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. 

More XBMC On Apple TV 2

I'm still working on getting the Apple TV2 with XBMC going.  Standard def material plays great, but I still cannot get any HD content to play without stuttering.  From the forums there have been several issues with this and some of my problems may be related to using Samba to access shares.  My new plas is to try to set up a ftp server on my computer to see if that helps.

The good news is how well the box works.  Watching movies, and recently Austin City Limits via the PBS plugin, with XBMC is a great experience.  It is easy to operate and very smooth and intuitive.  My wife is really liking it for it and for the Apple side of the interface.

XBMC on Apple TV 2: The Good and Bad So Far

I decided to kick my Popcorn Hour to the curb for the sake of a fancy gui that might be easier for the family to operate.  With oogling eyes I picked up a new Apple TV and brought it home.  It took me about 4 times before I was able  to Jailbreak it with Green Poison.  I installed the anti Apple Update Nag program first and then tried to install XBMC, which failed twice.  With more internet searching I found out how to go in and install via ssh, which I did with one I covered in fear.  Presto, it worked.  XBMC was on the list of things I could choose from the main menu.  But I couldn't stream or find anything from my network because of  a bug in it causes you to restart first. 

Then I got the black screen.  Arghh!  I have this committed to memory:  login as root, password alpine, killall AppleTV.  And everything goes hunky dory again, remember that kids, you'll need it.  All my dvd backups as MKV or xvid or avi's all played great.  Yes, yes, yes.  But high def, hahaha that's another story.

Oh, you've read about how it will play 1080p content, etc, but that, in my experience, was a little short on substance.  It won't play my hd caps from HD PVR that I did buy at least without reencoding them.  Nightmare, let me tell you.  I finally had to hook up the Popcorn Hour that I luckily hadn't ebayed yet to see if I was going nuts.  I tried streaming from my NAS and two other computers until I reencoded for Apple TV 2 on Handbrake and on the Arcsoft software that comes with the HD PVR.  Now it works, 6 to 13 hours later on my 5 year old computer after reencoding. 

Is it cool, XBMC on the Apple TV 2?  Yes, very.  Is it underpowered?  Yes, very.