Man I feel stupid! I spent $100 for my Netflix box and for $67 more I could have had a networked media tank! What an idiot!
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| Low power mythtv front-end alternative http://forum.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20172 |
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| Author: | marc.aronson [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:38 am ] |
| Post subject: | Low power mythtv front-end alternative |
I've started using a type of device known as a "Networked Media Tank" (NMT) as a very low power front end for my mythtv box. This threadin the NMT forums provides more information. My feeling is that with a bit more work one could provide a reasonable front end that can replace the following myth front end capabilities: 1. Watch & delete recordings 2. Play videos with myth video 3. The photo viewer 4. The music player. Here is some more info about the NMT: 1. NMT's are made by many different companies. The first NMT was the Popcorn Hour A-100. I am using the eGreat M34A and cost me $160 + $7 shipping + 9% CA tax. 2. Mine is diskless, silent and draws 7 watts of power. 3. The reputation is that it will play anything you can throw at it including H.264 and 1080P video. 4. The front end can be re-skinned using HTML, PHP, etc. The myth interface is basically a stripped down version of the mythweb interface, designed to be remote control friendly. It works very well and my wife likes it. |
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| Author: | nharris [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 12:49 pm ] |
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Are you talking about this web based NMT interface? http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showt ... #pid206995 I sure wish there was a Sigma based myth frontend, but the current options in that direction are not good. SageTV has the best Sigma based frontend box... but for SageTV only of course. Until that day, there is Atom+Ion. |
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| Author: | marc.aronson [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:53 am ] |
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Yes -- that's the same thread that my original post links to. If you scroll down to post # 8 the threadyou will see were I posted an updated version that provides an improved interface and includes some sorting capability beyond that which is available in the mythfrontend. Based on your response I may not have been clear enough in my original post: This is not a port of the myth front end, but it is able to provide a good user experience for performing the same mythfrontend functions I listed in my original post. Over time I intend to implement an HTML interface that provides an experience "similar" to myth video. There are pros and cons to both approaches. These are the reasons I choose this approach over the "Atom + ION": 1. NMT consumes 7 watts vs. 35 for atom+ION. 2. Lower total cost to "build". 3. NMT enables me to also watch Hulu and Netflix in conjunction with my playon server. 4. I rarely use the myth frontend to schedule and manage recordings as I prefer the mythweb interface, so the inability to do this from the NMT is not a problem. Both are valid solutions -- its just a question of what you are looking for... |
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| Author: | nharris [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:38 am ] |
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Marc, I totally agree. If it works for you that's all that matters and it's great that you are sharing your work for others to use. Could you separate out your interface from the standard mythweb (ie-no mythweb hacking)? If so, it would be a nice addition to the LinHES web menu. -Nathan |
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| Author: | Liv2Cod [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:05 pm ] |
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Man I feel stupid! I spent $100 for my Netflix box and for $67 more I could have had a networked media tank! What an idiot!
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| Author: | marc.aronson [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:51 pm ] |
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nharris wrote: Could you separate out your interface from the standard mythweb (ie-no mythweb hacking)? If so, it would be a nice addition to the LinHES web menu. Nathan, the NMT "mythweb interface" is implemented as a new mythweb template named "nmt", so it does not interfere with one's ability to use the default mythweb template The scripts on the NMT is set up to default to the "nmt" template. If you want to play with the NMT mythweb interface from your PC, you need to explicitly change your mythweb settings and set the template to "nmt". I think this addresses your question, but let me know if I mis-understood. I am making some more tweaks over the coming week that will make it easier to install. Also, I'm working on R5.5 -- I don't know if it works with R6 / LINHES. Liv2Cod wrote: Man I feel stupid! I spent $100 for my Netflix box and for $67 more I could have had a networked media tank! What an idiot!
Joe, the main advantage of the netflix box is that it does not require you to run an additional sever. The NMT Netflix inerface requires you to run PlayON on another windows box on your network. I own both and NMT and a netflix box... |
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| Author: | marc.aronson [ Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:28 pm ] |
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I've improved the way that the list of episodes is navigated so that it is much more intuitive. I am really pleased with what one can do when developing an interface for this device. Some of the improvements: 1. When you click on a series i will display the 4 most recent episodes. 2. If you hit the "down" button on the last episode listed, it automatically refreshes the screen with the next 4 oldest episodes. 3. The "up" and "left" button now behave in an intuitive fashion. ie, "up" from the first episode listed on a screen takes you to the previous screen. Hitting "left" from any episode takes you to the previous screen. There are some other touches I have added. A bit more to go and I am done w/ recordings and will move on to mythvideo. This box is amazing. |
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| Author: | Liv2Cod [ Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:46 pm ] |
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marc.aronson wrote: Joe, the main advantage of the netflix box is that it does not require you to run an additional sever. The NMT Netflix inerface requires you to run PlayON on another windows box on your network. I own both and NMT and a netflix box...
Oh. Well that's a non-starter right there. Who would ever run a Windoze box 24/7 ?!? It would soon be taken over as a 'bot and would rampage thru the house, terrifying pets and sending your banking information to far-away lands! All while consuming copious quantities of electricity. I guess it isn't the cat's pajamas for Netflix viewing. |
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| Author: | marc.aronson [ Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:12 pm ] |
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Update: At this time I can no longer recommend this device, or any of the NMT devices. It winds up that the 30-second skip-forward / skip-backward function is very unpredictable. I've seen all of the following outcomes from a 30-second skip-forward request 1. A 2-minute skip forward 2. A 45-second skip-backwards 3. A 30-second skip forward, sometimes +/- 10-seconds. I've done some posting on the NMT forumsand the feedback I've been getting is that the issue has been talked about for over 1.5 years and the manufacturer is not giving any indication that they will ever fix it. This is rather disappointing. I will post an update here if at some point there is a resolution to this problem. |
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