Best tv media player of 2010!!!

[freeekychakra]

Hey guys, Im new and Im really confused! Looking to buy a media player for my TV but just dont know which to buy! Quite a few good ones but in the end boiled down to 4 of them! Considered the popcornhour c-200 but too pricy for me so had to exclude that out! Just dont which of the following 4 media players would be the best bet at the moment!

1) Xtreamer

http://xtreamer.net/xtreamer/specs.aspx

2) Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD Media Player

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/home_entertainment/freeagent_theater_plus/

3) WDTV Live (new one) HD media player

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

4) Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD Media Player USB 2.0/Ethernet/AV

http://go.iomega.com/en/products/mu...nplay-director/?partner=4725#overviewItem_tab

What are the pros and cons of each?
I need something which can play HD content as well as the basic torrent content on my Digital TV with no glitches and the supposed audio problem with some basic torrent content would be an absolutely no no! Playing youtube and internet access is not that important for me! As of now, Im swaying in favour of the Seagate FREEAGENT THEATRE + but Im not sure if its the right decision!

And I also tried looking into this link http://www.iboum.com/sort/media-player-comparison-table.php but in the end realized im too 'noobish' to understand the technical details!

Thanks,
freeekychakra

 

[chits007]

I would rate WD TV Live highest
My take
- widest community support...custom firmware
- buy anywhere ; warranty works in India customer support tooo good they send you their own courier to take device and return the device after fixing free of cost (i availed that service once for my passport drive).
- based on sigma chipset better than realtek(Xtreamer,ASUS )
- excellent value for money $120 only...
- unlike Xtreamer it's fanless
- Doesn't support RMVB and DVD/BD ISO MENU support.

may be Play ON or some other supports couple of more functionlity with 2K more bucks but consider support & warranty you just cant resist WD TV LIVE.

 

[freeekychakra]

I would rate WD TV Live highest
My take
- widest community support...custom firmware
- buy anywhere ; warranty works in India customer support tooo good they send you their own courier to take device and return the device after fixing free of cost (i availed that service once for my passport drive).
- based on sigma chipset better than realtek(Xtreamer,ASUS )
- excellent value for money $120 only...
- unlike Xtreamer it's fanless
- Doesn't support RMVB and DVD/BD ISO MENU support.

may be Play ON or some other supports couple of more functionlity with 2K more bucks but consider support & warranty you just cant resist WD TV LIVE.

Thanks mate! That was a good piece of insight! I was partial toward the WDTV once, However I heard that there are some glitches with the WDTV in playing AAC in multi 5.1 mode and somewhere i heard of some lag too and this kinda problem scattered around Google. Is this problem persistent or solved with the new version 2 of WDTV and firmware???
And how does it compare with the Seagate Theater +? Normally I would prefer the Seagate hard drives over WD any day, so Im kinda partial towards Seagate(my problem) coz I feel in terms of hard drive they are more sturdy and lasts longer and backed by a longer warranty! But I understand Home theatre is a different world altogether and what I would like to know is how does SEAGATE FREEAGENT THEATRE+ fare in comparison to WESTERN DIGITAL TV both specs wise and evidence-wise and is there any reason to choose WDTV over Seagate freeagent theater+??? Also if im not wrong Seagate costs 119$ and it has an option of an integrated 500GB freeagent Go which increases the price to 230$ approx(not it this matters a lot) hard drive and the WDTV costs 120$ approx! And I assume in India, Seagate Warranty should not be any inferior to WD! I think i just further narrowed down my option from 4 to these 2!

Thanks!!

Edit - http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1156/5/ Is the firmware problem still persistent with the new WDTV?

 

[chits007]

Hi Freeky...

Seagate does support DVD MENU which is a big plus but i dont think the community support is better than WD TV LIVE ..is it ?

Also check torrent support; does Segate has it ..though WD have it through custom firmware only..

regarding AAC i guess you are talking about WD TV and not WD TV LIVE ...which is based on superior chipset and faster..
Rest WD & segate most options are similar ..go for fanless option (no inbuilt HDD)

 

[freeekychakra]

Hi Freeky...

Seagate does support DVD MENU which is a big plus but i dont think the community support is better than WD TV LIVE ..is it ?

Also check torrent support; does Segate has it ..though WD have it through custom firmware only..

regarding AAC i guess you are talking about WD TV and not WD TV LIVE ...which is based on superior chipset and faster..
Rest WD & segate most options are similar ..go for fanless option (no inbuilt HDD)

I think both use the same chipset, the newer sigma 8655! WDTV LIVE is now basically WDTV - networking!

I would have purchased the WDTV LIVE by now! the only thing is that Im wary about the AAC audio problem! Especially since the WDTV sigma 8655 > Realtek 1073 (Seagate) in almost every aspect except the bluray/dvd menu in terms of quality! However the reviews about this problem is pretty much mixed!
Anyways in any case i think ill go for it...maximum if I find any glitches with any format, Ill use my laptop for the purpose
Can any WDTV user specify the magnitude of this problem???

 

[infinity]

- excellent value for money $120 only...
- unlike Xtreamer it's fanless
- Doesn't support RMVB and DVD/BD ISO MENU support.

Not sure if its $120...coz I picked up mine for $79.99..not the Live or Mini....I got the WDTV....first one...in NOV 09.

Yes...its indeed fanless and although it tends to get a bit warm...its not an issue at all....so no worries there.

