HD Media Player Options

[rsatat]

I am on the lookout for a media player to play digital content - movies - avi, mp3, mkv etc
Need some advice on whether PS3 will be a better option or should I just settle on the WD Live? Been reading a lot of posts here and am confused.
Also are receivers such as the neoHD an even better option?

I would like to play content off my Seagate external HDDs and USBs but not off my desktop as that is too much of a hassle.

I have a Sony HT (basic), WII, Sony HD LCD, Optoma HD Ready Projector (> 2years old) and a Sony HiFi shelf system.

 

[de8212]

I do not know anything about ps3's or neoHD. I just got a WD TV Live less than one month ago and it has worked great. Had a small issue a couple of days after I configured it to stream from my main pc. For some reason it wouldn't find the share. After searching their forums I set it up a bit differently and all was fine. I did go ahead and buy a USB drive to connect straight to the device. That worked flawlessly from the get go. I really like the fact I can copy files over my network to the usb drive through the WD.

 

[sdifox]

which projector do you have? Does it have hdmi or dvi? And how is your system hooked together?
I have the WD TV Live and it works ok enough. The fast forward only goes to 16x and it doesn't so advance x min so that gets annoying sometimes, but most of the time you just sit through the whole file so it is not an issue. It does ask if you want to resume viewing if you stop playback and come back to the file later.

If all you want to do is play external hdd, that is an easy option. Take a look at the Asus O!Play too.

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Medi...4079501&sr=8-2

 

[de8212]

The fast forward only goes to 16x and it doesn't so advance x min so that gets annoying sometimes, but most of the time you just sit through the whole file so it is not an issue.

I'm not in front of mine now but while in ff press next will skip 10 minutes ahead also back will go back 10 minutes.

 

[sdifox]

I'm not in front of mine now but while in ff press next will skip 10 minutes ahead also back will go back 10 minutes.

I shall try that. Maybe I should RTFM

 

[slackerinabox]

Have all three (wd-live, asus o-play and the ps3).

Favorite for media playback? A tie between the wd-live and the o-play... Seek seems to work a bit better on the asus o-play, but I have a feeling that the wd-live will get more consistent updates, and hopefully content partnerships. The o-play is not currently compatible with play-on (a plugin that allows you to watch hulu and netflix on DLNA devices). The WD-tv live does work with playon, as does the PS3.

The PS3 is a nice compromise since it has a built in blu-ray player and netflix streaming, but I find that it's still a bit choppy on MKV playback.

 

[Slick5150]

WD-Live is fairly versitile, and a bit more-so than the Asus O-Play.

A couple other recommendations I'd have would be the eGreat M34A , and the Xtreamer. the eGreat plays ANYthing, and can even bitstream HD audio, but its user interface leaves a lot to be desired and is SUCKS for music (if you plan on using it for that). The Xtreamer is close as far as being able to play just about anything, and has a better UI.

If you just want something easy, the WD LIVE is not a bad option though.

 

[rsatat]

which projector do you have? Does it have hdmi or dvi? And how is your system hooked together?

I have the Optoma HD 70 and it has a HDMI port. I have the Sony HT connected to a Sony 27 CRT - not yet to the Sony HD LCD and only when needed to the Projector.


I got to check out the eGreat and the Xtreamer yet.

 

[sdifox]

I have the Optoma HD 70 and it has a HDMI port. I have the Sony HT connected to a Sony 27 CRT - not yet to the Sony HD LCD and only when needed to the Projector.


I got to check out the eGreat and the Xtreamer yet.

you can configure the WD TV Live to output audio via optical, so hdmi out from the Wd box to the projector or hdmi switch and optical out to receiver.

 

[slackerinabox]

I have the Optoma HD 70 and it has a HDMI port. I have the Sony HT connected to a Sony 27 CRT - not yet to the Sony HD LCD and only when needed to the Projector.


I got to check out the eGreat and the Xtreamer yet.

No offense to those recommendations (eGreat and Xtreamer), and I will admit ignorance on this - but a problem I had with no name streamers was firmware updates - if something goes wrong then you may be out of luck. Since I am ignorant of these two companies, why not check out their user forums and their firmware release schedule?

Problems crop up out of nowhere - my ASUS O-play didn't support windows 7 shares and required an annoying work around until forum outrage lead to ASUS issuing a firmware patch. The WD Live had similar problems with "Anonymous" shared volumes and that required a firmware patch as well.. What if Windows 7.5 changes the way network drives are mapped (they changed from Vista to 7 after all), and eGreat and Xtreamer are out of business? That's why the WD Live is a safe bet, and the interface is much prettier than the no names.

Popcorn hour has their own, sub-$200 box coming out as well, and don't forget about d-links Boxee box- with Tegra 2 and tons of online content built in (and apps).

 

[tw1164]

I've tried a WD-live, Seagate theater +, AC O'Ryan PlayonHD!, XBMC live, and WMC w/ mediabrowser. All my media was played from a WHS box on the network.

WD-live
+Easy enough that my wife could use it
+Showed subtitle/audio track names
+Showed chapter titles
-Poster view looked like shit
-Default for subtitle is on (RTFM?? maybe?)

Seagate Theater+
-GUI seemed to be created for SD set
-Too many clicks to view media
-no subtitle/audio track names
-aimed toward people using Seagate portable drives

PlayonHD!
+BT client
+Can add internal SATA HD
+auto preview video
-GUI seemed to be created for SD set
-Too many clicks to view media
-no subtitle/audio track names
-Still no YAMJ
-Default for subtitle is on

XBMC Live
+Easy enough that my wife could use it
+Looks great
+Free
+easy to setup
-There was a humming sound while in the menu

WMC w/ mediabrowser
+Easy enough that my wife could use it
+looks great
+Netflix, Amazon VOD support
-bitch to setup
-having problems w/ VC-1 hardware decoding

I'm leaning towards buying a Acer Revo and putting XMBC on it.

