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
Beginning with this review, we are changing the presentation of our media streamer test suite results. We have updated the suite with 3D streams and also added full Blu-ray disc backups in ISO and folder format. The first aspect we will cover is container compatibility. In the tables below, it is evident we have put more stress on Blu-ray ISOs and folder structures compared to DVDs. DVD menu and folder support is pretty mature in almost all media streamers. However, Blu-rays are a different story altogether. New features (such as 3D support) keep getting added to the core specifications. In order to understand the Blu-ray rows in the tables below, we will first look at the different types of Blu-rays in existence.
Blu-ray Profiles
The earliest Blu-rays all conformed to Profile 1.0. These contained the main movie in HD and some optional extra features accessible through the main menu. Starting in November 2007, Profile 1.1 Blu-rays added Bonus View to the mix. These Blu-rays included PiP (Picture-in-Picture) streams. The rise of network enabled Blu-ray players came about due to the introduction of Profile 2.0 Blu-rays which included BD-Live capabilities. With BD-Live, users could watch downloaded content related to the Blu-ray movie (including trailers of upcoming movies from the studios) and also interact with other watchers over the Internet. Local storage is also necessary for Blu-ray players supporting this profile. 3D Blu-rays have started gaining traction over the last couple of years. Despite have a separate profile (Profile 5.0), not all 3D Blu-rays seem to fall under this profile. My general observation has been that Blu-rays which indicate an MVC encoding in their jacket fall under Profile 5.0, but 3D Blu-rays which just indicate AVC tend to not care about the profile supported by the player.
Another irksome aspect of media players supporting BD-Lite or some other similar form of Blu-ray support is the unpredictable behavior of titles with seamless branching. In this case, multiple versions of the movie are spread over multiple M2TS files and different playlists have different orderings set up to represent the multiple versions.
The table below summarizes our Blu-ray test suite:
| Blu-ray Test Suite | ||
| Aspect | ISO | Folder Structure |
| Profile 1.0 | What's Up Doc? | Step Into Liquid |
| Profile 1.1 | The Hangover | Band of Brothers (Disc 1) |
| Profile 2.0 | 2012 | Public Enemies |
| Profile 5.0 | Alice in Wonderland 3D | Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 3D |
| 3D (Non-Profile 5.0) | Coraline 3D | Monsters Vs. Aliens 3D |
| Seamless Branching | A Bug's Life | Avatar Collectors Edition |
The entire test suite was run off a hard disk connected directly to the streamer. For the A.C.Ryan PlayOn!HD2, this disk was put in the internal slot. For the Netgear NeoTV 550, we connected the disk over eSATA. For the Boxee Box, the disk was conenected as an external USB drive.
| Container Compatibility Details | |
| A.C.Ryan PlayOn!HD2 | |
| Firmware Version v9.5.3.r5440 | |
| Container | Notes |
| DVD | Menus Supported |
| ISO Supported | |
| Folder Structures Supported | |
| Blu-ray | ISO Selectively Supported (Refer Profile Limitations Below) |
| Folder Structures Selectively Supported (Refer Profile Limitations Below) | |
| BD Profile 1.0 Supported with Menus (if BD-Lite option is turned on)1 | |
| BD Profile 1.1 (Bonus View / PiP) Plays with No Menus, PiP Unavailable1 | |
| BD Profile 2.0 (BD Live) Plays with No Menus, BD Live Unavailable1 | |
| BD Profile 5.0 (3D) Plays in 2D without Menus1 | |
| Non-BD Profile 5.0 3D Blu-rays Play in 2D without Menus1 | |
| Seamless Branching Doesn't Work (Longest Playlist Chosen unless Profile 1.0 BD) | |
| MKV | Supported Video Codecs: H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (DivX / XViD) |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, DTS, DTS-HD HR2, FLAC, AAC, MP3, LPCM | |
| Supported Embedded Subtitles: SRT, ASS/SSA (PGS Not Supported) | |
| Multiple Video Tracks Supported | |
| Multiple Audio Tracks Supported | |
| Multiple Subtitle Tracks Supported | |
| Chapters Supported (Chapter Names Not Supported) | |
| Header Compression Supported | |
| MKV3D (Stereoscopic Flag) Not Supported | |
| Half SBS / TAB 3D Plays Back with Manual TV Mode Change | |
| M2TS | Supported Video Codecs: H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2 |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR, LPCM | |
| Supported Embedded Subtitles: PGS | |
| AVI / DivX | Supported Video Codecs: MPEG-4 (XviD / DivX), MJPEG |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, MP3, PCM | |
| SBS 3D AVIs Don't Autoswitch | |
