Popcorn Hour vs Dune 3.0

[tekdoc]

Has anyone had experience with the Popcorn Hour C-200 compared to the Dune 3.0 Prime? I was thinking about trying to integrate one into my system and wondered if there were any particular benefits of one over the other with regard to C4. Thanks.

[thecodeman]

dune doesn't have IP control yet. PCH is one way. Otherwise you must use IR and there's no way to select coverart from Control4 screens at this time. Otherwise the hardware and firmware is pretty similar.

[wappinghigh]

Just ordered a Dune 3.0 Base for testing. Will let you know how C4 IR control goes

[vmax5000]

I just purchased a PCH C200, is there an IP driver for it? One way or not it would be nice to have, currently I have to use the RF remote that came with it. If there is a driver will my dealer be able to get it?

Thanks..

[thecodeman]

Yes, there is a one-way IP driver that is "in progress". This is available in the Control4 dealer forums.

[Racky]

...there's no way to select coverart from Control4 screens at this time...

OK, I have heard this too many times, but have never seen and thus understood what this means.

1) Is the coverart scanning process better, easier then whay you get with using directly say Dune with one of the coverart interfaces?

2) Would somehow C4 find coverart for X.mkv where it tries to guess the title from X? How accurate is if X is not perfect (has underscores, or suffixes like _director_cut, _disk_1, etc)

3) Is interface prettier then interface you can get directly from dune (poster + background + file/cast/director etc info)

4) does it recognize all the file types...or what file types it handles?

[vmax5000]

Yes, there is a one-way IP driver that is "in progress". This is available in the Control4 dealer forums.

Thanks, I will ask my dealer to look into this for me.

[thecodeman]

1) Is the coverart scanning process better, easier then whay you get with using directly say Dune with one of the coverart interfaces?

Depends. Control4 switched providers and it's pretty good at scanning my media. Dune can support mymovies and some cool wallpaper fanart and higher-resolution/larger cover art icons so it's preference I think.

2) Would somehow C4 find coverart for X.mkv where it tries to guess the title from X? How accurate is if X is not perfect (has underscores, or suffixes like _director_cut, _disk_1, etc)

Yes, Composer HE/Media edition allows you to scan your media. If it cant find it from the .iso file or VOB's file details, it will try to match on the file name. If it doesnt find a match, it will just stick it in there with the file name. You can manually search then to get the correct info from the database or type your own and paste your own coverat.

3) Is interface prettier then interface you can get directly from dune (poster + background + file/cast/director etc info)

IMO, no. It's pretty basic, and not very good on managing space as far as the TV view goes. Designed from ease of use on a touchscreen probably. I and other sometimes prefer the Niveus/Kalidescape/Dune My Movies type view, but to get that you have to "leave" the Control4 interface. The problem with doing so is having to learn another interface, which may or may not be a factor with significant others and children or guests.

4) does it recognize all the file types...or what file types it handles?

Control4 has a pretty good selection of filetypes that it scans automatically for. Additionally, in 2.0 you can "Add extensions, select devices to scan. When configuring media scanning manually or programmatically, you can add audio or video file extensions to look for in the scan and also select which media storage devices to scan."

Hope that helps.

[Racky]

Thanks for detailed response!

[piratemonkey]

Just ordered a Dune 3.0 Base for testing. Will let you know how C4 IR control goes

Hi.....any IR update you can share?

[piratemonkey]

dune doesn't have IP control yet. PCH is one way. Otherwise you must use IR and there's no way to select coverart from Control4 screens at this time. Otherwise the hardware and firmware is pretty similar.

Hi Codeman......do I understand this correctly with IR control of the Dune you cannot choose coverart in the C4 GUI to review or play?

I have the EVA9150, obviously I can access and choose coverart or browse features with C4, not sure if I can do everything the same with IR control of the Dune?

Thx for your help!

[thecodeman]

With ir only you are not able to choose movies via cover art.

[piratemonkey]

With ir only you are not able to choose movies via cover art.

Gotcha.....with the hope or goal in mind to keep the experience as simple as possible staying with the C4 GUI, is there anything out there that would work with the Dune yet or do you know of anything coming soon?

[wappinghigh]

Just ordered a Dune 3.0 Base for testing. Will let you know how C4 IR control goes

Hi.....any IR update you can share?

Sure. C4 IR control of my Dune goes in later this week.

