Myka sneaks BitTorrent into the living room
By Paul Miller 
posted Mar 21st 2008 1:37PM
posted Mar 21st 2008 1:37PM
[Thanks, ARZ]
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Pleasure for me, to say engadget think to clever for us. yes no?
very much do teh torrent with the bits and bytes engadget in my eyeballs for the cats poopy pains painting living room maybe esta?
at first i thought both of you were high, but then i saw that only one of you was high(dink)
Already purchasing it. AMAZING.
One problem, does it play .mkv's like the popcorn box? If not, then there are no bit torrents you'll really want to watch. ;)
Would have found this much more useful as a news reader. Sure can't beat 'em un-throttled downloads with BitTorrent.
PopcornHour A-100 > this
AppleTV ripoff!
..
Haha... funny joke there.
That was a joke, right?
I think he was serious :(
Oh no they d'int!
"No Need For iTunes
And because it's BitTorrent, that means Myka can deliver any kind of content to your TV, developed in an open platform. No closed, proprietary system that works only on, say, Apple TV.
That means you don't need iTunes or any other prepackaged, closed system.
This is the Internet as it was meant to be experienced - without borders and open to any kind of content for consumers and any kind of innovation for developers.
That translates into choices."
- myka.tv
Oh yeuh they did!
Now if it could just record content instead of just playing back downloads, I'd be all over that bitch.
AppleTV IS a rip off
lol, its funny that the majority of you are so willing to jump to conclusions regarding the sincerity of my post as it clearly demonstrates the horrible running joke of the iPhone ripoff, much like the Doom, Crysis, and blending jokes posted here throughout.
Quite honestly, if you've noted my posting history (which would be scary if you have) you'd realize I'm most always sarcastic.
On another note, I don't own any Apple products and therefore could care less who or what rips anything of Apple.
Thanks for listening. Now go ahead and click that liiittle red button right up there ---------------^
it just goes to show the dangers of being too sarcastic. the comment is indistinguishable from an actual apple fanboy comment.
remember the old saying : be careful who you pretend to be , because what you pretend to be is what you are.
@sinjinn (spelling?)
"it just goes to show the dangers of being too sarcastic."
That's why you need to attach this tag at the bottom of your post:
(/sarcasm)
I don't know, but what are the two periods doing at the bottom of his post? Is it a sign of sarcasm that we missed? Scanning this guy's history, he's MOSTLY sarcastic.
Sarcasm is an art. Practice makes perfect..14124t4
It is indeed. I know people say it is hard to get sarcasm on the internet but really, with the extra spaces and ellipsis, how unperceptive must you be? You guys -- ya killing me.
The only 'ripping off' it is doing is the shape. And even so I think that shape existed a long time before any apple products....
You call to keep it legal has inspired me to goto the nearest single mom and threaten some money out of her RIAA style and then use it to buy a legal cd or movie!!
I feel liberated.
MY Popcorn Hour NMT is already on the way, I'm taken care of :)
Popcorn Hour is actually a better product if you ask me, might get one when I have some extra cash.
Took my preorder on the 17th just waiting for them to ship it ..Now that BD+ is broken it will be nice to back up my Bluray and stream them via .iso
Popcorn Hour is the man's version of a Myka.
i wonder if the instructions states something like "US and Canadian residents subscribing to Comcast, Rogers or Bell Sympatico may experience ULTRA MEGA SLOW to FULL OUT DEATH STOP of torrents"
Keep it legal?? Common on, who are we kidding. Torrents are mainly populated with shows that have been encoded by someone so that it can be shared by all. I see no difference between this and having someone tape a show for you...well, maybe the difference is that tape can reach over 50 million people in the span of an hour. Still a great product, but I doubt people will pay to use this.
If you use torrents to get your shows, I doubt you'll want to pay >$299 for this. If you want to get your content on the big screen there are cheaper ways to get there (XBMC). If you have money to waste, I guess you could buy this.
tapes can reach 50 million people in an hour? i used to trade tapes with friends. sometimes they reached 5-6 people in a week.
sorry, I meant a tape CAN'T reach 50 million people in an hour.
