XBMC doesn't transcode though, it's a media organizer, and a good search function is useful and all but what if I don't know what I want to watch?
You're saying metadata is NOT important to you on your PC.
Say you want to watch a comedy movie, only from 2013+, with a rating higher than 7 on imdb?
How do you find that in your current library on your PC?
Also, how big is your library on your PC because that may be why I'm so lost. I don't see a way to easily navigate your library without organization but if you have a small library well, then obviously XBMC isn't as useful since you have few options and you know exactly what you want to watch already.
I'd probably use the Plex web app if all that was important to me but TBH if I want to watch something specific I'll search for it by name (and my media is pretty organised so I could find it in explorer in a couple of clicks if I needed to).
All I'm saying is that programs that take over the PC and have the 10' interface seem overly limiting on a general purpose PC with a KB&M and if youre going to use a dedicated box theres cheaper and easier options than using a PC.
Like I said though, how large is your library?.
Not massive. Its a couple of TB at the moment but I've only just started MKVing my DVDs.
I tend to watch something because I want to watch that specific thing, I dont have a massive amount of freetime. The wife and kids watch a bit more using Plex on the AFTV though.
I'd probably use the Plex web app if all that was important to me but TBH if I want to watch something specific I'll search for it by name (and my media is pretty organised so I could find it in explorer in a couple of clicks if I needed to).
All I'm saying is that programs that take over the PC and have the 10' interface seem overly limiting on a general purpose PC with a KB&M and if youre going to use a dedicated box theres cheaper and easier options than using a PC.
That's pretty much the point of this thread. Having an HTPC with a Logitech dinovo mini was too much of a pain in the ass in the living room. That's why it's going in the garbage in favor of an Xbox One. If that doesn't work, then I'll give the Chromecast + standalone Blu-ray player a shot.
That's pretty much the point of this thread. Having an HTPC with a Logitech dinovo mini was too much of a pain in the ass in the living room. That's why it's going in the garbage in favor of an Xbox One. If that doesn't work, then I'll give the Chromecast + standalone Blu-ray player a shot.
Me personally, my dedicated come box for pure Xbmc will be a j1900 nuc or a raspi
Xbox one is too walled off to work for me personally. No dts audio is a joke.
Me personally, my dedicated come box for pure Xbmc will be a j1900 nuc or a raspi
Come on tential, the Chromebox bandwagon is waiting for you. You know you want an interface that does 60 fps and not 30 fps like the Pis do.
I could have sworn there was an issue with the Chromebox that I didn't like. I just can't seem to find the current known issues. It was something minor, but minor enough for me to want the J1900 again. Probably fixed now for all I know though.
I would love to know if you remember.
Unless i'm mixing it up with the FireTV and Android not playing well with refresh rates.
The only "holdup" I know with the Chromebox is that it is better to use CPU decoding. I don't know why that would be a big deal though.
That's pretty much the point of this thread. Having an HTPC with a Logitech dinovo mini was too much of a pain in the ass in the living room. That's why it's going in the garbage in favor of an Xbox One. If that doesn't work, then I'll give the Chromecast + standalone Blu-ray player a shot.
Right. So Plex media server on the NAS and Plex client stuff on everything else.
Its free unless you go for the Plex pass stuff. I'd try that before spending money on anything else first.
Unless your media isnt organised properly, then its going to be a pain in the arse.
Filebot.net
That would significantly speed up the process of organizing media. Took me 2-3 hours to do a couple thousand files with it when I first started and nothing was organized correctly.
Right. So Plex media server on the NAS and Plex client stuff on everything else.
Its free unless you go for the Plex pass stuff. I'd try that before spending money on anything else first.
Unless your media isnt organised properly, then its going to be a pain in the arse.
Filebot is indeed awesome. :thumbsup:
Its still labour intensive to go through everything. Worth it when your done though.
The problem is that Plex Media Server isn't able to transcode on the vast majority of NAS devices. They simply lack the processing power. Now if you have an i3 or better powered NAS, that'd be an ideal solution. My Netgear Readynas Pro is powered by an Intel Atom though..
Have you given it a go?
My NAS has got an Atom CPU and it does fine. (it is an 8 core atom though)
The problem is that Plex Media Server isn't able to transcode on the vast majority of NAS devices. They simply lack the processing power. Now if you have an i3 or better powered NAS, that'd be an ideal solution. My Netgear Readynas Pro is powered by an Intel Atom though.
So it seems like I could probably run Plex Media Server on my NAS if I just wanted to play directly to my Samsung TV, since my Samsung TV can nativly play MKVs with DD\DTS\DTSHD. But since I want a better (faster) UI than the TV can provide, I'm getting an Xbox One, which will require transcoding for DTS\DTSHD. So I have to run the Plex Media Server on my desktop PC, which is on 27\7 anyway.
So my first shot at getting rid of the HTPC is an Xbox One and a Plex pass. $400 for the Xbox and $150 for the Plex Pass. If that doesn't work I'll get one of the Chromeboxes for $300 or so and a standalone blu-ray player for $80.
Wait, did that net gear readynas cost you $1000?
I don't think it was that much... I bought it empty and filled it up with 3tb drives (the largest available at the time.) I think the total cost was $1200.
Jesus christ man, why not just build a PC?
At $1200 you could have filled it with 3TB drives, and gotten an i5....