Install Xbmc On Dune Hd Max
Dune HD Duo 4K is an advanced solution for playback of 4K and Full HD video, high-quality audio, IPTV and VOD content, digital TV channels. While I was doing research for my review of the Dune BD Prime I came across Zappiti, a Video Jukebox similar to YAMJ for the PCH. Just about every media player out.
Yeah, Ember is in a suspended state right now. The homepage has been disabled and the software phones home for something.
It appears to no longer function correctly. The community at XBMC.org is trying to pick up the pieces, but nothing has emerged at the one solution yet. Just today I tried several other tools for gathering meta data, nothing works as seamless. I suppose I will let XBMC scrape the media until something surfaces.
- Jan 12, 2018 - 0 Comments. Install Xbmc On Dune Hd Max. Jun 2, 2012 - 9 min - Uploaded by Clayton VicenteUsando o Xbmc para controlar o media player Dune por Ip, tanto no pc quanto no. Where can I find Emplexer V1? Is there a link? I like DUNE because of its capability in rendering video and audio in HD format.
- Any Android TV box with VidOn XBMC installed: Egreat A5 / A10 / A11 Egreat S5A / A1080 HiMedia Q10 Pro VidOn.me AV200 VidOn.me TV box. Zidoo X9S / X10 and more. Other (non Android) players: Dune HD Base 3.0. Dune HD Duo Dune HD Duo 4k. Dune HD MAX Dune HD Prime 3.0. Dune HD Pro Dune HD Smart.
For the record I have a large database of movies and TV shows and I have not had a single problem with the XBMC/IMDB/TheTVDB.com scraping. It's kind of a bummer that Ember sits stagnant, I have really enjoyed using it, for the most part. I just wish I could figure out how to add scrapers based on XML (mainly for adult titles). Everything I find on it points to the XML page in Embers 'wiki', that is now down. @LTParis, yes, XBMC is VERY good at scraping, for the most part. However, when you want to tweak things like what movie posters are available, fanart, etc, it's FAR FAR easier to do in a media manager.
In addition, it saves all of the info (nfo's, fanart, posters, trailers) into the actual movie folder and not directly to the XBMC database. This is very nice when you're running multiple XBMC boxen around the house as you don't have to deal with maintaining a central XBMC database but everything is the same between all of the boxes.
In addition, on slower machines like the ION Atoms, they take quite a long time to scrape by themselves, now they're very quick. There are numerous other reasons why it's nicer than the default scrapers, but for me, those are the main ones. I sure agree. Nfo files are great. I hate the whole idea of scraping. Why bother when a simple text file will store all the metadata for the file? We don't scrape music files, we tag them and virtually any database media management system reads those tags.
I guess we can't have the same for video files since there is no unified embedded metadata tagging system, but something like the nfo file named the same as the media file accomplishes the same thing. You point some of the best advantages, what I like is the ability to name the damn movie whatever I want (so I can watch Return of the Dragon instead of Meng long guo jiang or however IMDB wants to name it), to adjust the genre to my taste, the rating, or anything else in there. Just like you only have to find your movie poster one time, you only have to create your nfo one time and its done forever. Obviously some brilliant people have put a lot of work into making these scrapers work, and like you said, for the most part the really do work well.
They are an awesome tool for a lot of people. I just prefer to go the other way, and I am very grateful that option is available. I renamed my old SDL.dll and XBMC.exe to.bak and loaded Philmatic's builds. Upon initial launch, XBMC.exe instantly appcrash'ed. I changed XBMC.exe to run under XP SP3 compatibility mode and voila, BD ISO support. This is on a W7 x64 machine (i7 w/ ATI 5770) As you said, there is no menu support.
On the 3 ISO's I tested (The Illusionist, Twilight - Eclipse (don't judge!) and Alice in Wonderland (2010), all three loaded straight into the main feature. I'm not sure how it knows what stream to play (IE, main feature, bonus features, etc) but then again I don't know how the whole BD structure works. Regardless, XBMC now has (basic) BD ISO support. I'll cream my shorts when we get full menu's with BD ISO's.
Hopefully it won't be long! I was feeling a lot of geek angst recently when putting together an XBMC setup for my parents because I could not find an MCE remote that can turn the TV on/off like my old Microsoft branded MCE remote. I just discovered that one of the AV modes of a DirecTV remote can be programmed to work as a MCE remote. It works perfectly. My parents now have XBMC, DirecTV and OTA TV all on one remote. 1) Move the slider to AV1 or AV2 2) Hold down Select and Mute until the remote starts blinking at you.
3) Enter code 21972. I'm looking at setups with XBMC. I used to run it a few years ago, but after moving to a new appartment I never got around to setting it up again. I used to run it on an EeeBox which would obviously hoke on HD video. Now I'd like Blueray, so I'm looking at new hardware. I had seriously considered getting a PS3, but apparently storing media on the PS3 is going to suck - and I specifially do not want a streaming solution. So some sort of HTPC it is.
While buying parts and assembling stuff is fun, I would prefer getting a readymade box (I don't want to invest the time if I can avoid it). So I'm looking at buying or assembling a box that. Has Blueray. Outputs 1080P without problems (HDMI). Has/can be upgraded with plenty of storage (just popping a 1TB HDD in there would be nice). Can sit besides mmy stereo and not look butugly (black, NO LEDs that can't be turned off, anonymous). Budgetwise isn't significantly more expensive than a PS3 Are there any viable boxes out there, or do I have to throw something together myself?
Onkeljonas; If you don't mind rolling your own; i3 540. ESC H55 mITX board, Apex mITX case w/ PS, LG BD drive, 2gb GSkill RAM = $300. You could save 100 by going with a Atom/ION solution if you don't mind a reduction in power (still plenty powerful enough to run XBMC, but may be a tad bit lacking for other uses where hardware acceleration is poor (Flash, etc)). This would be to say you're running Ubuntu or XBMC Live. I have no idea how.nix handles BluRay either by itself or under XBMC. I know it works under Windows, so you would also have to account for $ for a Win7 install if it infact doesn't work under Ubuntu. Alternately, maybe something like the Dune HD B1?