Look, you're totally missing the point here.
I'm an IT guy. Provided my phone is in my pocket, my laptop always has an internet connection. It's great. Unfortunately it's not exactly grandma-friendly having to figure out which of 3 INIT strings an 2 dialup codes to use after determining the right port and launching the phone connector in windows. A lot of people pay me a decent bit of money so that they don't have to think about the details.
The significance here is on a market level, not a technology level. It's grandma-friendly torrenting; and that has to scare the crap out of the studios.
@ Aeo
I think that is the point exactly. Grandma doesn't know how to set this up, so she'll call you to configure it for her and then you'll either say "there's the expensive route" or "there's the cheaper route" which one do you want to choose?
I understand where you are coming from with the ease of setup with this compared to a cheaper route e.g XBMC + PC setup, but the setup should be a one time thing and you won't need to do it again.
MYKA is one of those crypto mix-em up, shift the letters things...I think I've got it solved: MYKA = PORN
undoubtedly porn will be one of the primary uses of this device.
If it has support for MKV, subtitles and upgradeable hard drive, I am sold for sure.
I agree... MKV is a MUST.
And there's a USB port for additional storage....
No sign of it in tech specs, and the hardware does the video decoding. I was going to say that it running Linux, you could just open up VLC but it doesn't output correctly and would need to be worked on. This is according to the forums.
I couldn't possibly buy this product...
The company uses Comic Sans for their logo!
Graphic designer? :)
ummm...no, they don't. It looks very similar, but if you visit their website, you can see that it is not Comic Sans. Still looks atrocious however.
It gets worse. The logo is in fact Comic Sans, but their designer didn't even bother to match the logo on the web site with the logo on the machine. $5 says that version 2 hardware will be sporting Times New Roman.
Pffft says you. Comic Sans is my favorite font!
Disclaimers at end of instruction manuals...
*Myka not responsible for any jail time you may encounter because of pirating issues with local government
*Myka Warranty does not cover spontaneous combustion of product due to 42837 viruses that came with the latest pirated copy of Girls Gone Wild
Virus = Very yes
Virus in Linux? can you please elaborate?
Nice!
Is that a "DVB" logo on the bottom right? Can this thing get freeview or something lol. I might have miss read it but it sure looks like "DVB" to me :)
Indeed it is. http://www.myka.tv/front_crop.jpg. Nice catch. It must be for their planned Asian version.
I don't understand the appeal of this...I have a $400 PC connected to my TV running bittorrent. Why pay the same for something that does way less?
1) a DIY $400 PC is probably quite big and ugly
2) and will not do component or HDMI output
3) most people besides computer nerds don't already have a cheap machine lying around connected to their TV and given the option, $400 for a slick, attractive machine that's ready to go is pretty damn good
4) considering that this thing runs linux and the creators seem to embrace open culture, it probably won't be long before it's hacked into a full-fledged computer, making it just as good as your DIY box
5) you're not getting laid with a dorky nerd-box running four 92mm fans and cold cathode lighting next to your TV
Few advantages over a $400 PC- lower power consumption, HDMI/1080i/p output, smaller form factor, quieter, included remote control, plug and play/minimal setup.
PC's advantage- ability to add more software, more expandability.
Power consumption maybe? I've got a PC hooked up to my TV also, but if I could get something quieter and smaller than my mid-tower to do the same thing I would consider it. I also just got a power bill for the past 2 months of running my PC 24/7. It's considerably higher than not running my PC all the time. Some $20 bucks probably. No much, but still.
1) It wasn't DIY and it is much larger but no uglier since it doesn't have a big Bittorrent sticker on it.
2) It has HDMI out
3) If its not lying around and you have $400 to spend, why not get an attractive PC instead of a limited Bittorrent box.
4) The difference is I didn't have to do any hacking...I'm lazy and mine's easier.
5) I don't get laid based on what's sitting in my entertainment center, I get laid based on what's in my pants.
6. It has been explained before - you get real savings in your electric bill if you use this rather than run your computer 24/7 - this thing pays itself off.
7. Imagine the possibilities - leaving one of these hidden in your parent's house using their internet to d/l all you want, or using a neighbor's wireless internet.
