Trying to decide if I would be happy with the Skippa as a networked media player to play files from the HDD of my PC on the TV the Skippa would be connected to as we do now with our old Beyonwiz.
The specs just released say "DLNA Streaming" and that is the only info, now AFAIK that means you have to run DLNA software on the PC and in the past I have found this way of accessing files on my PC through a media player to be clunky and restrictive.
So could someone please answer the following......
Will Skippa support multiple ways of connecting to my PC network as the Beyonwiz products do, including FTP?
Will Skippa be able to stream high res .MKV files from my PC as there is no mention of .MKV files in the specs? (It may fall under one of the stated file types???)
Do others think the list of supported file types looks like it will offer good support for files from all different sources?
Hey Rat,
The Skippa can stream from the PC via Media Player or any other DLNA server for example the excellent free cross-platform Universal Media Server (www.universalmediaserver.com), and works great. It's fast and not clunky at all - best of all it streams MKVs.
The Skippa can also act as a DLNA server itself - streaming recordings to Ipads / Computers around the house too.
OK thanks....so you mean it only supports DNLA streaming and not other methods such as FTP then?
I don't want to have to run Media Player on my PC to access the network and I don't have to now with my Beyonwiz.
What you are suggesting may well be easy, but it sounds like a step backwards to what I am doing now.
Quote from: Leon Kowalski on May 25, 2015, 08:15:10 PM
any other DLNA server for example the excellent free cross-platform Universal Media Server (www.universalmediaserver.com), and works great. It's fast and not clunky at all - best of all it streams MKVs.
If it is connecting to a PC or any other server via DLNA, then no, it is not streaming MKVs. If you're using UMS, then it is transcoding the MKV into an MP4. DLNA can't handle MKVs, they must be transcoded or re-muxed first. So if you have a low powered device as your server, MKVs are not an option.
DLNA is slow to index items on the server, you can get around this by using Plex media server so it is already indexed, but then you're stuck with an annoying file tree to get to the content, so a lose lose proposition whichever way you go.
Actually, you can use Kodi as a DLNA server, that will index it and have a smaller file tree than Plex, but still stuck with MKVs not playing, lose again.
It seems the Broadcom BCM7241 is simply not capable of playing MKVs. I was hoping that this problem wouldn't exist with the initial plan to use an Intel chip.
MKV is a conatiner, not a codec. Codec support can be either via hardware or firmware. Even if there is hardware support, the firware has to direct the video and sound to the hardware decoder rather than using a firware decoder.
When it comes to DLNA there is a lot of very loose discussion. There are DLNA servers, renderers, players etc; any one device can have multiple DLNA roles.
Ian
So from what I can gather the answer is NO, I will not be able to browse shared folders on my PC like I currently do with my old Beyonwiz where I just select network using my remote and browse the shared folders and click the file I want to play and don't need to be running any software on the PC to do this.
I don't use Windows Media Player I uninstalled it and use VLC for video and Winamp for music.
It seems that DNLA media servers need to build a library everytime they are started, that sounds very slow and frustrating and a major step back. My PC that I keep my media on is the family PC in the living room, it's a few years old but still quite functional. But I don't want to be using it's resources to be running extra programs and transcoding streaming media on the fly, how resource hungry is that? I don't even know if my PC would be able to do it smoothly, especially if someone was using it for another task at the same time, which they would be.
I really want to like the Skippa and I'm trying hard to be convinced to buy one, when the T3 came out I hung on and waited for Skippa, but now I'm still not convinced.
Looks to me that the answer to my Skippa as a media player question is....
Skippa = DNLA
T3 = The Beyonwiz T3 embodies the most advance networking options every seen in a PVR supporting SAMBA, DNLA, NFS, FTP & DYN DNS so it is compatible with the most simplest to the most advanced home networks. The T3 also delivers an advanced Driver system allowing easy plug and play integration with many standard WI-Fi dongles & Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse systems, it also comes standard with an external eSata port for supper fast External HDD Integration.
