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NC right for my needs?

S

seateebee

Lurker
Wasn't looking for a tablet but then saw that the little Craig tablet was going for $80 at my local CVS. Did a little research and it looks like the next step up is the NC. Went to B&N and it looks like a cool little device, esp. with the root options. But.... my main uses will be only two things really; primarily watching video's while using exercise equipment and secondarily general intermet access. As far as video goes I've read a few places where video playback might not be so good on the NC due to no hardware acceleration? So basically my questions are -

1) Once the NC is rooted are the video capabilities good (smooth playback w/ many formats supported)?

2) If rooted any chance of streaming video from network shared devices (smb drives)?


Thanks in advance for any insights....
 
I dunno about the Nook color. 7" to watch video while working out seems a bit, hmmm, clunky.

If it's mainly to watch video, I'd go look at the Archos lines. They have tonnes of video codecs built in, and there is a wide variety of screen sizes available.
 
Hi, Thanks for taking the time to reply... yeah, size wise it'll fit on my little reading rack over the stairmaster control panel pretty well I think (I use a netbook at the moment). I'm just more concerned with the second part of your response... are the codec all going to be available and will the video play smoothly. And lastly, is streaming wirelessly from SMB going to work. Thanks again for the input.... chris
 
Out of the box, video plays beautifully on the NC. it is true the archos support more codecs, the NC supports just .mp4 currently, but that is usually the most prevelent video file format out there, and there is plenty of free software out there that will convert .avi/etc to mp4.

Because internet browsing is also what you want, you'd want to root it. Though the stock browser is more or less enough for most people, by rooting you can install more powerful, feature-filled browsers like Dolphin.

The screen on the NC blows the archos away. A buddy of mine bought an archos, went through the trouble of rooting it and everything, then ended up returning it to get the NC because he watches a lot of video podcasts and he says the NC screen is just sexy.

Good luck with whatever choice you make :)
 
Cabbie summed it up.
Movies play very well on the NC.

NC screen is leaps and bounds better than the Archos 70. Archos does have more multimedia support built in, but then again, you can download an App like Rockplayer which has a bunch of extra codecs to play more formats.
 
And, to add on top about all of the codec stuff, even though the NC only plays MP4, it's trivial to transcode a video with something like WinFF.

So, since you already use a netbook to do what you are looking to do, I think the NC will fit the bill nicely for you, and it's less than the Archos 101 or 70.
 
DLNA? Digital Living Network Alliance?

Do you know how that would work in practice? The NC exports video by USB to a hub from which I can plug a HDMI table from and to my telly? Or is this all wi-fi?
 
The Wagster said:
DLNA? Digital Living Network Alliance?

Do you know how that would work in practice? The NC exports video by USB to a hub from which I can plug a HDMI table from and to my telly? Or is this all wi-fi?
Click to expand...

It's all Wifi. DLNA is a protocol for sending media content over a TCP/IP network.

So, if your phone (Or other device) has a DLNA server, and your TV has a DLNA client (Most newer Samsung and LG devices, as well as others), or if your BluRay/DVD player has one (Most BluRay, and only one DVD player I've seen); then you can stream content from your phone to your TV's.

In fact, many NAS boxes now have DLNA servers as well :)
 
So the NC can act as a DLNA media server and a [DLNA compliant] TV will act as the client and will show videos stored on the Nook.

Can I do that without needing a PC or NAS or AV receiver?

Sweet!!
 
The Wagster said:
So the NC can act as a DLNA media server and a [DLNA compliant] TV will act as the client and will show videos stored on the Nook.

Can I do that without needing a PC or NAS or AV receiver?

Sweet!!
Click to expand...

Correct. As long as your TV is a DLNA one, you can stream content from your Nook to your TV.

Be mindful, it must be local content. I don't think DLNA can stream things like YouTube, or Netflix.
 
Ok. How about if I'm playing something like Angry Birds - will that show on the big screen? Or is it only for movies and music stored on the Nook?

Just in case I have an audience?!
 
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