Agree with nick here.
I just bought a Dell Vostro 200 Slim, which is small form factor, and has
Core 2 Duo @2.2Ghz, overclock to 2.9 (BSEL mod)
2GB RAM,250GB HD, DVDRW.
for $369, including a 20" LCD.
No HDMI, but it does have DVI. If I really need it, I can add a HDMI PCIe vid card in there.
Nothing beats a good deal.
6) So using a separate box for downloading torrents AND a computer for everything else saves power consumption? Interesting...
7) Those don't sound like compelling uses to me...
@ Seoultrain
wait, where'd you get a machine like that for $369? That does seem like a sweet deal. *off to dell.com*
@ BradVT
That is a sweet deal, I just got an off brand with:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ dual core processor
2GB of DDR2-667 memory
320GB SATA hard drive
dual layer DVDRW
for $400 from Tiger Direct...they're out there, just gotta look...a lot...
sorry, brad. Deal is over. It lasted a couple hours, so I was lucky to get in when I did. I wouldn't be surprised to see it go on sale again in a couple weeks. slickdeals.net is my site of choice.
Ah, I see. Well I guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled then and look around. I'm not really in the market for a new computer right now, but if I found a deal like that it would be hard to pass up.
Your $400 barebones has HDMI out? Are you sure you don't actually mean that you had to buy an HDMI-capable video card for the machine, thereby bringing the actual price to about $600? If not, please let me know where you got your HDMI-capable barebones as you got the bargain of the century.
@ Tonicboy
It was a great deal, thanks...and no I didn't have to buy an additional video card...this is what I got for $400:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-detailsInactive.asp?EdpNo=3703954
I will give you a third chance.
Yes, there is less power being used - using your computer to D/L overnight wastes more electricity than using this invention. Yes, there are times when you do use them concurrently (at the same time) - but we are talking about overnight here only.
Also, having a separate box d/l frees up a computer to do something more productive, like FPS gaming.
larcen, you're blowing this whole 24/7 or overnight power draining out of proportion. uTorrent will shut down your computer after torrents are done, so it will be on for the same amount of time this will.
A HTPC will use more power while it's on, but then again it's way more powerful and flexible than this. It's up to an individual to compare their needs with the pros and cons of each. But to choose such an inflexible option based on power use seems to be a formula for buyer's remorse.
I appreciate you giving me so many "chances". First, we don't know how much electricity this thing uses. Second, without showing me some sort of evidence that running two systems (including one that runs all night) uses less electricity than using one (that runs all night), you'll have a hard time convincing me. I'm sure that the difference would be negligible to the point where, the extra money you spent procuring two systems would not be offset by the energy savings by the time you'd probably want to buy the next replacement gadget/system. You'd be looking at YEARS before the extra $400 you spent would be payed for by energy savings.
How does this work exactly. What about files that are downloaded as a .Rar or .Zip file? And BitTorrent is really slow on my ISP in comparison to other Torrent clients, can you use other client instead?
I can't tell if this was directed at me or not. My question although maybe ignorant was not a cheap sarcastic jab at anyone. I just thought if you download a file that happens to be zipped, then what? I have spent about an hour now researching this and got my answers.
Either way, may I suggest less coffee?
Someone explain to me why I am not better off just spending $350 on an xbox 360, and streaming my media files to the tv via it instead?
The 360 option lets me also play games, rent movies and tv shows, etc
Codec support, for one thing...
Great idea, but i feel its over priced, you could put linux on a shuttle pc, and run a whole distro+ torrent client/wifi
Most normal people would realize it was just a sarcastic comment, but there are those that are ready to rip into a commenter just to get some bitterness flowing. Apparently you'd better put a PS on all your comments that says SARCASTIC REPLY so you don't bruise some tender egos. The "does it play Doom" comment is always out there, but so what, it a running joke. Can't even have a little fun on Engadget, because people take this stuff so seriously.
I'd like to see the UI. If they made it so you can easily search torrents through a tivo-like interface, and download them with the click of a button, then this device has amazing potential. Also, the end user shouldn't have to configure TOO much. For example, the consumer doesn't want to have to play with settings in order to ensure downloading a movie doesn't slow down their internet connection to a crawl.
