TViX Slim S1 : Bidding Adieu to the Realtek RTD1283
by Ganesh T S on March 8, 2011 8:23 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Media Streamer
- DVICO
- TVIX
We recently updated our streamer test suite to v1.1 and started using it in the Nixeus Fusion HD review posted last week. The TViX Slim S1 scored 262 out of a possible 368, earning a normalized score of 71.2%. This is only slightly lesser than the Nixeus Fusion HD's 72.3%, by far the best SMP 865x based media streamer we have tested. Considering that we used the firmware hack to enable DTS-HD bitstreaming and also the fact that the TViX Slim S1 is able to play back Real Media files (which the Nixeus Fusion HD doesn't), its score is very disappointing.
The TViX Slim S1 lost points in test streams for the following aspects:
- DVR-MS, OGG (for Theora / Vorbis streams), WTV, WebM containers
- PGS subtitles (both forced and unforced) in MKVs (Completely unsupported)
- MPEG-4 clips with more than 2 warp points
- VP6 encoded video
- 1080p60 H.264 compatibility (Some streams play back correctly, some have stutters -- including some HD camcorder clips)
- 1080p H.264 content with more than 4 reference frames (Admittedly, this type of content is fairly uncommon, but the aim of our test suite is to evaluate streamers on the basis of their codec compatibility)
- ASS stylized subtitles
- Hindi and Chinese SRT subtitles
- Sub-par deinterlacing
- M2TS splitter issue with certain streams
- Blu-Ray ISO / folder structure navigation
- DTS-HD bitstreaming from MKVs (Only core soundtrack is bitstreamed)
MKV chapters are a hit or miss. Some files would be recognized as having chapters, while others had to remuxed a couple of times to enable the unit to detect them. In any case, chapter names aren't provided in the Goto menu, and you have to rely on the chapter numbers.
In addition to the above issues, playing back standard video streams (such as one of the M2TS streams from the HQV Benchmark Blu-Ray) in a loop sometimes caused the unit to misbehave. The playback stopped after some time, and the unit refused to play any other stream till it was power cycled. On other occasions, the unit would randomly power off when navigating through the folders. Admittedly, this was pretty rare (happened only 2 or 3 times during my entire testing).
If any of the above aspects are deal breakers for you, then, the TViX Slim S1 is not the streamer you want.
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Cullinaire - Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - link
Doesn't adieu mean to say goodbye? Seems odd to use it in the headline as is.ganeshts - Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - link
That was the intent :) This is the final 1283 based product that we review.From now on, it will be 1185 only..
Cullinaire - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Now I understand :)MGSsancho - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
over all Ganesh, excellent review. the box on the stuff it does not support was mostly what I went directly to. I agree with your wish list in your conclusion. I noticed you didn't mention cheap. to be honest some of ups demand top features, quality and user interface. we recognize premium features come at a premium price. $100 or $150 would be ideal but I will pay $300 or even $500 for a perfect media streamer box. how ever i beleive these should be optional extras (tuners, hdds, ssds, wifi, etc.)you know if any of these devices come with a 3.5mm IR port on the back or those of us with more 'fun' setups? :-)
probedb - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Thanks for the review again :)Why are streamers so bad at this stuff?
I see this one doesn't even pass the CUE test which has been known about and fixed in pretty much every DVD player for the last 5-10 years?
The deinterlacing stuff is particularly annoying and noticable on larger TVs.
Rainman200 - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
In a way yes, the media streamer market has been dragging it's feet for years servicing a niche user base.* Not considering the wider market or improving usability so horrible GUI's are all too common (realtek a major sinner here)
* Avoiding putting GPU's in their chipsets until forced to do so by competition.
* Not bothering implementing automatic media scraping until competition does so.
* Sticking to the outdated one folder per movie for metadata system.
None of the traditional media streamer companies are proactive, they're all reactive waiting until something threatens their business model to respond.
The one bright thing Sigma Designs did is porting XBMC to their chipsets, that will put a serious dent in most of the competition if XBMC players start shipping on the market.
RamarC - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
quite a few have DLNA support and many can play content from usb drives. So, to me, a $200 blu-ray is definitely an alternative to a streamer, but in what areas is it better than or worse than a steamer?reggiethealligator - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Another great media player review! And i like that you are reviewing more than just the boxee and wd offerings which are more well known, but not always better in every situation. This and the Nixeus Fusion HD review gave me some more options to think about.jnmfox - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Any plans on reviewing the HD Theater 300 from SageTV? Works as a standalone media streamer and can be connected to a Sage Server for a more feature rich experience. If you are looking to integrate DVR/PRV functions with your media player WMC and SageTV seem to be the two best ways to go.User created plug-ins (apps) has also improved the functionality as well as the look and feel of the interface.
http://www.sagetv.com/hd_theater.html