[jassi]

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

Now that I think about it, as you had said earlier, an A/V receiver + WDTV + Blu-ray player set can pretty much take care of everything isn't it? The only sad part is, it can only be a phase wise upgrade for me instead of a one time investment.

:( It'd be a really long time before I enjoy FullHD with lossless audio on a to-be-bought LCD.

I still don't see the need for WDTV + bluray player. You could just get a PS3 at 20k or so and do the functions of bluray, dvd, hd files, gaming. The PS3 is still one of the most value for money bluray/hd-file players. Given that it is frequently updated by Sony (who led the bluray standard) and is still the most widely deployed bluray player. It will figure in the top five or ten on most bluray player rankings and is significantly cheaper due to mass production.
Best Blu-ray players - CNET Reviews

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by SumitB

Samurai, why don't you just copy the whole dvd onto the hard drive and then try playing the same on the WDTV. You will have 2 folders, Audio_TS and Video_TS. The WDTV should be able to play it without issues. You then won't have to convert them to mkv!

I tried this with one DVD. The WDTV choked on it royally. Practically threw a hissy fit. So that option is out, it doesn't like ISO or direct DVD dump.

[nishantgandhi]

Guys, how are the HD playback capabilities of a PS3?

A friend is suggesting me to buy that instead of a WDHDTV or PCH.

PCH is available in India for about INR 25k (same price as a PS3). Thats why he is recommending that I go for a PS3 and get gaming capabilities also in the same price.

[pentagan]

HAVE been using A TIVX HD - 6500A for almost 8 months now . This iis one of the best HD BOXEs available in the market. They keep on improving their firmware from time to time. They also support the maximum different types of media files. Tivx has the best support for playing MKV media files . When u convert a DVD to MKV file it preserves the best of dvd in a compressed format. The quality of an MKV file is better than an XVID OR DIVX OR MP 4 format. This media box has a great display and a great menu . For more details please visit www.tivx.com.

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

Guys, how are the HD playback capabilities of a PS3?

A friend is suggesting me to buy that instead of a WDHDTV or PCH.

PCH is available in India for about INR 25k (same price as a PS3). Thats why he is recommending that I go for a PS3 and get gaming capabilities also in the same price.

Why to pay INR 25k for a PCH in India, when you can get the same much cheaper by ordering directly from them.

$215 + $45 shipping + max INR 1.8k duty which they collect.
Total comes up to around 12.5 - 13k INR.

Once dispatched, shipping takes 4 days as it ships directly from China to India.

[drvhplyevraftr]

Originally Posted by drvhplyevraftr

Guys,

Sorry might be little bit off topic. I think quite a few on this forum own a WD HDTV player.
I own a 3 years old Sony HD projection TV which does not have HDMI inputs. The newer
DVD players do upscaling only when HDMI inputs are used, hence regular DVD players
are of not much use. Does any one here who own a WD HDTV can confirm if it can send
1080p signals via component or HDMI to component cable to the TV?.
Has anyone tried it here?.

Thank you for your reply.

Originally Posted by drvhplyevraftr

OK. Can it then send 1080p signals via HDMI to component cable (instead of the HDMI to HDMI cable?.). If someone can confirm this, it would be great. Thank you.

Originally Posted by SumitB

There should not be any issues with that. You should have the video using a HDMI to Component cable.

I had this question clarified from WD support. I am pasting the conversation here for the benefit of others who might have a similar question.

My question:
=========
I have an HDTV which I bought about 4 years back and it does not have HDMI inputs. It has components though. I understand that WD TV can upscale video files to 1080p. My question is if I connect the WD TV to my HDTV using a HDMI to component cable will WD TV send the 1080p signals to my TV.

The reason I need a clarification is because the DVD players in the market upscale only if a HDMI to HDMI connection is made between the DVD player and the TV. Also I think it checks if the TV is HDCP complaint which I think my TV is not.

Please let me know if WD TV can send the 1080p signals via HDMI to component connection to a non HDCP complaint HDTV.

The answer would help me decide if I need to buy the WD TV or not.

Thank you.

WD Response:
==========

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is James K.

The issue here is that although component video will support the 1080p, The WDTV using HDMI requires a "hand shake" from the TV in order to keep the HDMI port active, otherwise the HDMI will revert to composite video. Because component does not support hand shakes this will not be possible using the WDTV unit.

I hope that we have met your expectations today and that you are satisfied with our service. If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
James K.
Western Digital Service and Support

===========================================

So WD TV does not help me resolve my issue.

