2011 Media Streamer Roundup : Netgear NTV550, A.C.Ryan PlayOn!HD2 and the Boxee Box
by Ganesh T S on November 20, 2011 10:32 AM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Media Streamer
- NetGear
- Boxee Box
The extent and nature of support for various audio codecs decide where the media streamers can be used. For example, in most setups, AVRs are available only in the main home theater location. The streamers used with bedroom TVs are usually directly connected over HDMI. In this context, we need to understand the three important aspects of audio codec support.
Bitstreaming: This refers to the ability of the player to send out the audio track in the media file directly through HDMI to the next device (usually AVR) in the output chain.
Decoding: This refers to the ability of the player to decode all the channels in the audio track and send out the LPCM version through HDMI or output all the audio tracks through the analog audio output ports (if available).
Downmixing: This refers to the ability of the player to decode all the channels in the audio track and combine them in such a way as to output stereo audio (2.0) over HDMI or the analog audio output ports.
Other audio aspects which get covered in this section include support for ISOs of SACDs, DVD-A and BD-Audio, playlist support, gapless audio support and sampling frequencies.
| Audio Compatibility Details | |||
| A.C.Ryan PlayOn!HD2 | |||
| Firmware Version v9.5.3.r5440 | |||
| Codec | Bitstream | Decode | Downmix |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | Yes | Yes (upto 2.0) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| DTS | Yes | Yes (upto 2.0) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| Dolby Digital Plus | No | Yes (upto 2.0) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| DTS-HD HR | Yes | Yes (Core) (upto 2.0) | Yes (Core) (down to 2.0) |
| Dolby TrueHD | Yes | Yes (upto 2.0) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| DTS-HD MA | Yes | Yes (Core) (upto 2.0) | Yes (Core) (down to 2.0) |
| WMA Pro | No | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| AAC | Not Tested | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| MP3 | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| FLAC | Not Tested | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| Cook (Real Audio) | Not Applicable | Yes (upto 2.0) | Not Applicable |
| Vorbis | Not Applicable | No | No |
| APE | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| AIFF | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| DVD-A | Partially Supported (AC3 Version) | ||
| SACD | Not Supported | ||
| BD-Audio | Supported with bitstreaming | ||
| Playlists | M3U with Relative Pathnames Supported, PLS Support is Spotty | ||
| Gapless Audio | Not Supported | ||
| Sampling Frequencies | Faithful Decoding to LPCM upto 192 KHz for non-HD Audio Codecs, 48 KHz maximum for Decoded HD-Audio Codecs | ||
| Audio Compatibility Details | |||
| Netgear NTV550 | |||
| Firmware Version 1.03.10 | |||
| Codec | Bitstream | Decode | Downmix |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| DTS | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| Dolby Digital Plus | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| DTS-HD HR | Yes | Yes (Core) (upto 5.1) | Yes (Core) (down to 2.0) |
| Dolby TrueHD | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| DTS-HD MA | Yes | Yes (Core) (upto 5.1) | Yes (Core) (down to 2.0) |
| WMA Pro | No | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| AAC | Not Tested | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| MP3 | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| FLAC | Not Tested | Yes (upto 5.1) | Yes (down to 2.0) |
| Cook (Real Audio) | Not Applicable | No | Not Applicable |
| Vorbis | Not Applicable | No | No |
| APE | Not Applicable | No | No |
| AIFF | Not Applicable | No | No |
| DVD-A | Partially Supported (AC3 Version) | ||
| SACD | Not Supported | ||
| BD-Audio | Supported with bitstreaming | ||
| Playlists | M3U and PLS files with relative pathnames show up in the library, but don't play back | ||
| Gapless Audio | Supported | ||
| Sampling Frequencies | Faithful Decoding to LPCM upto 192 KHz for non-HD Audio Codecs, 48 KHz maximum for Decoded HD-Audio Codecs | ||
| Audio Compatibility Details | |||
| D-Link Boxee Box | |||
| Firmware Version v1.2.2.20482 | |||
| Codec | Bitstream | Decode | Downmix |
| AC3 (Dolby Digital) | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (down to 2.0)1 |
| DTS | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (down to 2.0)1 |
| Dolby Digital Plus | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (down to 2.0)1 |
| DTS-HD HR | Yes | Yes (Core) (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (Core) (down to 2.0)1 |
| Dolby TrueHD | Yes | Yes (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (down to 2.0)1 |
| DTS-HD MA | Yes | Yes (Core) (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (Core) (down to 2.0)1 |
| WMA Pro | No | Yes (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (down to 2.0)1 |
| AAC | Not Tested | Yes (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (down to 2.0)1 |
