Media Browser 3 and Roku/NowTV

[Swynol 375]

Quick video of Media Browser 3 running on the Roku 2 XS, i also have it running on a few NowTV boxes. 

 

 

 

[Luke 37028]

Nice, thanks!

[CBers 6766]

It works really well on both my Roku 2XS and Now TV box.

[abstract 5]

That looks good mate, thanks for the share.

 

Been wondering about the possibility of a Roku/similar device, but - being used to running on (real) computers - I've been concerned that the interface might be laggy, low quality or that the videos may suffer similarly.

 

How do you get on with different formats, codecs and resolutions (720/1080,,, 4K?)?

[Swynol 375]

i'm like you, i avoided the roku and nowtv like the plague. i started off with a small PC running mbt, i was tempted with a NUC but i couldnt justify the price. so for £10 i bought my first NowTV to give it a go, its tiny silent and uses less than 10w. a few weeks later i bought 2 more NowTVs. i cant comment on the quality of the image i use them in rooms that the quality doesnt matter, i.e. bedroom tv and the bathroom tv. I will say that the roku 2 xs is quicker loading than the NowTVs and i like the option of the rf remotes, makes it easier when the devices are out of sight.

 

i had some issues playing some of my older content, we worked out it was something do to with the way they were ripped and were missing headers, dropping the bitrate on the nowtv made the server transcode it rather than playing it locally which sorted my issue. not tried any 4k stuff, but it has no issues playing a 1080p 7.1 DTSMA file which is 30-35GB. The NowTV takes about 20-30s to load the file (on wireless) the roku starts it almost instantly.

[abstract 5]

Thanks for the info. Currently running two machines - an always-on central server that also delivers the WMC/MBC output shared to our lounge TV and bedroom (HDMI o/Cat6). Then a second high-spec HTPC/gaming-rig in the lounge that only serves that TV and I typically use this for gaming/desktop usage or HD TV/movies bitstreaming audio to a 7.1 A/V receiver. 

 

Reading between the lines:- it sounds like the latter Roku devices (2 XS/3) might be a replacement for 75% of use, especially for bedroom/'low priority' use, but for movie-night or the must-see prime-time series that you're watching in HD it'd be better on the 'beefier' machines?

 

One concern is some of our older TV series that I've struggled with codecs for - I guess if I've struggled before in WMP/WMC it might be a fair-bet that these could be a problem with a Roku?

[speechles 1917]

Reading between the lines:- it sounds like the latter Roku devices (2 XS/3) might be a replacement for 75% of use, especially for bedroom/'low priority' use, but for movie-night or the must-see prime-time series that you're watching in HD it'd be better on the 'beefier' machines?

Roku3 works perfectly 100%. The roku 2xs is laggy and noticeably slower. The only issue you might run into are transcoding woes where your entire collection on PC is direct play, while roku has a limited support set of codecs. Transcoding might muddy up an AVI a bit at the start, as the HLS streaming adapts to your network. The huge downside of the cheap nowtv is she is stuck at 720p.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Edited August 23, 2014 by speechles

[CBers 6766]

You'll get used to transcoding after a while and wonder why you ever used a HTPC.

 

I have replaced my HTPCs with either Rokus (1x Roku 2XS and 1x Now TV box) or Chromecast.

 

I replaced my HTPC in the lounge by using the Samsung Smart TV app on my TV connected to my Sonos PlayBar.

 

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Edited August 23, 2014 by CBers