The Beyonwiz T3 not only allows you to stream Movies, Music and Photos in many different popular formats from your local PC, Network Storage or other Media Centres but can access content from all around the world through a variety of IPTV and Streaming plugins.
Quote from: Rat on May 26, 2015, 10:04:40 AM
It seems that DNLA media servers need to build a library everytime they are started, that sounds very slow and frustrating and a major step back.
Yes, this is painful. I do not know if it is the DLNA server that is building the list rather than the DLNA player. For some reason I had assumed that it was the latter.
Ian
I rarely play content that is one one device on another device. Only exception is that I use by AppleTV to play media located on my NAS (it has an iTunes server).
Quote from: Rat on May 26, 2015, 10:04:40 AM
The Beyonwiz T3 not only allows you to stream Movies, Music and Photos in many different popular formats from your local PC, Network Storage or other Media Centres but can access content from all around the world through a variety of IPTV and Streaming plugins.
The Skippa technical specifications include Opera TV Store, "The Opera TV Store is an HTML5-based storefront of exciting web apps optimized for TV. Opera TV Store apps run from the cloud and suit any screen size or resolution. App categories span Video (the most popular category), Music, Social Networking, Games, News and Information, making it easier for the user to discover and enjoy the extensive app portfolio.
The Opera TV Store gives the user a comfortable, "lean-back" experience, using a standard TV remote control to navigate, select and launch apps easily. The My Apps home screen displays all installed apps in a user-friendly layout. (see http://www.operasoftware.com/products/tv-store)
So far I have not been able to find a listing of apps currently available.
Update: The Opera TV Store is used by some TVs and BluRay plays from Sony, Samsung and I think it is also used on some products from Hisens and Humax. There is apparently a Plex app.
Further update: Forgot to mention that Opera TV store is available on TIVO in the USA.
Ian
Quote from: snuke on May 25, 2015, 09:58:04 PM
If it is connecting to a PC or any other server via DLNA, then no, it is not streaming MKVs. If you're using UMS, then it is transcoding the MKV into an MP4. DLNA can't handle MKVs, they must be transcoded or re-muxed first. So if you have a low powered device as your server, MKVs are not an option.
Snuke - This is simply not true. DLNA technology can handle MKV's, the issue is generally around Audio Codec's inside the MKV not being licensed to be played on the player eg. AC-3 Dolby Digital. You can certainly stream MKV's form a Media Server such as Serviio, with it's transcoding disabled, and it will stream perfectly to a AC-3 Licensed player such as Infuse App on the Ipad. Further to that - Media Server's can be very low resource intensive such as Serviio that can be installed on a Pentium 4. oShare is another very basic Media Server.
Let's keep it positive guys!
ps. Ian - Yes the Opera web browser is installed on the Skippa..
Very happy to be wrong Leon, however every single bit of literature I can find doesn't not list MKV as a compatible codec for DLNA. The only H.264 codec listed is MP4.
Googling DLNA & MKV lists constant results along the same lines of people not being able to play, the answer being that tyou can;t forst without transcoding or re-muxing.
In my own personal experience, I have never gotten an MKV to play via DLNA without it being transcoded. I have used MediaLink, Playstation Media Server, Universal Media Server, Servio, Plex and a few others. I see a spike in the CPU as it starts to transcode, of it that is disabled, then the result is no playback. Sure media servers can be low intensive and installed on Pentium 4 devices, but if you trying to play even a mid size file such as a 4GB MKV movie, then it is a CPU killer for older hardware when it tries to transcode. Re-muxing is far less intensive, and only takes a short time to do (on my computer one 2Gb MKV is re-muxed in about 20 seconds). But that does require re-muxing all content you plan to play, and that alone is a hassle.
I can play many MKV files on my TRF-2400 and 7100+; they have ancient Broadcom SOC (system on chip); some will not play due to the outdated MKV library in the Topfield firmware. I have only tried this once via DLNA. Usually do it from an external HDD. Logically it should not make any difference if it is from external HDD or an external DLNA server.
