HuskyCaucasian Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Need Advice I would like to rip my DVDs to MP4s or ISOs, or both. I would then like to store them on a NAS and have a box attached to my TV that has a GUI to access the files. I know iTunes/AppleTV does something like this, but I'd prefer not to be locked into the Apple ecosystem. Ideally, I want to keep the settop box under $150. ANy suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 This one is for Rock. Philips Fidelio for Android speaker docks get your little green robot bumpin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 No one has phone recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 2, 2011 -> 07:08 AM) No one has phone recommendations? HTC Evo is pretty cheap right now. It's still a beast. Wait a month or so and the Iphone 4 will probably be reduced in price when the Iphone 5 comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2HH Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Sep 1, 2011 -> 08:04 PM) Need Advice I would like to rip my DVDs to MP4s or ISOs, or both. I would then like to store them on a NAS and have a box attached to my TV that has a GUI to access the files. I know iTunes/AppleTV does something like this, but I'd prefer not to be locked into the Apple ecosystem. Ideally, I want to keep the settop box under $150. ANy suggestions? Handbreak is a good DVD ripper, and it's free -- but there are plenty of these available. You may have to install VideoLAN/VLC Media player for decoding purposes, but I'm not sure that's even necessary anymore... One way or another you get locked into an Ecosystem, whether it be Apples, Microsofts, RoKu's, or some hardly supported you'd better know a lot to configure it Linux derivative. You can use a small set top box running Windows 7 Media Center and connect to your NAS via WiFi, but in either case, it can get complicated. The only reason I use the iTunes option is because, get this...it's easy. My "settop box" is an AppleTV2 which uses Wireless N, costs less than 100$, is tinyier than any media center box you will be able to build/find, and can be easily moved from one tv to another tv, since it weighs about 1 ounce and requires 2 plugs, 1 for power and 1 for HDMI. AppleTV supports NetFlix, Vimio, and Apple iTunes store services, including home LAN sharing/streaming services via any computer running iTunes. I'm not saying you can't build your own, but it's not always easy, and it will be bigger, louder and harder to support as most of these options are actually computers running Windows or some alternative. I believe Google may have an option out there, too, but from what I know about it it's not very well received. RoKu has some freeware options for LAN streaming, but RoKu doesn't work with home PC's natively and has no "home ecosystem" to speak of. It's more of an internet service for streaming, and in that regard, it's better than the Apple TV as it supports HuLu, too. The AppleTV's big advantage is it's seemless integration to your iTunes library for music/movies/pictures, it supports airplay (wireless stream off any modern apple device such as an iPad/iPhone), and is very very easy to get up and running. To this point, I've seen nothing that comes close in terms of how easy it is. As of IOS5 it supports HDMI and wireless mirroring of Apple devices, too...so for example, you can play a game on your iPad/iPhone and mirror it to your TV, so the iPad/iPhone screen becomes a game controller and your TV is where the game is displayed. As for the iTunes ecosystem, it's not something you really need to be concerned with, as like me, you want to rip your DVD's/BluRays and store them on a local drive -- while the Apple TV will use iTunes to catalog these movies/stream them, the files aren't really a part of "Apples" ecosystem...you're simply using Apples software to stream them. I've ripped quite a few movies and have them in my iTunes library, however, they are just simple movie files that can be ported from system to system since they reside on a shared drive. I've used iTunes for a few years now, but only for my own things, my music rip's and dvd rips are in my iTunes library since it's easy to stream them to my various apple devices...but I don't really use it to buy anything off iTunes. I think in my catalog of music, which is upwards of 100 gigs, I've got 2 songs that I purchased off of iTunes. Edited September 2, 2011 by Y2HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCaucasian Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Thanks for the feedback. I was really hoping GoogleTV or Roku would be a viable option, but you are right, based on my limited research there isnt much (or any) support for home media streaming. I really liked your comment about not being locked into the Apple ecosystem. It's a solid point. My primary reason for wanting to avoid it is that I would prefer to have all of my videos on a NAS so I dont have the computer on all the time. but, that might not be as easy as I had hoped. Thanks, I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 2, 2011 -> 07:03 AM) This one is for Rock. Philips Fidelio for Android speaker docks get your little green robot bumpin' Still not