Networked Media Players - Play External HDD Content on TV

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bangalore

it is around 2300 INR.

Originally Posted by Mr.Bangalore

also check out the product details below

Hey thanks a lot dude. Really appericiate your help. I am comparing the Amkette with the Nbox for now.

Originally Posted by rrswift

I have tried the NBOX N32 model.

Thanks for your review. Seems like a good enough product. I will lookout for the N32 deal.

Thanks again both.

[Fillmore]

What is the N32 priced at ?

Originally Posted by arjunrudra

After much reviews and readings I have decided to go for the Archos 5 android with 500 gb.
The thing is in india They charge 28k and in the US they charge just 21k.
So still thinking.

Given your budget you should look at the Popcorn Hour, they ship to India
Welcome To Popcorn Hour

All the features and support that Popcorn hour provides are still un-matched by any other Network media player.

However to leverage all the features you need to be a bit technical.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

What is the N32 priced at ?

Quotes on ebay dot in are in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 k.

Check here: nbox, Consumer Electronics, media player, hdd items at low prices on eBay India

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Quotes on ebay dot in are in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 k.

Check here: nbox, Consumer Electronics, media player, hdd items at low prices on eBay India

Just checked out the device. Looks like a good value for money device for regular viewing, Only constraints I see is that.

1. No HDMI output, so you might not get the best out of your LCD/Plasma.

2. No Digital Audio out i.e. either Co-axial or Optical. Hence you will not get the original Dolby Digital/ DTS audio channel effect. i.e. if you are planning to hook it up to a good AVR/Speaker set.

3. Does not have any feature to upgrade the firmware, so you are stuck with what is provided with the box.

4. As updated earlier Mp3 playback does not seem to be user friendly. So if you plan to dump all your CD's for playback, it might not be easy to do so.

If these things are not of much importance, then I think its a good buy.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by omishra

Output is HDMI. Is that your question?

With WLAN:
For HD streaming over WLAN, I need 802.11n router which supports 150Mbps+ (480Mbps). I have 802.11g(56Mbps) only. So it gets frame jitter at HD streaming through WLAN. For SD no issues. Again it is not that big issue for 720p streaming. Problem is only for 1080p files.

People say going to N-router solved problem for them. I have fair evidence to believe that.

USB: There is absolutely no issues with either SD or 720p or 1080p.

Internet: I also thought no use of internet enabled version, but now I am fan of YouTube played on large screen. Low resolution frames are smoothen out to remove digital box effects. My viewing distance is 7 feet. Also I download material on desktop and watch it on TV. Picassa website photo access is now possible.

Thanks once again. I have now located a Mumbai store since I will be there in a couple of days, and I am getting a WDTV live for Rs 8100. Not too much of extra money over the non live version, so I thought I will take that. I will look to getting a wireless USB adapter to allow it to get net/network access.

[omishra]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Given your budget you should look at the Popcorn Hour, they ship to India
Welcome To Popcorn Hour

All the features and support that Popcorn hour provides are still un-matched by any other Network media player.

However to leverage all the features you need to be a bit technical.

Before buying xtreamer I compared WDTV, Asus O' Player, Popcorn and evaluated all features. One thing I like in xtreamer is that it is free source code (Linux kernel) available. You can compile it and add new kernel module/drivers.

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by omishra

Before buying xtreamer I compared WDTV, Asus O' Player, Popcorn and evaluated all features. One thing I like in xtreamer is that it is free source code (Linux kernel) available. You can compile it and add new kernel module/drivers.

Earlier I had not gone into the details of xtreamer. Just went though the same, looks neat.
I was comparing it to the PCH (Popcorn Hr) which I have and appears that both can pretty much do similar stuff.
Does the xtreamer come with inbuilt Movie/Music Jukebox ?
In case of PCH these are external free apps. i.e. I use YAMJ for the movies and MusicJukebox for the CD collection.

As for firmware updates you get one roughly every 3-4 months.
Only minor irritant is that, it does not let you write directly via the n/w into a connected external USB HDD that is NTFS formatted . Instead I need to disconnect it , connect it directly to the PC and transfer data. However with the internal HDD on the device you can do direct file copy/ftp/telnet etc..

Another thing is the Support forum is pretty good for this device. i.e.
Networked Media Tank

-Fillmore

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Looks like a good value for money device for regular viewing,

Fits my requirement perfectly.

1. No HDMI output, so you might not get the best out of your LCD/Plasma.

Dont watch too much "TV". Have a normal CRT 29". No great fan of LCD/Plasma and not looking to upgrade soon.

2. No Digital Audio out i.e. either Co-axial or Optical. Hence you will not get the original Dolby Digital/ DTS audio channel effect. i.e. if you are planning to hook it up to a good AVR/Speaker set.

