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Joined: Mar 27, 2004 Posts: 153 Location: The Great White North
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2004 9:36 am Post subject: Watch DigiSubs on TV!
One of the drawbacks of viewing digital fansubs is that your stuck with the small screen that comes with your PC. What if you could watch your favorite anime on that big comfy couch in front of your TV? Well with some of the new streaming media players available, you can! The Pinnacle ShowCenter not only supports MPEG-1 and MPEG-1 video, but it also supports DiVX and Xvid, the formats most commonly used by fan sub groups.
Now the ShowCenter is far from perfect. While it has a wireless option, it currently only supports 802.11b, which is fine for audio but not fast enough for high bit-rate video, so a wired connection is almost a necessity. By default video is scaled to fit the TV screen, which chops off wide-screen format video, but you can go into the setup menu to retain the original video size. You also have to remember to press the Full Screen button or the video plays in a small window in the corner. Don't expect to be able to play your commercial DVDs though. All streaming media centers require content to sit on your hard drive, and the ShowCenter only supports a single PC so a multiple PC home would have to consolidate all files onto one system to act as a media server.
The ShowCenter also plays audio but only MP3 format. WMA files are converted to MP3 for playback which could use up a lot of additional disk space for some users. The remote control and search features need improvement but the unit will automatically look for firmware updates over the Internet and present an upgrade notice on your TV screen when one is available. The latest firmware added the ability to record video but a TV tuner add-on card is required.
So while the unit has several short comings, as far as I know, it's the only one to currently support both DiVX and Xvid as native formats. The price is also relatively high compared to other makes, but if they add 802.11g wireless and continue to improve the firmware, the ShowCenter could become a welcome addition to an Otaku's entertainment system.
Joined: Oct 04, 2002 Posts: 83 Location: ATX (Austin)
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2004 4:08 pm Post subject:
Meh
Xbox=150USD
No Solder Mod Chip=20USD
Software=Free
XBMC can play everything.... like literally since it's video player is baised off of the popular *nix application mplayer which is the best video player bar none.
Now I know Tomshardware is heresy, but they did have a pretty good overview of XBMC
This is what I use, I stream files from my PC using SMB (native windows networking protocol) to my xbox and play on the 36" TV in the living room =p _________________ @bluestorm6 � god... I have a horrible headache
@SCR512 � probably cause ur thinking gay thoughts about MaCeR
@SCR512 � ^^
@bluestorm6 � you're actually quite right SCR. I enjoy the maleness of Macer.
+zooey_g � ...
Joined: Mar 27, 2004 Posts: 153 Location: The Great White North
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 11:15 am Post subject:
I have an unmoded PS2, although I did look into using it. There are some software players for the PS2, but since the Sony DVD format is not compatible with PCs, it's too much work in my view. You need a chip mod or flip top and disk swaps, and that's after burning the ep. to CDR. Streaming to an Xbox does sound interesting though. Anyone heard of something similar for the PS2?
The laptop in bed sounds fun, but the sound quality is usually not as good. Do you use headphones? I do have a video card with TV out, but it's in another room. Running both video and audio cables from the PC to the TV is not practical, not to mention that you can't pause the PC while sitting in another room. But I do already have CAT5 cable in the walls so the PC network seems to be the way to go.
I just like the idea of the streaming media player because it works with music, photos and video and you can use a remote control like with any either stereo component. The price should be about half of what it is, though.
Joined: Oct 04, 2002 Posts: 83 Location: ATX (Austin)
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 2:51 am Post subject:
ya there was some sort of software for ps2 that does that, but its close/commerical product.. if your gonna blow all that money on a settop player that may or may not play back all the anime out there on the net... XBOX =p _________________ @bluestorm6 � god... I have a horrible headache
@SCR512 � probably cause ur thinking gay thoughts about MaCeR
@SCR512 � ^^
@bluestorm6 � you're actually quite right SCR. I enjoy the maleness of Macer.
+zooey_g � ...
i have my computer in my room next to my tv, so i just use the tv out function on my geforce card and use my computer speakers for sound. thats how i watch all my downloaded anime.[/list]
Joined: Mar 27, 2004 Posts: 153 Location: The Great White North
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:13 pm Post subject:
In my search for media players that support Xvid, the next one I came across is the Icube Play@TV NMP-4000. The pros of this unit are that it supports a wide variety of formats and the price is more in-line with other media players ($179 US). Cons are that it lacks Internet radio and comes with 802.11b wireless (although performance is still as good as some 802.11g players but can still have drop outs). Windows 2000 or Windows XP is required and for hi-res video up to 720x480 30 fps a P4-2GHz or better is recommended (P4-1.4GHz for up to 640x352 24 fps).
From what I gather on-line, it uses the decoders on the PC, so any video that you can view on your PC can be viewed on the Icube. This may put a bigger load on the server PC, but it also means that newer codecs won't kill the media player. This helps make the player a little more future proof, but don't expect to able to play Unreal Tournament while someone is viewing videos. Only available in a few US states but some stores may ship interntationally.
actually the screen on my laptop may be small compared to my TV but it's sharper and i can lie in bed and watch anime
i agree... its much easier.. .all you need to do is buy a tv out video card and hook it up to your TV.. and you could watch whatever you want from your computer on TV....it have good quietly too
Joined: Mar 27, 2004 Posts: 153 Location: The Great White North
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 12:05 pm Post subject:
DogEater008 wrote:
i agree... its much easier.. .all you need to do is buy a tv out video card and hook it up to your TV.. and you could watch whatever you want from your computer on TV....it have good quietly too
Sorry, but you're missing the point of these devices. I already have a Geforce2 GTS with video out, but it's in another room, no where near the TV. How many people have the computer close to the TV for that matter?
The media hub is for those people that have multile computers and TVs in different rooms. If you're house is wired with ethernet cable (I made sure to do that with my last reno ) or you use wireless devices, then you can stream various media to any location you desire. These units are small, so it's easy to unplug them and move them to another room, unlike a desktop PC, or you can have several media hubs and use your PCs to stream anywhere a hub is located.
Also, with a media hub, you get a remote control. That wireless keyboard may not work well from the couch, and who wants to walk over to the PC to pause and rewind to a caption you missed? Media hubs will also display photos on your TV, some support Internet radio, and all stream music as well, so even if someone is watching anime or listening to music on the PC, you can still stream MP3s to your stero at the same time.
Now, if you're a starving student in a dorm, odds are that the PC and TV are close together and the video card is a good solution, but for the middle-aged couch potato with the wired home, these devices are pretty cool. _________________ [IMG:119:90:283352dc7f]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e36/Tank252ca/HoiHoiSanPointing.gif[/img:283352dc7f]Tank252ca
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) or you use wireless devices, then you can stream various media to any location you desire. These units are small, so it's easy to unplug them and move them to another room, unlike a desktop PC, or you can have several media hubs and use your PCs to stream anywhere a hub is located.