there yet. What is the dedicated ap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 2, 2011 -> 09:38 AM) Still not there yet. What is the dedicated ap? ? I'm assuming you can you any media player with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 2, 2011 -> 09:43 AM) ? I'm assuming you can you any media player with this. It said there was a dedicated app to use the hardware, just wondering what it is. If everything that came out used a micro usb that would be a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 2, 2011 -> 10:03 AM) It said there was a dedicated app to use the hardware, just wondering what it is. If everything that came out used a micro usb that would be a start. Just about all Android phones have micro usb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Apple apparently employs their own hired goons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 The phone I've been waiting for is finally coming out for Sprint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 4, 2011 -> 01:18 PM) The phone I've been waiting for is finally coming out for Sprint. Wow. Give us a review, dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 QUOTE (kapkomet @ Sep 4, 2011 -> 09:49 PM) Wow. Give us a review, dude. Just ordered it on wirefly for $50 off. Also, no sales tax, cheaper phone activation fee ($18 as opposed to $36), and free fedex delivery. Can't wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Went back to Snow Leopard. I couldnt get rid of the performance issues in Lion as well as frequent crashes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Microsoft unveils early version of Windows 8. Totally redesigned. Looks intriguing at first glance. They say it cuts down on the resources substantially from Windows 7. Might be their first OS ever that doesn't look like it's been ripped off from Apple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 QUOTE (kapkomet @ Sep 4, 2011 -> 09:49 PM) Wow. Give us a review, dude. Mine is in transit via fedex but Engadget gave it 9/10. http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/samsung...g-touch-review/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 The 1 TB HDD I bought to replace the one I had previously that died abruptly, that I posted about last year... died... fortunately I had enough time to back up the files before it finally s*** the bed. Instead of getting another to replace it, instead I just got a 80 GB SSD to run programs from and I just did a clean Windows install, and I'm just gonna get another storage drive when I get paid. This is... wow. I click on my Google Chrome icon and it fires up INSTANTLY. Like, as fast as a window would come up if you already have it open. It doesn't do all the seeking and spinning a regular HDD does. It's just... there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 QUOTE (kapkomet @ Sep 4, 2011 -> 09:49 PM) Wow. Give us a review, dude. This phone is an absolute beast. Silky smooth, awesome camera, gorgeous screen, and light as a feather. Puts my EVO to shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 19, 2011 -> 10:12 AM) This phone is an absolute beast. Silky smooth, awesome camera, gorgeous screen, and light as a feather. Puts my EVO to shame. Really? Can you expand on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 19, 2011 -> 11:19 AM) Really? Can you expand on that? It's pretty much perfect out of the box. It's hardware accelerated so playing graphic intensive games is a breeze. It can handle everything I can throw at it without any hiccups. I've had multiple apps running concurrently and it's still silky smooth. And the screen just looks amazing. Awesome contrast. Blacks are truly black and the colors are very rich. Photos and video look great. From everything I've read it pretty much has the best camera for a smart phone (except for some Nokia phone that I can't remember the name of). 8mp back camera and 2mp front-facing camera. Records in 1080p. Built in DNLA. I've tried running a few apps that measure various stats and the results are through the roof. Edited September 19, 2011 by BigSqwert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Hows the battery life looking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 19, 2011 -> 11:59 AM) Hows the battery life looking? I've only had the phone since Saturday but so far so good. Comes with an 1800 mAh battery. There's also a setting for power saving mode where you can customize various things to occur at whichever battery level you chose (i.e., lower screen brightness to XX%, automatically disable certain things, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2HH Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 19, 2011 -> 10:12 AM) This phone is an absolute beast. Silky smooth, awesome camera, gorgeous screen, and light as a feather. Puts my EVO to shame. So you mean the same exact review you'd have given the EVO when you first got it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 19, 2011 -> 12:12 PM) So you mean the same exact review you'd have given the EVO when you first got it? It blows the EVO out of the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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