Networked digital TV stream within a media player.

[ILoveC4]

Wap, I'm guessing it's because they don't want to be in the "build the crazy Australians dream machine media player" business. I don't feel like you're trying to rip anyone off, and I understand your desire to have a magic all-in-one, do everything play everything device. I just don't see why you're rambling on about it here. I watch TV with either Comcast or Dish Network (switched about 2 years ago). I back my physical media up with MyMovies and watch it on Popcorn Hour boxes. I watch physical media with a Sony Bluray player. All controlled by C4, and all working wonderfully for a long time.

You've got issues my friend, no doubt there...but they don't need to be aired here...it doesn't make any sense. Kind of reminds me of the homeless guy outside Dotties Cafe in San Francisco last week that was screaming and yelling about how the government needs to build bathrooms "right here" because he wants to be able to take a shit close to the spot he likes to sleep. I hate to compare you to that, but it's the most similar incoherent babbling I can come up with.

Why is it Utah and C4 that are failing you? Why not Sony? Why not every other company that produces any electronic component you use? Lord I feel terrible for anyone that does business with you. I can only imagine the calls that come in at all hours of the night. "Why won't my microwave work when the power is out!?! I just want to enjoy some warm *insert microwaveable item here* and the only way to do it is microwave. In fact, the only time this product is any good is during a power outage!!! Why haven't *food product company* and *microwave company* banded together to create and offer an "off the grid" battery powered microwave? I mean...asking to be able to warm up my food with my microwave I paid for shouldn't be reliant upon the utility companies ability to provide a consistent power source"!

I feel slightly better now.

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[zaphod]

On 31/10/2016 at 4:56 AM, wappinghigh said:

Yep I know about Sage. Isn't that dead now? 

And like you said... where are the 4k equivalents?

SageTV was dead as it was bought by Google and incorporated into the TV side of Google Fiber.  But they Open Sourced it about a year ago and there is some development being done, including clients written for Android TV boxes.  

The problem with 4K is how do you get the TV content into your PC?  With the move from SD to HD, at least in North America, OTA channels were early adopters and the easiest way to get HDTV into a PC was with OTA capture devices.  Then came devices that could capture 720p and 1080i component video from cable or satellite boxes using the infamous Analog hole - the Hauppauge HD-PVR is the most popular example and I have several of these.  And there were also HDMI-HDCP stripping devices available although some (many/most -like the HD Fury) are now gone.My local cable company, Rogers cable, shows some content in 4K including lots of sports.  But there is no way that I am aware of to encode the 4K/2160p output from my cable box.

[wappinghigh]

Wap, I'm guessing it's because they don't want to be in the "build the crazy Australians dream machine media player" business. I don't feel like you're trying to rip anyone off, and I understand your desire to have a magic all-in-one, do everything play everything device. I just don't see why you're rambling on about it here. I watch TV with either Comcast or Dish Network (switched about 2 years ago). I back my physical media up with MyMovies and watch it on Popcorn Hour boxes. I watch physical media with a Sony Bluray player. All controlled by C4, and all working wonderfully for a long time.

You've got issues my friend, no doubt there...but they don't need to be aired here...it doesn't make any sense. Kind of reminds me of the homeless guy outside Dotties Cafe in San Francisco last week that was screaming and yelling about how the government needs to build bathrooms "right here" because he wants to be able to take a shit close to the spot he likes to sleep. I hate to compare you to that, but it's the most similar incoherent babbling I can come up with.

Why is it Utah and C4 that are failing you? Why not Sony? Why not every other company that produces any electronic component you use? Lord I feel terrible for anyone that does business with you. I can only imagine the calls that come in at all hours of the night. "Why won't my microwave work when the power is out!?! I just want to enjoy some warm *insert microwaveable item here* and the only way to do it is microwave. In fact, the only time this product is any good is during a power outage!!! Why haven't *food product company* and *microwave company* banded together to create and offer an "off the grid" battery powered microwave? I mean...asking to be able to warm up my food with my microwave I paid for shouldn't be reliant upon the utility companies ability to provide a consistent power source"!

I feel slightly better now.

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Hahaha. That made me laugh. I take zero offence from that post. That was awesome. (P.S. I do have insight.) in good faith! Lol !

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[wappinghigh]

SageTV was dead as it was bought by Google and incorporated into the TV side of Google Fiber.  But they Open Sourced it about a year ago and there is some development being done, including clients written for Android TV boxes.  

The problem with 4K is how do you get the TV content into your PC? .... But there is no way that I am aware of to encode the 4K/2160p output from my cable box.

won't this come? Someone will find a way ....surely?

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[wappinghigh]

BTW for those worried about my blood pressure. (Or that I need a toilet near my C4 rack)... Don't worry. I'm fine. I now have both a toilet in my man cave and an Australian dream machine media player. ! Cheers.

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[zaphod]

12 minutes ago, wappinghigh said:

won't this come? Someone will find a way ....surely?

It isn't clear there is much of a market for video encoders these days.  The biggest demand for the Hauppauge HD-PVR was for capturing the play of Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers - but the latest generation of game consoles has this functionality built in so you don't require a separate hardware encoder.  And Hauppauge isn't a very booming company - their stock is trading for 4.7 cents/share - it peaked a decade ago at $8.70/share.  The company's revenue has been declining substantially over the last few years.  I would hope that they would make a 4K encoder, but there isn't much to encode today and the legality of products that break HDCP is an issue.  So what's the point of releasing the Hauppauge UHD-PVR when you can't capture anything as any HDMI feed that you put into the device has HDCP?  And there is no analog hole with UHD/4K.

