For no particular reason other than intuition, I’ve ditched
Windows 8 Storage Spaces and reverted to unRAID.
I had storage spaces running on MediaServer8 for several
months but when unRAID 5 finally went final, I installed it on my old XEON box
and started playing with it again. I remembered how much I loved it’s
simplicity and inherent security and just went back to it.
I’ve also settled on MediaPortal as my software of choice. I’ve been through a lot
(WMC, PLEX, XBMC, JRIVER and now MediaPortal. They all had benefits and
drawbacks but I’m really linking MediaPortal.
One of the main benefits is that it integrates absolutely everything;
music, video, photos and TV. (PLEX was my previous favourite but it just didn’t
do TV and I never took to XBMC, even thought TV was integrated.
With MediaPortal, I now have a unified interface, (the Titan
skin is really really nice), from which I can launch almost any media, I have
full PVR capabilities built in and I can add as many clients around the house
as I need all of which are more or less consistent in terms of functionality
& operation.
This week, I came across this video and realized I can even
integrate gaming. This might just save me the cost of a new Xbox One as my son
is looking for one to play FIFA 14 – now he can do it via ‘the system’, and on
any TV in the house!
2 comments:
I've just been reading about your journey, and so far, so good.
You linked me here from the unRAID 64 bit thread, and I figured I'd start from the beginning.
Anyway, you mentioned that you did try/use JRiver Media Center, and have settled on MediaPortal. I've been using JRiver for a LONG time, and have not really looked at other products for a long time.
I'm curious why you didn't chose JRiver, and what is better about MediaPortal?
Once I convert the current unRAID setup to the new 'fork' being discussed, I'll probably 'try out' many of the products you've tried. I don't suspect I'll change, as I know JRiver pretty well. But, I really do want to see what else is out there, and might integrate into a networked home a little more easily. I'm going to try everything in it's own VM, to try to keep things "even", and will do so with a very open mind.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your journey, and especially the latest build, which is what brought me here.
Thanks.
Hi & Welcome.
Over several years I've given J River several try outs and never really took to it. You know when something just doesn't 'click'.
I've always been chasing a single unified UI to access live TV and media content and until recently wanted something that was cross-platform (Mac & PC).
J River never really floated by boat and always seemed cumbersome and unwieldy.
I don't doubt that it could probably do everything I need but it's just never clicked with me the way XBMC , Plex and MediaProtal have.
If the MediaPortal guys bring everything that's promised to MediPortal 2.0, I think my search will be over.
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