Media Streamer Platforms Roundup
by Ganesh T S on June 13, 2010 7:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Media Streamer
- Gadgets
No discussion on the subject of media streamers will be complete without mentioning the two game consoles, XBox and PS3. The XBox core hardware (with respect to media playing capabilities) hasn't changed much over the years. Firmware updates now enable it to play H264 files with a maximum bitrate of 10 Mbps, which is really not sufficient for most 1080p HD media out there. The PS3 is a little bit better (with a Blu Ray drive built in), but start throwing in some MKVs, and you realize that the firmware is wofeully inadequate for anything other than actual Blu Ray stuff. In any case, the Xbox 360 consumes around 140W while playing HD videos, while PS3 Slim uses around 80W (The original PS3 used around 170W for the same!). The usage of the Xbox and the PS3 models as media streamers (and the underlying hardware which enable them to be used in such a scenario) deserves a detailed article by itself. However, such power consumption numbers put these devices beyond my criteria for a media streamer (their original intent was to act as a game console after all), and I will not discuss them any further in this article.
On the other end of the power spectrum lie the portable media players (PMPs) and smartphone application processors. Advances in chip design have enabled even dimunitive devices to play HD video. Though the latest version of the most popular PMP (iPod Touch 32GB) is unable to play HD content, its competitor (ZuneHD) supports upto 720p video playback. Coupled with a dock near the television, the ZuneHD can potentially replace many a media streamer in the market right now. Agreed, the software ecosystem for these PMPs need to improve to match the offerings using the Realtek and Sigma SOCs, but it is still worth looking in detail into the SOC platforms that these are built on. After all, these are the platforms which will probably take over all the other platforms a couple of years down the line by delivering the same capabilities in a much smaller form factor and power envelop. I will not discuss the iPod Touch since it doesn't do HD playback, but will solely concentrate on the ZuneHD.
Nvidia Tegra inside the ZuneHD
A Sign of Things to Come (Convergence of the PMP / App Processor & Media Streamer Markets)
[ Picture Courtesy : iFixit ]
The ZuneHD utilizes the NVidia Tegra platform. The good news is that the second generation of the Tegra platform is already in the hands of the manufacturers and I have covered it in the previous section. It is only fair to expect the next generation PMPs to use this platform. In the PMP space, Nvidia will have to look into is power consumption as they move forward. Nvidia GPU cores do not use the Tile Based Rendering approach used by the SGX cores from Imagination Technologies. Tile based rending reduces power consumption which is of paramount importance in portable devices. Whether Nvidia decides to tweak the ULP GeForce core for use in the Tegra platform remains to be seen. Power consumption numbers for the Tegra SOC are low compared to the other offerings in the media streamer market, but that is a given considering the number of features that are skimped on and the fact that it is meant to be running on batteries! All in all, this platform loks like a promising start for PMPs to move towards the media streamer market as proved by the Boxee Box which uses the Tegra 2.
Many PMPs in the Chinese market have also started to boast 1080p playback over HDMI from handheld devices. An example is the Chuwi P7, which utilizes the TCC8901, an offering from Telechips, a South Korean multimedia chipset company. The TCC8901 uses a ARM11 host processor with a 3D core from ARM (the Mali 400) for the aesthetic GUI. However, the core IP for decoding video has been licensed from another South Korean company, Chips&Media. This company provides the ubiquitous Boda / Coda series of video IP which is present in almost all low cost, low power HD codec solutions in the Chinese market (as well as some application processor platforms in the US). In addition to the usual H264 and VC-1 decoding, this IP also has the ability to process HD RMVB content. Telechips TCC8900 (probably a minor variant of the TCC8901) is used in the HDX Bone, which claims to be the first media streamer product capable of dual booting into Android, as well as the primary media browsing OS. Industry insiders believe that a leading media streamer chipset company has also shifted to using Chips&Media IP for their future generation products.
Chips&Media is not the only player in town supplying IP for HD decoding. Companies such as SiliconImage (the HDMI pioneer) and Imagination Tech (of the PowerVR SGX series 3D GPU fame) are also quite active in this space. ImgTech has been claiming HD decode for many years now with the PowerVR VXD line, while SiliconImage claims the ability to decode even UltraHD streams. However, we are currently not aware of any product in the media streamer space shipping with either IP in silicon. The Apple A4 uses the PowerVR VXD for HD encode / decode, but it doesn't find itself in a media streamer yet. Both the iPad and the recently released iPhone place too many restrictions on files which can be played back, compared to other products in the media streamer space.
Tegra 2 may also be classified as a smartphone application processor (if the term may be stretched) based on the number of tablet designs which utilize this platform. Many of the application processors introduced at the 2010 Mobile World Congress also claim to support HD decode (We will cover the app processors which deserve to be watched in a separate article). Towards the end of last year, Samsung quietly slipped in a smartphone app processor similar to the Apple A4 (Cortex-A8 with a PowerVR 3D engine), only with better HD capabilities. At CeBit 2010, Asus introduced the first product based on the Samsung S5PV210, the EeeMedia EM0501. The surprising feature of this product is the support for high definition RMVB playback, with the other features similar to that of the Boxee Box. The exact capabilities of this product will only be known when it lands in the hands of the reviewers.
Samsung's S5PV210 Application Processor in a Standalone Media Streamer
[ Picture Courtesy : Slashgear ]
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twol - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
I think the review would have gained from the author having looked at some of the user forums for this area - e.g. Mpcclub, avsforum - where there is a wealth of information on these devices and their popularity, some of the most popular are not mentioned in this article unfortunately .ganeshts - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - link
twol, Thanks for the tips. I am quite active on AVS Forums, and I also keep a lookout for HiJack's posts on MPCClub.Our readers would hugely benefit from the content on those sites, but our reviews and analysis are intended to complement the content on those forums.
