Popcorn Hour (NMT - Networked Media Tank) vs. XBMC?
#46
poofyhairguy Wrote:I guess the correct thing to say is that "you can't use the decoding hardware in a real OS," which is an accurate statement- at least until we learn more about the mysterious XBMC Popcorn hour port!

agreed.

-Wes
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#47
Hello everyone.

I'm an avid NMT user and I've recently begun researching XBMC as a possible move. Also thinking about the upcoming Popbox (if it's ever released), the Boxee box, and of course Google TV.

Has anyone moved from a NMT to a HTPC running XBMC and would like to share their experience?

Does anyone know if any of the skins for XBMC support intro videos, like a custom video intro for your home theater? I've done a lot of work with Omertron and Mr. M to get YAMJ to do this correctly under the Unique Black Glas skin.

Does XBMC support now or does it have plans to support internet content such as Youtube internally or do you need to exit back out to your browser for this type of content?

What is the scripts section? Where can I find the available scripts?

Will XBMC support ISOs with full menuing for both BD and DVD backups?

Sorry if some of these are rookie questions, but I'm just getting started in looking at this tech.

Thanks so much!

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Dragontech ioBox 100HD w/1TB internal - YAMJ - Unique Black Glas
Thecus N4100Pro NAS w/4x1.5TB Western Digital Green Drives running Raid 5
Onkyo TX-SR606
Logitech Harmony One Remote
Sony VPL-AW10 Projector w/106" Elite Screen
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#48
I'm a quasi NMT convert.

I replaced a HDX with a Acer Revo and XBMC but hung on to my C-200. I was looking for a more intergrated music skin. NMT development was slow on this front. At home the living area is split 50/50 between music and TV. In fact I was ready to sell off the C-200 but got a look at the new UI being developed for it and decided to hold off for a bit. The NMT went off to the bedroom where the Mrs makes the music. Big Grin

After using both for some time I prefer the default XBMC Confluence skin over YAMJ/Aeon for movies. I tried other xbmc skins but they would blow up often enough to discourage me from using them. I'd bet due to my lack of knowledge. On the NMT side I settled in with Aeon and have been happy with it for some time now.

Conversion of image names and nfos to XBMC friendly format took some time. I still have to run YAMJ for my C-200 menu. At this point I just run XBMC styled artwork and nfos. YAMJ does a fair job of making sense out of it.

I do like the small size of the Revo but can live with the C-200. It would not take a lot to make me a full XBMC convert. That is more due to the lack of features. The NMT needs time to mature.

I wished I knew how to get rid of the cap for Recent Additions. Sometimes I add a couple of seasons and movies will get pushed out. In YAMJ/Aeon it would be a box set in the New Catagory. In XBMC it does get stacked (XBMC for boxset) but not in the Recent additions area (XBMC for New catagory).

The both have their issues. I do need to reboot them both on occasion for their own reasons. So that is still around.

Without a doubt they both rock in their own ways.

db
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#49
I have never used an NMT system for myself, but I before I built my HTPC I installed XBMC on my regular PC and configured it exactly as what I had in mind for my HTPC. This way you can test everything before making your decision.
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#50
Robbio85 Wrote:I have never used an NMT system for myself, but I before I built my HTPC I installed XBMC on my regular PC and configured it exactly as what I had in mind for my HTPC. This way you can test everything before making your decision.

Thanks for the comment! Robbio, that is EXACTLY what I'm doing now.
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#51
I had a A-200 for a few weeks. But I sold if after a couple weeks as I was quite disappointed.

A-200:
-Very slow file browsing.
-Specs saying Vobsub works, but they "forget" to mention it's only if it's internal Vobsub.
-A menu system with no names, only icons. Did someone actually think when doing the GUI?
-Zoom, video and sub settings can't be saved globally.
-Can't change subs for RARed DVDs. (though not Syabas's fault)

Though in XBMC has it problems too and some missing basic features, like automatically playing next video file without queue or playlist. But compared to Sybas, bugs get fixed faster. With Sybas you have to wait for the big firmware update with tons of fixes. With XBMC you can just download latest build (http://mirrors.xbmc.org/nightlies/) and it might have the bug fixed.

Quote:Will XBMC support ISOs with full menuing for both BD and DVD backups?
It supports full DVD menu, but not BD. I don't think BD menus will ever be supported. That requires Java support, at least for some BDs.

You can still play a BD by playing the largest m2ts file. Though if you use subtitles when watching BD then you better use an external player or the DSplayer. That's because DVDplayer (XBMC's media player) won't remove "used" subtitles after X seconds, instead you'll have subtitles showing all the time.
If you really want a BD menu you could use an external player and just use XBMC to browse and start your BDs.

