2017-10-17, 16:52
Good day!
I really really hope to get the answers I need as I'm dying over here with my old glitchy WDTV live.
I live in Canada.
Looking for a solution for my mancave. Only one TV to worry about. Its right smack next to (less that a few feet) my Gaming mancave/Main PC which houses all of my media files. FYI cant do straight HDMI over to my AMP due to GTX460 vid card limitations....
My TV is connected to a Pioneer Elite HomeTheater amp via HDMI.
I have a network cable ready to go as I used to have it go into my WDTV live box. The network cable is plugged into a Gigabit box that also has my hard wired internet connection going to my PC next to it.
So to be clear on the flow: Wired network cable from my Internet provider's modem right into my Gigabit box. Then one network cable leaving the Gigabit box and going to my PC providing my PC with hard wired internet. Another network cable leaving the Gigabit box and going to my WDTV Live (or whatever I get next). Then my WDTV live box was connected to my Pioneer Elite amp via HDMI.
My needs:
- I want to be able to stream movie files (often in MKV format but not always) that I downloaded from my PC over to my Home Theater and TV from that same PC.
- I also want to be able to use my Netflix account. Previously accessed Netflix via my WDTV live box.
- Want to use wired connection to my new Streaming/Media box. No Wifi, although the option can come in handy as a secondary feature. Hardwired connection is better.
There are so many ready to go boxes out there now and so many options to consider. I've read tons of posts but really want to be crystal clear on my direction. I've read the main sticky on this post and every suggested box and main use combo... There are just SO MANY options!
Some say use am Amazon Fire TV box with Kodi or Plex.
Some say use a Mibox. I cant use mibox as it does not offer a wired network connection option. I read about the prospect of using some form of USB to Ethernet dongle to provide a wired Ethernet connection option with the Mibox? JUst not sure how affordable that option is or how stable and flawless it would be.
Some say Raspberry Pi with some software on it etc..... Not a fan of going the Rasp PI route honestly. Want to keep it simple and easy for me. And not sure its the most powerful option either...
I was looking at the Roku boxes... Not sure if they offer what Im looking for for MKV format compatibility etc.... Especially since I "DL" many of my shows and movies ....And I really wanted to leverage the Kodi angle of things with my new box.
I've seen a few WeTek devices on my local Best Buy website. The WeTek hub, and Play 2 and the Core..... I also see many brand names that simply haven't made your main sticky list....
Anyhow, from a simplicity perspective, I'm totally cool with buying a 100$-ish or less box of some sort. I just don't want it to be as crappy and glitchy as my WDTV live was.....
Many thanks in advance for your insight. Don't hesitate to ask me additional questions if you need me to elaborate further from a setup or needs perspective.
Thanks!!!!
I really really hope to get the answers I need as I'm dying over here with my old glitchy WDTV live.
I live in Canada.
Looking for a solution for my mancave. Only one TV to worry about. Its right smack next to (less that a few feet) my Gaming mancave/Main PC which houses all of my media files. FYI cant do straight HDMI over to my AMP due to GTX460 vid card limitations....
My TV is connected to a Pioneer Elite HomeTheater amp via HDMI.
I have a network cable ready to go as I used to have it go into my WDTV live box. The network cable is plugged into a Gigabit box that also has my hard wired internet connection going to my PC next to it.
So to be clear on the flow: Wired network cable from my Internet provider's modem right into my Gigabit box. Then one network cable leaving the Gigabit box and going to my PC providing my PC with hard wired internet. Another network cable leaving the Gigabit box and going to my WDTV Live (or whatever I get next). Then my WDTV live box was connected to my Pioneer Elite amp via HDMI.
My needs:
- I want to be able to stream movie files (often in MKV format but not always) that I downloaded from my PC over to my Home Theater and TV from that same PC.
- I also want to be able to use my Netflix account. Previously accessed Netflix via my WDTV live box.
- Want to use wired connection to my new Streaming/Media box. No Wifi, although the option can come in handy as a secondary feature. Hardwired connection is better.
There are so many ready to go boxes out there now and so many options to consider. I've read tons of posts but really want to be crystal clear on my direction. I've read the main sticky on this post and every suggested box and main use combo... There are just SO MANY options!
Some say use am Amazon Fire TV box with Kodi or Plex.
Some say use a Mibox. I cant use mibox as it does not offer a wired network connection option. I read about the prospect of using some form of USB to Ethernet dongle to provide a wired Ethernet connection option with the Mibox? JUst not sure how affordable that option is or how stable and flawless it would be.
Some say Raspberry Pi with some software on it etc..... Not a fan of going the Rasp PI route honestly. Want to keep it simple and easy for me. And not sure its the most powerful option either...
I was looking at the Roku boxes... Not sure if they offer what Im looking for for MKV format compatibility etc.... Especially since I "DL" many of my shows and movies ....And I really wanted to leverage the Kodi angle of things with my new box.
I've seen a few WeTek devices on my local Best Buy website. The WeTek hub, and Play 2 and the Core..... I also see many brand names that simply haven't made your main sticky list....
Anyhow, from a simplicity perspective, I'm totally cool with buying a 100$-ish or less box of some sort. I just don't want it to be as crappy and glitchy as my WDTV live was.....
Many thanks in advance for your insight. Don't hesitate to ask me additional questions if you need me to elaborate further from a setup or needs perspective.
Thanks!!!!