[deetee]

Any opinions on Xtreamer?
Anyone already ordered?
Specs

[kvish]

Originally Posted by drvhplyevraftr

my HDTV using a HDMI to component cable

Do such cables exist? I remember seeing some converters which cost more than the player itself!

[drvhplyevraftr]

Originally Posted by kvish

Do such cables exist? I remember seeing some converters which cost more than the player itself!

Yes it does. I was able to buy one from CTC hyderabad for Rs 450. Ofcourse returned it back as the player requires some kind of acknowledgment for the upscaling to work.

I agree the converters are way too costly. Besides I could not find one in India. Google search showed ebay Australia selling those converters.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by deetee

Any opinions on Xtreamer?
...

Something I'm definitely looking forward to hearing as well.

The first batch of shipments have just started reaching customers in the last few days. Check the Xtreamer forums for basic reviews.

Heres a compilations of views from AVSforum :
AVS Forum - View Single Post - Xtreamer - Discussion, Reviews, Information Thread!

cya
R

[kiku007]

Guys

Any reviews on the i OMEGA ScreenPlay™ Pro HD Multimedia Drive (1TB) ?

http://go.iomega.com/en/products/mul...erviewItem_tab

Supported Media Formats
Audio AAC
AIFF
MP3
OGG Vorbis
WAV
AC3 (Dolby Digital Encoding)
DTS
M4A
PCM
WMA
Video*
MPEG-1
MPEG-2 — AVI, VOB
MPEG-4 — AVI, DivX 3.11, 4.x, 5.x, XviD
DivX HD
DVD

*Supported file extensions for videos and associated audio/support files include avi, dat, divx, mov, mp2, mp4, mpe, mpeg, mpg, m4a, m4v, vob, xvid, ifo, iso (DVD ISO), MKV, DMF, TS

Photos
BMP
JPG
JPEG

Price
999 AED

This one comes with Recording Option too.

Would appreciate your views on the same as I'm planning to buy it from Dubai.

[kaushik_s]

The Iomega one doesn't seem to support 1080p and no external storage. Other then that it seems fine.
BTW, does any of these media players upscale to 1080p or 720p if the native resolution of the media file is not at 720p?
Another thing, I checked the price of WD TV today in Bangalore and one dealer@Jayanagar is ready to give it for Rs.6300+12.5% tax if he gets a bulk order of 5 people. Cash purchase and he'll charge 2% extra for credit card. Another thing is that he'll take one day to get the players. So he wants 50% payment on confirmation and 50% after delivery next day. Seems to be the best price available currently in Bangy. Anyone game? Or anybody have found any better deal please let me know as I'm planning for one.
Regards,

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

The Iomega one doesn't seem to support 1080p and no external storage. Other then that it seems fine.
Regards,

Thanks Kaushik. Pardon my ignorance, what is the significance of 1080P? I anyways don't have an LCD/Plasma TV @ home.

No External Storage - It has 1TB Hard disk right?

[Samurai]

The most frustrating part of WDTV is that it doesn't recognise chapters and hence doesn't let you skip chapters. If you want to start from the middle, you are forced to fast forward all the way. Even the fast-forward is not accurate. Today I fast-forwarded at 16x to 50 minute mark (took 5 minutes), and when I pressed play, it started palying from 80 minutes mark. Then I had to fast-reverse to 50 minutes again. Aaaarrrgghh!

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Thanks Kaushik. Pardon my ignorance, what is the significance of 1080P? I anyways don't have an LCD/Plasma TV @ home.

If you are playing high resolution videos (say rips from Blueray) then you'll get 1080p resolution video. I'm not sure how iOmega will play them, probably it'll downscale them to 720p.

Originally Posted by kiku007

No External Storage - It has 1TB Hard disk right?

That should take care of the storage but I always wants to have some kind of redundancy. What happens if the hard drive crashes? But probably that's not much of a concern.

Originally Posted by Samurai

The most frustrating part of WDTV is that it doesn't recognise chapters and hence doesn't let you skip chapters. If you want to start from the middle, you are forced to fast forward all the way. Even the fast-forward is not accurate. Today I fast-forwarded at 16x to 50 minute mark (took 5 minutes), and when I pressed play, it started palying from 80 minutes mark. Then I had to fast-reverse to 50 minutes again. Aaaarrrgghh!

Oops, this fast forwarding and reversing is a pain and that's what I'm facing with my Pioneer DVD player. It just has one FF and rew speed for USB play and sometimes it's painstakingly slow. I mean it's frustrating to say the least. I guess I'll better off with a HTPC setup or something like that. I've started thinking on that line now.