BluRay with Netflix & Ethernet External Drive

The Garage
#1

G’day,

How’s things? That’s great to hear! :slight_smile:

A few weeks ago we became a Netflix house, by use of a freebie Panasonic BD83 BluRay smart player. Problem is, it keeps freezing up, requiring the power plug to be pulled out to restart. Also, the machine cannot connect to hard drives via its ethernet port - only USB, which is not my desired method.

I have tried using my 2006 Mac Mini, however it hasn’t got the balls for the job.

As such, with tax returns due in soon, I’m looking for an alternative… I was thinking to grab a 2010 Mac Mini (last with DVD), however I’ve gotten used to the idea of having BluRays now… so am thinking I need a BluRay player with Netflix app, plus the aforementioned network drive capability…

Can anyone suggest such a device? Trying to google but there’s so much flotsam out there.

Thanks!

cosmic

#2

PlayStation 4 + Plex.

You also get a free game system :stuck_out_tongue:

Even back in the PS3 days this was one of the best ways to get a decent Bluray player… now that I think of it, even a PS3 would probably do what you want if you have no interest in any of the gaming parts of the PS4.

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#3

I have XboxOne and that also runs Netflix, Plex and plays BluRays.

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#4

I have a XBox360, but it’s pretty noisy in terms of being a HTPC…

Is the XBox One any quieter? Big W had them down to $260 for their midyear Toy Sale… Very nearly bit the bullet when I saw them…

If the BluRay keeps being a pain in the ass, I’ll look at setting the XBox up as a Netflix box… however from memory, it didn’t want to play 99% of my AVI/movs etc etc…

#5

I mainly use my ATV4, and Plex or Infuse (drives are attached to the Mac Mini in another room) For TV Duty theres the Fetch Mighty, and I also have an older Samsung Bluray player with a smart hub. Never turn it on.

#6

There is a plan to rip all the DVDs in the house… but that plan’s been around a long while… So meanwhile, I need a disc option in the setup…

We’re still in the free trial for Netflix, but have no doubt it’s something we’re going to continue with. I feel better already not pirating (as much).

#7

Yeah, I did that, makes it easier to be a couch potato :slight_smile:

You might want to trial Stan as well as Netflix. It has some good stuff.

#8

My Xbox One S is basically silent unless there is a spinning disc, and even then it’s no worse than the sound a disc in a laptop makes. Plus it has the bonus of having a 4K Blu-ray player. It was the cheapest 4K Blu-ray player on the market for a while, maybe still is? Not that physical media seems to be the future for 4K, but the option is there and it still plays normal Blu-ray and DVD. Which is crazy at that price, considering it’s also a kick ass game machine. Netflix works great on it, though I mainly use it for Plex and gaming.

I recommend getting the media remote with it though, it’s much easier to navigate apps using that than the game controller. Only about $30 for the media remote.

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#9

I’m a huge fan of the Harmony Remotes, although they do take a little tinkering to get working just right. I don’t know what I would do without mine.

#10

Xbox One S 500gb… $279 at Aldi… NEVER thought I’d buy one XBox in my entire life… now I own 2… 24 year old me would so kill me…

I’ll see if my Crest Universal Remote can talk to the Xbox - or is it wifi only? App for that?

Also hoping Plex plays nicely with the One - got it working well on the 360 over the past 2-3 days - although tv naming conventions are going to drive me insane!

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#11

Naming conventions screwed me years ago and I spent ALOT of time cleaning it all up, maintaining it is very easy then.

You could try loading up Sickbeard/Sickrage and then use it’s renaming tools. It’s not exactly what it’s intended for but it easy enough to install and try out.