Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Off Topic OT: All singing Media Player recommendation

What is the best media in terms of things it can play back and cost.
Prefer:
Most compatibility on playback material ie divx, mkv, FLAC
Cheap as chips if possible
Coax out or even SPDIF
Obviously HDMI

I just want to connect an external hdd with media on there and watch it.
The reason i say cheap is i do not need the best quality as i have some learning material in various formats that i just want to view on the tv without having the pc on, as well as watching maybe films recorded in iso format.

I know this has been discussed before, i am just lacking some time.

Some urls on where to get "it" would be great too

Thanks all

I love my Dune D1. Not the cheapest option mind you, but it will handle virtually all formats.

Old recommendation was HDI Dune BD Prime 3.0.

New recommendation HDI Dune HD smart B1 with internal BD-ROM.

http://dune-hd.com/hd_players/current/134-dune-hd-smart-b1.html

Now, what you need is either a NAS (QNAP, Thecus, etc) or you could go with the more day-to-day hassle of external USB/eSATA HDD.

www.mpcclub.com is a dedicated forum for media streamers.

Both of these DUNE players are based on the same (hardware/software) platform. Biggest difference is the form factor.

New Oppo players are streaming capable (from either directly connected HDD or a NAS, plus from 3rd party services in the US)

http://www.Oppo-Bluray.co.uk/ecommerce/blu-ray-players/BDP-93EU.aspx

Additional Disc & Media Formats - Additional disc and file formats, such as DVD, audio CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD, AVCHD, MP4, DivX, MKV, FLAC, WAV and other audio/video/picture files on recorded discs, USB or eSATA drives can be played back on the BDP-93EU.

I have a BDP-83 player and have tried streaming from my NAS but still trying to work out the right settings when ripping from DVD/BR to MKV/MP4 format - not satisfied with the picture quality.

Depends on your budget as to how cheap they are...

Obviously everyone has their own definition of 'cheap as chips' but it may be worth checking out the Western Digital options at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/homeentertainment/mediaplayers/

I believe that the base model WD TV Live is available at well under �100. I think I saw it at �60 somewhere - possibly Maplin. Its �79 on Amazon.

Review at http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/network-media-streamers/353542/western-digital-wd-tv-live and other places.

Shame it doesn't do likes of BBC iPlayer otherwise I would have bought one.

Also some Free/sat/view boxes, blu-ray players and TV's also do this as standard if you are considering upgrading any of those items.

HDI Dune has been proven in the field for streaming. For 2 years it has been able to stream BD ISOs with menus etc. intact. Works perfectly with HD621 as it has internal decoding of DTS HD Master and DolbyTrueHD. Oppo still has some issues regarding streaming and they are working on them. If you want something that just works now and supports most formats including full Blu-Ray with menus over 100mbit LAN then HDI Dune is what you want.

For me reliability is very important.

Not a recommendation but a question - Popcorn Hour A210? Seems to decode all formats with good forum support for upgrades? Seems to be popular on the continent too even tho its USA product. Streams wirelessly with �20 wifi dongle,

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. Its much appreciated.

Ref the Dune, Oppo and the Popcorn, it's a bit pricey for me at the moment. Good machines as the are. Definitely something I will very well look into when I get somne DSPs again.

I'm looking at around �30-60 mark or thereabouts. Really just a device that will play most files with a connected SATA drive via USB/E-SATA on a docking station of sorts. I already have a dock and 2TB drive that will do the storage just need to media player.

It's just to see and hear presenters teaching training material mostly that I am interested in getting onscreen. Therefor quality is definitely not the be all and end all.

At the moment I have been using my PC with the PS3 server to stream wired to my PS3 and then the plasma TV. As I have no end of problems including formats that it doesnt want to play I have decided enough is enough. It's got me really behind and I have lost many opportunities in getting a job thus far as a result.

So just for the moment, something cheap that will do the job.


Thanks for the suggestions.

Such a clunky interface on it. I sold mine after a fortnight as it was too much of a pain, you started in the set up menus every time and had to work your way back to the library interface, if it booted to that it would be far better.

Ian,

I did think of the Western Digital from another thread that you had recommended the same but was there some kind of limitation with it? I can't recall quite exactly what kind of limitation/problem it had. Any inklings?

Thaks for the suggestion, it all helps

Cheers

gizzE,

I'm glad you told me that's a big turnoff. I've seen those GUIs and I must say they were very frustrating. I'll remember that for when I want a better media server in the future.

Cheers