Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Off Topic OT: Any views on best solution for streaming my DVDs

Surely the Blu-Ray player is not as good as the Oppo? I already have the server taken care of, used to back up my computer files and storing my ISOs.

Passes Spears & Munsil BD testdisc and looks really great in my setup. Try one and see for yourself.

Using it with Sim2 HT380, XEIT CM5E anamorphic lens and Stewart Cinecurve 116" with Studiotek130 G3 fabric. Wireworld platinum and Kramer flat HDMI cabling to and from HD621.

Still interested in finding out more about my video streaming options, I've just been looking into the HDI Dune players further and have also noticed that the Oppo BDP-93 can also stream ISOs now. For that I would consider moving to a single Blu-Ray/ video streaming box. I haven't found much yet on Oppo (93) vs Dune for streaming. It would take a lot to convince me to move away from Oppo for my discs. Still working out which Dune model would be the best for me if I were to get one of these.

fyi the BDP-93 only plays DVD ISOs from USB mounted drives, not over the network. It can also play MKV files but there are some problems with chapter separations and hi-def audio codecs with Bluray MKV's.

My NAS is located less than 1 metre away from my hifi equipment, so could easily connect via USB, but would it create any speed issues for streaming? I assume this will be enhanced with future firmware updates?

I notice you have a Dune player, plus Oppo 83 and 93. How do they compare for DVD streaming?

... and Blu-ray performance on disc.

My Oppo 93 plays back Blu-Ray's and DVD's in a top-notch quality. It also streams Netflix & Vudu(not important in UK, I know).

I only use the Dune right now to play 5.1 multichannel flacs, which it does quite well.

As I mentioned before, I use Handbrake and transcode DVD's and TV shows into MP4 and playback on Apple TV 2's. The wife & kids enjoy the Apple TV GUI and I am satisfied with the performance. I'm watching Simon Schama's History of Britain right now on the Apple TV :-)

The Oppo's provide pristine audio/video playback of DVDs and BluRays. And the support is top notch. Support for #1 & #2 internet video streaming in the U.S. Helpfully, it transcodes HD codecs to PCM, which is great for HD621 owners.

The Oppo 83 was a great BD and DVD player for its time, I found that it couldn't play back Toy Story 3 in 7.1 . I don't know if this bug was ever fixed, Oppo couldn't get parts to make any more 83's so moved to the new 93/95 BD platforms.

Please can you confirm that you referring to streaming i.e. ripped DVDs and Blu-rays?

You can't stream BD-ISO over network with the the 9x Oppos. Just local attached storage (USB).

If you already have a NAS then you could look at the smaller HDI Dune 101 or 301 and keep the Oppo in reserve. I haven't fired up my Oppo for months, everything comes up via my NAS. Only time I would use the disc spinner is if someone arrived with a disc that needed watching quickly.

I did use the Oppo as a streamer, but there was no media wall available, the Dune is just so much prettier and easier. The Oppo is also far more limited in what types of files it will play. I only rip the main features to my NAS. No interest in extras, they just take up space.

At the risk of veering slightly off topic, how does the video wall options on the Dune compare to, say, YAMJ for the Popcorn Hour, both in terms of the accuracy of scraping cover and synopsis info, and in regards to identifying and presenting TV series as a subset of one cover icon?

I too would prefer a one box solution.

There are various third party options for the Dune. Zappiti is the one I use. It uses IMDB, TheMDB and TheTVDB for data, so similar to the Popcorn hour.

A search of the MPC Club forum will show you the options.

Dune are developing their own version including music, which will be much welcome. My one issue with the Dune is lack of Source Direct video output.