Next Gen and HTPC integration?

[Cuda1447]

Hopefully a new thread is alright for this. It isn't specific to either system and it is a fairly distinct topic.

From what I've read (and I may be missing something) but it seems like for two consoles that REALLY want to be the center of your living room, they are missing the ball here. I realize the X1 and PS4 have Netflix/Hulu/Youtube support. That's great. They also have blu-ray players (a dying media, imo). But what about the versatility that they SHOULD have?

I have read that neither of them support external HD's. Meaning, they really don't support you playing your own video files through their system? I doubt there would be a good streaming option either?

I find it strange that two systems that one to be the end all do all, seem to be purposely limiting your ability to control your own media.


Am I missing something obvious here, or is it as simple as Microsoft and Sony wanting to force you to consume media through their chosen, paid methods?

 

[sourceninja]

I think in the eyes of big business only pirates have local media (dvd and blueray not included).

Honestly, get a roku box and use plex on your media server.

 

[cmdrdredd]

1) Blu-Ray won't die until you can do 1080p streaming that matches Blu-Ray quality with lossless 7.1 audio. Good luck. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu etc have terrible quality by comparison. People with the proper setup will notice the difference. Also there is 4k coming down the pipe. You won't be streaming 4k media with lossless Audio but a new Blu-Ray spec can provide that quality.

2) They don't support external HDDs for game installs. You can plug in a USB drive to a PS4 and read files off it. The Xb1 will get full support at a later date for all kinds of usages.

3) The XB1 will stream from any play to compatible device. Meaning your windows PC from day one and basically any device that runs windows. There are also a bunch of devices that say "windows 7 compatible" that will stream to the XB1. The PS4? We don't have any DLNA support yet, but it will be introduced at a later date.

 

[Anteaus]

If HTPC type functionality is a prime requisite then the XB1 is really the only option "as of today." That may change over the next year or two but Sony has pretty blocked all such usage unless you use it to stream from services like Netflix or use Sony's music streaming service. The PS4 won't even play MP3 or MP4 locally, let alone from a shared drive.

The XB1 on the other hand supports DLNA, MP3, and audio CDs out of the box. Functionality is also assumed to support mainstream video codecs such as h.264, WMV, and MPEG2. Pretty much everything you need for normal HTPC type functionality.

Assuming the XB1 gets support for external drives in the future and they allow NTFS, then the XB1 will be positioned very well for people who want that type of functionality, myself included.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/01/xbox-one-dlna-streaming-mp3-playback/

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2304814/xbox-one-will-support-dlna-mp3-and-audio-cd

 

[Alienwho]

All that I want is for one of these damn next gen consoles to work with my HD Homerun directly with the console.

I use Windows Media Center as my TV. I have 4 HD Homerun TV Tuners hooked up to the network and have a htpc hooked up to my TV in my main room. Why the funk can't XBone just hook up to my network, see that I have 4 HD Homerun tuners and be able to pull that TV data and recording ability directly to it. Microsoft really dropped the ball here and are kicking all their Windows Media Center fans right in the dick.

Hell I would be ecstatic if I could just stick my HTPC in a closet and use the xbone as the interface to watch live tv/recorded tv/delete tv from the htpc. But no I can't use my OTA device, I need to pay for cable/dish that already comes with a decent front end and recording ability in order to hook it up to the xbone. What purpose this serves is beyond me. This is why I can't help but roll my eyes as these next gen consoles claim to be the do all be all media machines.

 

[Doppel]

The PS4 won't even play MP3 or MP4 locally, let alone from a shared drive.

Are you sure? Mp3 and 4 are different. I've seen nothing concrete from Sony regarding MP4. You're saying an MP4 file loaded on a thumb drive won't play. I wish somebody could check this who owns one.

 

[Anteaus]

Are you sure? Mp3 and 4 are different. I've seen nothing concrete from Sony regarding MP4. You're saying an MP4 file loaded on a thumb drive won't play. I wish somebody could check this who owns one.

It's a presumption based on how the PS4 treats similar user created data. If they openly disallow MP3 then I can only imagine other codecs fall under the same restrictions. Admittedly I haven't been able to find specific information regarding user created h.264.

Even if it did work, there is the issue of external storage. Assuming that flash and external hard drives work (for non-game data), unless Sony supports NTFS it might not be as useful. Sure it can play some media, but it blocks out the majority of my HD collection as the files are over 4GB in size.