Best Set-Top Media Player?

[rassmatic]

OK guys. I'm hoping to get a media player in the next couple weeks or so but I'm still torn on which one to buy. The ones I'm choosing between are....


Xtreamer HD Media Player - Great player with not too many problems as far as I've seen and it supports every file format imaginable (MKV, RMVB, FLV, OGM, ISO, etc)

The only thing is that there's hardly any review on it online (I've only seen 2) and one of them said that the unit struggles to play 1080p ultra high bitrate MKVs (30MB/sec+)

and that the fan on the unit is loud as f#@$. I doubt I'll be playing any vids at the bitrate (the highest I have is anime at around 20MB/sec) and the fan be turned off so....

http://www.xtreamer.net/




ASUS O!Play HDP-R1 - Another great player, but a there are ALOT of issues with it. Many of the problems can be solved with a firmware update, but as I stands people are getting many problems with it.

File support is just as good as the Xtreamer but it's alot more popular. It also plays every supported file perfectly without issue. Reviews say it's great but I don't know.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/multimedia/review/2009/08/07/Asus-O-Play-HDP-R1-HD-Media-Player/p1




Western Digital TV Live HD Media Player - Excellent reviews with few problems. File support isn't as good as the others,

lacking full support for FLV and OGM files among others. Great interface and easy to use, but I do have quite a few videos downloaded

from tube sites, so FLV support is a must. But it can be added later on in a firmware update.

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=735




All these players are pretty good and they're all around the same price (between $100-$140US). Does anyone own any of these media player

and is willing to share their thoughts on them? Or maybe have another brand that they think is better? It must have composite out as not

everyone I know has an HDTV (That's why I'm not waiting for the new players like Boxee and Popbox; they have NO composite out).

[rb]

We had the WD one at work for a few days and several of my coworkers and my boss have them. No complaints from any of them thus far.

Could probably add this to your list.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch_v3.asp?px=MP&scriteria=AA76493

[woodyear99]

I recommend the WD, got one last year and bought another one for a friend recently. No complaints. One thing about it, you need the remote to use it, so if you take it somewhere and forget the remote no movies for you :p It has happened to us a few times lol.

[rassmatic]

OK. What about the file type support? ever tried playing any flv or ogm files on it? i have a few vids in those formats so the player needs to be able to run them.

and @ rb, the Masscool player looks good, but there's almost no reviews for it. and i saw a guy saying that there's no firmware support for it at all, that sucks. do u own one?

[rb]

Nah I don't but it was recently recommended to me by a friend.

[rassmatic]

Well, after reading a lot of reviews, I've decided to go with the Xtreamer. It plays everything and it doesn't have as much problems as the others.

[mailman166]

Pop corn hour heard of that one???

[mailman166]

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=catalog

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/popbox-is-popcorn-hour-evolved-with-1080p-streaming-and-netflix/

[rassmatic]

yup. PCH is pretty kewl, but out of my price range. Xtreamer fits the bill perfectly though.

[mailman166]

Popcorn Hour A-200 is 179$ US without the wifi 200$ with the wifi

[rassmatic]

the Xtreamer is $145 on Amazon while the A-200's not even out yet. I really don't like being an early adopter. The Xtreamer's been

out for a while now and it's gotten a lot better through recent firmware updates. Full FLV and OGM support? Check. Online services

such as Youtune, Picasa, Apple trailers, TVersity, etc? Check. Online radio? check. Excellent 1080p playback even over WiFi? Check.

Reviews even started calling it a WDTV killer and said it's just as good (and better in some regards) to the PCH C-200. Do you own a

PCH device BTW?

[IsMe2003]

The popcorn hours are awesome i got the older A-100 plays everything including all the new 1080p content easy, the best part is i can combine it with the myihome media stream server software and gives you a pretty descent juke books for movies:

[rassmatic]

Yeah, the Movie Jukeboxes that can be used with the PCH look amazing. With all the movies I own (probably over 2000 by now) that with definitely come in handy. Luckily Xtreamer's releasing their own MovieJukebox hopefully by March. Just hope it turns out as good as the ones already out.

[IsMe2003]

why don’t you check this one out in the mean time http://code.google.com/p/moviejukebox/

see if you can rig it to work on your box, that’s what the PCH uses but i don’t think it was designed specifically for the PHC.

[rassmatic]

why don’t you check this one out in the mean time http://code.google.com/p/moviejukebox/

see if you can rig it to work on your box, that’s what the PCH uses but i don’t think it was designed specifically for the PHC.

I checked. not supported. oh well, the wait shouldn't be long again.