Ian
PS I think you should have thanked Leon rather than me.
Quote from: Leon Kowalski on May 26, 2015, 02:36:00 PM
ps. Ian - Yes the Opera web browser is installed on the Skippa..
According to the specification it is now only the Opera Web Browser; it is also the tantalising looking Opera TV Store.
Ian
PS I could never see the need to have web browser on a PVR. I have 2 with that facility and have never used it other than for beta testing (TF-T6000 and TF-T6211).
Quote from: IanL-S on May 26, 2015, 01:20:03 PM
Quote from: Rat on May 26, 2015, 10:04:40 AM
It seems that DNLA media servers need to build a library everytime they are started, that sounds very slow and frustrating and a major step back.
Yes, this is painful. I do not know if it is the DLNA server that is building the list rather than the DLNA player. For some reason I had assumed that it was the latter.
Ian
I rarely play content that is one one device on another device. Only exception is that I use by AppleTV to play media located on my NAS (it has an iTunes server).
Most of this conversation is
waaaay above my head, but in my case, I often play content that is on one device on another (usually the TV) ATM, I have all sorts of amateurish (and often difficult) ways of doing this, but I manage.
So, I wouldn't buy a PVR that wasn't an improvement of what I already have and wouldn't consider pre-ordering one until more information was forthcoming.
Quote from: Leon Kowalski on May 26, 2015, 02:36:00 PM
Let's keep it positive guys!
ps. Ian - Yes the Opera web browser is installed on the Skippa..
Sorry Leon, I find it hard to keep positive when one needs a pair of pliers to get info and we are expected to shell out quite a bit of money sans this info. I am very disappointed in the lack of details in the specs, especially having waited patiently for years. >:(
Quote from: snuke on May 26, 2015, 03:54:58 PM
Very happy to be wrong Leon, however every single bit of literature I can find doesn't not list MKV as a compatible codec for DLNA. The only H.264 codec listed is MP4.
Googling DLNA & MKV lists constant results along the same lines of people not being able to play, the answer being that tyou can;t forst without transcoding or re-muxing.
In my own personal experience, I have never gotten an MKV to play via DLNA without it being transcoded. I have used MediaLink, Playstation Media Server, Universal Media Server, Servio, Plex and a few others. I see a spike in the CPU as it starts to transcode, of it that is disabled, then the result is no playback. Sure media servers can be low intensive and installed on Pentium 4 devices, but if you trying to play even a mid size file such as a 4GB MKV movie, then it is a CPU killer for older hardware when it tries to transcode. Re-muxing is far less intensive, and only takes a short time to do (on my computer one 2Gb MKV is re-muxed in about 20 seconds). But that does require re-muxing all content you plan to play, and that alone is a hassle.
First of all MKV is a container not a CODEC.
Now that that is out of the way, I can tell you that I stream content in MKV format via DLNA un-transcoded all the time. I mean literally every day.
I have a NAS which has TWONKY DLNA server built it. It has no transcoding capability yet I am able to stream to WDTV Live, LG Media player, SONY Bluray player or Kodi with no problem whatsoever. The key is having a media player that can actually work with the MKV container format and which identifies its capabilities correctly to the DLNA server.
I can't stream to my Sony PS3 because it doesn't support MKV container format although I could if my DLNA server supported transcoding.
All of that information you have googled is produced by people who don't fully understand the (very simple) technology and you are perpetuating that misinformation by repeating it.
Your experiences may be valid, but you are misinterpreting your results because you obviously don't understand what's going on.
Quote from: Leon Kowalski on May 25, 2015, 08:15:10 PM
The Skippa can also act as a DLNA server itself - streaming recordings to Ipads / Computers around the house too.
Hi Leon,
When Skippa is serving recorded programs via DLNA are the ads skipped or does that only work when playing back on the connected TV?
Cheers
While we are attempting to clarify things, DLNA is protocol for making connection between devices. It has nothing to do with the media container formats and media codecs that particular DLNA devices have.
