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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NewCityVegas - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - link
What interests me most right now are small boxes coming out of China that seem to combine a wifi media box with a TV tuner selling for about $120.I wish I could see a real review of one of these. Here's a promotion piece (called a review) from a vendor:
note: there seems to be auto spam filter that can't tell legitimate interest but here is the link in a clumsy format:
blog
wholesaleonepiece
kom /
google-android-tv-box-review
dbrons - Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - link
After trying one of the realtec players I bought a Dune Smart B1. It plays iso, folders, most everything. I suppose the Dune layers cost more but it would be interesting to see them compared.cjs150 - Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - link
Zotac Nano AD10VIA Artico 1150
Both out, similar price. Alledgedly can act as perfect HTPC especially if like me you have a NAS box to act as storage.
Stick an SSD in them and tell us what you think.
Are these a great addition to a real AV rack. Can they deal with Blu ray playback, light gaming (but on big screen) play virtually every type of media we can throw at them.
What is the noise and temperatures like - no use if sound like a jet taking off.
What are they like with Windows 7, XBMC or Linux in them. How easy is setting up a remote controller for them.
Xmas is coming I want toys!