need media streamer suggestions (WD TV Live, Roku, etc)

[Thorin]

I'm getting really sick of the Xbox chopping up the audio of files I play through it.  I'm finally to the point where I want to go to the store and pick up a WD TV Live or something similar.  Whatever I get, I prefer it to be able to play files directly off the networked Drobo.  If that's not possible, I'll keep running TVersity or Plex Media Server.

So, any recommendations?  Which device, and also where to buy it?

[Lazybones]

I'm getting really sick of the Xbox chopping up the audio of files I play through it.  I'm finally to the point where I want to go to the store and pick up a WD TV Live or something similar.  Whatever I get, I prefer it to be able to play files directly off the networked Drobo.  If that's not possible, I'll keep running TVersity or Plex Media Server.

So, any recommendations?  Which device, and also where to buy it?

They all have trade offs... I am really happy with the Roku2 + Plex Combo (in addtion to the great iOS and web client). However note that the roku2 interface is fairly plain, and it has NO local file abilities on its own. It is designed purely as a streaming device.

However if you only have ONE TV you want to run this off of the WDTV will mount shares just fine and has its own media data collector, but I didn't like it much.

[Lazybones]

Just a quick note, the fancier Roku2 comes with an RF remote, if you want an IR remote (i use a harmony with my setup) stick with the lower end unit. You are forced to go WiFi if you do that however.

[Thorin]

"mount shares"?  That would let me connect directly to the Drobo, right?  I'd have to configure the Drobo with a user account to access it, I'm guessing?

The Roku2 is streaming only, does that mean I can have TVersity or Plex running on a computer, but then TVersity/Plex will need to transcode?

[Thorin]

To be honest, I'm willing to try a PS3 as well.  Dunno if that'd be any better, but it would introduce a Blu-Ray player into my household...

[Tom]

I'm getting really sick of the Xbox chopping up the audio of files I play through it.  I'm finally to the point where I want to go to the store and pick up a WD TV Live or something similar.  Whatever I get, I prefer it to be able to play files directly off the networked Drobo.  If that's not possible, I'll keep running TVersity or Plex Media Server.

So, any recommendations?  Which device, and also where to buy it?

They all have trade offs... I am really happy with the Roku2 + Plex Combo (in addtion to the great iOS and web client). However note that the roku2 interface is fairly plain, and it has NO local file abilities on its own. It is designed purely as a streaming device.

I'm pretty sure my mom's roku 2 XS has both an ethernet port and a usb port. You need to install an app to look at the local files, but its there.

At least I could swear it did. Roku itself says no. But I distinctly remember seeing both. Even tried to use the usb port but my drive was formatted with ext4 not vfat, so it couldn't see the files.

append: actually it does, but Roku doesn't seem to advertise the XS at all. Just the XD.

[Lazybones]

Is your drobo a NAS or USB drive style unit?

If you want something stand stand alone get the WDTV, you could use it with Plex or TVersity via DLNA but as you already experienced DLNA sucks. The PS3 also uses DLNA so vs the XBox it's only a minor difference.

I only suggest a roku if you are running a Plex server. The roku Plex ap is very nice and Plex will take care of most of the heavy lifting if needed. Unlike using a DLNA device like an Xbox Plex knows exactly what the roku can and can't play natively. 

[Tom]

Just watch out with the roku, it is very finicky with its wifi setup. if something changes, you often have to reboot the thing, and that takes several minutes (or so it seems).

[Thorin]

The Xbox used to play everything just fine (well, I made sure to get XviD encoded video).  Then Mirosoft forced a media update that installed an upper limit on the bitrates it would play.  Now, most newer (and some of the old) XviD-encoded videos I try playing have choppy audio and/or video.  It's not so much that DLNA sucks as that the Xbox has been artificially limited by Microsoft.  Oh, and if we didn't download the media update we would not be able to go online to play games against friends; hence, they forced it.

My Drobo is network-attached, thus a NAS.  I needed something that multiple devices could access.

The WD TV Live, I could access a NAS such as my Drobo via wired or wireless network, right?  I've read it'll try to organize the media and that brings it to a standstill, but I've already got my files organized nicely so I can turn that off if possible.

I'm okay with setting up Plex Media Server, but my machines are old and not really up to the task of transcoding video.  I mean, they _could_ do it, but probably only one stream at a time and then the computers'd get noisy (and they're in the same big living room as the TV).

[Tom]

It is possible to tell plex to not transcode. Sometimes plex will feed my tablet with an in modified video stream. If the player announces it supports every format, it should work in most cases without transcoding.

[Lazybones]

The WDTV can directly mount SMB/SAMBA/Windows network shares. When it pulls down metadata it will drop medata data files and thumbnails of its own format into the media directory's so it needs read write access for that feature to work. the WDTV has decent built in codec support.

If you have more than one TV in the house I think the Roku + plex setup is much better. The plex trans-coder will try and shift container formats vs transcode when possible... It needs at least a dual core CPU.

[Thorin]

With multiple TVs, the idea is that you attach a Roku to each TV, right?

And with shifting container formats, you mean that if it's an MKV it'll send it as an AVI, or something similar?  But with the same codec inside?  What difference would that make?

