I have read a few posts on the topic but nothing recent or relevant because many people want the full plex experience like their PC or Mac.
I am looking for a device that will stream my plex server to my TV as simply as possible. I REALLY like the ATV2 remote or the remote that was used with the Boxee (despite how locked down and terrible that device was).
Things I have tried/own:
ATV2 - some shows stop mid play and error out, constantly resetting to make it play play certain shows, after a fresh power cycle it will play anything, for an hour.
OUYA - Want a more sleak remote, I know I can use my android phones to control it but id prefer something simple. Main issue is I have a huge sync issue between my video and audio on this device
PS3 - format issues
XBOX - honestly never made any attempt here because I never turn the thing on
Wii - No HD
Raspberry Pi - I tried this with PlexBMC, but the interface is slow and glitchy
I want something that just works and is clean and simple, my wife is not the most patient.
Note: my plex server is running on a pretty powerfull pc, but I think id prefer native support over transcoding.
I have also been debating a Roku 3, but I dont want to buy it and find out its just as bad as the ATV2 for stability.
I have read a few posts on the topic but nothing recent or relevant because many people want the full plex experience like their PC or Mac.
I am looking for a device that will stream my plex server to my TV as simply as possible. I REALLY like the ATV2 remote or the remote that was used with the Boxee (despite how locked down and terrible that device was).
Things I have tried/own:
ATV2 - some shows stop mid play and error out, constantly resetting to make it play play certain shows, after a fresh power cycle it will play anything, for an hour.
OUYA - Want a more sleak remote, I know I can use my android phones to control it but id prefer something simple. Main issue is I have a huge sync issue between my video and audio on this device
PS3 - format issues
XBOX - honestly never made any attempt here because I never turn the thing on
Wii - No HD
Raspberry Pi - I tried this with PlexBMC, but the interface is slow and glitchy
I want something that just works and is clean and simple, my wife is not the most patient.
Note: my plex server is running on a pretty powerfull pc, but I think id prefer native support over transcoding.
I have also been debating a Roku 3, but I dont want to buy it and find out its just as bad as the ATV2 for stability.
If you're using iPhones, just airplay them to apple TV's, it is what has worked best for all my impatient users - if you don't use them, you're splashing out on a HTPC. All devices sacrifice functionality and easy of use to make a price point.
I agree with Trudge on easy of use... if you want to keep it as simple as possible, Air Playing to an ATV from an iPhone or iPad is about as simple as it gets. That will also allow you to use the Apple remote you say you like for control. You could go a step further and use PlexConnect on the ATV too.
You mentioned direct streaming over transcoding; if that's top priority you only have two options - an HTPC or a Sony NSZ-GT1.
I have or have had every box available for use with Plex except for TV's - in my opinion the best options are a HTPC or Google TV, or Air Playing to the ATV. I really dislike the Roku boxes, lots of people love them though so that may be a good option for you - if you go that route don't skimp, get the highest priced model, cheaper ones are unbearably slow in comparison.
Great suggestions here for sure. I have a few follow up questions.
Plex connect was mentioned, does that perform any differently the my current jailbreak approach? or is it just an alternate method of getting the software on there.
Also is there a universal remote you could recommend to go with the HTPC, I wouldn't mind having 1 remote for everything.
If your priority is simplicity, especially of the remote, and stability, you really can't beat a Roku 3. The user interface is pretty bland, but completely functional, and ljunkie is releasing a new RARflix channel very soon that uses a 2D grid for media instead of the standard 1D line.
The Sony NSZ-GS7 has a beautiful Plex interface, and it's pretty stable (but not as rock-solid as the Roku) but the overall interface and the remote is more complicated than the Roku.
Great suggestions here for sure. I have a few follow up questions.
Plex connect was mentioned, does that perform any differently the my current jailbreak approach? or is it just an alternate method of getting the software on there.
Also is there a universal remote you could recommend to go with the HTPC, I wouldn't mind having 1 remote for everything.
Thanks
PlexConnect is considerably better, more stable & actively developed. It doesn't work in the same way as your current jailbroken setup. You run a small piece of software on your PMS, or any computer, and the ATV pulls content from it. No jailbreak needed.
For a universal remote, nothing is better than the Harmony line of remote controls. I think I've bought nearly every model that's come out - the Harmony One is the gold standard, the new Harmony Touch/Ultimate is nice but pricey - and even though I have it I actually use the much simpler 'extra' remote they include with the smart control box 99% of the time. It's dead simple and easy to use.
Plex connect was mentioned, does that perform any differently the my current jailbreak approach? or is it just an alternate method of getting the software on there.