Quote:Does XBMC support now or does it have plans to support internet content such as Youtube internally or do you need to exit back out to your browser for this type of content?
XBMC had a couple Youtube scripts and other stuff before the "addon merge", though IMO they weren't that good. I guess they have to be fixed to work with the new addon system. Your best bet if you want a lot of working internet content atm is Boxee.
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#52
Quote:I don't think BD menus will ever be supported. That requires Java support, at least for some BDs.

I think this is being worked on. Of course this is only for BDs that have already been decrypted via AnyDVDHD or some other program.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=59250
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#53
Hello

I've been a popcorn hour user, with the YAMJ (Aeon skin).

I'm soon building my HTPC and planning to use XBMC for my multimedia.

Now, I have a collection of 1500 movies, and all organized via Ember Media Manager (EMM).

How easy will it be my shift to XBMC?

Thanks
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#54
Try it, it should just work....
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#55
Nothing to lose, all to win and never look back...
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Intel NUC Haswell D34010WYK | ATV2 | Logitech Harmony One | Onkyo TX-NR808 Receiver | QNAP 809 | APC Back-UPS RS 550
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#56
I'm having a few problems with my popcorn hour, if I don't get it fixed I'll have to get an xbox.

My main question is can I browse a HTTP site and stream video such as XviD from there?
I've already coded my own library manager with IMDB integration etc.
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#57
Are you asking a question regarding your popcorn hour...or XBMC?

Btw: XBMC on xbox is no longer supported, check xbmc4xbox.org for XBMC on the xbox.
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#58
About XBMC
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#59
Do you want to use http as your video source? Its supported, but any reason why you wouldn't want to use windows shares/samba/cifs?

As for your web based library you have built, you will need to provide more info. Any reason you don't want to use xbmc's builtin library features - i'm sure it will offer just as much info, if not more.....

Also with regards to using a xbox, official support for that was dropped some time ago and is no longer developed by the core xbmc team - there is however a relatively active community at xbmc4xbox.org. Keep in mind though, that if you opt for a xbox you will be pretty much limited to SD content.

If you are looking for a simple xbmc appliance that can do HD content, then grab yourself pretty much any ion based nettop.

I've just built another one recently using a Shuttle XS35GT - completely passively cooled, no fans and plays everything you can through at it. Details in my signature if you are interested.
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#60
Question 
Hello,

Currently I'm using a Popcorn Hour A110 to watch my (HD) videos which it does rather well. It is connected to my TV via HDMI and my receiver via SPDIF. Unfortunatly the Popcorn Hour has a few drawbacks:
  • User interface is somewhat outdated
  • No gapless playback of FLAC files
  • Videostreaming from the web "Uitzendinggemist" in Netherlands is not possible
Therefore I'm also using a Netbook (Acer Aspire A150) to listen to my music, also DTS-wav files, watch our photo's and watch video webstreams. Unfortunatly the A150 is not able to play video well (thanks to the Intel GMA) so I'm still forced to use two systems. Also the A150 does not work with the LIVE CD. After installation and booting of the system the screen stays black. This is also the case when running directly from the LIVE CD.
So I'm using XBMC V10 under windows XP, this works rather well but before I put the Netbook in Hibernation I must end XBMC otherwise after starting up again the display, both on the laptop and TV, stays black..

So I would like to replace the Popcorn and Acer A150 by one Netbook. After some research I found this one: Asus Eee PC 1015PN

It has the following specs:
  1. Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Starter
  2. Display 10.1" LED Backlight WSVGA Screen (1024x600)
  3. CPU & Chipset Intel® Atom™ N550
  4. Memory SO-DIMM 1GB DDRIII** (Maximum 2GB)
  5. Wireless Data Network WLAN 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz**
  6. Bluetooth 3.0**
  7. Display Card Next-Gen. ION N11M-PT1 with 512MB VRAM
  8. Hybrid Storage 250GB HDD + 500GB ASUS WebStorage **
  9. Input / Output 1 x VGA Connector, 1 x HDMI port
    3 x USB 2.0

I've got a few questions:
[LIST=2]
[*]Has anybody experience in XBMC LIVE on this Netbook and does it work well?
[*]Can XBMC LIVE make use of this latest NVIDIA ION chipset?
[*]Smooth playback of full HD movies possible (Both X.264 and VC.1?)?
[*] What will be the maximum bitrate for video files? I know that the Sigma chip of the Popcorn can only go up to 35 MBit, for HD videos with a higher bitrate I'm forced to use my OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray player.
[/LIST]

For audio, until I've got new Audio/Video Pre-processor, I'll keep on using an external USB audio stick with optical SPDIF out. This also works well with the currernt XBMC under windows.

Of course video will only be played back on an external HD TV via HDMI.

I know these are a lot of questions but I would like to be definitely sure the Asus netbook can replace the Popcorn and the Acer netbook.

Thanks for your support!
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