Ian
Quote from: IanL-S on May 27, 2015, 10:06:00 AM
While we are attempting to clarify things, DLNA is protocol for making connection between devices. It has nothing to do with the media container formats and media codecs that particular DLNA devices have.
Ian
DLNA uses Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) for media management, discovery and control. UPnP defines the type of device that DLNA supports ("server", "renderer", "controller") and the mechanisms for accessing media over a network. The
DLNA guidelines then apply a layer of restrictions over the types of media file format, encodings and resolutions that a device must support.
Excerpt from this Wikipedia Article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Living_Network_Alliance)
The big problem is that there are some DLNA capable devices that do not comply with the requirements - they are not 'certified'. Some Topfield PVRs have DLNA capabilities but do not fully comply with the DLNA requirements.
Ian
Quote from: Likkie on May 27, 2015, 09:33:05 AM
First of all MKV is a container not a CODEC.
I have a NAS which has TWONKY DLNA server built it. It has no transcoding capability yet I am able to stream to WDTV Live, LG Media player, SONY Bluray player or Kodi with no problem whatsoever. The key is having a media player that can actually work with the MKV container format and which identifies its capabilities correctly to the DLNA server.
Sorry on the incorrect terminology, I don't usually make that mistake.
Firstly, yep, I am 100% wrong.
When I read that part about the WD TV, it reminded me that I had done the same thing, played MKVs via DLNA to my WD TV. DTS audio also came through fine. I tried it when I first got the WD several years ago, but switched to their Library feature via Network share so haven't touched DLNA since. I had struggled and failed with DLNA & NKVs on every other device for so long I forgot that I had tested the WD.
I went over all the publicised containers and codecs that are compatible with DLNA and realised what the issue was. These were all published by the hardware manufacturer, as such they were simply stating what their hardware could deal with, so like the PS3, none of them could playback MKVs. What led me to believe this was a DLNA issue was that every single one of them (close to 20 that I had come across) listed 100% exactly the same video and audio formats, and all had the DLNA icon on the paper. I had checked the DLNA website, and they didn't have any such list, nor should they, it is not their issue.
So my fault for interpreting that as DLNAs publicised list of compatibility rather than what it really was, and my bad for misleading people on incorrect info.
OK I just took the plunge and bought one.......looking forward to August when it finally arrives....come on no-one really expects to get it in July do they?
I have installed Universal Media Server and had a bit of a look, but as I don't have a renderer yet I still don't have much of idea, I just hope it won't prove frustrating or too taxing on my old PC.
Bring on the threads asking for Skippa bug fixes, see you there :)
Me too Rat!
Bring on July, I'm excited now... Can't wait...
Mark
Well that wasn't a good start, Universal Media Server borked up my internet connection by setting up some ummmmm I dunno "internal loop network?" or something, so the Internode dude told me while he was helping me get back online.
I uninstalled UMS and will try Plex now, he said Plex is much better and easier to use and I should not have any similar problems with it, he has been using it for 6 years. So looking forward to having a try with that, I hope it's not too resource hungry.
Quote from: Likkie on May 27, 2015, 09:36:30 AM
Quote from: Leon Kowalski on May 25, 2015, 08:15:10 PM
The Skippa can also act as a DLNA server itself - streaming recordings to Ipads / Computers around the house too.
Hi Leon,
When Skippa is serving recorded programs via DLNA are the ads skipped or does that only work when playing back on the connected TV?
Skippa only skips ads in recorded shows stored on it's internal hard drive. Recordings streamed via DLNA will include the ads
UPDATE: The initial firmware release version won't skip ads when streaming to a second screen. A firmware upgrade later on will implement that feature.
When you stream skippa recordings to an ipad or iphone can we then airplay it to an AppleTV?
Quote from: Vortical on June 11, 2015, 01:39:48 AM
When you stream skippa recordings to an ipad or iphone can we then airplay it to an AppleTV?
