Hardware, software, and methods for displaying & distributing your creations.
by Bobby » Thu Dec 30, 2010 8:00 am
Hi Ken - nice to see you in this topic!
My usage of the PBO is somewhat limited as I do not have the wireless adapter and in fact never even connected the Ethernet cable that I have promised myself I would run but didn't get a round tuit.
Since I want to have the files on an external USB hard drive anyhow, my flow is to copy the files to the ext. drive and just carry it over and plug it into the PBO. In that mode it works fine and the quality of the video on my TV is very good.
The menu system could be a bit more easy to use and more intuitive. My wife, for example, would not be comfortable working with it. To be honest, I haven't checked for a firmware upgrade in a long time, though, and they may have improved it.
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by Ken Jarstad » Thu Dec 30, 2010 2:01 pm
I was actually surprised by how well the Sony media player connected wirelessly to my router and to my Windows 7 PC. Once connected to the router then all the Internet applications became available. For someone wanting this built-in functionality the Sony works very well. It has wireless-N and played high definition media from the Internet across the wi-fi connection surprisingly smoothly even though my router only supports wireless-G.
For just finding media, or navigating to media, or playing media I found the SMP-N100 to be a great disappointment. The media it supports is limited. For instance, it only supports jpg/jpeg photos. Mostly, it could not find my media and it failed even when I tried to navigate to it. I even freshly formatted a 4 GB thumbdrive, added only the media it supports and it still had trouble. And I found the Sony menu system poor for navigation.
I was thinking that what I really needed was a netbook - but that seemed like overkill. I just need something that has common sense navigation of real folders on whatever media and your description of the PBO sounds like its just what I'm looking for. Perhaps you could elaborate?
Did you know you can get the current wireless-N adapter for $16.99? Seems reasonable.
-=Ken Jarstad=- Linux Kubuntu 20.04, DIY ASRock MB, Ryzen 3 1200 CPU, 16 GB RAM, GT-710 GPU, 250 GB NVMe, edit primarily with Shotcut
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by Bobby » Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:32 pm
This is the manufacturer's website for the PBO - check it out and you can download a spec sheet pdf there. http://www.patriotmemory.com/products/d ... 95&type=20I have too much wireless around the house right now. My wife's PC is connected via WiFi, my iPad is, and the Roku box is. When the Roku is streaming Netflix it does already affect my wife a bit. WiFi performance is good but the more simultaneous users active, the worse performance gets. Since most of my stuff (Roku, PBO, BD player) is in the same cabinet, it will be easy to put in a small Enet switch. I have the switch, but just to lazy to run the cable from the next room that has the main networking components. I will get to it....
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by sidd finch » Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:45 am
Hey Bobby, Great call out on the Patriot box. I purchased one at our local Frys Electronics for $94 and hooked it up last night. It worked great. As much as I create and send home movies to friends I do not burn many (if any) stuff to view on our plasma. So last night I copied all our Christmas movies to a flash drive and we watched them in High def on TV. It was a really enjoyable experience. Now I think I will move my back up drive to the TV so we can watch all the “old” movies. I really like this piece of gear. Plus it is so small that when we go to visit family we can bring it with us to watch their home movies too. Thank you for posting this.
Sidd
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by Bobby » Thu Jan 06, 2011 1:40 pm
You're quite welcome Sidd. Yep, just carry the box, a spare HDMI cable, and your flash drive and you are good to go. You might also consider putting a drive internal to the PBO and loading files through your network, but I never felt the need to do that vs. the expense. It is just as easy to copy to an external hard drive or flash, especially as you then get a backup anyhow.
It's a nice box and works well.
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by Ron » Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:50 pm
Bobby wrote:It's a nice box and works well.
I totally agree, we use ours all the time!
Regards, -Ron
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by RJ Johnston » Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:20 pm
I purchased the "PBO Core" today at Fry's for $89. Last one on the shelf.
Love it already. I used a 4GB flash drive to test some HD files, photos, and a DVD folder with menu.
The zoom feature is great.
It's' hooked to my tube with component connectors. There was a lot of flicker at first in the videos. Then I discovered the Video System setting where 1080P or 720P gave great results, even though it's a 480i television.
It does automatic slideshow with Ken Burns effects, choice of transitions, and music you provide. Maybe someone already mentioned that.
Thanks Bobby and everyone who contributed.
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by Ron » Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:30 am
It's a great box. I use them (got 2) almost daily.
If you're comfortable with it, you should check out other firmware.
Regards, -Ron
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by Bobby » Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:33 am
Glad to help RJ...
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