The TV speakers work just fine for me. Again not a very avid viewer of high definition stuff.

3. Does not have any feature to upgrade the firmware, so you are stuck with what is provided with the box.

Again not much of a criteria for me.

4. As updated earlier Mp3 playback does not seem to be user friendly. So if you plan to dump all your CD's for playback, it might not be easy to do so.

Only place I listen to music is in the car or the iPOD. At home we do have a Panasonic Music player with 4 speakers. It hardly gets used. I would never probably use it for MP3. Also I dont have a home theatre so really nothing to hook it to.

If these things are not of much importance, then I think its a good buy.

PERFECT.

The only time I am infront of the TV is during live sports telecasts. Other times I hardly watch anything. I do download movies/Top Gear Episodes and some Discovery stuff, on and off if it interests me. Watch them mostly on the laptop and thats it. So now I just want to watch them on TV because the laptop screen is too small and only one person can watch at a time.

Filmore, thanks for the awesome details you outlined above about the products. Its all that I was looking for. Appreciate your time and help on this.

Thanks again

[Mr.Bangalore]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Fits my requirement perfectly.



Dont watch too much "TV". Have a normal CRT 29". No great fan of LCD/Plasma and not looking to upgrade soon.

But Amkette Flash TV has PAL/NTSC and HD output.
With HD out it is crystal clear.

[harry10]

Anyone knows where to buy xtreamer and wd tv live in NCR.
also the price for them.
Thanks.

[fastraj]

I have wdtv live which I got from Dubai for rs6700 . It plays HD formats flawlessly but for sound u should connect it optically for the dts or Dolby experience. I haven't upgraded to latest firmware due to reports of bricked firmware!

[omishra]

Originally Posted by harry10

Anyone knows where to buy xtreamer and wd tv live in NCR.
also the price for them.
Thanks.

For xtreamer I made online purchase by doing a neft to account (given by i'ts CC) and then dropped email referring transaction details and address. I got delivered on 4th day From Delhi to Pune. Price is same what they mention on website.

[Xinger]

The networked media player/streamer is a fairly new class of product which will probably die out even before it goes mainstream, since the latest display devices (TV's and monitors) have already begun to incorporate many of their features - like network connectivity, ability to play a multitude of video and audio formats from USB-connected storage media, inbuilt hard disks, etc. - and in any case these things are mostly used to play ill-gotten (read 'shared') files from the Dark Side of the Net.

Well, they are going to be around for a few years yet, and since many of us Bharatiya Early Technology Adopters (or BETAs ) have bought one already, let's see the pros and cons of each of the products available and hopefully guide some people who want to take the plunge.

So please click on the brand you have in the poll above (I've only counted the ones I know are easily available in India and come with a local bill and warranty, the rest are all in others) and the reasons for making your choice. Also please mention whether you are satisfied/unsatisfied with your player.

I myself have a Iomega Screenplay Director HD Media Player and my reasons for going for it were:

1. Inbuilt 1 TB Hard Disk, so it makes for a less cluttered living room shelf (for WDTV you have to buy an external Hard disk separately)
2. Service Center in Bombay (to get service for Xtreamer or Playon HD, on the other hand, you have to ship them to Delhi/Bangalore at your own cost!)
3. Price - Rs. 9950 with 3-year warranty. The competition - which for me consisted of Xtreamer/Playon/WDTV - was working out to nearly twice as much as this when you calculated the cost of player+cost of separate HDD.

So far I am satisfied with it, it has worked out to be a very good performer for the price, and does everything it claims on the box.

P.S. For those who don't know what the hell I'm going on about, read this: "What is a Media Player"

[nishantgandhi]

Dear all,

I currently have an LG LCD and a Western Digital HD Media Player (Gen 1). Currently the sound output is from the TV speakers, which is crappy to say the least!

I need to buy *decent* 5.1 home theater speakers but nothing high end.

I saw these on Ebay -> eBay India: Philips DSP2500 5.1 HomeTheatre System 2500W+DVP3326USB (item 130428820264 end time 15-Sep-2010 08:00:00 IST). Are these any good?

But I'm clueless how to connect these to my TV/Media player. The outputs available on the media player are TOSlink and HDMI. Are these available on the Philips set as well?

Also, please suggest a good 5.1 speakers within 10k budget.

[kalpeshc]

Check if the HT has an optical IN. Unless you have a optical IN (TOSlink) you'd not be able to get the sound output. If the HT has a coax in then you'd need a converter which converts TOSLink to coax. This is available on ebay US.

Ideally instead of investing in a HT, people recommend investing in a basic receiver.