Send me an email later next week if you decide to go with a Dune. I still think the C4 media player is a great option if 2 way cover art control is a priority. I'm not banking on 2way IP control of Dune anytime soon....On the other hand if this is not a priority and you want the added abilty to store and play files right at the player (rather than stream from a NAS) I'd take a look at the Dune

[mitchelludwig]

So, I've got a question. I understand why 2-way communication is needed to, for example, populate automatically from the Sony DVD player back to C4. But I wonder if/why 2-way is needed to just use the C4 UI for movies? Why can't I have my dealer build a 1-way driver using IR, and then manually add media using HE? What's the limitation here that forces this to be 2-way only?

[henniae]

So, I've got a question. I understand why 2-way communication is needed to, for example, populate automatically from the Sony DVD player back to C4. But I wonder if/why 2-way is needed to just use the C4 UI for movies? Why can't I have my dealer build a 1-way driver using IR, and then manually add media using HE? What's the limitation here that forces this to be 2-way only?

You can use a 1-way driver and manually populate the database. No problem there. The limitation is no 2-way feedback to populate the DB.

[ILoveC4]

The limitation of IR (and media players) not allowing movies to be in the database is the fact that there is no IR codes for "play the file located here: \\192.168.1.210\examplefolder\example.IFO".

Two way control isn't required, IP control is required for medias players.

Make sense?

[RyanE]

Actually, IP control is *not* required, i.e. it could be controlled just fine over Serial as well.

It would just be really unusual for these devices to have a serial connection and *not* to have IP control, since they require an IP connection to play networked media.

RyanE

[ILoveC4]

That's true, I didn't think about serial.

[mitchelludwig]

So ultimately, what's being said is that players like the popcorn hour and dune don't support the serial or ip based control to select an item, correct? Basically, that control is only via selectable items using the remote? Or is it that these features are available, and drivers just haven't yet been developed?

As an aside, can a dealer build an IP driver, or is that the world of C4 only?

[henniae]

As an aside, can a dealer build an IP driver, or is that the world of C4 only?

A dealer with programming skills could build a driver. This is one of the benefits of driverworks.

The device would need to be IP controllable and one would need to know the commands required to control the device.

[mitchelludwig]

That's what I thought. Sorry for the roundabout means of getting from point a to point b . The ability to play blu ray ISO, as the dune can, is quite attractive to me. But I really like the C4 UI for integration of video (the family couldn't live w/o it). Ultimately then, what is being said is that the issue with integrated C4 control of the Dune and Popcorn Hour products is the inability of those products to support directed IP or serial based selection of media to play, correct? That being the case, it's somewhat surprising to me, given the broad integration market (whether it be C4 or others) that there aren't some kind of standards in place, or at least a push by manufacturers of products like the Dune and PH to make their products controllable in this manner. Is there something I'm missing?

[piratemonkey]

Totally agree!!!!

I would luv for the C4 to have complete control of the Dune to maintain the simple C4 UI

[wappinghigh]

That being the case, it's somewhat surprising to me, given the broad integration market (whether it be C4 or others) that there aren't some kind of standards in place, or at least a push by manufacturers of products like the Dune and PH to make their products controllable in this manner. Is there something I'm missing?

No. Your not missing anything. I can talk for the Dune, because I've just put one in. Dune HDI is a fairly new company based in Israel, who are developing a wide following in Europe (seems to be particularly in France, Russia and Germany, but also UK) They are starting to take hold in the US...google Dune AVS forums! They give the impression they are very "receptive" to such requests as IP control. They have a spot on the Dune HDI website that allows users to "vote" for such changes in future firmware upgrades. The Local distributor here (where the Dune is a bit of a niche product) also has direct contact with Dune and has put in similar requests. My guess is things are slow, because the company is rapidly expanding and has a lot on it's plate. (A whole lot of new products have just been released).

But seriously, why not just use IR control while you are waiting. It's not all THAT bad. My Family of Girls has no problem. Some of the great things about the Dune that make this even easier for "wife and family" are: 1/ You can customise the GUI so that any folder can be bought right up onto the main screen..the first that appears after power up. So the "movies" folder can appear right on the main screen. 2/ A media library can actually be moved entirely onto the Dune (if there are networking and streaming hickups) 3/ Being Linux based this library can be easily mounted for updates and changes under OSX on a mac.

I know 2 way control is cool (And I'd love this as well), but when it come to movies (as apposed to music tracks), have a think how much time you actually spend in the "selection" phase of the process vs the "watching" part. And once a movie starts there is very little "swapping" back and forth for alternative selection...like TV. Also being able to see the library covers, then full scraper and disc info up on the big screen isn't all that bad either...

[mitchelludwig]

All good points. Up to now, I've tried to avoid "splitting" my media, and given I have a 777 and a EVA8000, adding the dune would force me to do just that.

Is the IR driver for the dune generally available to dealers via pro, or is it something that needs to be grabbed by a dealer on the forum?