Finally there is the issue that the trend is away from capturing and storing your own content to streaming content on demand.

[wappinghigh]

^ True. So true. 

Following same trend with music I guess..

[zaphod]

Yes, but not nearly as complete as music streaming.  On Spotify, or similar services, I can get almost any music I want for a monthly subscription fee of $10/month.  And I can get it on almost any device I want.

For video I am willing to pay about $150/month for a video Spotify that includes movies, TV and live sports.  For that amount I want access to pretty much every movie and TV show ever made.  And I want access to all live sports with DVR capabilities from the moment that a game starts - today with some of the sports streaming you can watch live or wait until the game is over and watch on-demand.  And I want the ability to skip over commercials - I don't want to have to sit through all of the timeouts over the last five minutes of a close NBA game.

This would replace having to buy BluRays/DVDs, cable TV subscription, Netflix subscription, etc.  That is probably even more than I pay today for all types of video content so Hollywood et al are getting more revenue than they have today and I am getting more content.

[Audio Obsessions]

Okay, I will try to keep this short and sweet!

The box you want is called Android TV OS. Other freeware will never win, because they can't subsidize the box by selling consumer info to the whales, which is what Google does. Already we have Sony and Sharp tvs running android tv natively, more will follow, just like cell phones. Most future 4K content is likely to go straight over network anyway like Netflix does. Cable companies are aware that physical boxes have a limited lifespan, and most will likely follow time warner cables path of creating an app for the android OS endpoint, that mimics a cable box. Until they are gone, we will need to find a way to get that content to the tv, so yes most of us are using some sort of video distribution in addition to the native applications on the tv.

I agree that a one box solution will be awesome, and I have a feeing that the solution is around the corner, and again my bet is that it will be android tv.

Maybe somebody with more insight than me will chime in at some point...

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[videostorm]

Resurrecting an old thread here, but we just officially launched this product    It has been in R&D for about a year and is ready to go.

Our main decoder targets are:

   Amazon FireTV  (least expensive 4K android box)

  Sony and Sharp Android TVs   (already built into the TVs)

  nVidia Shield  (most powerful 4K android box)

And to answer the question about 4K encoders, affordable versions are really close to being released.  

 

DIY Video Distribution: NetPlay Home by Video Storm

DIY video products have been gaining traction in the recent years and have huge growth potential. It has been a popular focal point at venues like CEDIA and CES. Video Storm has just announced their entry into the DIY video distribution market segment. With a combination of tech savvy consumers and technological advances in hardware and software, Video Storm developed a smart solution for the DIY enthusiast.

 

After years of requests from consumers, Video Storm stepped up to market demand and has launched their new NetPlay Home line of products through Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1026442717/netplay-home-byoh-video-distribution-system). This new generation of DIY products is targeted at consumers who want easy to use, flexible, and scalable AV distribution for their home. Consumers can watch any live or stored video content over their home network on any Android TV, Android streaming media player, or Android phones and tablets.

Video Storm uses the innovative BYOH (Bring Your Own Hardware) concept to enable consumers to use the latest low cost third party Android streaming media players, such as Android TV, Amazon FireTV, and Sony TVs with built in Android OS, network drives and IP cameras, and third party encoders for HDMI sources. Each sink is integrated into NetPlay Home through their newly introduced NetPlay TV app. This distribution system makes it easy to swap out hardware for upgrades or new configurations.

NetPlay Home utilizes existing home networks, removing the need to pull additional wires.  It can use Coax, Cat5, or Cat6, giving the consumer more versatility with what already exists in their current home.

Video Storm is eliminating the need for equipment racks in homes using one single NetPlay Manager unit that fits in the palm of your hand to distribute video across home networks. Sources can be located anywhere in the home with a network connection and do not need to be centralized.

NetPlay Manager pairs with NetPlay Mobile, Video Storm’s control app for controlling sources and TVs. It has source, sink, and channel selection capabilities along with video preview. Consumers can also view videos via wifi on their tablets with the NetPlay Mobile license. Consumers can also use other control solutions such as Control4, TV remotes, or mobile devices.

Video Storm is also including many popular pro features such as video tiling, video walls, PIP, and text overlays for monitoring IP cameras and watching multiple ball games simultaneously, satisfying monitoring and entertainment needs at the same time. You can watch the NetPlay Home demo video here: https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=1183709731748705.

Video Storm has extensive experience in the video market through the design and manufacturing of pro line HDMI over IP network products for AV, popular with sports bars, as well as component video products in the past.

Products offered

NetPlay Manager:  Virtual matrix controller for the NetPlay system that is connected to your network switch.  It handles the configuration and control of the entire system.  

NetPlay TV:  An app for your Android TVs or the Android streaming media players connected to your TVs.  This app gives you access to all your live and stored video sources and includes advanced features like Video Tiling, Video Walls, source menu/GUI control, and much more.  NetPlay TV can be controlled locally using your TV or streaming player’s IR remote.  It can also be controlled centrally using NetPlay Mobile or other control systems.

NetPlay Mobile:  An app for your Android phones and tablets.  It provides full centralized control for your entire system.  Optional licenses will also allow full screen video playback on your mobile devices.

NetPlay CASTHD:  Encoder that connects live HDMI sources up to 1080p, such as cable boxes and Blu-ray players, to your network switch.  It interacts with the virtual matrix to distribute live video to all your TVs.

NetPlay IRUSB:  Optional USB IR transceiver.  This small USB to IR device can extend full centralized IR functionality to your Android streaming media players and CASTHD encoders.  This device can also be used stand alone to provide network to IR functionality on any Android device with a USB port.