Back to AppleTV 2

Kind of funny how things go in a circle. After getting Netflix (finally!) we've ended up using the Apple TV much much more. The Netflix app on the Boxee Box is slower to load and is not as pretty as the other. While we enjoy streaming on the Boxee Box the fact that it doesn't have out of the box ir and is more coupled with the Netflix app, my family abandoned me with it.

So in order to make life simpler I've been making Apple compliant files of all our videos. The DVD's were no problem: Handbrake on the Apple TV 2 setting. Then there were my recordings from my HDPVR. Those were all at 720P and 60fps. The Apple TV 2 profile in Handbrake converts to 29.97 fps which caused stuttering on playback. I eventually realized this and adjusted the fps to same as source. We still have  an occasional playback audio synch issue or skipped frame, but letting the entire movie buffer up seems to help.

If I could have found a way to remux my files into mp4v easily I would've been happier. Mac's have a program called Subler that looks like it might've worked if I didn't live in a PC world.

Anyways, I followed the setup featured on the HTGuys.com website for the Apple TV movie server and now the family is happily watching their movies again.

Me, I'm eyeing one of those WDTV boxes to try out.

Living With Boxee Box

I picked up a Boxee Box about a month ago.  I thought it was easy to get started with and find my files over the network.  I ended up having to rename a few of my movies, mostly just adding the year.  I also found out if it doesn't load up all you files then you should delete the share and thumbnails and readd it and it should work.

File support was a slight problem.  The ts and m2ts files I was making with my HD PVR would start skipping about an hour into them.  I contacted Boxee support and was told that they were having issues with them.  Some of them I was able to remux as mpeg files with MKV2VOB, a program made for the Ps3.  Others I had to burn (to the harddrive) as a AVCHD disc and then rip with DVDFAB as a mkv.  None of this altered the quality, but I was able to play my hd files.

What I didn't expect was how much the wife and kids would like it.  Pandora and old tv shows and cartoons are streaming all the time.  Boxee Box, we like it.

Plex and Firecore Installed

I bit the bullit and bought the $20 Firecore software when it went to the 5th beta version.  If you are looking for the best waf then their media player is for you.  They now have SAMBA working and you can easily get to your files.  It works just like searching for music and movies in your Itunes library and automatically downloads artwork from imdb.  Still, this is a beta and my hd files stuttered and the aspect ratio was off on some sd mkv's.

I decided to also try the Plex beta on the Apple TV 2.  I downloaded the software to my computer to act as the server and installed the client from the Firecore menu.  It easily found all my media and tagged it with artwork.  Unfortunately for me, the Apple TV kept bouncing back to the main menu without ever actually playing anything.  Your mileage may vary.  I don't plan on keeping it around for the main reason being I don't want to have to run a server for it.

The longer I wait for a working media player for non-Apple approved file formats for the Apple TV 2 the more I think about investing in the Boxee Box.  Still, the little $99 box from Jobs is a fun thing to play with.

Jailbroke Again, Plex, Firecore

After more reading in the ios section of the XBMC forums I read about how someone had rejailbroke their ATV2 and got all of their streaming problems solved.  So I began the futile process of doing that.  I used Tiny Umbrella to save my ssh's in case I needed to role back.  I then ended up using the new untethered version of Seasonpass from Firecore that upgraded me to ios 4.3.  Nightly version of XBMC has no Dolby Digital on this version and even in analog mode I had audio problems, which is what the wiki says is the current status of it.  So I went down to 4.2.1 and while standard def content played, 720p was still buffering.

I then began looking around for programs beside XBMC.  Plex on the Apple TV2 looks very promising, but it requires a computer to be running a server for it and I don't want to have to dedicate one when I already have a NAS to store my media.  I have contacted Firecore and gotten back quick replies on their media player.  They are expecting SAMBA support and improved hd playback with an update within the week.  I'm planning on trying it out as soon as that is available.

Linksys WRT54GL DD-WRT Repeater

I have a 2cd WRT54GL that is hooked up via ethernet to the primary router to extend my wireless network.  Recently a storm came through and the long ethernet cable began to fail that ran to it.  Instead of crawling under the house and replacing it I decided to install DD-WRT firmware on the router over the Tomato firmware I had been using so I could turn it into a wireless repeater.

I downloaded the firmware from the website, did a hard reset to the router, and then installed it via the Tomato gui.  The upgrade was simple and the new controls were easy to set up.  I was able to set security and ssid of the repeater independent of the primary router.  Also I was able to see how well it was connected to the primary router and to the computers connected to it.  Awesome and free.

Chasing FTP

I began trying to set up an ftp server to go with my XBMC on an Apple TV 2, and ran into problems.  The better parts of two mornings were wasted while I crashed and burned with Filezilla and ports and more ports.  Finally, I decided that it simply was not worth the effort.  I bought a NAS so I would not need to have a computer running to use a media server.  Why should I change that plan now?

Over at the forums at XBMC.org there were a few people still had problems with 720p content even through an ftp server.  I finally decided to wait until this version was merged into the main trunk and see if the problems of samba were fixed.  Time and money can cure about anything I suppose.  If not, I think I may try the Boxee Box which can play hd content well and high def audio which this one cannot.

Replacement Blu-ray Player: LG BD530

I finally replaced my Samsung BDP 1590 with a new blu-ray player the LG BD530.  Would it work over hdmi as the old Sammy had quit doing after a firmware update was the first question to answer.  Heck yes, it did.  I actually planned on buying the new Panasonic from Best Buy but it was not in stock and this one ended up being a steal.

It does not have all the fancy apps that many players have.  It has weather, youtube, and access to Picassa.  Basically, there's nothing there that I will ever use.  We watched The Incredibles on dvd first upconverted to 720p for our hdtv.  It looked better than I had ever seen it.  Then I popped in my Sammy's nemesis, Robin Hood on blu-ray, and it played dutifully.  Finally, I can watch Russell Crowe steal from the rich and give to the poor, well sort of, I suppose. 

But, there was definitely a bonus feature that I did not expect: mkv playback.  The files have to be h264 so far from my experimenting with it.  But it will play back recordings I've made from my HD PVR perfectly which I have yet to get my Apple TV 2 to do!  Awesome.  The downside is that it is just a a file viewer to look at the files on an external hard drive and not a cool gui like on XBMC.