By using an iOS App, like 8player, that supports AirPlay and DLNA media servers you can use your iPad or iPhone to access media on DLNA servers and stream the media to your Apple TV... except Apple products only support H.264 (.mp4) video files and Australian PVR recordings are mpeg2-ts.
You might want to get a WD TV Live Streaming Media Player as they support DLNA and mpeg2-ts.
Quote from: IanL-S on May 26, 2015, 01:20:03 PM
Quote from: Rat on May 26, 2015, 10:04:40 AM
It seems that DNLA media servers need to build a library everytime they are started, that sounds very slow and frustrating and a major step back.
Yes, this is painful. I do not know if it is the DLNA server that is building the list rather than the DLNA player. For some reason I had assumed that it was the latter.
That's not been my experience. A DLNA server app does take a very long time to index all of your media if you have TBs of videos, music and photos files but it should only do it once after the initial install. After the initial scan to build the index it only needs to add any new files to the index. Of course adding new folders to be indexed will cause some additional pain.
Quote from: Dave at IceTV on June 08, 2015, 12:15:09 AM
UPDATE: The initial firmware release version won't skip ads when streaming to a second screen. A firmware upgrade later on will implement that feature.
Wow, I really wasn't expecting that answer. Excellent! I'm impressed.
Quote from: Leon K on May 25, 2015, 08:15:10 PM
Hey Rat,
The Skippa can stream from the PC via Media Player or any other DLNA server for example the excellent free cross-platform Universal Media Server (www.universalmediaserver.com), and works great. It's fast and not clunky at all - best of all it streams MKVs.
The Skippa can also act as a DLNA server itself - streaming recordings to Ipads / Computers around the house too.
Hey Leon,
What about Android?
Surely you won't have Skippa only support iPad off the bat.
There are many more Android devices out there than Apple!
Please clarify?
Quote from: emmsee on July 20, 2015, 09:41:17 PM
Hey Leon,
What about Android?
Surely you won't have Skippa only support iPad off the bat.
There are many more Android devices out there than Apple!
Please clarify?
Hi emmsee,
Yes to clarify that is any brand of tablet / device that has a DLNA media player on it, not just Apple, should work fine.
Quote from: Leon K on July 20, 2015, 09:52:03 PM
Yes to clarify that is any brand of tablet / device that has a DLNA media player on it, not just Apple, should work fine.
Ah!! Referring to tablets/smartphones as iPads/iPhones. Another victim of Apple's marketing. I've even seen this on the ABC!
Perhaps Android users are considered smart enough to interpret the intent.
Quote from: Paul55 on July 21, 2015, 07:16:43 AM
Ah!! Referring to tablets/smartphones as iPads/iPhones. Another victim of Apple's marketing. I've even seen this on the ABC!
Perhaps Android users are considered smart enough to interpret the intent.
Paul yes indeed, even the best of us fall victim to the proprietary eponym, I'm sure we've all found ourselves saying white-out, google it, jacuzzi, jet ski.. pass me an Aspirin?
But if we're really splitting hairs, a tablet IS a computer.. and all Android users should know that :)
Quote from: Leon K on July 21, 2015, 08:18:37 AM
Quote from: Paul55 on July 21, 2015, 07:16:43 AM
Ah!! Referring to tablets/smartphones as iPads/iPhones. Another victim of Apple's marketing. I've even seen this on the ABC!
Perhaps Android users are considered smart enough to interpret the intent.
Paul yes indeed, even the best of us fall victim to the proprietary eponym, I'm sure we've all found ourselves saying white-out, google it, jacuzzi, jet ski.. pass me an Aspirin?
But if we're really splitting hairs, a tablet IS a computer.. and all Android users should know that :)
Hey Leon,
Talking about splitting hairs - an IPad is computer as well, yet you mentioned it as though it were something different.
Be less of an apple fan boy and just call them tablets!
Quote from: Leon K on July 21, 2015, 08:18:37 AM
Paul yes indeed, even the best of us fall victim to the proprietary eponym
I was so upset I had to dry my eyes with a Kleenex and wrote a complaint with my Biro.