I have only recently learned about it. I can't find any reviews done on it in english and have no idea what the interface is like, but it's one of the few NMT's that I've found that will do basically.everything., though you would have to do eSATA for disks, unless you wanted to go with the Dune HD Max which is larger and has room for the BD drive and a disk. It's also $469.
You're main issue is going to be finding a unit that has both a BD drive AND harddrive, slim pickins' in that area. The Dune HD Max - despite its name, is mighty tempting. I'll have to find reviews, and maybe wait it out a bit since (thats the processors in the Dune boxes), and I wouldn't want to miss out on that A slick box that will play anything I throw at it, take a standard 3.5' HDD, has a BD drive and wireless network (seems the wireless is 'optional' - aka buy a thirdparty USB module)? Not bad at all. Add in a good customizable interface like XBMC and I think they have a real winner on their hands. Still, I didn't actually know that you could get 'real' x86 motherboards that small today.
I'll have to take a good look at those, although most of the cases seem like crap (and it looks like I can't get Apex cases here in Denmark). I'd love to try it out, but I can't buy any gadgets for a long time now. Over the past 3 weeks, I bought and ATV1 off the agora, a CrystalHD card to put in it. I installed a Linux/XBMC image to the HDD and I dual boot i.e.
Thumbdrive in XBMC, thumbdrive out ATV OS with XBMC and NitoTV installed. This setup works pretty well, although some high bitrate 1080p content still chokes it. I then picked up a used PS3 off of Craigslist that ended up being a YLoD sufferer.
I was able to rip it apart, clean it, and do the heat gun trick to get it working, but I'll probably have to have it reballed in order to feel comfortable about it. With all of that, there's no way in Hell the wife would be happy if I showed up with an ATV2 to play with.
Does the Crystal HD video card hack thing work with ATV2? And seriously WTF is with Apple not understanding that everyone wants 1080p? Not sure if the Crystal HD video card hack works with the ATV2, although I suspect not (things are probably packed pretty tight in there). As far as apple not understanding that everyone wants 1080p. Apple definitely understands that people want a $99 settop box, not a $299 settop box. Putting a heftier processor in there that could handle 1080P would've been more expensive. Of course, with the new A5 chip coming, the next revision of the AppleTV probably will do 1080P.
It's not just about supplying the absolute best quality, it is also about hitting a price point for Apple products that: a) People will buy and b) still allows Apple to make a profit on the hardware. Apple is the second largest company in the world now (by market cap).
They understand their market. I'd love to try it out, but I can't buy any gadgets for a long time now. Over the past 3 weeks, I bought and ATV1 off the agora, a CrystalHD card to put in it.
I installed a Linux/XBMC image to the HDD and I dual boot i.e. Thumbdrive in XBMC, thumbdrive out ATV OS with XBMC and NitoTV installed. This setup works pretty well, although some high bitrate 1080p content still chokes it. I then picked up a used PS3 off of Craigslist that ended up being a YLoD sufferer. I was able to rip it apart, clean it, and do the heat gun trick to get it working, but I'll probably have to have it reballed in order to feel comfortable about it. With all of that, there's no way in Hell the wife would be happy if I showed up with an ATV2 to play with.
Sell that stuff and wait for AppleTV3 to come out. Why would you have to dual boot? XBMC is actually running in iOS so I don't see why. Someone who didn't bother to read any of the announcements might be under the mistaken assumption that XMBC takes over the entire device, rather than integrating into the existing Apple TV software.
Actually, I was under the impression that if you jailbroke your iOS device and installed XBMC, it ran on iOS but replaced the GUI and usability of the stock vanilla Apple frontrow like interface. Sorry, dual boot was a wrong way to phrase that and I am also unfamiliar with how jail-breaking works. If I understand, XBMC is like an 'app' that you run. That is pretty cool indeed. Does the Crystal HD video card hack thing work with ATV2? And seriously WTF is with Apple not understanding that everyone wants 1080p?
As far as apple not understanding that everyone wants 1080p. Apple definitely understands that people want a $99 settop box, not a $299 settop box.
(.) Apple is the second largest company in the world now (by market cap). They understand their market. Also gives them an easy feature to add to differentiate the next generation of devices (i.e. 256Mb Ram on iPad, no cameras for facetime, etc.) - frustrating from a consumer standpoint, but makes sense if the competition is weak enough that you think you can get away with it. To a certain extent 1080p streaming over the internet at bitrates high enough to make it worthwile is something that maybe doesn't have much market capacity (i.e.
How many connections are actually capable of this) - and apple is more interested in selling you into the iTunes ecosystem as opposed to letting you stream local files from a NAS. Does the Crystal HD video card hack thing work with ATV2? And seriously WTF is with Apple not understanding that everyone wants 1080p?
Apple's A4 processor can't drive 1080p. Since the ATV2 was pretty much a 'free' piece of kit for Apple to roll out, basically being an iPod Touch without a screen or battery and with an HDMI port glued on, they weren't about to design a new SoC just for it. That said, this year's iOS hardware looks like it may sport a dual-core A9 with a multicore GPU, more than fast enough for 1080p. ATV3 probably wouldn't ship until the end of the year, if they keep to their typical annual schedule. So I recently downloaded Boxee and started playing with it. Its based off of XBMC so it plays everything, but seems to have a much simplier interface. It also does some interesting things like pulling in online content to sit beside your content in the library view.
So for example I have three or four seasons of It's Always Sunny and in the same view I can see all of the latest stuff that is on Hulu. Its pretty neat. There's also apps that seem to work pretty darn well and are much easier to discover. So I recently downloaded Boxee and started playing with it. Its based off of XBMC so it plays everything, but seems to have a much simplier interface. It also does some interesting things like pulling in online content to sit beside your content in the library view.
So for example I have three or four seasons of It's Always Sunny and in the same view I can see all of the latest stuff that is on Hulu. Its pretty neat. There's also apps that seem to work pretty darn well and are much easier to discover. Agreed, especially if you try all the different repositories.
ATV3 probably wouldn't ship until the end of the year, if they keep to their typical annual schedule. Part of me is like 'Hell yeah!' Part of me is like 'Dammit.' The Hell Yeah part just bought (as in two weeks ago) an ATV2 and would like to be able to use it for a while before it is obsolete. The Dammit part of me is currently re-encoding a bunch of stuff down from 1080P to 720P so that I can have everything nice and tidy and maxed out on the ATV2 hardware.