| MP4 / M4V | Supported Video Codecs: H.264 |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AAC | |
| Miscellaneous Containers | DVR-MS Not Supported |
| TRP Supported | |
| WTV Not Supported | |
| MTS and TS Supported | |
| M2V Not Supported | |
| 1 Audio tracks sometime go silent when playing ISO or folder structure, but navigating to the M2TS file and playing that is flawless | |
| 2 HD Audio support in MKV is very unreliable, and doesn't work most of the time (especially when HDMI Audio is set to passthrough for bitstreaming) | |
| Container Compatibility Details | |
| Netgear NTV550 | |
| Firmware Version 3.2.16NA | |
| Container | Notes |
| DVD | Menus Supported |
| ISO Supported1 | |
| Folder Structures Supported1 | |
| Blu-ray | ISO Selectively Supported (Refer Profile Limitations Below) |
| Folder Structures Selectively Supported (Refer Profile Limitations Below) | |
| BD Profile 1.0 Supported with Menus | |
| BD Profile 1.1 (Bonus View / PiP) Plays with Menus, PiP Available | |
| BD Profile 2.0 (BD Live) Plays with Menus, BD Live Available2 | |
| BD Profile 5.0 (3D) Doesn't Play | |
| Non-BD Profile 5.0 3D Blu-rays Play in 2D with Menus | |
| Seamless Branching Works Perfectly | |
| MKV | Supported Video Codecs: H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (DivX / XViD) |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, Dolby Digital Plus3, Dolby TrueHD3, DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR, FLAC, AAC, MP3, LPCM | |
| Supported Embedded Subtitles: SRT, SUB, PGS, ASS/SSA | |
| Multiple Video Tracks Not Supported | |
| Multiple Audio and Subtitle Tracks Supported | |
| Forced Subtitle Tracks Supported (with manual selection) | |
| Named Chapters Supported | |
| Header Compression Supported | |
| MKV3D (Stereoscopic Flag) Not Supported | |
| Half SBS / TAB 3D Plays Back with Manual TV Mode Change | |
| M2TS4 | Supported Video Codecs: H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2 |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR, LPCM | |
| Supported Embedded Subtitles: PGS | |
| AVI / DivX | Supported Video Codecs: MPEG-4 (XviD / DivX) |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, MP3, PCM | |
| SBS 3D AVIs Don't Autoswitch | |
| MP45 / M4V | Supported Video Codecs: H.264 |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AAC | |
| Miscellaneous Containers | DVR-MS Supported |
| WTV and TRP Not Supported | |
| TS and MTS Supported | |
| M2V Not Supported | |
| 1 Many of the ISOs and folder structures in my media library played without issues, but our test suite ISO and folder structures failed to play back correctly (the menu title took us back to the main screen) | |
| 2 Usage of BD Live features sometime tend to lock up the system requiring a hard reboot | |
| 3 Support for some of the HD audio codecs in MKV containers is not reliable. Works sometimes, sends static to the AV receiver on other occassions. | |
| 4 The M2TS splitter has some issues with H.264/AC3 content as described in this bug reported against another Sigma based media streamer. | |
| 5 Many of the MP4s in my media library played without issues, but one of the MP4s in our test suite played back with audio only (blank video) | |
| Container Compatibility Details | |
| D-Link Boxee Box | |
| Firmware Version v1.2.2.20482 | |
| Container | Notes |
| DVD | Menus Supported |
| ISO Supported | |
| Folder Structures Supported | |
| Blu-ray | ISO Selectively Supported (Refer Profile Limitations Below) |
| Folder Structures Selectively Supported (Refer Profile Limitations Below) | |
| BD Profile 1.0 Plays without Menus | |
| BD Profile 1.1 (Bonus View / PiP) Plays with No Menus, PiP Unavailable | |
| BD Profile 2.0 (BD Live) Plays with No Menus, BD Live Unavailable | |
| BD Profile 5.0 (3D) Plays without Menus | |
| Non-BD Profile 5.0 3D Blu-rays Play in 2D without Menus | |
| Seamless Branching Doesn't Work (Longest Playlist Chosen) | |
| MKV | Supported Video Codecs: H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (DivX / XViD) |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR, FLAC, AAC, MP3, LPCM | |
| Supported Embedded Subtitles: SRT, SUB, PGS, ASS/SSA | |
| Multiple Video Tracks Not Supported | |
| Multiple Audio and Subtitle Tracks Supported | |
| Forced Subtitle Tracks Supported | |
| Named Chapters Supported | |
| Header Compression Supported | |
| MKV3D (Stereoscopic Flag) Not Supported | |
| Half SBS / TAB 3D Plays Back with Manual TV Mode Change | |
| M2TS1 | Supported Video Codecs: H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2 |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR, LPCM | |
| Supported Embedded Subtitles: PGS | |
| AVI / DivX | Supported Video Codecs: MPEG-4 (XviD / DivX), MJPEG (upto SD Resolution) |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AC3, MP3, PCM | |
