PS3 still needs things to be transcoded and that sucks unless you mean for BD discs only, then it IS the best choice. You can build a budget htpc box with an HDMI video card that also passes surround sound audio. I don't know about a set top box but a home built could work great. The downside is it wouldn't offer BD disc capability at a reasonable price.
Just tested a 720p video via MKV, and it was using 10-20Mbit/sec, avg about 10 bursting to 20+ buffering or during busy speeds. 802.11G *might* work there but to be sure 802.11n is your best bet. As for 1080p, that used about 20 to 35Mbit/sec bursting up to 50Mbit/sec for seeking/buffering. Keep in mind this is for a MKV file and can vary depending on the bitrate used as 1080p is just the resolution. If you want to play Blu-Ray over wifi, 802.11n would be required. From what I can tell the spec for bluray states that audio+video @ 1.5X is 54Mbit/sec. 802.11g won't sustain that and that and won't even hit that unless using turbo mode :) On Sun, Dec 13, 2009 at 06:21:21PM -0800, maccrawj wrote: > Ah, Ps3 is still best bang for the buck AFAIK. > > Odds are nothing is going to stream 1080P wifi w/o stuttering. > > > On 12/4/2009 6:44 PM, Brian Weeden wrote: > > I'm running a custom HTPC with XBMC in the home theater room but upstairs we > > have an old D-Link DSM-320. It still works, but it won't play the newer HD > > codes like x264. All our new disc purchases are Blu-Ray so this means we > > can't watch those in that room. So I'm looking to replace it. > > > > What I want is probably a pipe dream - a small, set top box that does the > > following: > > > > 1) streams any kind of video or audio file from the network shares > > 2) can play full 1080p HD without stuttering > > 3) has a DVD (or even better Blu-Ray) drive > > 4) LAN and 802.11.n capability > > 5) nice menu > > > > I think I have two main choices. One is to get something like one of the > > new Nvidia Ion boxes and put XBMC on it like this: > > > > http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=53888 > > > > The other is to get a set-top box like this: > > > > http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/sagetv-hd-theater-review/ > > http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011679&prodlist=froogle > > > > Anyone have experience with either method? > > > > --------------------------- > > Brian Weeden > > Technical Advisor > > Secure World Foundation<http://www.secureworldfoundation.org> > > +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada > > +1 (202) 683-8534 US > > -- Bryan G. Seitz