If ATV3 is coming out with 1080P, I'd rather not have to go through this endeavor again anytime soon and I'd like to clear out some hard drive space. Of course, at this point, I'm just wondering if I should Jailbreak and install XBMC just to see what it'll do and how stable it is.
ATV3 probably wouldn't ship until the end of the year, if they keep to their typical annual schedule. Part of me is like 'Hell yeah!'
Part of me is like 'Dammit.' The Hell Yeah part just bought (as in two weeks ago) an ATV2 and would like to be able to use it for a while before it is obsolete. The Dammit part of me is currently re-encoding a bunch of stuff down from 1080P to 720P so that I can have everything nice and tidy and maxed out on the ATV2 hardware. If ATV3 is coming out with 1080P, I'd rather not have to go through this endeavor again anytime soon and I'd like to clear out some hard drive space.
Of course, at this point, I'm just wondering if I should Jailbreak and install XBMC just to see what it'll do and how stable it is. Jailbreaking + XBMC = WAY less time than re encoding an entire collection to 720p. Scripts: The only script I was using heavily was 'Home Theater Experience' but it seems to be broken in Dharma and the developer is having a spat with the XBMC project team so it may be dead. Once configured the script would allow you to play movies normally or to instead launch a playlist generated on the fly, consisting of things like random trailers pulled from Apple based on the MPAA rating of the main feature, a dolby or DTS splash video based on the codec, random selection of trivia slides based on the genre of the feature, etc. Not something to use every time you sit down for a movie but it was a nice way to replicate the theater experience when friends or family were over. Anyone else care to share, or any new users have questions? Haven't used XBMC for a couple years.
Last used it on my modded Xbox but found I was having trouble playing higher def stuff so I moved to an HTPC. I'm looking at upgrading the HTPC and getting XBMC integrated in the near future. Anyways, just wanted to point out, Juan, that somebody has updated 'Home Theater Experience' for Dharma. They've changed the name to but apparently it's the same. I haven't given it a shot yet but I'm anxious to try it out!
Just switched from XBMC for windows to the XMBC Live distro installed on my EEE Box. Gotta say, after the initial annoyances I think the live version is a little better than the windows version. Although trying to get a remote working was a bit of a chore. Had to get the lirc module sources then modify the driver source file for the device ID of my IR receiver and recompile/reinstall. At least on windows all I had to do was plug in the receiver.
Not to mention that I can't use my Harmony emulating a MCE Keyboard because LIRC gets really messed up and starts thinking I'm sending the remote code infinitely. But all in all it just seems a little more snappier.
However, unless you were familiar with linux/unix I can't say I recommend using that version all that much. The setup of playing files from a NAS isn't exactly the easiest thing on the live version (at least if you are using NFS).
The setup of playing files from a NAS isn't exactly the easiest thing on the live version. I'm glad you qualified that with the NFS statement, although if you're running NFS on your NAS, then setting up XBMC shouldn't phase you. If your shares are SMB, then setting up sources on XBMC is the same whether its Windows, Linux, or OSX.
I've done all three. Besides fucking around with LIRC, which can be a royal pain in the dick, XBMCLIve is pretty ready to go out of the box, and shouldn't pose any real problems for most people migrating over from windows. The real joy of live is you can boot it from a USB thumbdrive, give it a go, and never touch your Windows install.
I know there have been people patiently (or impatiently lol) waiting for my Dune HD TV303D review, so the time has finally arrived. How does it fare against the previous Dune models such as the or? Well, you will need to read below!
Specifications: Price: USD 199. Processor: Sigma Designs 8672/8673. RAM: 512 MB. Flash memory: 256 MB.
Connectors: HDMI 1.4, 2x USB 2.0 (1x rear, 1x side), composite, component, analog stereo outputs, optical S/PDIF, coaxial SPDIF, USB 3.0 slave, Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mb/s, Wi-Fi 802.11n, SD card slot (side), power input, power switch (back), LED indicator (front). Internal storage: Internal HDD rack with hot swap function for SATA HDD 2.5″.
USB 3.0 slave interface and provided USB 3.0 (slave-host) cable allow fastest possible way of transferring data between PC and player. Media sources: external HDD (USB), external optical drive (USB), USB devices (USB flash drive, USB card reader, etc), built-in SD card reader (SD/SDHC), PC and NAS in local network (SMB, NFS, UPnP, HTTP), other Internet and local network media sources (HTTP, multicast UDP RTP). Web Browser: Opera, WebKit. DLNA: DLNA (1.5 or 2.0) client support. Adobe Flash: 3.1 (Lite, standalone) supported. DRM options: PlayReady, Verimatrix, Secure Media. Article by Hi, my name is Damian, and I'm tech gadget addict!
Although I always had some interest in technology, it wasn't until I got my EX470 and more importantly found Mediasmartserver.net, that my interest became an addiction. My goal, aside from world domination and to see the Mets/Broncos win another championship, is to set up the perfect digital home where all my media is available at the click of a button. When I am not writing for Mediasmartserver.net you can find me over at my blog at or follow me on.
Cool and thanks for the quick replies. The only thing that concerns me with respect to the H1 is how long before it’s discontinued. Someone at avforums.com reported that he got an email from HDI Corp stating the Smart series was being disco’d, but then a reseller from the UK contacted the HDI CEO who said it wasn’t. It makes a guy wonder if the news was leaked prematurely. I don’t mind spending the money for the H1 but it does aggravate me when I pay full boat something shorty before it’s disco’d.
If I took the H1 out of the equation would you pick the TV303D or the 1000X3D? My understanding the current Smart series is discontinued, whatever is left in stock is what is left. Still wouldn’t stop me from purchasing, there are very few if any bugs, it is a very mature platform, so really wouldn’t expect much else. The Dune folks are still very committed to the Dune Smarts since they are a core portion of the user base. However, I understand your concern.
Between the TV303D and 1000X3d I would choose the 1000X3D simpy because of the HD Audio bug in the TV303D. Otherwise, the TV303D could be a solid player, and I prefer the Dune jukeboxes over the Mede8er one. Great review as usual from Damian. Thanks a lot!
I have just bought MED600X3D. Sweet little box.
