Which device to purchase

[MediaManXL 3]

I'm starting a new thread with for this question rather than hijacking Macburp's "Hardware for an MB3 client" thread any further...

 

I'm planning on purchasing a new device for my living room TV here fairly soon.  I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of different clients for my particular use case, and could use some help chosing among them.

 

The TV I have in my living room is an older 720P LCD TV.  I just use the TV speakers for sound, no AV receiver or anything.  Currently attached to the TV is a Ceton Echo and a very low-end HTPC.  I use the Echo as a MC Extender primarily for live and recorded TV.  I do try to use the Echo to play back other video content as well (mostly MKVs) but more often than not, the Echo won't play them properly, which is where the very low-end HTPC comes in.  If the MBC on the Echo won't play back the particular video file I'm trying to watch, I'll switch over to the HTPC and use either MBT or MBC to play it back.  As I mentioned in the other thread, the low-end HTPC I use for this isn't great.  It works, but I'd much rather have something less computer-y for this application.  I don't need a full-fledged HTPC for this... it tends to be more trouble than it's worth.

 

I need to keep the Echo in the living room for Live TV, but I want to replace the MB client with something simpler than the HTPC.  I'm leaning toward a Roku, but have wondered whether a Chromecast or some other device might be a better fit for my needs.

The three things we watch are 1) digital cable 2) stored content (MKVs) and 3) NetFlix.   In the basement I have a nicer TV with an AV receiver and a full blown HTPC with a TV tuner card.  That baement HTPC is running my MB server.  I need something for the living room that is extremely family friendly (think babysitter or in-laws), simple, reliable, fast, etc.  Video and sound quality are less important to me for this applicaiton.  Price matters, but is not the primary factor.  I do have wired Ethernet to this location since the Echo doens't do WiFi.

 

So, with all that said... any suggestions on which device I should purchase?  Thanks!

[Deathsquirrel 741]

We use an xbox one in the family room.  It does hulu/netflix/amazon video and I can pop open the IE browser on it, load the MB web page, and tell it to play to the xbox.  The last is not very friendly but I'v eagerly looking forward to and MB3 client on that platform some day.  Depending on the price I might buy the plex client to tide me over though if it comes out first.

 

Have a roku 2 but really didn't like the UI performance. It was slooooooooooooooooow.

[Logos302 86]

I have a roku 3 in the bedroom it works well.  Only problem with the Roku is the transcoding which will depend on the source media and the horse power of the server (As well as the developers are change this as time goes on).  I also use an FM1 AMD A4 (don't remember which one but it is a low end one) that works great with MBC.  You could also use the windows 8 app but I think it's more touch friendly.  An Android based unit would work as well (forum search will give you some ideas on that one)  If you have a tablet you could use a chromcast or DLNA client.

 

  As a side note you might be able to get the Server to do all of your tv recording for you and then use the clients to watch it.  There is a server plugin that allows it to hook into MediaCenter for recording.  Which would allow you to get rid of you echo.

[christoph86 12]

Since you are keeping the echo for live tv and presumably recorded tv, go with a Roku 3.  It doesn't get any easier than a roku to navigate and Mediabrowser app for it works great.  MKVs play great on the Roku and Netflix is great on the Roku. I have my Roku 3 in my bedroom on 5 ghz wireless and plays great.  Roku 3 can do the recorded tv also, but if you keep recorded tv in WTV it has to be transcoded and isn't the smoothest process in the world, but works.  We use our Roku on a daily basis.  I picked up a refurbished one from NewEgg about 4 months ago for 69.99 US and its been a great addition.  It's too bad the Echo is so inconsistent with video playback (I have one myself).

[Macburp 109]

+1 for a Roku 3. I'm not a lover of the Roku interface, but it does the job. I have my own issues with these, but I have the cheap-as-chips NowTV box, which does not have wired ethernet. Transcoding is a bit of an issue for me too. Transcoded avi's look a bit rubbish on my box, but this may be down to my set-up.

 

Something else to consider - a 10ft version of the Android app is coming, which could be used on a variety of Android boxes. Check out Pivos, Ouya, Minix, Amazon Fire TV.

 

If you'd be OK with XBMC and the XBM3C plug-in, have a look at the Asus Chromebox. Needs a hack to run linux, but it may work for you once its set up.

[MediaManXL 3]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think the Roku 3 is going to be the winner.

 

Ceton had promised the ability to run Android on the Echo, but they ditched those plans--which is too bad because MB3 client would have been a killer app for the Echo with Android.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

I have two Roku 3 devices on the network. Will probably add one more and an Amazon Fire TV eventually.

 

I suspect that if Amazon proves successful with the Fire TV, the new Android TV coming out and possible enhancements to the AppleTV, that Roku will change their interface in the next year or so. They already have some custom interface options with M-Go and Netflix on the 3. I wouldn't be surprised if Roku released an Android TV device in the future, though they would lose control over their eco-system if they did that.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Wayne Luke