Technology recommendations
May. 4th, 2011 01:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrewduckerSo...
I currently have an AV amp plugged into the TV. Plugged into it are the
Wii, XBox 360, Tivo and Apple TV. The Wii is using Component Cables,
everything else is via HDMI.
On June 27th LOTR:Extended Edition comes out on Blu-Ray. I therefore,
quite obviously, must own a Blu Ray player on said date.
I now have two problems:
1) I don't have any more HDMI inputs on my AV amp, so I'll either need a
switch to allow one of the inputs to take multiple inputs, or I'll need a
new AV amp that can take 4 inputs (and that should probably be 5, for
futureproofing/the Wii 2 coming out). The switch seems a lot more likely
for now - so I'd appreciate any recommendations for a decent HDMI switch.
2) I'll need a Blu-Ray player.I know that a lot of them take an age to
actually start playing discs - so one that's user-friendly in this regard
would be awesome. If the DVD part can be made multiregion that would also
be a plus (not that I have more than three DVDs from the US, but it might
turn out handy).
Any thoughts?
I currently have an AV amp plugged into the TV. Plugged into it are the
Wii, XBox 360, Tivo and Apple TV. The Wii is using Component Cables,
everything else is via HDMI.
On June 27th LOTR:Extended Edition comes out on Blu-Ray. I therefore,
quite obviously, must own a Blu Ray player on said date.
I now have two problems:
1) I don't have any more HDMI inputs on my AV amp, so I'll either need a
switch to allow one of the inputs to take multiple inputs, or I'll need a
new AV amp that can take 4 inputs (and that should probably be 5, for
futureproofing/the Wii 2 coming out). The switch seems a lot more likely
for now - so I'd appreciate any recommendations for a decent HDMI switch.
2) I'll need a Blu-Ray player.I know that a lot of them take an age to
actually start playing discs - so one that's user-friendly in this regard
would be awesome. If the DVD part can be made multiregion that would also
be a plus (not that I have more than three DVDs from the US, but it might
turn out handy).
Any thoughts?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-05 12:05 pm (UTC)This was a cheapish one with good reviews, I buying it to replace a Samsung DVD player which had died shortly after its warranty expired. And I noticed the Samsung Blu-ray player reviews were not too good, so decided it was best to avoid Samsung optical devices. (Very happy with the Samsung HD TV I have though.)
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:27 pm (UTC)It also has a USB port on the front that will allow you to play anything you've downloaded from the net no matter what format it's in.
I have no idea if it can be made multi-region, but it didn't cost a fortune and is easy to use and gets the job done.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:35 pm (UTC)Another possibility on your AV receiver would be to swap the Xbox to optical audio and hook the video straight to the set... dunno if that'd be more convenient and cheaper than an HDMI switch, but it's an alternative.
-- Steve's setup is almost as complex as yours, and will confess that he's utterly reliant on his Harmony remote in a manner that's probably unhealthy.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:37 pm (UTC)http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/blu-ray-players/278785/sony-bdp-s370/
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:39 pm (UTC)It is a 2nd Gen sony though, so maybe the 3rd Gen they've ironed this problem out.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:45 pm (UTC)As far as blu-ray players go, the consensus online last time I looked was that the PS3 is far and away the best. Expensive, though.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 12:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 01:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 01:49 pm (UTC)If you want you can even bring the girlfriend with you :->
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:22 pm (UTC)The region stuff on Bluray's is pretty much a minefield however. There aren't any region free players. However a lot of US discs (Region A) are not region encoded and playable in all regions.
Not the Criterion Blu's however :-(
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:24 pm (UTC)I have a pre HDMI 5.1 amp so that's my setup for everything.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:29 pm (UTC)We currently have 3 blu-ray players(not counting ones in computers) and I'd say that of the three the one which is fastest at loading was also the cheapest - A Philips BDP3000 which is Kirsty's machine - it's multi region for DVDs and was under £100. We have a Sony BDP-S350 in our bedroom which is also DVD multi region and we have a PS3 in the living room which is _NOT_ DVD multi- region. In a choice I'd rather have a dedicated player in the living room but realistically we need the games console there.
Both dedicated players are a far easier interface and much faster than the PS3 at load. You're welcome to come over and play around with any of the interfaces if you wish?
Other thing to consider - put an internal Blu-Ray in one of your machines? Roy just swapped one into my new laptop.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 02:59 pm (UTC)But coming round and playing with your Blu-ray players sounds tempting. Gimme a week for things to settle down and we can make a tech-date!
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:17 pm (UTC)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Duronic-Switch-input-output-Switcher/dp/B0020426AG/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1304522048&sr=1-2
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:20 pm (UTC)I've posted the hdmi switcher above, which is £10 for an automatic one. We do have a manual unit with Irda remote unused if you want it.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:28 pm (UTC)"This disc cannot be played.
The region code is not correct."
A lot of Bluray movies are region free, for instance all the Warner Bros output as part of the deal for them jumping from HD-DVD to Bluray.
Ironically the keys used to allow cheap Bluray players to change region/multiregion were found hidden on the PS3!
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 04:02 pm (UTC)YPbPr Is Analog
YCbCr Is Digital
Seemples
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 05:08 pm (UTC)There are. My brother has one that he bought from Tesco. I used it myself, and he showed me the Criterion Blu of Thin Red Line, so I know he wasn't blowing smoke.
Couldn't say what model it was, though, but I could try and find out.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 05:58 pm (UTC)Thanks, great find: I'll probably pick one up!
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 06:34 pm (UTC)based on a PowerPC processor (PowerPC 603).
You need Telnet access to the TeraStation.
You can try the firmware from here
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/itimpi/buffalo.htm
or create your own Firmware as described here
http://www.terastation.org/wiki
http://www.terastation.org/wiki/Firmware_update#Your_own_Firmware_update
TwonkyMedia simple installation on Terastation
----------------------------------------------
1. Upgrade the firmware.
Customized firmware can be found at
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/itimpi/buffalo.htm
WARNING:
Flashing firmware is a straight-forward procedure. However, there is always
the possibility that something could go wrong and damage your NAS in
the process. Flashing unofficial firmware will probably void your warranty.
2. Create a shared folder "share" if not already exist.
3. Unzip all files from this package (preserving subfolder structure!)
into a folder on your PC, start NASSetup.exe and follow the instructions.
Superuser privileges ("myroot") are needed for successful installation of
autostart scripts.
After the trial period is over, the server needs to be registered.
For an automatic registration the server must be able to contact
twonkymedia.com, i.e. the domain name server (DNS) and the default gateway
must be configured well. Otherwise, automatic registration will fail and you
have to register manually.
This document was last modified 30. April 2007
contact: support@twonkymedia.de
Files:
http://www.twonkyforum.com/downloads/5.1.1/twonkymedia-terastation-5.1.1.zip
from:
http://www.twonkyforum.com/downloads/5.1.1/
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 07:00 pm (UTC)I could install an old version of TwonkyMedia onto it, but right now I don't need to, as the XBMC/Apple TV happily streams off of SMB.