| SBS 3D AVIs Don't Autoswitch | |
| MP4 / M4V | Supported Video Codecs: H.264 |
| Supported Audio Codecs: AAC | |
| Miscellaneous Containers | DVR-MS Supported |
| TRP Supported | |
| WTV Supported | |
| TS and MTS Supported | |
| M2V Supported | |
| 1 The M2TS splitter has some issues with H.264/AC3 content as described in this bug reported against another Sigma based media streamer. | |
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slyck - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - link
D-LINK.... the only reason I need to never purchase a Boxee Box.Master_Sigma - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
Do any of these devices support playback of 10-bit h.264 encodes? I watch alot of anime fansubs and that community has already started moving over to that standard (most NEW fansubs being released nowadays uses 10-bit encoding). My PC can play them fine but I was wondering if there was an off-the-shelf playback device out now that supports them or if I would buy/build a little HTPC, like the ZOTAC Zbox Nano (hopefully with Llano), to do the job.ganeshts - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
Please look in the Video Codecs Compatibility section under H.264 ; Both Boxee Box and NTV550 play such videos with a blank screen. The POHD2 plays with blocking artifacts. You have to rely on PC for playback of such streams for another year or so (at the least)Master_Sigma - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
Herp, derp. That's what I get for not reading. Thanks!Nogib - Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - link
Well if those fansubbers weren't complete elitist dicks we wouldn't have this problem. I've loved being able to play 8-bit h.264 encodes on my WDTV Live Plus as well as my netbook (AMD Ontario acceleration is flawless!). But no, can't run this 10-bit garbage on those. Instead of waiting for proper hardware support, fansubbers assumed we all either have HTPCs or love to sit at a computer desk to watch shows. And once one group started doing it the others all followed suit to make sure their e-penis measured up.You can tell I'm only slightly bitter about them changing from 8-bit to 10-bit when there is zero benefit....
chrnochime - Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - link
They do it for free. Don't like it? Go learn Japanese and not have to rely on fansubber to feed your anime needs. Why are you whining about something that you get for free anyway?geniekid - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
As others above me have said, it looks like an HTPC is still the most capable media center. That said, for the prices of these three alternatives, I would be hard pressed to recommend building an HTPC unless there's some functionality you just can't live without or you're a hobbyist like me :)cjs150 - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
And a great summary of the state of the marketWhich, for media streamers, sucks.
These are not consumer grade devices and the rate of progress is such that I doubt they ever will be.
On the other hand it is now possible to build or buy a PC that doubles as a proper part of an AV system, that works well and gets better and better. Problem is it takes a bit of work to get Windows 7, XBMC or whatever OS you prefer, to work they way you want.
Zotac nano AD10 is a fantastic bit of kit (please lose the fan though) and close to perfect given its very small size or if you want something larger, AMD Motherboards are a great start and there are some really nice cases out there (for example love look of Wesena, just not convinced by build quality/design)
Sadly you get what you pay for
thudo - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
http://www.pivosgroup.com/I own this and its quite fantastic for $99 and getting GREAT reviews. Devs are also the only in the biz to rapidly response to suggestions from the customer. Sure its NOT perfect but it works quite well.
Maybe it was too new (Oct 03, 2011) to be reviewed by Anandtech.. :|
Destiny - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - link
This is a roundup of updates to reviews and articles written for these players on AnandTech from almost a year ago. So basically it is an updated review after the Writer gave them ample time for firmware updates to bring them up to par because at launch they were all horrible and not market ready.The Pivos Aios uses the same RealTek 1185 chipset as the AC Ryan that is reviewed here. So features and codec support would be the same because the RealTek SDK does not offer any much difference in custom firmware... so basically it would be a same review as the AC Ryan as mentioned here...