloaded media files on thir TV without the need for an HTPC. Is it that difficult concept to grasp?
 
tjm21 said:
Quick question, will this play either directly or streaming Blu-ray ISO files?
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dont know about streaming a blu-ray ( havent tried, it was a prezzie for my son.)
but i noticed that there is seemingly a firmware update to play blu-ray but didnt have time to find and load it before he buggered off with the player.
 
Alexrose1uk said:
No, it would increase the size, and cost though.

There is only about one manufacturer of these that I've seen with an optical drive (forget the name).
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Yes, I realise this, but shouldn't be by much. Portable DVD players aren't massive. Surely it could be even smaller if they didn't allow for an optional HDD, if size was really such an issue. It might increase the cost, but if it's only a DVD drive, hopefully not too much. I just thought it'd be a nice addition, didn't mean to start an argument.
 
subbytna said:
or just use TVersity and use your console to stream???
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Problem with TVersity is that if your playing high def ie Blu ray rips then i found it stuttered every few mins ie the network was the limiting factor. I had it on my laptop which was connected to my 10/100 network which i then ran a network cable from my xbox360 to it....worked brilliantly for DVD rips.

I ditched it for the AC Ryan playon mini hd streamer which is absolutely perfect....plays all file types. i have my 2tb external HD attached to it then a HDMI cable which runs to my TV...plays mkv's and all file types without any issue and having YAMMJ makes it even better.
 
Sayso said:
This will be built into most new TVs soon enough.
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The problem with this is that:

A) They never tend to offer the same amount of file compatability that the standalone players have - so no doubt you will have to faff around with quite a few of your movies to get them to play ... for instance files with DTS audio.

B) They tend not to be supported with firmware updates - so if you experience any drawbacks or problems then fair chance it won't be fixed ever.

So basically the ones built into the TV's are pretty much a half way house at the moment and I don't see that changing any time soon as manufacturers have enough problems making firmware updates available for the tv's nevermind the media playback feature of that TV.
 
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