It works differently and does not require a jailbreak. It is still however a hack (though a very smart one) and something Apple could decide to kill at any point if they chose to. They can also make it harder and harder to code for without killing it completely, and as a community driven effort enthusiasm from the developers may not be as high if that happens. Wife factor is excellent though it may backfire if it disappears.
It works differently and does not require a jailbreak. It is still however a hack (though a very smart one) and something Apple could decide to kill at any point if they chose to. They can also make it harder and harder to code for without killing it completely, and as a community driven effort enthusiasm from the developers may not be as high if that happens. Wife factor is excellent though it may backfire if it disappears.
Thanks I will have to give that a shot, might as well before buying new stuff.
I like the full Plex experience. Roku's an aesthetic let down and so is Keplar on the Ouya as another example and not to mention the audio sync issues. I've used almost everything out there including the Vizio and the Sony Googles, the Pi and PlexConnect. PlexConnect, I just can't get passed the dull interface. Retroplex and Night Skin are great media presenters.
This is what I'm using now:
Intel NUC Celeron. Frys in store $159, RAM $35, MSATA 32GB for the OS $65. I already had Windows 8 off EBay. Few months ago. A download for about $35. You can use an Apple remote with a Flirc. I had a Mac Mini at one point for a few days and returned it. I couldn't justify the price tag and since I've always been a Windows user I couldn't get used to the Apple OS. I paid about half for the NUC than the Mini. I already had a Flirc I used with the PI and I picked up the Apple remote. As a dedicated Plex box paying an extra $200 over a Roku is worth it if for anything else there's no lingering regret that I compromised the aesthetics and the little box responds really well too. Virtually no lag.
Now, having said all the above, I'm intrigued by the Cubox-I that's coming out http://cubox-i.com/It will run Android and/or Linux. Power consumption is so low it doesn't have an off switch and it should run rings around the Pi as an ARM based processor in single, dual and quad core models. I hear minimal chatter about a PHT port for Linux that will run on this particular ARM. It would be great though.
Did anyone else notice how the “Cubox-i” has a circuit board largely modeled after the one used by the Raspberry Pi ?
The chips on the board look different, so it must be a different design at IC level, but every single connector around the edges of that board has exactly the same position as on a Raspberry Pi, and there are no new connectors that the RPi doesn’t have. only the I/O extension bus connector pins are missing, though at least one set seems represented by unused solder pads.
Trudge, we already know the Pi will play everything. Even though Rasplex won’t apply on the Cubox-i there’s XBMC and Plexbmc. Plexbmc should work. The expectation is that the Cubox-i will have more muscle than the Pi. If this be the case you have a low power leave it on 7/24 dedicated Plex player with a better interface than either the Roku, Keplar, Google TV UIs. We’ll see. Cubox starts shipping end of this month.
I too tried the Ouya. What a dud but part of the dud experience was Keplar. On a tablet ok but on a TV. No.
I’ve just read through this thread after many years of trying to find a suitable client myself.
My main “advanced” criteria are 24p and hd audio from uncompressed mkv h264 blu rays. A nice, fast GUI would be a plus and using an ipad to start play back is a must as navigating a large collection with a remote is no fun. But most of all it must be stable. You have no idea how much grief I get when putting ice age on for the boys doesn’t work.
It seems the only option is an htpc, but I’ve been through 3 hardware iterations of one, as well as frieds with them, and have no end of issues with windows screen resolution, and random windows based issues screwing things up. The closest I got was shelling it with xbmc and plexbmc but that didn’t last before windows decided to drop a b*llock. Plexbmc is random too, with inconsistent shared library menus and failure to connect on occasion.
I use the roku LT as 2nd room players and as a backup in the lounge to give the wife a 2nd chance (and 3rd and 4th with ps3 and tv dlna). Other that the bland interface and hideous transcoding artefacts they have mostly been reliable, until the one in the lounge decided to screw up when relied upon in that backup situation.
It feels like there is far to much work happening on the server/software side of all the media solutions out there and the client end is being completely neglected. All these new features are well and good but without a client to use them there is little point.
I understand however we/I am probably in the minority when it comes to high bitrate and hd audio. most users will be playing 4-5gb 720p files i imagine.
This is what I’ve used so far:
Windows Htpc x3
Linux htpc x2 (xbmc/plexbmc openelec etc)
Roku
Android boxes (nano plus with native xbmc rom)
Various dlna boxes
Rpi with all xbmc based roms
Airplay works but isn’t a realistic solution for me short of YouTube.
I've just read through this thread after many years of trying to find a suitable client myself.
