Buddasworld

All Media Playback in a single box with Samsung

My XBox360 finally packed up with the red rings and I didn’t fancy going through all the instructions to pull the case apart and attempt to reset the heat sinks. The X360 was being used to stream media from my ReadyNAS NV+ storage box and play region 2 DVDs for the kids.

As a replacement I set out looking for a box to do everything the XBox 360 did and a whole lot more. My ideal criteria was:

• Play DVDs (region free)
• Play Divx, XVid AVI etc.
• Play Blu-ray (without being restricted to HDMI due to old TV-Set)
• Play MKV HD movie files.
• Connect to my local network NAS box to stream files
• Nice visual user interface to navigate content.

eBuyer.com was mentioned when I called out on Twitter, and there’s a number of devices which support playback of files over the local network for very reasonable prices.

However support for traditional silver discs in any of the devices found was lacking - and I’ve just not got the interest in backing up all the kids DVDs to the NAS box in addition to all the movies i’ve done.

The other thing I was wary about when looking at these cheap media streaming boxes was the reliability, crappy build quality, and easy of use with the user interface - as children would be operating it.

The new media box would be hooked up to the ageing Toshiba 36ZP48 in the kids sitting/play room. The TV supports component input and SCART, as well as digital optical audio input.

Plex & SmartTV Hub

Earlier this week I stumbled across a blog post which mentioned a new SmartTV application to turn any Samsung SmartTV compatible device into a Plex streaming client.

Plex works as a server component and a client. My Mac Mini is currently acting as the Plex server, but a Netgear ReadyNAS Pro 6 can also function as a Plex server if you have the cash.

The new Plex SmartTV application is great, and there’s been a lot of forum posts backing up how great it’s working already. Compared to the LG and Apple TV Plex clients this Samsung one is well ahead. After reading up on suitable hardware required to run the Samsung Plex app it was concluded that D-series devices are the ones to aim for, although the older C-series do work.

The Samsung solution

To my luck and satisfaction I discovered the Samsung BD-D5300 device which ticked all my boxes - and included so much more with the SmartTV applications. BBC iPlayer, Twitter, Facebook, games are all made available through the built-in ethernet port. A Samsung specific wireless adapter is available - but it costs £45.

I found the Samsung BD-D5300 available for just £85.99 delivered at Electrical123. A lot cheaper than even Amazon UK which was £109.59 (at time of writing this post). I also scored an extra £1.72 off the Electrical123.com price thanks to Quidco.com cashback.

To remove the European region lock on the DVD (not Blu-ray) follow the simple steps:

• Remove any discs from the tray and close it.
• On the menu screen press the RETURN key (bottom left).
• Press 5 7 5 3 8
• The number ‘2’ should appear in the top right corner of the screen to indicate the current region.
• Quickly press ‘9’ to change to region free. The number ‘9’ should appear in the top right corner of the screen.

Thanks to the instructions from videohelp.com

To get the Plex developer application installed is a little more work, but nothing complicated. Follow the instructions on the Samsung Plex page. The app runs great once you point it at your Plex server and visually looks great. Shame there’s no way to make Plex auto start!

Summary

So for less than £85 I’ve gained a superb media streaming box which:

• Network connected locally and on to the Internet.
• Blu-ray and region free DVD playback.
• Great looking hardware.
• Fast Blu-ray disc loading.
• Plex support.
• 1080p output over HDMI, 480p over composite/SCART.