Netflix and movie set top player

[fuzzymath10]

I gave my parents my old micro atx pc for their living room last year (Core 2 Duo E7300, 2GB ram, 500GB Caviar Blue, Win7 Pro, in an antec minuet 300). Unfortunately, their main desktop, an old P4, is getting too slow for them. Rather than build a new pc, I figured they could use the new one I built for them and move it downstairs. This leaves them without a living room PC. They mostly use it for netflix, with the odd streaming mkv file.

Is apple tv the best way to go? I understand it doesn't play streaming video from another computer unless it is in itunes. However, I'm skeptical that alternatives are going to be too hard to operate, or unstable. Suggestions welcome. I wouldn't want anything more than the apple tv, which is $120 in Canada (any cheaper places?)

 

[soulcougher73]

I have a Boxee Box and it does everything ive thrown at it so far.

 

[Vadatajs]

WD-TV live with a usb wireless adapter works just fine for netflix.

 

[Kaido]

The AppleTV is my best Netflix player.

I have a variety of systems and have used a variety of systems in the past - Plex, WMC, XBMC, Roku, etc. AppleTV is the best hands-down. I would recommend getting the older white remote for it ($15), as the new silver one blows chunk:

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Remote-C.../dp/B000BAAM1G

It's easy to use, it looks gorgeous on an HDTV, and the skip/preview features are really nice (pressing down on the D-pad divides the playline into chunks that you can skip across to get to any point of the movie you'd like to watch).

Keep in mind that the AppleTV only works on HDTV's with HDMI input - there are no native component/composite/vga/svideo output jacks for older televisions/projectors. You can get adapters, but then you have to figure out the audio solution (only has TOSlink/SPDIF optical digital audio output if you don't go over HDMI). Not sure what kind of TV your parents are using.

You can hack the AppleTV to run XBMC and Plex. XBMC is currently the best in my experience. Neither is what I'd call out of beta yet though, so don't expect perfect results from the hack if you do it. It can handle 1080p MKV's over a wired connection, although the device only physically outputs 720p (not that you can tell much difference on a compressed MKV file anyway).

I use a Patriot Box Office for streaming movies off my NAS. It handles pretty much everything I throw at it, but it doesn't do Netflix, which is something I use a lot. If I had the cash, I'd buy a Mac Mini and run Plex, since that's the best of both worlds, but the AppleTV is a lot more parent-friendly (no underlying desktop OS, app to crash, menu to click out of, etc.).

 

[xchangx]

I have to disagree. Netflix on the Apple tv2 doesn't buffer so I'd you have questionable internet, it will pause all the time. I've since gotten a boxee box and have been really happy with it.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Netflix on PS3 is HD and 5.1 for some content if that matters, and there is no $40-60 / year extra charge to use it like on the xbox. PS3 also supports Hulu Plus, Vudu movie rentals, and PSN movies/TV (yeah I know, buy a PSN money card on Amazon).

If not that, I'd say Roku but that's based on my reading not from owning one.

 

[Kaido]

I have to disagree. Netflix on the Apple tv2 doesn't buffer so I'd you have questionable internet, it will pause all the time. I've since gotten a boxee box and have been really happy with it.

Odd, my AppleTV hasn't paused, but my Roku upstairs does it all the time. Good to know about the buffering thing though.

 

[IamDavid]

Iomega ScreenPlay DX HD Media Player

Nothing has been better for me.

 

[ultimatebob]

I'd get a Roku and be done with it.

 

[Slick5150]

Another vote for Boxee Box here. I love mine.

 

[fuzzymath10]

I never thought of the boxee. Looks decent, maybe a tad expensive ($150 sounds fair, 200 a bit much) but lots of functionality. How is the playback support? If I throw a random mkv file at it, what are the odds it will play?
I read anandtech's review and they also noted buggy software. It has been several months since then; how is stability?

@all my parents have an LCD tv. hdmi is preferred.

@davesimmons I have a ps3 and netflix works great. but it would be a waste for my parents since they wouldn't game, and it costs $299.

 

[Modelworks]

For Netflix , roku is the way to go. The price is low $80 , and it works without issues and anyone can operate it. If you can wait a couple weeks the new series of roku boxes is entering the market and the older ones will drop in price. The newer ones have more memory and a newer chipset, bluetooth and wifi internal.

 

[Slick5150]

I never thought of the boxee. Looks decent, maybe a tad expensive ($150 sounds fair, 200 a bit much) but lots of functionality. How is the playback support? If I throw a random mkv file at it, what are the odds it will play?
I read anandtech's review and they also noted buggy software. It has been several months since then; how is stability?

@all my parents have an LCD tv. hdmi is preferred.

@davesimmons I have a ps3 and netflix works great. but it would be a waste for my parents since they wouldn't game, and it costs $299.

Pretty much 100%. I've thrown everything at it and it plays them without a hitch. 1080p, h.264, DTS-MA, etc... No problems. Add in the online support for Netflix, Vudu, Pandora, and a whole bunch of other apps, it's a really solid device.

The software was buggy but has really improved in recent releases.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

For Netflix , roku is the way to go. The price is low $80 , and it works without issues and anyone can operate it. If you can wait a couple weeks the new series of roku boxes is entering the market and the older ones will drop in price. The newer ones have more memory and a newer chipset, bluetooth and wifi internal.

Cool, thanks for the information. I was planning on buying a Roku very soon but I think I'll wait a couple of weeks.

 

[Kaido]

Cool, thanks for the information. I was planning on buying a Roku very soon but I think I'll wait a couple of weeks.

I have a Roku in my bedroom and it works pretty well. The GUI on mine is laggy, but not terrible (I think it's the model before the current generation, so I don't know if the new ones are any faster). The main reason I got it was for Vimeo on the TV. It works pretty well for Netflix as well - we use ours pretty much nightly before bed. I also use it for Hulu+ and it works pretty well for that too.

 

[MAG1969]

I vote for WD Live + ....

 

[kornphlake]

My samsung blue ray player does a decent job streaming netflix, plus it plays dvds and blue ray discs along with pandora radio, vudu, youtube, etc. I don't know the model number off the top of my head, it was one of the cheaper blue ray players available a few months ago, I think I paid about $110. It made more sense than a Boxee or Roku since it plays discs as well as streaming media.

 

[fuzzymath10]

Thanks all. I think I'm gonna give the Boxee a go. A lot of content is probably US only but netflix and local video files are most important to me, along with built in wifi.