no hdd... am i missing out?

[robpsmith]

Hi, I bought a A300 a few months ago for my family to use. I have it linked to a synology nas over ethernet so I decided to not spend the extra and didnt install an hdd in the a300. However, I get the feeling like I'm missing out on a lot of functionality of the a300 because it has no hdd drive. For instance, my family mostly browse the files in file mode like a pc because its very slow to access the library files that seem to be getting stored remotely with the video files on my NAS. Additionally it looks like some apps etc. are not available due to no hdd.

What am I missing out on having no HDD installed on the A300?

Second question: if I am indeed missing out, I guess probably better to buy a small ssd to install rather than a big storage hdd for the a300 as it will only be needed for non-media files, all the media will continue to be stored on the remote nas... is this the right thing to do?

[chris57]

You are missing:-

1. NMT Apps - torrent and usenet downloading apps, FTP/SMB/NFS/uPnP servers
2. Ability to make your NAS access for the NMT Read Only and thereby the location of the NMJ database at the NMT Apps installation, be it a HDD or USB stick. Advantage of this is that it stops anyone deleting your files from the players remote.

If I were you i'd use a small USB stick now and install the NMT Apps on it. Then see if you find any difference in caching and playback. If you do prefer it then go for a small SSD, i have a cheap OCZ SATAII one in my A300.

The Apps Market Apps (youtube/BBC iplayer/Etc.) are nothing to do with a HDD or USB installation. They are stored on the units NAND RAM.

[LoZzA199]

Im looking at the same thing. I have a HDD in my A110 not in my A300. Is a USB stick good enough to run NMJ or would I really be better off with a HDD?
Had a look on Ebay someone selling refurbished Sata2 drives pretty cheap may just grab one of those

I guess an SSD would be faster again

[chris57]

NMJ does not run from a USB or HDD, it is part of the firmware.

No NMT can take advantage of SSD speeds. However every NMT Owner can take advantage of the lack of noise and heat from a SSD. That's why I have a SSD and at £45 for a 60Gb one its getting affordable.

[accident]

usb thumbdrives while slower than ssd or hd also doesn't have moving parts like an hd does so it can appear faster with no spinup waiting (and really easy to remove for updates).

You can really summarize the units like this:
- App Market is designed for no drives, no advantage to having a drive.
- NMJ is designed for no drives, drives are not required but it can store the database on a local drive to get some more speed if you had nmt installed (more in nmt in a moment)
- NMT is firmware extensions for things you would want if you had a drive installed but just wasting cpu and memory if you don't have a drive
- Thumbdrives started as an option so someone with all externals could have their external formated to work best with their computer but still get the linux formatting needed to run nmt. Also a low cost way for those that only need nmt running but don't need the storage room that a hd would provide to save a little money.
- NMT offers a base platform to run other apps made by users. Wide range of different options with that found in the dev forums. A 300 user should look in both the 200 and 300 dev forums but understand the ones requiring html tv interface(aka gaya) may not be usable on the 300 but will install.
- some users like using NMT to store things normally stored on a network. Very popular to save your jukebox files from third party jukeboxes on the nmt install for speed vs the network which can be slower.

[narubonk]

(08-17-2012 03:36 PM)chris57 Wrote:  You are missing:-

1. NMT Apps - torrent and usenet downloading apps, FTP/SMB/NFS/uPnP servers

...

The Apps Market Apps (youtube/BBC iplayer/Etc.) are nothing to do with a HDD or USB installation. They are stored on the units NAND RAM.

What's the difference between "NMT Apps" and "Apps" ?

Also, where do you get the iplayer?

[accident]

NMT is a firmware extension to add some features that you need a drive to use. Apps is the market place apps where you find the downloadable apps for a variety of sites and features, no drive required.. Iplayer would be in app market however BBC has restricted it to certain countries so it may not appear to you.

[narubonk]

(08-29-2012 07:28 PM)accident Wrote:  Iplayer would be in app market however BBC has restricted it to certain countries so it may not appear to you.

Is the app fetched directly from the BBC or does syabas do the geo fencing?

(so you have to fool it at the router level, eh?)

[accident]

I don't know how the block works.. it won't even appear in the list if your not in a bbc authorized area. I'm assuming is standard ip based geo targeting.

[chris57]

It is based on ip addresses.

The A300 has been certified by the BBC and indeed I use iplayer on my A300. The last I heard the C300 was at BBC getting certified.

BBC iPlayer is available only to UK residents. Remember each year we have to pay for a TV license and pay the BBC to produce programmes in the UK.

[accident]

Your press always makes it sound like nobody else pays. The programming made available in the US is not on a free to view channel. We may not have a yearly fee for our tvs but we do not get the bbc made programming for free.

The reason is tv content is licensed regionally and that includes internet rights. BBC resells the rights to others and they may not have the rights to show you the programming.

[plm]

It's never been a secret that the BBC makes a large chunk of money from what it licenses to other territories, which is why they have the BBC Worldwide division devoted to just that. They also produce content specifically for markets outside of the UK, but none of that can be funded by the TV Licence as part of the charter they operate under.

I can't help but think this territorial model will have to break down at some point in the future, and people will be able to choose whichever content provider(s) they like. The cable and satellite companies are absolutely averse to change (note that NBC wouldn't let you stream any Olympics coverage unless you could prove you were a customer of its subscription MSNBC channel) but the world is changing around them. IPTV is taking off via the back door, 'cable-cutting' is already starting to happen, and at some point they're going to have to adapt their business models to what the customer is prepared to accept.

Although I have a TV Licence back in the UK I'd happily pay for one in the States too to get the 'proper' BBC channels and not just BBC America.

[narubonk]

(08-31-2012 12:57 PM)chris57 Wrote:  BBC iPlayer is available only to UK residents. Remember each year we have to pay for a TV license and pay the BBC to produce programmes in the UK.

As we do. I wouldn't mind if you VPN'ed in to have a look

(08-31-2012 09:12 PM)plm Wrote:  I can't help but think this territorial model will have to break down at some point in the future, and people will be able to choose whichever content provider(s) they like.

Indeed, and HBO is making a stab at in it in Scandinavia, with "HBO Nordic" - which is supposed to open in about 2 months. With an internet streaming option, they have said that US shows will be available with 24 hours after having been show in the US. So the US shows Game of Thrones on Sunday, the Scandinavians get it on Monday.