It accompanies my HDX BD-1 flashed with C200 firmware. Shame new players can’t handle full BR menu. I will keep HDX BD-1 only for 2D BR rips and for the rest will use MED600X3D since it’s faster to operate and 3D compliant. Will keep my current setup until Dune fixes DTS MA bug and then replace one of the players. Dune TV303D SMB performance is impressive indeed.
May I know which OS you are using on your Home Server? WHS2011 or WS2012E? I do like the Mede8er (I have the 1000X3D). My biggest issues with that one is no forced subtitle support at all (i.e.
Mkvs) and no proper TV Show support for the jukebox. The new beta 2.0 firmware does bring some new enhancements, so hopefully they can build on. I am still running WHSv1 (right now at 20 HDDs and approx 36TB). I am strongly leaning towards WS2012E as an eventual replacement, I just want to make sure the data redundancy plugins are completely tested on first (DriveBender, StableBit, etc) Cheers Damian kamuta. I guess congratulations are in order to Hollywood and Cinavia for killing this market from here onwards.
Install Xbmc On Dune Hd Max 4k
A shame too, because the large majority of people I know who own media tanks like these are Home Theatre enthusiasts who are ripping their own collection for convenience — not piracy. Digital Copy and Ultraviolet are not acceptable solutions.
Both are crippled in quality and allow movie-only copies. If some happy medium could be found where law-abiding owners could rip and register full 1:1 copies of the discs they buy, then sign me up. For now, I guess I’ll just buy and store a few more H1′s for a rainy day. With MED1000X3D to stream reliable Blu-ray 3D you need to use NFS and not SMB (whereas the Dune handles SMB well). With both devices you will still run into the same limitation (no support for seamless branch and forced subtitles in Blu-ray folders). The MED does support mvc mkv whereas the Dune does not currently. The Dune does support (via 3rd party patch) forced subs in mkvs, the MED does not.
Obviously there is the DTSMA bug in the Dune currently. The Dune jukeboxes have full TV show support whereas the MED does not. The Dune does not support downmix of TrueHD in mkv whereas the MED does. So as you can see, no clear cut winner. MED is the more stable/developed platform simply b/c it has been out a while longer. I don’t think you can go wrong either way as long as you understand your needs and what limitations the player you choose has.
Damian, thanks so much for the thorough review. I’ve been waiting eagerly for it. I am so disappointed that this player won’t handle 3D mvc MKV rips (which are trivial to create using makemkv). I had read somewhere that this was going to be a day one feature for the Dune 3D players, so I’ve been ripping all my 3D BluRays to that format in anticipation. This really stinks, especially with the issues with “seamless branching” titles that are kept in.isos. So I guess my question is what is the best format to remux 3D BDs to that will be compatible with this player?
I don’t want to reencode or lose any quality. I just want to grab the movie title with the best soundtrack and possibly a subtitle track. Ideally some software with a Mac OS version, but I can always bring up a Windows VM if I have to Thanks! Hi David, I know the Dune folks are looking in to adding mvc mkv support (I just don’t know how long it will take or if it is possibly a chip limitation). To me mvc mkv support is key as it solved the seamless branch issues as well as the forced subtitle issues.
On a separate note, the Dune developers are also aware of the seamless branch issues and are investigating if it can be fixed. Right now for 3D Blu-rays I just use AnyDVD and rip to a full disc ISO. If you just want the main movie you can use DVDFab which I believe has that option. Ideally I wish we had a solution like ClownBD, where you can create main movie rips but it also solves the seamless branch issues.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers Damian dbknightx. I asked Mike at DunePlayer.com about the lack of 3D mvc mkv support and he told me that it is being added to the next firmware (involves a change by Sigma). Sounds a bit too soon to be true, but he has close ties to Dune so he should know what he is talking about. Of course, we may not see the “next” firmware for months, but the DTS HD dropout problem is huge so I can’t see them waiting too long to at least fix that. Based on his comments I bought one and should take delivery tomorrow.
Install Xbmc On Dune Hd Max Manual
I’ll probably hold off installing it until the firmware does get released. Damian, Thanks for the info! I am curious if the player, or a 3rd party app supports Netflix/Hulu. I am curious, with your experience using Dune products, what are the chances (or what percentage) of the problems you ran across in your testing can or will be corrected in Firmware updates (no I will not hold you responsible, just looking for a ballpark here)? I have no past history with Dune Media players to draw on here.
So in your experience does Dune provide firmware updates reliably? I do not expect perfection, but if they could correct 80-90 percent of the things you listed I would be ok with that. And some of it would never effect me – knock on wood. Thanks again! Hi Tom, Unfortunately no Netflix or Hulu. I think you can get via PlayON which uses UPnP, but honestly not sure how well it works I expect most of the issues to be addressed in the next few fw updates. From my discussions the HD Audio dropout issue will be fixed in the next fw release.
They are also looking to add full mvc mkv support (as long as it is not a chip limitation). The two issues I am not sure if it can be fixed is the seamless branch/forced subtitle issue in Blu-ray structures (this is an issue with BD Lite). Any issue in particular you are worried about? Cheers Damian TAdams. Damian, Thank you, I was curious if the Netflix/Hulu type apps would be supported via flash lite apps (I believe that is how they would be implemented). Is this something that would be done by Dune, or 3rd party – if at all? For Netflix (the only one we have a subscription to) we currently use our Wii – which works, but is very limited (max 480p).
I almost got a WD Live TV, then I read reviews and my concerns grew. They seem to be doing a bit better now My concerns are primarily with issues with mkv files as that is my primary storage container.
It appears they have a fix in the works for the HD Audio dropout, so that is excellent news. Currently I have no BR data, so while those issues do not concern me now, they could in the near future. The only other issues (which you have provided information on) would have been SMB support. Have you had any opportunity to test the Wi-Fi capabilities? Thank you for the information! Damian – can you check to see if the TV303D has the same firmware update to fix the HD audio and MVC like the Base 3D?