Can any of the Skippa staff members on here confirm whether the Plex app from the Opera TV store will work on the Skippa ?
Probably a simple question and please excuse my ignorance. My Skippa will be attached to my TV in my living room. I also have a TV in the bedroom which has nothing connected to it (except an arial). What do I need to buy to be able to watch recorded shows on Skippa on my bedroom TV?
Quote from: scottn1 on July 21, 2015, 07:05:37 PM
Can any of the Skippa staff members on here confirm whether the Plex app from the Opera TV store will work on the Skippa ?
Good question - be good to get an answer
Have to say I'm really impressed with PLEX and how it manages and presents my media collection from various sources
Quote from: FMB on August 07, 2015, 08:32:08 PM
Probably a simple question and please excuse my ignorance. My Skippa will be attached to my TV in my living room. I also have a TV in the bedroom which has nothing connected to it (except an arial). What do I need to buy to be able to watch recorded shows on Skippa on my bedroom TV?
The Skippa is a DLNA server, so any device that can act as a DLNA player will do. This device will have to be on the same home network as the Skippa. Best results will be if both devices are connected by Ethernet rather than wifi. There will no doubt be other ways of doing this, for example using something like Chromcast and a DLNA enabled Tablet.
Ian
Quote from: FMB on August 07, 2015, 08:32:08 PM
Probably a simple question and please excuse my ignorance. My Skippa will be attached to my TV in my living room. I also have a TV in the bedroom which has nothing connected to it (except an arial). What do I need to buy to be able to watch recorded shows on Skippa on my bedroom TV?
As Ian said, any device with a DLNA compatible media player or media player app will work. If you don't already have anything suitable something like the WDTV Live Streaming Media Player would do (using it's A/V socket to connect to your TV if the TV does't have HDMI). Or even a cheap 2nd PVR like a 500GB Humax HDR7500T. The Humax solution would not only give you a way to stream Skippa's recordings to your 2nd TV it would also allow you to record extra shows in the 2nd room, and also be able to use Skippa to stream the Humax's recordings to the main TV.
PS if you used a Humax as your 2nd TV's media player and you also wanted to use IceTV to schedule some recordings on the Humax you would need an IceTV subscription that supported the Humax (because the Skippa's included subscription only supports the 1 Skippa).
Quote from: scottn1 on July 21, 2015, 07:05:37 PM
Can any of the Skippa staff members on here confirm whether the Plex app from the Opera TV store will work on the Skippa ?
I can't confirm if Plex is even in the Opera TV Store. Some Internet forums have said that Plex is now available but I've not been able to find anything official or any mention of Plex from Opera themselves.
Skippa will initially be delivered with Opera TV Store disabled (to be enabled via a firmware update).
PS The Opera TV Store site says "Plex is available right now for viewing in the Opera TV Store on devices from Sony, Swisscom
and many more coming soon." I guess we'll have to wait and see once the Opera TV Store is enabled on Skippa.
Sorry, I've stayed quiet on this, happy to bide my time and wait and not complain, but to now find out that Plex may not be available is extremely frustrating. Having the availability of Plex was, in my case, one of the tipping points in choosing a Skippa over another product. >:(
Whilst I can use DLNA to access my media, it's not even in the same ballpark.
Dave, this was your quote from the below link "Opera TV Store - 100s of apps (mostly free) including Plex"
http://forum.icetv.com.au/iceforum/skippa/44/skippa-pre-order/4483/msg21242#msg21242
I ordered mine about a week after that post.
This is starting to remind me of when the DP-S1 was released with the box's packaging noting a whole raft of features, with an asterisk/small print that some features would require a firmware update to implement.
Plea is most definitely available on OPERA TV.
Netflix is in late beta at present (haven't checked for a few weeks) on OPERA TV.
Whether or not those 2 apps are available or presented in the OPERA TV store on the Skippa (when it finally gets the OPERA TV store on a future firmware update apparently) remains to be seen as different apps are controlled and available to different devices and regions, so there is no guarantee that these 2 apps will be offered in the OPERA TV store when the Skippa finally gets access to it, it remains to be seen.
