advise needed on the Popcorn A300 media server..

[sheehanjuk]

hi

im thinking of buying the new A300 model. the main functions would be storaging all my music in WMA lossloss format and my movies both dvd and bluray.

i would be using a hdmi connection to my panny 42' plasma and hifi interconnectors into my hifi amp.

harddrive wise ive scanned the net and it seems to me the best on the market currently is the WD Cavier Green 2TB:

http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdeu/en_GB/DisplayProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.22586100/categoryID.13835300/subCategory.35217300%2C35217300%2C52242400/parid.13832000/catid.13832600

i wont got for the 3tb version coz alot of systems still only see 2tb version and im not the most techie.

im thinking of going with the green rather than the black for 2 reasons, 1 it runs alot cooler and 2 alot quieter also but im still open to other people's ideas on this.

the other question i have is would it improve the sound alot if a dac goes between the A300 and my hifi amp?? ive noticed a few people on here have a cambridge dac but because im connecting the A300 to my hifi amp with just 2 floor speakers is there any benefit?? put simply i dont know so insight and advise hugely appreciated.

finally if anyone knows a good dvd/bluray ripper so i can storage my film media on the A300 thanks in advance??

 

[sheehanjuk]

anyone.. got any insight please??? :doh:

 

[AnotherJoe]

For a streamer I recommend the A.C.Ryan PlayonHD!2. You can get it with a 2TB drive for around £230** see below

I have a Playon!HD mini2 which is the same, but without the builtin HD- as I connect to a NAS, and it plays practically anything video or audio including DVD+BD rips.

(Make sure its a Playon!HD2 not the 1st series).

For Windows AnyDVD HD is probably the best DVD/BD ripper to give you .ISO's.

You can use it in conjunction with DVD-Shrink (free) for dvds which makes it easy to remove foreign soundtracks to save space.

**Note: Due to the worldwide HD shortage you may need to get it without the HD and get the HD separately.

 

[sheehanjuk]

For a streamer I recommend the A.C.Ryan PlayonHD!2. You can get it with a 2TB drive for around £230** see below

I have a Playon!HD mini2 which is the same, but without the builtin HD- as I connect to a NAS, and it plays practically anything video or audio including DVD+BD rips.

(Make sure its a Playon!HD2 not the 1st series).

For Windows AnyDVD HD is probably the best DVD/BD ripper to give you .ISO's.

You can use it in conjunction with DVD-Shrink (free) for dvds which makes it easy to remove foreign soundtracks to save space.

**Note: Due to the worldwide HD shortage you may need to get it without the HD and get the HD separately.

Thanks for replying Joe

I looked into the AC Ryan units but they seemed to have mixed review but will now go back for a deeper look.

Cheers for the ripper that is a key piece i literally didnt have a clue about.

Did you consider the popcorn b4 you brought the ACryan unit?

Do you use a DAC unit also? do you connect in to a AV amp or Hifi amp?

Thanks again

 

[AnotherJoe]

One of my friends has a popcorn c-200 with the optional BD-rom drive, and it works fine. The main reason I went for a playon! was that it was cheaper. Performance wise there doesnt seem to be much between the two.

My streamer is plugged into my AV amp via HDMI, so cant comment on dacs. If your amp has an optical in then there should be need for one.

I'd recommend FLAC as the lossless format for music rather than WMA lossless, flac is much more widely supported, especially if you were to get yourself a new Denon amp in the future.

 

[AnotherJoe]

The Popcorn C-300 has just been released.

 

[sheehanjuk]

hi joe

any links for the c300?

where is best place to get AnyDVD HD??

i looked into your model and seemed mix reviews.. is WHF gonna review C300.. Claire????????????????????

 

[AnotherJoe]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5195/syabas-launches-popcorn-hour-c300

The only place to get anydvd is on slysofts website.

 

[sheehanjuk]

greez im such a newbie with this stuff.. now there's a C300 model which can house a optional BD drive.. what doesnt make sense to me is why would you need this? especially if youre going to rip a copy of your existing dvd bluray collection.. understand my point??

other than the software you mention is there any other option to having copy of your dvd/blurays?

ps thanks for all the advise