Any reason to buy the Base 3d over this for playing lossless MKV rips from a NAS with a receiver that can take all the HD bitstreamed audio? Interestingly, while the detail page on the 303D does not include info about HD audio, the Dune HD website says “Supporting most all digital audio and video formats, codecs and file containers, including all modern 3D video standards such as MVC, SBS and Top/Bottom, audiophile uncompressed HD audio with high resolutions up to 24 bit /192 kHz, the Dune HD TV-303D sets an entirely new standard. ” Thanks, Jeff tertm141. Re: Dune HD Base 3D! I play all my blurays converted to 2D mkv’s via a networked Zappiti library thru my 4 year old Prime 3 onto a Panasonic 2D plasma. I have just picked up a 2nd Prime 3 to run from the same library to a 3D Panasonic plasma in another room. Both go via Onkyo amps via hdmi to the TV,s.
But I would also like to play 3D mkv,s in this room. Will the Dune HD TV303D suffice or is the Base3D a better option? Apart from price cannot see a lot of differences between the 2 boxes. – would like to stay with Dune because of Zappiti library.otherwise would look at med8er 600/1000.
Buy Dune Hd Max
Last edited by twol; 02-03-13 at 20:11. Hi Damian, Well I should have read your reviews on the recent streamers more closely! I ended up purchasing the Mede8er1000 which I had been pretty pleased with until I noticed that it wasn’t down mixing DTSMA/DolbyTrueHD into multi-channel PCM (just 2.0 as you describe in your review). Unfortunately my surround sound processor only accepts PCM so this is a non-starter for me.
Are you aware of any streamers that do downmix both DTSMA and Dolby TrueHD to multi channel PCM? I really don’t want to revert to using a computer based player because of the reliability factor, WAF, etc., so hopefully there is a streamer solution! As always, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts!
Many thanks, Battles. Thanks Damian. Are there older gen players that support network streaming that do decode HD to 5.1PCM that you have used or reviewed in the past? Separately, have you built a DYI computer based server that (i) is highly stable – always works as it should, (ii) has a low power footprintso you don’t feel guilty about keeping it on 24/7, (iii) is silent / uses passive cooling, (iv) has a very small footprint and (v) is powerful enough to use JRiver, et al, to decode to 5.1 PCM? Just curious, as if I can’t get 5.1PCM using a streamer, I may need to revert to a computer based system. If you have done this, what CPU and graphics card do you recommend (again, just need enough power to satify Blu-Ray / HD Audio decoding playback).
Thanks Again! The Dune Smarts due (there is a patch you need to apply to get, I think only for the D1 and H1 but it works).
As far as the PC stuff, my server is separate from my HTPC. I would not say my server has a small footprint (i.e. 16 HDDs, replacing with a 30 HDD beast lol). For playback though you could easily built a small footprint HTPC. I built a mini ITX HTPC using the AMD Llano chip (so didn’t need a dGPU). However, mini ITX makes passive cooling a bit more challenging. If you want to go with a combined HTPC/Server then go with a micro ATX build which should allow for better air flow so you could look towards passive cooling or have better luck with silent fans (even the fans I upgraded to in my mini-ITX case get loud, not really an issue for me though since I set that HTPC up outdoors).
Thanks Adrian, does the Dune you mention above support PCM 5.1 decoding for both DTSMA/HD and DD TrueHD? Or just one of these formats? I should have been more specific re my HTPC. All of my movies reside on a Synology server, so what I really need is a player that has no internal storage that meets the specs I described above. Assuming that I was fitting my HTPC into a 4U rackmounted chassis, would you still go with the AMD Lanno chip? This is the chassis that my existing HTPC fits into which uses a 1155 socket with a sandy bridge 2600K.
That said, I want a configuration that is dead silent if possible! Also, it would be nice to continue to use my existing motherboard vs. Having to replace it. Based on your research can the 2600K decode to 5.1 PCM and provide good quality video? Thanks Jason.
That’s good to hear. The big issue I’m having is that I rashly purchased two Mede8er 1000s without first determining whether they could dedode the HD Audio on my blu-ray collection to multi-channel PCM (the only HD Audio format that my surround sound processor understandsit won’t accept HD Audio bitstream). Based on Adrian’s reviews of the latest network streamers (Mede8er, Dune, Popcorn), it doesn’t look like any of these devices will decode to multi-channel PCM which is a BIG problem for those of us who own AVP’s that won’t accept anything but multi-channel PCM for HD Audio. Adrian recommended two Dune players that do in fact decode to multi-channel PCM which is greatmy question back to him is whether one gives up any functionality by purchasing a Dune H1 or D1 vs. The newer Dune models such as the Dune TV303D, etc.
I assume that they all share the same UI at this point? Is it also fair to assume that the Max and the Smart series will likely not receive 3D support via a firmware upgrade (but instead through newer models that have not yet been released?) Finally, is it your guess that the successor to the current generation of the Max series (say Max3d) will likely drop the multi-channel PCM decoding? Just trying to figure out whether it’s worth waiting for the next generation Dune’s or if I should go ahead and purchase the 2D Smart Series model. Sorry again for all of the questionsI promise to give you a break after this message! Well Damian, my impatience got the best of me I just ordered a Dune Smart H1 that is being overnighted to my home tomorrow. Just had a quick question for you before I embark on readying my movie collection for the Dune platform.
Currently, I scrape / manage my movie collection through MyMovies. That being said, it looks like I’ll need to switch over to Zappiti or yaDIS if I want to spiffy up the UI (unless MyMovies can srape for those applications as well).
To this end, I wanted your recommendation on whether you still prefer Zappitti over yaDIS before I re-scrape my collection for the 1000th time! If it has any bearing on which application you recommend, I do have a large collection of “box set” DVD and Blu-ray documentaries which are comprised of multiple discs / folders for each particular episode (however, I don’t have many TV series in my collection). Finally, where would be the best place to find the PCM “software” patch you referenced in our earlier correspondence? Thanks again! Twol, Thanks for your help.
Would you mind walking me through how I would set up the NFS folder in the Dune settings? I assume that I create a new network folder and then in the set up menue point to my blu-ray folder which is located at servername videos blu-rayshowever, I have heard that Dune won’t recognize “sub-folders” of network shares (where my Blu-ray folder is located); instead, I have heard that that it only recognizes the root folder of the network share. Is this true?