But rest assured PLEX is definitely on OPERA TV, and Netflix is definitely coming soon. I just hope they are available to the Skippa that's all. Time will tell.
Mark
Quote from: ColdasIce on August 14, 2015, 04:25:02 PMWill my lifetime Skippa account and AD skip be transferable to the new owner?
My understanding is that it is not transferable.
If your PC is set up as a DLNA server, then you will be able to play content on it on the Skippa. That said, if you have a lot of content, the need to build an index each time you want to play a video may make it a BIG pain.
I too am peeved that Plex will not be supported (indeed any Opera TV) in the release firmware. Hopefully there will be a firmware update in short order.
Ian
http://www.operasoftware.com/press/releases/devices/2014-12-10
It is definitely available by the OPERA TV store, most definitely it's there, as to whether or not it's available to install on the SKIPPA I cannot tell you. We shall see in the future.
Ian, if in fact the skippas ICETV subscription is NOT transferable, then I would think that ICETV has in fact made a VERY BIG MISTAKE.
That would be a huge backwards step and a dumb one at that. I have no idea if it is transferable or not but I think that this one point more than any other needs clarification by ICETV.
Reasons...
The subscription that comes with your SKIPPA is for the LIFE of the device, and is linked to the DEVICE ITSELF, not to you apparently. If your Skippa lasts for 8 years before failing, then it will still have ICETV for the entire time it's alive. This is why it doesn't use one of your existing ICETV subscription 5 devices.
It currently DOESNT WORK without ICETV, currently not utilising FTA EPG.
If you wanted to SELL the unit on Guntree for example, the unit will no longer have an active ICETV subscription when the new owner kicks it off in their entertainment setup if in fact it is not transferable making the sale worthless and devaluing the product.
I honestly cannot see how they can deny someone transfer on the ICETV subscription that is LINKED TO THE DEVICE, and not the the person as has been stated by ICE themselves.
This needs clarification for sure.
Mark
The contract, though, is with you, though, not with the Skippa.
So basically that means you can never sell your Skippa, or the person that purchases it has to take out a yearly ICETV subscription if they don't already have one. Lol, how ridiculous. Again the Skippa doesn't work without ICETV, it does not run on FTA EPG.
I cannot see ICETV enforcing that, it would devalue the resale of their product completely as the person that purchases it would need to shell out potentially $50 to $80 a year for a subscription on top of the cost of the second hand Skippa, depending on what special/price they get the subscription for...when in reality the device comes with ICETV for life, linked to the device apparently according to comments made.
Nope, that's not on. I thought that was the whole reason the ICETV was linked to the device - so that the device always worked with ICETV for its lifetime, I assumed the ICETV sub if linked to the device would work via MAC address or something like that, so the association of the person to the device via say my ICETV account is all that would be required, I use my ICETV account on the Skippa I receive, and it links the Skippa device to my account via MAC address, that's the way I imagined it would work being device based.
So why in the world can it not just be transferred to work on another users ICETV account if it's ever sold to someone else in the future... Surely it can...
Mark
Quote from: FMB on August 07, 2015, 08:32:08 PM
Probably a simple question and please excuse my ignorance. My Skippa will be attached to my TV in my living room. I also have a TV in the bedroom which has nothing connected to it (except an arial). What do I need to buy to be able to watch recorded shows on Skippa on my bedroom TV?
In my quest to find a suitable box to put in the bedroom to watch Skippa content, I had settled on the WD TV Live box. Inexpensive at $129 and would do the job. Then I came down with a really bad cold and was trapped at home all weekend, bored stiff. We decided to bite the bullet and sign up to Netflix (which was not as easy as it sounds). I later realised that latest WD TV Live box doesn't support Netflix. I believe there are some workarounds, but I couldn't be bothered.