I can't wait to watch a movie !
oh wait.. 5 days left to download.
off to the video store
You have Dial-Up dont ya.. poor guy.
as far as quiet small BT dedicated computers go, an old laptop is more then fine. I really gotta wonder how these guys figured they would sell enough to make a profit.
Screenshots.. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SCREENSHOTS!!!!
Buy a Popcorn Hout A-100 NMT.
I just got 2 of them and they are the best.
It plays everything I threw at it from torrents, a.b.multimedia and more.
This product will not have anywhere near the support of the Popcorn hour and IT forces you to buy a HDD With it. the POPcorn Hour I got - I just added 750GB to it for $120.00 Can;t beat that.
LASTLY i noticed it don't support 1080p???? The Popcorn does.
Does 1080p really matter when you're watching a movie compressed to a 700mb AVI file? Alright, maybe a 1.4gig 2cd file? But even that still looks crappy.
I watch my torrents through 1080i on a 40" LCD, it's watchable sure, but the compressed image will suck no matter what resolution.
YES IT DOES.
Most of us these days that buy gagets like this have 1080P tv's.
The interface in 1080P looks great on the POPCORN.
Then the FIles you are going to play back - Most BR Rips / HD DVD Rips / MKV ? stuff is in 1080p (and or 720p).
SO for standard Xvid and Divx - NO 1080 is not necessary - but for the majority of the people using a device like this - Yes 1080P is very important.
Besides this new device don;t support 1/2 the codecs that the Popcorn Hour does and the Popcorn is avalable NOW at 179.00 - add any drive you want.
Popcorn hour makes this product look useless.
alright, whats the magic code, I configured one like yours and it costs 589 dollars.
this was meant for seoultrain. I swear I hit the reply button
i replied above. It's not a code, it was a temporary deal that has since ended.
E-Value Code 13856-BRPHSGH
In one of their (Dell's) Newspaper stuffers...
As if anyone would use this legally...
Pleasure for me to say I do. My peoples are pirate. Pleasure for me to be too. Thanks you, and good day bedtime to you my friends.
cheese is good yes no?
Back to topic- does this one play DivX encoded files fine?
I, personally, would have liked to see it with an optical drive for burning/viewing.
Specifications says it can only ouput up to 720p and 1080i and can only decode h264 up to profile 4.1. Looks like the Popcorn Hour kicks this thing's butt. A Popcorn Hour with 400GB hard drive = $270. A Myka with 400GB drive = $459. For that price you could just get another Popcorn with no hard drive.
So far its a vaporware as far as Im concerned, emphasis is on bittorrent but no screenshot of the interface. how configurable is the client, can it subscribe to rss feeds a la utorrent?
At this pricepoint, a mac mini with windows Media Center is a better proposition, considering u get a full computer with similar form factor for under $500
It looks like a Apple TV except without the homosexuality
Way too much cash. There are always deals to be had for PC's.
I just got an HP PC w/ Quad Phenom, HDMI out, 500GB, remote, and a TV capture card for $366 after $100 rebate. This week there was a Dell deal for a Q6600 quad computer that included a 24" monitor for right at $600. I don't see how spending this much money makes any sense unless the only thing you care about is form factor.
Some photos of the Myka...which is supposed to compete with Apple TV. I'll take the Myka anyday.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/03/21/myka.media.hub/
Just got my PopcornHour today, unboxing photos to follow!
I require 1 terabyte, but output includes hdmi woooo!!
It is indeed. I know people say it is hard to get sarcasm on the internet but really, with the extra spaces and ellipsis, how unperceptive must you be? You guys -- ya killing me.
I'm already streaming video from my PC to any of my TiVo units over a wireless network using TiVo Plus software, it's like a video on demand service when the TiVo drive is full I can delete a show or movie and just request another one on demand from my PC. So I can record anything from my cable as well as stream any video from my PC and it only cost me $24.99 for the TiVo Desktop Plus software.
Does anyone know if it supports RSS feeds for automatically downloading shows?