 

[Modelworks]

The WDTV Live has custom firmware you can install to add torrent, usenet, other apps if that interest you. It is what I use right now. I use it with an external usb drive and have had no problems playing back video. My biggest gripe would be no netflix support. If I had that I would be happy.

http://b-rad.cc for the firmware.

 

[samduhman]

Great post tw1164. I've been fighting an uphill battle the past couple weeks trying to figure out the easiest most user friendly way to stream my DVD rips from my WHS to my tv. I didn't realize how much of a pain it would turn into. I guess one issue is I have to many options to work with.

- Hook a Laptop directly to TV (HDMI and Cat5)
- Stream through PS3 or Xbox 360

and depending on which device I use what app should I use to stream or in other words easy for my wife to use

The biggest hurdle is ripping TV DVD series. Do a search on ripping TV series from DVD and playback and see the lack of simple options to perform this task. I don't want to rip each episode, encode it and name it and hope when its all done they are in order. Its easier just to get off my butt and put the original DVD in the player.

I'm on the wall on giving this idea up or just getting something like WD HD Live.....but this looks very interesting

POPBOX (from the makers of Popcorn Hour), it comes out in a couple months.

http://www.popbox.com/

http://gizmodo.com/5439293/syabas-popbox-get-ready-for-the-new-media-streamer-champ

 

[rsatat]

I am leaning towards the WD Live and am realizing that my intent to maybe converge on a multi-utility product like a PS3 or a neoHD receiver cum media player may not cut it...

Thanks tw1164 for those great comparisons

 

[blckgrffn]

So, um, a PC?

Seriously, when it comes to versatility and all that, W7 with a good codec pack is pretty awesome. Plus you can just use Hulu and Netflix, no installing media servers etc.

Unfortunately, they aren't $100... This seems to be the major hang up.

Nat

 

[s44]

So, um, a PC?

Seriously, when it comes to versatility and all that, W7 with a good codec pack is pretty awesome. Plus you can just use Hulu and Netflix, no installing media servers etc.

People keep saying this, but don't seem to realize that the 720p Netflix streams are device-only (i.e. everything but PC). PCs are limited to 480p.

Also, PS3 can do Netflix streaming without a PC now, with a disc Netflix sends you...

 

[Rio Rebel]

I have several different displays including a plasma, and LCD, and a projector in a theater room. I use a computer with the LCD (hdmi through the wall and rf remote), the PS3 with the plasma, and an Asus O!Play in the theater room.

The best interface by FAR is the PC. I can use Boxee, XBMC, or Media Center with Media Browser, and all three are great. They show the movie with a poster graphic and a synopsis of the plot, and in some cases even the actors. My favorite is the PC by far.

The PS3 is solid, but requires something streaming the movies to it (like PS3 Media Streamer). I've found that the internal G wireless in the PS3 drops out more frequently than expected, so I actually have my PS3 connected to a router acting as a bridge to increase the bandwidth and eliminate stuttering. Of course, you also either have to buy a bluetooth remote or use the game controller, which for some I reason I find to be distracting.

The O!Play is an impressive little box. It plays EVERYTHING I can throw at it. I just hook it up and it will play any file I want from over the network. At under $100, this is a GREAT little device, with just one flaw - the interface. Even if you organize your files in the most user-friendly way possible, you still end up drilling down through directories to play your movie files. I love my O!play, because it represents a huge step forward for media players from where we were just a year ago...but I can't expect my wife or daughter to use it without me. By the way, they now have this device with N wireless built in for $129.

I think we're getting very close to people being able to set up inexpensive media servers with wireless boxes for each tv to play their media. The one catch is somebody has to provide the stability and universality of the O!Play with a user friendly interface like Boxee. Till then, I hope some of this helps you pick how you want to go.

 

[rsatat]

I certainly want to keep it way simpler than having to use a PC )) and was thinking he PS3 will give the kids more gaming options than just the wii.
The built in N Wireless for the O!Play sounds good too.

 

[Claudius-07]

Same here, I've gone through the gambit of devices and ideas. From my original Xbox running XBMC, to building a total HTPC, to the WD HD TV to the Seagate Theater+, to a PS3.

I love the PS3 and it can do everything (media wise and plays games to boot!), but at the end of the day still requires you to encode some stuff (especially if you download lots of different formats) to a format it can play OR you must keep your computer on and run PS3 Media Server... which is a fantastic piece of software btw.

I have since figured out a way to run PS3 Media Server on my WHS which is a plus since that is the computer that is on 24/7, and contains all my media. That is the best current setup I could find if I had to choose and have ONLY ONE device.

My most important thing for me was ripping my DVD movies and shows to my WHS in ISO format and been able to watch them all the time or any time from a networked device in my living room (WHS with all my media is upstairs, entertainment system is downstairs). The PS3 can do that but I found it a bit of a hassle to deal with ISO format, or the VIDEO_TS format so I really wanted something that could handle ISO rips and have menus etc., and be simple to use for my gf.

I am currently using my Seagate Theater+ for everything OTHER than BLU Ray playback now which I obviously use my PS3. The Theater+ plays ISO or anything else for that matter and has all the menus and it never hangs, runs quiet and works like a champ and is networked. Plays BR rips (either ISO or MKV), without a problem except it wont bistream TrueHD or DTS-MA. I hate the number of clicks to navigate to my shared folders though.. that is a pain.

So maybe I just have not found the end all be all device but thus far it's either PS3 or a combo of PS3 and Theater+

 

[s44]

I thought the latest versions of PS3 Media Server handled ISOs?