Suggestions on Media Extenders

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Joined: 12 Jan 2007
Suggestions on Media Extenders

Hi All,

I need some help choosing some good media extenders. This is my current setup and what I am looking for.

My current setup consists of a server which contains pretty much all of my storage space. It has three TV tuners in it. It Runs Windows XP with Sage TV 5 (Soon to be 6). The server sits in my basement. I am currently using my moded XBOX to access my networked shares and the Sage client using a script for the XBOX.

I have three TV's in my house and have Gigabit Ethernet running to all the rooms in my house. So connectivity is not an issue. My XBOX is old and slowly dying, plus it is to loud for my tastes. Smile

I am looking for the following.

1. A device that will allow me to access my files over the network.
2. The device needs to be able to play XVID, DivX, MP3, MPEG 1, 2, AC3, DTS, VOB, and H.264.
3. The following formats would be nice, but not a deal breaker, ASF, WMV, AAC, OGG, ISO, IMG, and MKV. I understand that the WMV and AAC formats come in DRM form in many cases. I am not worried about playing those types.
4. Perfered Fiber out but Coaxial will do for sound. At least 5.1 if not higher.
5. Component, DVI, or HDMI, and the ability to display in at least 480P.
6. Something that is fairly quiet. I consider the XBOX, not the 360 but the original XBOX to be to loud if that helps at all.
7.  The ability to run the Sage TV client would be a nice feature, but is not absolutely needed. If running the sage client isn't a possibility, a web browser would be nice to be able to access Sage through the browser.
8. The ability to create play lists.
8. A price around 300 to 400 is my target.

I would go with the Apple TV product but the integration into Itunes is not appealing and I don't see any support for XVID on it.

Any suggestions anyone has would be great.

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Joined: 6 Aug 2006

Sage is coming out with a new Media Extender in Q2 if you have the patience Smile. It is much more full featured that the Hauppauge MVP!

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Joined: 6 Aug 2006

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22659

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Joined: 12 Jan 2007

Hey thanks for the info. this product sounds very cool. I saw on the posts that it might be 3-5 months  away. That sucks. But I can wait. I hope they put out a press release soon with some confirmed specs.

Thanks again.

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Joined: 3 Dec 2006

I was suprised not to hear anything concerning MCE Vista extenders comming out of CES. The amount of time I am willing to wait for an extender is decreasing... I may just have to get a X360. I wanted to wait until the price dropped, but how long will it be until a standalone extener is released?

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Joined: 12 Jan 2007

I agree with with Tigerstyl,

Although I am not a fan of MCE. Extenders in general seem to be really hard to find. Good extenders that is. Ones with multi format support, good connections, and a good price. I was really holding out hope for Apples iTV/Apple TV. That turned out to be disappointing.

I can only assume that the "Extender" idea is still not that important yet. The average person only seems to be getting around to PVR/HTPC type systems. Let alone having a central storage system in place. That could change if Microsoft's WHS lives up to the hype. For that reason alone, I really hope it is a success. It will give us all a lot more choice as more people enter the market and compete.

As a heads up to Tigerstyl. I am sure your are probably aware of this. But if you do go after the 360. From what I have read form CES and others, it looks like the new version with the quieter CPU and HDMI will be out by Christmas.

I am not impatient but I am also not the type of person to keep holding out for the next best thing. That being said, I will be waiting not so patiently for the Sage extender. I hope it lives up to the posts already made at the sage forums.

Mike Garcen's picture
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Joined: 1 Oct 2006

Well, i'm not sure why the Vista extenders are taking so long. Obviously the core technology is there with the 360s. maybe MS is trying to milk it for all its worth, or what. but who woulda thunk the only Extender we'd see is in an HP LCD TV, and then one from MonsterCables?!?! Weird!!

Oh....and no timetable really...the Beta hasn't even started yet as far as i've heard.

Mike Garcen (shadymg) MissingRemote Editor-in-Chief Windows Entertainment and Connected Home MVP (formerly Media Center MVP) Twitter @mikegarcen MissingRemote on Facebook

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Joined: 3 Dec 2006

Well I took the plunge and invested in a 360. WAF should now go way up. She can watch lifetime while I watch Spike TV or play Gears of War. So far it runs extremely well but I must say that the lack of DVD library in the extender kinda kills me, but this is a small gripe anyways. Maybe someone can find a hack b/c I'm not going to spend hours converting DVDs into video files. I'll just grab the flippin disk and stick it in.

Mike Garcen's picture
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Joined: 1 Oct 2006

*cough* LAzy *cough*

j/k, yeah, i'm not about to rip my 800 DVD's either, That's why binders were invented :-/

Mike Garcen (shadymg) MissingRemote Editor-in-Chief Windows Entertainment and Connected Home MVP (formerly Media Center MVP) Twitter @mikegarcen MissingRemote on Facebook

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Joined: 3 Dec 2006

Well I do have many DVDs ripped to the main box, but I need more HDD and a better case to accomodate everything. It's a goal of mine to do this, but the cost and actual benefit have never made it worthwhile. HDD are comming down in price and I need a new case so maybe in the near future. Something about those cover logos and just hitting the play button is really appealing. Kind of like my own personal "On demand."

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Joined: 30 Sep 2006

Wait. You still can't run the 360 as an extender and plop in a DVD into them? WTF?! I can't believe this issue is still around.  >:(

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Joined: 3 Dec 2006

Well I can watch a DVD from the XBOX, but the DVD library is missing from its usual spot. They are not allowing streaming of DVD movies from the HTPC to an extender. So all the DVD movies I have in VIDEO_TS format can't be played through the network.

I wonder if I add the DVDs to the video library if it would work... I may have to try this when I get home.

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Joined: 30 Sep 2006

Have you seen this? http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=198&topic=2...

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Joined: 3 Dec 2006

Yeah, but that looks too time consuming. I'm hoping an easier solution will come out later.

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Joined: 12 Jan 2007

Just our of curiosity. I have ripped and converted about 350 DVD's to xvid. I have a 2 TB raid 5 system in place. Does this mean I have no life?

Wait, don't answer. I just realized I have been married for two years. At least that is what the woman standing behind me claiming to be wife says. Smile

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