| MP3 | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| FLAC | Not Tested | Yes (upto 5.1)1 | Yes (down to 2.0)1 |
| Cook (Real Audio) | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| Vorbis | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| APE | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| AIFF | Not Applicable | Yes | Not Applicable |
| DVD-A | Not Supported | ||
| SACD | Not Supported | ||
| BD-Audio | Supported with bitstreaming2 | ||
| Playlists | M3U and PLS With Relative Pathnames Fully Supported | ||
| Gapless Audio | Not Supported | ||
| Sampling Frequencies | Decoded Formats Downsampled to 48 KHz | ||
| 1 Decoded / Downmixed Formats Downsampled to 48 KHz | |||
| 2 HD Audio Streams Suffer from Dropouts | |||
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Rainman200 - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
I'm not too surprised to see Boxee come out on top, much of the media streamer industry is very behind the times.That said I would have liked to have seen a HDI Dune player included given their reputation for stability and image quality to see if they live up to the claims which Boxee comes away with the top spot in this article.
Memphist - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
I have used the Xtreamer Products and have found them to be the best for playing all formats. I have yet to find a format it can not play. It appear to be compatible with every format conceivable. I have a Sidewinder an Xtreamer Pro.I read these review for a laugh at how much they cost and how many CODECs they can't play.
My TV is a Panasonic and Blu ray player a Sony, neither can play half the the CODEC mix that the Xtreamer's can play.
If you're new to Media Streamers do your self a favor and look at the Xtreamer Products first and compare the rest.
pseudo7 - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
I've never liked xtreamer products, of which I have only owned the original xtreamer but it was enough to shove me to building my own HTPC and installing XBMC (neither of which I had done before.My biggest niggle is that they have a great website with great text, pics and videos put there products seems lacking.
The xtreamer ultra can ship with openelec which runs XBMC... I can see it heading to XBMC a lot more.
Destiny - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - link
If you're new to Media Streamers it is best to AVOID Xtreamer brand - there are many alternatives out there from other brands. My experience with them is not good and maybe others may have better experience.Comparing prices for Xtreamer Products to what is available here in the USA - the costs are the same after VAT, International Shipping, and Customs fees if ordered from Over Seas Shop... plus the Xtreamers that are available here in the USA is not really lower cost that what is exactly available that is using RealTek chipsets... plus the codec is the same for all RealTek chipsets because they share the same RealTek SDK - no need to review a twin...
Plus a quick google search for Xtreamer would show customer service is horrible combined with marketing gimmicks... You'll fair better with AC Ryan and even better with Med8er using the same RealTek chipsets...
SlyNine - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
How it organizes the library, and how easy someone who never touched it before can get to the movie (on my network) that they want to watch.juhatus - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
How about testing oppo-93, something more of a "top-end" streamer/blu-ray.. pretty please :)plonk420 - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
do these output 24/48 or 16/48?ganeshts - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
Please look at the Sampling Frequency entries in the Audio Codec section. The POHD2 and NTV550 are faithful, but Boxee Box is not.MadMan007 - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
The quest doesn't continue - the answer is an HTPC, and software has finally become decent enough that it's not a huge hassle like it was in the past. Although more expensive than these boxes the near-unlimited flexibility of something like a Zacate-based HTPC cannot be beat.Deanodxb - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
...of the problems users face with these players.I have purchased two Boxee Boxes, one for playback of material by USB and one for playback of material through a wider network of NAS boxes.
Boxee updates firmware automatically, without any user intervention. The last update lost all SMB shares, prevented me from adding the shares again and lost all scrapped media. Multiple users have complained to Boxee about this and their customer service has got worse and worse. They have done nothing to respond to customer tickets raised on this issue and are more concerned with pushing new products such as dongles and live TV.
Check out this link and read the comments to see what I am referring to: http://boxee.zendesk.com/entries/20342452-new-firm...
I ended up re-flashing to old working firmware and blocking the auto update address in my router. Boxee works great but all manufacturers should know that customers aren't their beta or alpha testers.