My two computers have a Core 2 Duo E6550, it's over five years old.  Dual code, 2.33 GHz, 4MB L2 cache.  More importantly, I built these old systems for quietness so put in a fanless 8400 GS in each.  I have a 9800 GT sitting here that I could pop in one, that'd probably make one of these computers capable of doing the transcoding, but then noise...

One bonus of the WD TV Live is that I could turn off all my computers and still view the video as the Drobo is network-connected thus still available.

One bonus of the Roku + Plex is that others could watch video on their iPods / Android phones.  Well, I'm guessing Plex can stream to Samsung Galaxy S-2-x and S-3 phones, anyway.

[Lazybones]

With multiple TVs, the idea is that you attach a Roku to each TV, right?

The idea is that you only need to setup and fix the meda-data/ thumbnails once in the plex server and all device see the same content. That and at about $99 the Roku's are fairly resonable to add to a bunch of TVs.

And with shifting container formats, you mean that if it's an MKV it'll send it as an AVI, or something similar?  But with the same codec inside?  What difference would that make?

Yes, one of the improvements in plex, especially if using plex native clients is that it will take an MKV container apart and pass the video and audio as is if the device supports the codecs but not the container.. also it is smart enough to JUST trans-code the audio or video if one of the two is not supported this is much quicker and takes less CPU.

My two computers have a Core 2 Duo E6550, it's over five years old.  Dual code, 2.33 GHz, 4MB L2 cache.  More importantly, I built these old systems for quietness so put in a fanless 8400 GS in each.  I have a 9800 GT sitting here that I could pop in one, that'd probably make one of these computers capable of doing the transcoding, but then noise...

Plex uses FFMPEG as part of its transcode engine, it is completely CPU driven, it does not contain GPU optimizations. It is however multi-threaded.

One bonus of the WD TV Live is that I could turn off all my computers and still view the video as the Drobo is network-connected thus still available.

Yes, I was going that direction in my setup, but found the lack of trans-coding a problem. The WDTV has good codec support but not perfect codec support... It really depends on the mix of your content.

One bonus of the Roku + Plex is that others could watch video on their iPods / Android phones.  Well, I'm guessing Plex can stream to Samsung Galaxy S-2-x and S-3 phones, anyway.

You could use the web client or the NATIVE iOS / Android Apps... The apps cost money but work much better.

[Melbosa]

So here is my setup at home for Media Streaming (I Use Plex for my DNLA/Media Server Source):

XBOX 360
Don't do it anymore because the Copy Protection stuff comes through every DNLA software and is displayed on the XBOX 360 - mostly transcoding required

PS3
Same problem as the XBOX 360 - mostly transcoding required

Roku 2 XS
I have the XS because I wanted the Wired Option.  1080p source content has trouble over 54mbps Wireless and I just didn't want to have to deal with that.  I use this in my Bed Room right now.  Most content is natively played from Plex, no transcoding required.

WD Live!
I have this in my living room. Most content is natively played from Plex, no transcoding required. Was using it because of the Optical Output I need for my surround sound.  I have another solution now which may replace it but I haven't tested that yet.  If it does, I will have a second Roku 2 XS in my living room.

iPad 2/3
I use the Plex App ($ required) with these devices and can stream just fine - mostly transcoding required

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
I use the Plex Pass (Free for Plex Pass people- Plex App also exists for a $) app with this device and streams just fine - mostly transcoding required

Samsung Galaxy S4
I use the Plex Pass (Free for Plex Pass people- Plex App also exists for a $) app with this device and streams just fine - mostly transcoding required

Windows Surface Pro or Windows 8 Computers
I use the Plex App ($ required) from the Windows Store, purchased once, and works on up to 5 devices with Live ID. Most content is natively played from Plex, no transcoding required.


My Plex Server is a 5 year old computer, Q6600 with 8GB RAM, 1GB Nic, and a Fanless 2900 ATI Video Card.  My primary content streamed is 720p, but I do have 1080p content also.  My NAS is either a Synology 1812+ 1GB Nic or a file server with 5900 RPM drives (6) in a RAID 5 with 1GB Nic.  All my network is GB backbone with Jumbo Frames where supported (Most of my End Point players do not support Jumbo Frames).

I can serve up two full 720p Movies in any combination above devices, even at NATIVE Resolutions.  I don't know if I've tried two 1080p sourced movies at once.


I can't give up the Plex after utilizing it for so long now.  It is too damn nice of an Media Server and the rich content devices make very good use of it.  Hope that helps you out in seeing what is possible.

[Lazybones]

Roku 2 XS
I have the XS because I wanted the Wired Option.  1080p source content has trouble over 54mbps Wireless and I just didn't want to have to deal with that.  I use this in my Bed Room right now.  Most content is natively played from Plex, no transcoding required.

I get around this by changing the max bit rate option in my plex client, however it does cause trans-coding on the server.  I find that 720p 3Mbit mode works perfectly over my wireless N network.

The wired option on the XS is nice if you want native 1080p with no trans-coding... although the included RF remote or smartphone remote app becomes a requirement.