To the best of our knowledge, there is no English review site which has a standardized test suite for media streamers. We intend to create one with the help of our readers. This is only part of the story! You will also get Anandtech's unique style of SoC and system analysis in the reviews and articles. I hope this will help consumers to identify whether a company is just plain lazy, or the base hardware platform doesn't have enough power for a certain task when they demand features from their media streamer.
Golgatha - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
A bit of background:I recently purchased a newer and bigger home. At my last residence I had just my 32in Sharp Aquos (for my HTPC) and 22in TV/Gaming Rig Samsung monitor as the only screens in the house. At my new residence we plan to use the old Sharp Aquos TV upstairs, buy a newer and bigger TV for downstairs, and install a smaller TV in the kitchen area. I transcode my DVDs to MP4 with the audio left untouched for the most part. I also stream Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube etc. through TVersity.
Current day:
I just recently got my GbE network set back up downstairs and have my XBox 360 and PS3 streaming content from a Tversity DLNA server to my main 32in TV (we plan to buy something bigger and put this one upstairs above the fireplace) and 22in HDTV/Monitor at my PC. This is mainly for my family's benefit, as I just watch videos directly from the HTPC on my main 32in HDTV, while navigating around with a Logitech DiNovo Mini. For the 2 new upstairs locations, I had some choices to make.
Location 1 - 32in Sharp Aquos 1080p HDTV
Basically for $100-$150 more than a local network enabled streaming box, I can put a 120GB PS3 behind my 32in HDTV and control everything with a PS3 Bluetooth remote, which doesn't need line-of-sight transmission to work. This is advantageous because we can play all our Blu-ray disc content and all our streaming media from one device. Also, the space for this TV is above a large fireplace, so line-of-sight transmission would require standing up and lifting the remote in the air to change anything. Not acceptable for a sitting room and the Bluetooth remote fits the bill nicely and cheaply. The TV's IR receiver is easily seen and settings on the TV can be changed easily from a sitting position, so that's not a problem.
Location 2 - Yet to be purchased wall mounted TV
I'm kind of unsure about this location and this is where I hope Anandtech reviews and user experience can help me out. I need a smallish local streaming enabled device, which can be easily mounted to a wall, and is not very intrusive space wise. I envision it beside an extendable mounting arm, with the 19 or 22in TV covering most of it up. An Apple TV or WD Live unit would seem to fit the bill here. I do however wonder what the maximum bitrate one can stream is for these devices, and if the wired ports are GbE or 10/100Mbps Ethernet. I also wonder how they handle a 5.1 encoded file when outputting it in stereo, since most of my transcoded DVDs are 5.1, but my upstairs locations will just be using the TV speakers or a simple stereo setup at the most. Finally I wonder if iTunes will require re-transcoding of my already transcoded files, and if either one will be able to stream from my TVersity server. That's a lot of questions and I almost wonder if a Slim PS3 wouldn't be the easiest solution since I'm used to using it already and I know what its limitations are as far as streaming is concerned.
ganeshts - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
Golgatha,Currently, there are no shipping media streamers with Gigabit Ethernet. Looking at your background, I would suggest that you go with something you already have experience with, i.e, a Slim PS3, since you are already aware of its limitations. Any other product you purchase is probably going to present you with new challenges to overcome.
papaki - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
You should definitely test LG's BD570. It doesn't have to do with the fact that I bought it just 1,5 month ago and even after 2 updates it's wireless speed continues to drop to ~1Mbps when streaming through the provided Nero's Essential version of Media Home (grrr), it's just that its wired speed and the wireless as well, when streaming from Win7's own streaming setup, is perfectly adequate (~20Mbps from a 802.11g modem/router - perfect for even a 1080 mkv file)... (Btw, Win7's streaming service is lower in capabilities that Media Home's, so this is why I'm writing these) (Also, the player shows the exact same behavior when it tries to stream via wireless from other programs, such as TVersity. Mezzmo etc.) Of course, I don't expect Anandtech to become the technical support of my player - just pointing out an issue for you.ganeshts - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
papaki,Thanks for the pointers.
I have personally played around with the LG-BD390, and while it may not be the best media streamer, its feature set when considering that it is a Blu Ray player, is indeed very good.
We will try to review the LG-BD570, but no guarantees :)
wiak - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
AMD 780G aka Radeon HD 3200 was the FIRST chipset that had hardware acceleration of Blu-Ray Disc codecs in full 1080p and is still a good chipset, 2 years after its releaseand ION is basicly a renamed Geforce 9300 chipset for atom
wiak - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
AMD 780G: Preview of the Best Current IGP Solutionhttp://www.anandtech.com/show/2475
oooh the irony
ganeshts - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
Ion is a renamed GeForce 9400 ; It is not a IGP per-se ;The 3200 is a very good IGP, but it simply lacks a lot of hardware acceleration modes that Nvidia users take for granted. [ http://imouto.my/watching-h264-videos-using-dxva/ ]
This is why I would personally recommend the Ion over the 3200 IGP right now. Maybe, in 2008 (when the Anandtech article you have cited below was posted), HD 3200 was the best IGP in the market, but not any more.
Aikouka - Monday, June 14, 2010 - link
I'd highly recommend comparing available features (in your list) to how much the device costs. Usually people are willing to settle and remove a feature if it means a significantly lower cost.It also might be worthwhile to compare a custom HTPC, maybe with your own list of components to try and compete. That concept might possibly even become something completely different.. evaluations of available software for HTPCs. I know I've had quite a hellish time working with Windows Media Center and videos of certain sizes. Awhile back, I simply gave up and just used the normal Explorer GUI with Media Player Classic, because at least it didn't crop videos making me unable to read the subtitles.