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
H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-1/2/4 are the most commonly supported codecs in today's media streamers. Realtek media streamers also have RMVB enabled. But, even within these supported codecs, there are certain encoding tweaks (with H.264, in particular) that are not supported in all media streamers. In this section, we will address these factors.
| Video Compatibility Details | |
| A.C.Ryan PlayOn!HD2 | |
| Firmware Version v9.5.3.r5440 | |
| Codec | Notes |
| H.264 | Improper Support for 1080p60 Level 4.2 Camcorder Streams / Level 5.1 User Encodes(Drops Frames) |
| Maximum Frame Size of 1920x1080 (Full SBS / Full TAB 3D Streams Not Supported) | |
| Maximum of 5 Reference Frames Supported | |
| Improper Support for 10 bit H.264 Encodes (Blocking Artifacts) | |
| Erroneous Bitstream Recovery OK | |
| Upto 60 Mbps H.264 Streams Play OK (from internal SATA drive) | |
| VC-1 | Supported |
| 720p60 / 1080i60 (Interlaced Streams - Advanced Profile) Also Supported | |
| MPEG-2 | Supported |
| MPEG-4 (DivX / XviD) | Supported (upto 1080p24) |
| Global Motion Compensation with More Than 2 Warp Points Not Supported | |
| Real Media Video | Supported upto 1080p24 |
| Miscellaneous Codecs | WMV8 Not Supported |
| VP6 Not Supported | |
| VP8 Not Supported | |
| Theora Not Supported | |
| MPEG-1 Supported | |
| Video Compatibility Details | |
| Netgear NTV550 | |
| Firmware Version 3.2.16NA | |
| Codec | Notes |
| H.264 | 1080p60 Level 4.2 Camcorder Streams / Level 5.1 User Encodes Partially Supported1 |
| Maximum of 16 Reference Frames Supported | |
| Maximum Frame Size of 1920x1080 (Full SBS / Full TAB 3D Streams Not Supported) | |
| 10 bit H.264 Decoding Not Supported (Blank Video Screen) | |
| Erroneous Bitstream Recovery OK | |
| Upto 70 Mbps H.264 Streams Play OK (over eSATA) | |
| VC-1 | Supported |
| 720p60 / 1080i60 (Interlaced Streams - Advanced Profile) Also Supported | |
| MPEG-2 | Supported |
| MPEG-4 (DivX / XviD) | Supported (upto 1080p24) |
| Global Motion Compensation with More Than 2 Warp Points Not Supported | |
| Real Media Video | Not Supported |
| Miscellaneous Codecs | WMV8 Not Supported |
| VP6 Not Supported | |
| VP8 Not Supported | |
| Theora Not Supported | |
| MPEG-1 Supported | |
| 1The 1080p60 camcorder clip in MP4 played back with artifacts and had stuttering issues | |
| Video Compatibility Details | |
| D-Link Boxee Box | |
| Firmware Version v1.2.2.20482 | |
| Codec | Notes |
| H.264 | Improper Support for 1080p60 Level 4.2 Camcorder Streams / Level 5.1 User Encode (Drops Frames) |
| Maximum Frame Size of 1920x1080 (Full SBS / Full TAB 3D Streams Not Supported) | |
| Maximum of 16 Reference Frames Supported | |
| 10 bit H.264 Decoding Not Supported (Blank Screen) | |
| Erroneous Bitstream Recovery OK | |
| Upto 70 Mbps H.264 Streams Play OK (over USB) | |
| VC-1 | Supported |
| 720p60 / 1080i60 (Interlaced Streams - Advanced Profile) Also Supported | |
| MPEG-2 | Supported |
| MPEG-4 (DivX / XviD) | Supported (upto 1080p24) |
| Global Motion Compensation Supported | |
| Multiple Warp Points Supported | |
| Real Media Video | Supported upto SD Resolution |
| Miscellaneous Codecs | WMV8 Supported |
| VP6 Supported | |
| VP8 Supported Upto SD Resolutions | |
| Theora Not Supported | |
| MPEG-1 Supported | |
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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...