So I went hunting again and stumbled across the Laser MMC-S30 (http://lasermmc-s30http://www.laserco.com.au/MMC-S30-android-media-player-uhd-4k-fhd-2k-netflix-on-board). More expensive at $199 but seems to have more features than most of the other boxes on the market. Thoughts anyone?
If I recall correctly Apple TV supports Neflix.
Ian
Quote from: IanL-S on August 17, 2015, 01:24:09 PM
If I recall correctly Apple TV supports Neflix.
Ian
Correct. That's what I ended up using to watch Netflix on the weekend. But, AppleTV isn't a DLNA player and while it's possible with 3rdparty apps, it's a lot of stuffing around. I'd rather on simple all in one solution. WAF is critical.
Quote from: FMB on August 17, 2015, 01:38:19 PM
Quote from: IanL-S on August 17, 2015, 01:24:09 PM
If I recall correctly Apple TV supports Neflix.
Ian
Correct. That's what I ended up using to watch Netflix on the weekend. But, AppleTV isn't a DLNA player and while it's possible with 3rdparty apps, it's a lot of stuffing around. I'd rather on simple all in one solution. WAF is critical.
That unit looks like it will do everything you want. However, I would check what the DLNA player interface is like.
I'm guessing, from a quick look at the specs, that you will need to use KODI/XBMC which is excellent software but kind of overkill if all you are after is a simple DLNA player to stream recordings from your Skippa.
Have you looked at DVD/Bluray players that have Netflix/DLNA capabilities?
Cheers,
Likkie.
Yes, I have considered them, but space is at a premium where the TV is in the bedroom.
Quote from: FMB on August 17, 2015, 03:47:31 PM
Yes, I have considered them, but space is at a premium where the TV is in the bedroom.
OK how about a 2nd hand WDTV Live Streaming (Gen 3). That is the previous model which had the Netflix client.
quote author=Andrewt link=topic=4188.msg19574#msg19574 date=1387170371]
On Saturday 14th December 2013, IceTV's CEO, Heinz Herrmann, was the weeks special guest on Tech Webcast to chat about IceTV and the future plans the company has in-store. Our IceCube get a lot of mentions in this webcast.
Here is the link to have a listen for yourself: http://www.techwebcast.info/techwebcast-episode-269/
[/quote]
As I mentioned elsewhere, I have been going through some old posts here. I have come across the above. Heinz's bit starts at 42:30. This is when he first mentions the "auto-skip" and of course talks about the four tuners. However, what made me prick my ears up starts at about 1:01:35.
This is when he explains the "clustering" of PVRs, that the Skippa (or IceCube as it was then) will be a "virtual PVR" combining all the IceTV enabled devices in your network. Now that, I would have happily paid extra subscription for! :P
What became of that? It really would be great if someone would bother telling us what happened to all of that? Is there a possibility that this will happen with later firmware?
Quote from: Likkie on August 17, 2015, 03:42:12 PM
That unit looks like it will do everything you want. However, I would check what the DLNA player interface is like.
For me the usability and interface are key. Very few devices with YouTube can access your 'play later' list (AppleTV can). Very few devices can fast forward or skip forward AND back seamlessly in ALL file types (Kodi on decent hardware comes close). These little things might not matter to many people but when you are used to them anything that cannot do the same is a disappointment.
The Laser MMC-S30 does look like a very nice network media player. But there have been plenty of devices with excellent specs that never lived up to their promise. Dvico, DXtreme, AppleTV, WDTV etc. They had great specs but weren't great at everything. I cannot find an online review of the Laser MMC-S30 anywhere which is a worry.
Quote from: ColdasIce on August 21, 2015, 05:50:14 PM
Quote from: warkus on August 15, 2015, 08:42:15 PM
So why in the world can it not just be transferred to work on another users ICETV account if it's ever sold to someone else in the future... Surely it can...
They don't seem to have any interest in answering that question for you, perhaps you could ring them up and ask and pass on the answer to us?
warkus' comment was a rhetorical question in response to prl's (incorrect) comment.