If you could provide little more clarity on how this is done, I’d greatly appreciate it!!! This is how I setup my config. I took the defaults and created a ‘volume1′ on my Synology NAS. I setup shares on my PC to the Movies folder (SMB) and copied my movies over to my NAS as so (Movies Drama Glory).
Then shared these folders via NFS Privileges just as Twol mentioned earlier in this discussion. Within your Diskstation admin page. Once that was done, I installed Zappiti onto my PC and added the PC shares to Zappiti’s config (Movies Drama / Movies Comedy / etc) and during the setup of each of these shares within Z, I setup NFS for each one. The path for my Synology NAS via NFS is /volume1/Movies/Comedy or /volume1/Movies/Drama. No credentials required. Then, Z scanned my movies on my Synology, generated movie info and art.
Lastly, I created a Zappiti folder on my Synology in the root of the Movies folder along with Drama, etc. Within Z I configured an export path to export Z info to the Zappiti folder I just created. Now from you Dune.next comment battles.
Now from the Dune, I navigated to Sources Network Browser and pressed the Pop-up button on the Dune remote which displays a small window. From there I selected the New Network Folder. From within the New Network Folder window I gave my connection a name (Movies) and set the type to NFS. Entered my Synology IP address and below that enter the NFS path to my movies (/volume1/Movies) and the protocol to UDP (I’ve used TCP as well without an issue).
I then had a new connection beside the Network Browser with the name Movies I specified above. Lastly, I drilled into the new Movies connection Movies Zappiti and Dune loaded Zappiti which allows me to view/select/play my movies. The Zappiti folder that you drill into that actually loads the Z application on your Dune can be selected and a shortcut created to place into your Favorites.
Set that Zappiti shortcut to Launch On Power-On so when you power up your Dune, you will see Zappiti with no need to drill into a specific folder. There may be better ways of configuring all this but it worked for me. Cheers, Jason twol. Ok there is a great learner’s video by Hi-Jack from MPCCLUB.com that will show the basics on settings up NFS. The important things is to change server name to IP address, and then make sure that the folder name includes the base folder. E.g my Synology server name is 192.168.0.170 folder /volume1/video where if you log into the Syn server you can see the root name for the folder I am guessing that you will have server name:whatever your IP address folder: /volumex/videos/blu-rays I have 3 NAS boxes and they all use different root folders, 1 is nfs, and the others are VOLUME1 (yes uppercase) and volume1 (lower case) fun isn’t it!!!! You need to log in and see how the shared folders are set up.
I have dsm 4.2 but the others are the same, log in, click on Control Panel - shared folder and at the RHS you will see the root folder name. I had actually just finished watching the video when I saw your replywhat a coincidence! I don’t mean to be dense, but would you spoon feed me through what entries I need to type into the network folder set up in Dune assuming the following: 1. My sinology server shares are password protected (and are therefore not “seen” by the Dune when I browse in Dune to my sinology sever) 2. I have enabled nfs on my shared folders video, photos, music, etc.
All of my shared folders are on volume 1 4. My blu-rays are located at servername video all movies Blu-ray 5. My server shares are not visible to the dune because they are password protected Specifically, I don’t know what to type in the Folder section of the Network Setup since Blu-ray is a sub folder of my network share “video”. /video/all movies/Blu-ray doesn’t seem to work?
The dune tells me that it can’t access the network share? Yeah, that is why I was asking. The two big issues with Blu ray playback is seamless branch and forced subtitle support (assuming you don’t care about menus). I don’t care about menus, and since I create main movie Blu ray structures I don’t have to work about seamless branch, but still lose out on forced subs.
Also, to clarify, when I saw Blu ray library I am talking about ripped in Blu ray structure/ISO, not Blu rays that have been ripped into mkvs (in which you would avoid the seamless branch and forced sub issues). Yes a superb review and thanks to all posters so far. I simply want to know if either the Dune TV303D or Base 3D models output decoded LPCM. Yes I have read the specs and read the reviews, know that DTS MA drop outs have been fixed etc etc but there is supposed to be a patch which restores Multichannel LPCM decoding on these Dune models is there not? My legacy amp only accepts 7.1 analogue audio but my HDMI switch can accept “decoded LPCM” into it’s HDMI input and output HD audio out through its 7.1 outputs to my amp. I believe that maybe Dolby Tru decoding is out but what about the decoding of DTS MA LPCM?? I would appreciate a detailed response, if you have the time.
I received my TV303D yesterday. I tested a few files, and they all play fine with the exception of Wreck It Ralph. This movie has audio drops every 30 seconds or so. If I switch it to the AC3 track it works fine. I bought this media player to replace my PCH-A210 in the master bedroom. I don’t have an AVR there so it isn’t a big deal since I will be decoding to 2channel stereo. I only have one movie that is MKV with True HD, which I am re-ripping to BD Folder format with ClownBD.
So far, I am satisfied with it as a SECONDARY media player. My D1 doesn’t have any audio drops. Hi again Damian Following your most helpful responses to my question about MultiChannel LPCM, I went ahead and bought the Dune HD Base 3D model which I gather is essentially the same but I liked the concept that the specs at least suggested more compatibility with a larger number of Audio formats and the fact that it will take a 3.5″ internal HDD. OK after applying the latest firmware updates including the beta B4 & B5, I am only getting downmixed 2.0 PCM – please read up to 1st April for my post on this matter. I would like to know if the “Enable Multichannel Decoding” Patch which I have downloaded, will work for my Base 3D model also? If so, how do I apply the patch please. Do I simply copy it to the root of a USB Memory stick, stick this into the Dune’s front USB socket, browse to the file and then just “select” it?
I am afraid to try to apply it until I hear from you – if it won’t work then the unit is going back via Amazon as it is a deal-breaker. Thanks for your further help. Damian, Im rather new to the media player/server game, but i recently got a kdlinks hd700. I mainly got this for transporting movies via USB and playing them at friends and relatives through the kdlinks.
I did a little research and went with this mainly because of price and my lack of experience with the players. Now I’m interested, a lot. Hearing nothing but good things about all Dune players. Trying to decide between Dune, Popcorn Hour, and Mede8er. (seems to be everyones dilema).
I have absolutely no interest in 3D, not concerned with BD menus. Im thinking I want to put my movies on a internal HDD that can go in the media player, UI is a concern (want a jukebox badly). Streaming isnt a concern either. Is there one you would reccomend (model and brand)? Within the $300 price range.