My main "advanced" criteria are 24p and hd audio from uncompressed mkv h264 blu rays. A nice, fast GUI would be a plus and using an ipad to start play back is a must as navigating a large collection with a remote is no fun. But most of all it must be stable. You have no idea how much grief I get when putting ice age on for the boys doesn't work.
It seems the only option is an htpc, but I've been through 3 hardware iterations of one, as well as frieds with them, and have no end of issues with windows screen resolution, and random windows based issues screwing things up. The closest I got was shelling it with xbmc and plexbmc but that didn't last before windows decided to drop a b*llock. Plexbmc is random too, with inconsistent shared library menus and failure to connect on occasion.
I use the roku LT as 2nd room players and as a backup in the lounge to give the wife a 2nd chance (and 3rd and 4th with ps3 and tv dlna). Other that the bland interface and hideous transcoding artefacts they have mostly been reliable, until the one in the lounge decided to screw up when relied upon in that backup situation.
It feels like there is far to much work happening on the server/software side of all the media solutions out there and the client end is being completely neglected. All these new features are well and good but without a client to use them there is little point.
I understand however we/I am probably in the minority when it comes to high bitrate and hd audio. *most* users will be playing 4-5gb 720p files i imagine.
This is what I've used so far:
Windows Htpc x3
Linux htpc x2 (xbmc/plexbmc openelec etc)
Roku
Android boxes (nano plus with native xbmc rom)
Various dlna boxes
Rpi with all xbmc based roms
Airplay works but isn't a realistic solution for me short of YouTube.
Atv2 jailbroken
Atv3 plex connect
If you don't like transcoded output then you should use clients that can handle Direct Play plus I personally would stay clear of wireless networking with high bandwidth items like straight bluray
For example I built my first HTPC with a zotac first gen ion board inside a m350 case, back then vdpau was just getting to market so nobody really had proper cases/prebuilt units, and 5yrs later this thing still churns through anything I push at it running XBMC. Once PHT is more stable I plan on switching over as that for my main client.
As far as I know ATV2 doesn't do 1080p very well without the CrystalHD addon
Roku really doesn't like high reference numbers in the media nor odd combinations of encoding settings and doesn't support decoding of 5.1 audio so that'll put the work on the server
Rpi doesn't have any non beta clients that I know of aside from openelec but it suffers the same performance issues as the clients in beta... Xbian/Rasplex/Raspbmc are all works in progress which I find still need optimizations for the UI but playback and presentation are spot on!
Windows/Mac I've personally never used as clients as I find the price point a bit high for something I won't use 90% of the features and the more resources not used by the OS the better.
In short... it seems to me that you've been primarily using devices that don't support your archived media type forcing the bulk of the work on the server and if that server is under powered the overall client experience will suffer greatly. I'm not sure why the linux/windows solutions didn't work... perhaps they lacked hardware decoders and relied on CPU?
I picked up the Roku 3 recently to see if it's something my parents could use and so far I'm really impressed.
The only drawback is as I stated above... the ref frames limit.
Unfortunately the Roku doesn't support the m2ts container but you could pull the untouched audio/video streams and plop them into a mkv container...should work as the codecs are supported.
That reminds me I also did use an ATV1 with CrystalHD!
My server is an i5-3570, with 8gb ram so the transcoding itself isn't as issue in that respect. You are right I have tried many devices that require transcoding, they were in an attempt to find a stable / reliable solution for when I am not there. Throughout all device trials I've kept the HTPC going for when I want to watch something in the evening, rather than the kids movie or chick flick that goes on during the day. Where physically possible everything is wired, only the Roku LT isn't because it hasn't got it (although I do use a decent router, Asus RT66U). All HTPC's i've used have both had hardware decoding and a CPU powerful enough to decode.
It's not always a plex / xbmc / software issue. Just the other day I went to use the remote control (an Onkyo one, programmed for HDMI-CEC with a pulse eight adapter). This has worked since I remember and been quite reliable. I hadn't used it for a while as I normally start playback with an i-device now. On this occasion one wasn't nearby, so I picked up the remote to find it didn't work! Turned out plugging the "backup" roku into the 4th HDMI port on the amp somehow prevents the CEC commands being sent to port 1 for the HTPC.
Anyway this wasn't meant to be a rant, just my experience with devices so far. I'm still trying. Currently trialling PHT on ubuntu, and may also give a Roku 3 a go as I read it has much better direct play support, although no HD audio still.
Perfect timing as I was just looking for a client to be used on the TV my wife primarily uses. Like the OP my wife is not very tolerant of anything complicated, what ever I pick has to be very reliable and very easy to use. I'm leaning towards the ATV3 PlexConnect with airplay as a back up.
