Be Excellent To Each Other

Obligatory:

It's not like that; it is that.

This is true, and yes, they are likely to come in time. The U.S. Play Store is filling out with TV support and the UK one will now that the devices are officially available here. Don't forget the Nexus Player runs the same software as 2015 TVs from Philips, Sony, and Sharp, as well as the nVidia streaming box and various other similar STBs (some French cable firms are using it for their 4K boxes), so there'll be a viable market there to attract developers to tune their existing Android apps to leanback interfaces.


You use a keyboard and a mouse to control media playback? lol. So did I. In 1999.

Gah. Weak. Ordered one.

FWIW, I'm very happy with mine running either Plex or Kodi. (I've gone off Plex entirely, but for unrelated reasons.) obviously it's also very good at Netflix, YouTube, and Play movies/TV. Biggest annoyance is probably that it can't to 24 Hz output, but few of these devices can.

In other, entirely unrelated news...

Would anyone like to buy an Acer Revo R3700 for £79 (plus shipping?)

Elaborate?

Or the lack of Amazon streaming services.

I have NAS->iMac (wireless)->Plex client (wireless), which is at least three moving parts too many. So the iMac is asleep and doesn't wake up, or the Plex server has decided to throw a fit, or the Mac has lost its network shares to the NAS, or some other random thing doesn't work and now I'm not watching TV but instead I'm getting up to go to the other room and poke the iMac. Boring.


Yes, that's true, and also true of the Roku, Apple TV, and others of course. I have no idea if Amazon will prioritise its own devices or the reach of its video service.

Edit - apparently it is on the Roku.

I have exactly the same setup, I solved all those problems by never letting my Mac sleep The screen goes off, but it's always on.
Not the most power efficient solution, I'll grant you

Power efficiency, long term reliability (of a machine I can't easily get into to swap parts around), and the fact that people occasionally sleep in that room are all reasons I don't want to do that.

Just stream straight from Grim...'s house. Problem solved

Until he deletes the show you're watching while you watch it.

Yeah, I did that. I got it back for you, though.

TOO LATE

At the risk of sounding ignorant, is there a reason you have the NAS plugged into your iMac as opposed to a router?

If it's anything like me, the NAS is connected to a router, but the plex server software is on the iMac.

I wasn't clear, the NAS is on the router. It's actually:

Living room: router -> everything under the telly via ethernet, including the NAS (except for Nexus Player which is on wifi because it doesn't have an ethernet port.)

Bedroom: iMac, on wireless; printer, on an old/slow powerline ethernet adapter.

I'm constrained by the flat layout. In my old house, I had a utility room where the NAS and router lived.

Reading around, with a tiny bit of work (and a visit to http://www.apkmirror.com/) you can get the tablet versions of the Amazon Apps.

It's shipped already

10
20 goto 10

Agreed, but Caroline is now at least not a waste of screen space.

It came. That was quick. Small box, too.

( )

Name of your sex tape.

I bet it won't have all the functionality of a media centre PC, which you can get for free.

I'm genuinely impressed. Within 10 minutes or opening the box, I was connected to the Work WiFi (which is miracle in itself) and logged into my 2-step verified google account. I've installed and configured Plex and even managed to get a web browser and Google Drive on there with minimal faff. Later, I will plug in my USB hub and see if I can use the Harmony Remote.

Happy.

Now, I'd better get some work done...

Also...



I love you, man.

FTFY

I love it. Can't get the Harmony working though. Sleep on it.

The latest S5 update brings back the Mute function. Huzzah!
And it has also stopped mine running like a 1 legged dog through treacle. Double Huzzah!

Just need to see what the battery usage is like but so far so good.

Free PCs where?

Nexus Player update! It's quite good.

Plex works as well as Plex ever does. Netflix is flawless (and works with unblock.us). I have SNES and Mega Drive Emulators installed and a wired 360 controller attached. Best emulator experience I've ever had.

Oh shit - I'd not considered emulation.

I reckon a Bluetooth controller would make it even better. I think the ps3 controller syncs up pretty easily

You know there's a dedicated controller available for it yeah?

Yes, but for many the PS3 controller will be 'free'. Just like my 360 controller being 'free'.

Yeah, course, I was just mentioning it in case you weren't aware. It's worth being aware though that using a PS3/4 controller wirelessly with Android requires that your device is rooted and it looks to be quite the faf to do.

I think Android supports it now, and has done for a while.

Ah, some do, some don't. There's an app to find out: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... cker&hl=en

And that app disagrees. Well, I don't know now.

But root is always required.

Did anyone tried the Asus Zenfone 5?

I need a new phone but 200€ is my absolute maximum.

..........................................

I am now the proud owner of a Hudl2. Cost me £45 once I had used my ClubCard boost.

It's a bit chunky compared to the Mrs' iPad Mini but the screen is sharp and the interface (I use Nova Launcher) at least as responsive as my S5.

Battery seems to be a bit demanding but so far for £45 it's an absolute steal.

I bet that'd run Hearthstone very nicely.

Yeah, the battery is the weak point, but even at full price it's a good little tablet for the money.

Bug report for the Doc. Instead of being in my mate's car today getting a lift to Heathrow, Google Maps was convinced we were actually driving the Saatchi Gallery up the M3.

Heh. You should have Shaken To Send Feedback; that generates a much better bug report than I can after the fact.

Brilliant!