Thanks in advance. Damian, Most of my older library is in DVD, ISO, and VOB. More recently it has been MKV container, AVI, and H.264 format. I do have TV shows. Only about 8-10 with average 5 seasons each. I’ve been leaning towards Dune because I’ve downloaded Zappiti and like the look of it. Which then also bring in the newer Zappiti player they offer.
My current player the Kdlinks hd700 doesnt like my folder structure I have currently (“Movies Avatar dvd VOB file”) I have to browse through the directory in order to see the folder name to know which movie it is, otherwise if i choose “movies” option out of the interface they all say “dvd”, because it just searchs for the video files and displays them (im guessing). I think Zappiti would solve this. Also a question about Zappiti is there a way to get TV show season disks to show up. I have “Tv shows Game of thrones Season 1 Disk 1″ I cant get Zappiti to display this. It seems the Dune TV303d would be good for me and fits the price range. I just dont want to regret not going for one of the Dune Smart series or the newer Zappiti model.
I think all the Zappiti player right now really gets you is the music jukebox. What I always do when I rip a Blu ray is I add 2 audio tracks (the original HD Audio track and a secondary AC3 track).
In the case there is TrueHD and I need to connect direct to a TV I can just switch the audio track. The Dunes support forced subtitles in mkv (with the patch) and also have full tv show support in a jukebox (the Mede8er currently doesn’t have either). As far as your TV Show question, I believe Zappiti requires TV shows to have the S##E## naming scheme.
So for your Disk 1 example maybe a way around would just be to name is S01E01 (instead of Disk 1). I rip all my tv shows to individual episodes so I don’t run into this issue. Gus – that was unfair and IMHO wrong to say that.
The whole point of media players is to stream movies but what is the point if the sound is crap? No this player (or in my case the HD Base 3D – essentially the same player) is absolutely first rate – it plays HD sound perfectly up to multichannel 7.1 and flacs play beautifully. Mp3′s are great but I haven’t tried gapless playback yet so would go with what Gus or Damian says in that respect. The sound from my Dune is the best I’ve heard to date and have researched a lot over the last 6 months before buying, which I did 2 months ago. I am basically an audiophile and demand high quality – this Dune delivers in spades. It looks like something inserted in Dune fw since end 2011. I would be curious to know how it interacts with Zapiti ————————————————-.
Added support for CUE-sheet playlist files. – When playing an audio file, is there is an associated CUE-sheet file (should have the same filename as the audio file, but with “.cue” extension), the CUE-sheet file is automatically used. – “PREV”/”NEXT” RC buttons allow to switch between tracks. – The OSD menu (“POP UP MENU” RC button) allows to see the list of tracks and switch to the desired track. – When the playlist contains multiple audio files, CUE-sheet files are also detected and used for each audio file (the detection is performed when an audio file starts to play for the first time). The OSD menu groups all tracks by the corresponding files. – Also added support for built-in CUE-sheets in FLAC, APE and WavPack files.
I can’t get any sound from my Dune digital outputs (coaxial/optical) of ALL my DVD rips. The DVD image/videoTS file is correctly reproduced with full menu but with absolute NO audio.
I can see and select the different audio tracks but nothing is heard. Audio works fine only from HDMI. Firmware is the latest. I tried different audio settings for digital output but again no result.
The DVD rips/images are made with ANYDVD HD and they work fine on PC or other media players. Can you please advise? Many thanks in advance. I hope someone here has similar hardware and can help me. I have just now gotten around to tweaking my audio. Never messed with it to be honest until now.
I can’t for the life of me, figure out how to passthrough untouched audio from my 303d to my Sony DH520 AVR. I’ve enabled HD Audio and set my 303d to bitstream (as well as other settings) but for some reason I can’t get the audio track from a blu-ray iso to give me sound. I have to turn HD audio off in order to get sound out of my DH520 but the A.F.D. Setting (pure audio passthrough per the manual) doesn’t give me 5.1 but only stereo with a subwoofer. I’ve tried using an optical cable and coax cable from my 303d to my AVR with no success. Hi Damian, Sorry I forgot to add that. Yes, I’m using HDMI.
Withi HDMI only, I’m getting sound but not full 5.1 when I set my receiver to A.F.D. I can choose Pro Logic II and the other sound fields but I’m not sure I’m getting the sound I should so I thought I would set the 303d to send the audio as-is to my AVR. Per my manual states that it should play what is delivered to it. I know this is more than a 303d question as my AVR is in the mix but I’m honestly stumped at how I should have everything setup. If you clear up how my 303d should be setup, I should be able to get my AVR setup correctly. For instance, Star Wars Episode I, gives me no audio when using fiber of coax and HDMI and m y DH520 supports DTS MA.
The audio stream DTS MA gives me no sound. I apologize for my ignorance withi audio and thank you kindly for your help Damian! Best Regards, Jason jason. Damian, I’m almost there! I did what you suggested and used an HDMI cable only, enabled HD audio, set it to bitstream and now my DH520 displays the correct audio format that my 303d is set to!!! One last thing.
DTS MA works but when there is a lot of sound, the audio drops. I turned off volume control and that seemed to lessen the times audio dropped out. I don’t think its a bandwidth issue as I can stream 3D content from my Synology and gigabit network without an issue but I would like to know what your thoughts are on this. Many thanks my friend! Hi, everybody. First of all, sorry for my bad English I bought 303d, but I’m a little bit disappointed. I have stereo receiver Onkyo, which is connected to Dune’s audio output with chinch cable.
When I played blu-ray or mkv concerts there isn’t any problem with sound on my tannoy mercury v4 floor standing speakers. When I played DVD concerts I have no sound on the same speakers. But I have sound on my TV’s speakers- my Dune and TV are connected via HDMI cable. So I think the problem is with my cables, but this is very annoying, because now it’s not possible for me to buy new receiver with hdmi input. Please, can you tell me is there any solution for my problem with sound?
I’ve read a little bit of your reviews and replies in comments and I became interested in media boxes. I have a problem. Well, more like a difficult decision to make.
Bought a “smart” tv(UE40ES6540S) recently. Had a NAS(dns 320). Forced them to speak to each other trough my pc via Lan(you have to be an engineer to setup the friggin dlna and a masochist to enjoy the bit rate). I want to take the pc out of this equation. And I want to finally attach 5.1 speakers to the system.
I assume this 303 or smart b1 are what I am looking for, right? What type of box should I buy? Oh, and preferably 3d movies and choosing audio language supported.
I’ll keep on reading your site, but I’ve got little to no time to sort trough it all, as I want to get this done before my fathers birthday. I’ll be thankful for any advice. Gus – here’s a response from someone on another forum: - “On a sidenote, I’ve decided to cancel my order with the MEDE8ER’s MED600X3D, for a Dune HDTV 303D. I couldn’t turn away from Dune’s superior Jukebox interface, along with vast resources and software available to customize the jukebox, and the TV Series support is great.” You seem to be quite outspoken on this review – I have no reason to enter into debate but my findings have been quite the opposite to yours.
Would be interested to know your credentials. I am not related to any manufacturer and I trust you are not either.
I just want to clear this up. The TV has a crappy(that’s the official term from most forums) capacity to playback anything other then avi trough lan or wifi. The nas is not gonna pick up that slack. If I take out PC now both will become just a cable tv monitor and a big usb shtick. So I was considering buying Bd player that’s capable to enhance this relationship. But as I’ve read most affordable BD players have issues. And then I found this site.
So, audio I was just wondering.Buying an amp is not a big deal, but the media issue won’t go away with that. Any update on the time frame for the ability to play 3d mvc mkv on the Dune Base 3D or 303D? I just bought a new house and I am looking to install a bunch of media players in rooms with gigabit connections to a large file server.
I would like to use the mkv format with only the main movie (don’t care about full menus or the extra stuff) Also, have you heard or tried using the Dune with Cinemar DVDLobby or MLServer software? Was going to use it to run my Blu Ray changer CX7000es as well as wanted it to be the 3rd party controller for all the Dunes as well thanks in advance, Silver. Hello Damian, thanks for the great review. I got my 303d last week and use it to my satisfaction as a second player connected to a TV. My smart b1 remains as main player inside my home theater room The specs on the dune site speak about a dlna client support for the 303d, have you had any experience with that?
I was in the believe this player could be used as media renderer inside a dlna setup, which i have. But no one of my other components seems to enlist it among the network components. Is there anything to activate? Also a question about BD ISO i only have 2D so far, quite a large number and a few on folder structure, it appears unfortunately that a good number of them (Avatar, Cars 2, Inception, the Dark knight. Just to name a few) have a little pause from time to time. Probably this is about the seamless branch issue or is anything else?
My smart b1 has no problems at all reading them. Other than converting to mkv only main movie. What other options are there to keep going with iso?
I use dvdfab mainly. Is there an option inside dvdfab to get rid of this issue? Is clown bd a solution?
I would really appreciate any suggestion before extending further my BD archive. Hi Salus, Same as you, my B1 is the main player and the TV303D I actually have as a secondary player for an outdoor viewing area. As far as the skipping, it could be seamless branch (definitely in the case of Cars 2). Does the skipping always occur at the same point?
I personally prefer ClownBD. The problem IMO with DVDFab is when you make a main movie from a seamless branch DVDFab still keeps the seamless branch. However, with ClownBD it will actually merge the seamless branch into one m2ts file (so you no longer have any issues with seamless branch). I have actually been moving back to mkvs from folder structures (avoid seamless branch and forced sub issues on the TV303D) Let me know if I can answer any other questions Cheers Damian Jason. Am considering purchasing either this or a Med600x3D. Don’t need 3D ability, most files are rips of my DVD/BR collection using MakeMKV as x264 video. Audio is mostly AC3 5.1 or 2.0 for DVD’s and AC3(DD), DTS, DTSHD-MA in 5.1-7.1.
Most include subs, but will RARELY use them. Also have a large MP3/FLAC music collection of 24,000+ songs(in album folders). My files are stored on an external 4bay enclosure attached to my WD n900 router via USB port using JBOD. I will likely be connecting the player to my AVR (Yamaha RXV-473) via HDMI which in turn is connected to my Samsung 42″ LED TV also via HDMI.
Given the above info, which player would you all recommend? Does anyone know if I decide to, does the 303D support multiple drive externals connected via JBOD to its USB port or at least be able to read ALL the drives from router? Also, have read it has video stuttering problems and/or white noise through speakers when playing MKV’s.
Can anyone hear verify or rebut this? I’m currently leaning toward the Dune due to their reputation and the fact they’re made here in the US. Also believe I read the 600X3D won’t passthrough DTSHD, correct? Sorry for long post!! But any help greatly appreciated!! Budget is tight so want to try and get the best I can for what I need.
Paul, I have both a mede8er 600 and TV303D (plus 2 other Dune primes) and 90% of my rips are MKV (using Makemkv). I also use zappiti for the library. Based on my infrastructure, If you want 3D then I would go Mede8er – constant firmware updates, supports MVC mkv (so avoids some of the Bluray issues), but (in my view) a crappy jukebox setup regardless of the updates. If 3D is not an issue, then I would go Dune – infrequent firmware (and sometimes crappy) updates but on my setup, all my Dunes work without problems and Zappiti is a great library system. However, if you are content with one off plays from a USB etc, then the 600 is the cheapest solution and it works.
An update to my situation. It’s been about 6 months (maybe longer) since I have last posted on here. I sold my zapiti player because I wasn’t happy with and ended up buying a Dune Smart H1.
I have an NAS that I use Windows Server 2011 and have about 20tb in a raid configuration. I save all my blu ray rips as.iso’s and have about 450 to date. I use zappiti on the NAS and stream to 5 Dune Smart H1′s (I bought 4 more) and stream through a gigabyte network.
Everything is hardwired. I use ipad minis as remotes and have zappiti loaded on them also. I pick the movie from my ipad and then it plays on whatever TV I choose. The ios interace is sooo much faster then using the on screen zappiti interface. The only thing I don’t have is 3d and I really don’t miss it. I couldn’t be happier with the system.
It is extremely reliable and my girlfriend, her mom, etc etc can all use it with ease I think the dune smart series is the way to go and can’t be beat by any product right now yair.