The new Firmware now supports RMVB...I havent updated mine yet...planning to do it this weekend..will confirm once done.

WD TV Product Update

Freeky = you cannot go wrong with the WDTV or the WDTV Live...I agree fully with Chits...WDTV is the best.

 

[freeekychakra]

Not sure if its $120...coz I picked up mine for $79.99..not the Live or Mini....I got the WDTV....first one...in NOV 09.

Yes...its indeed fanless and although it tends to get a bit warm...its not an issue at all....so no worries there.

The new Firmware now supports RMVB...I havent updated mine yet...planning to do it this weekend..will confirm once done.

WD TV Product Update

Freeky = you cannot go wrong with the WDTV or the WDTV Live...I agree fully with Chits...WDTV is the best.

Thanks dude! I think since almost everybody the world favours WDTV over Seagate Ill have to give in, besides ofcourse better chipset in WDTV which is a proven fact! I will be looking forward to your update though after upgradation of your firmware! By the way, Do you face any problem with AAC and MKV format when using on WDTV?

 

[simple]

BoxeeBox and PobBox when launched ( sometime in 2010) would also be very tempting devices with good streaming options.

 

[madbullram]

both WD Live and Xt wont fail you. Being a WD user, only irritation is lack of DVD and Bluray menus, which Xtreamer does very well. Also, now xtreamer does pass through for hd audio.

wd custom firmware community is also good.

So my suggestion is compare both with your current and what could be a future requirement and decide.

 

[indiahifiaudiovideoforum]

Check the latest AV Max April issues for a detailed Media Player review . Most of the Media players avaialble in the india market have been reviewed . Check this out . Results are intersting .

 

[chits007]

You are talking about WD TV ...WD has 3 version
WD TV mini (720p,Sigma 3635)
WD TV (HD Sigma 3655)
WD TV LIVE (HD+Ethernet,Sigma 3655)
120 is for 3rd option ; though custom fw supports for Wifi dongle in WD TV
but its better to go for Live wired is better than Wifi..

Not sure if its $120...coz I picked up mine for $79.99..not the Live or Mini....I got the WDTV....first one...in NOV 09.

 

[chits007]

Is their a web version of AV MAX magazine ?
I agree Play ON HD mini is good but then WD has largest community support and for the price u just cant ignore it...

Mr. Ranga (indiahifiaudiovideoforum) of PlayOn HD is back with his expert comments.

 

[chits007]

Did you cheked Madbu? coz XT is based on Realtek chipset for which i read their is a hardware incapability to do HD Audio passthrough..

Also, now xtreamer does pass through for hd audio.

 

[madbullram]

Its more of licensing issue in XT, check their website for more info

 

[freeekychakra]

both WD Live and Xt wont fail you. Being a WD user, only irritation is lack of DVD and Bluray menus, which Xtreamer does very well. Also, now xtreamer does pass through for hd audio.

wd custom firmware community is also good.

So my suggestion is compare both with your current and what could be a future requirement and decide.

Thanks...my requirements are very basic! Just a mediaplayer which will transmit my data in my hard drive in HD to my digital TV! Ofcourse, network and torrenting are addons which cannot be ignored but if a player does the best networking and connects to almost any website BUT doesnt perform the way it should for the basic purpose it was made and shows slowing down, or goes out of sync in any particular format or doesnt support a particular codec or format, then the whole purpose of its utility is lost! I mean you buy these streaming media players so that you can give rest to your computer/laptop/desktop because in anyways you torture your computer doing internet, keeping it on downloading movies, music, softwares through torrent and playing games both offline and online and to top it off, if you use it to watch movies too on your digital tv too, you are basically making sure you want your computer to go in for a suicidal run!
Thats where the role of these media players come - to transmit and also optimize data from your external hard drive(mine are two seagate 3.5") to your digital tv for entertainment, movies, music and pictures just as flawlessly as your compatible laptop/desktop would have while your computer goes for a restful nap! There if one faces problems with sync issues, format issues, audio too low etc then it becomes a huge frustration:sad:!
That being said , WDTV would have been there in my house by now but ive been deterred from buying it is because though it might be the best in networking and quality(courtesy-sigma 8655) and blessed with great community support it does have sync issues with playing mkv/aac! I just dont understand why this fact is being suppressed in this forum! I know its just a firmware issue but this issue has been around for quite a few months now and still no update in firmware(what good is a community support if a major problem like this cannot be solved in 6 months)! Im sure that is to be considered as a greater deterrent than the absence of bluray/dvd menus!
So, to make a long story short, my requirement is basically a player which can perform flawlessly with all the codecs which it promises! and my requirement of codecs is basically all the codecs available in the torrent world and the discs in the market (incl. HD and 3D)....Now...can any genius techie advise as to what to buy???? Or correct me if any information I posted is wrong? I would be humble enough to accept it

 

[freeekychakra]

You are talking about WD TV ...WD has 3 version
WD TV mini (720p,Sigma 3635)
WD TV (HD Sigma 3655)
WD TV LIVE (HD+Ethernet,Sigma 3655)
120 is for 3rd option ; though custom fw supports for Wifi dongle in WD TV
but its better to go for Live wired is better than Wifi..

Correction = Sigma 8655 and 8635

 

[BLASTO]

For your requirement, just get the WDTV (without live).

'Live' part is not better either. It has sync and speed problems when streamed via network.
Just copying the content to your external HD and connectiving via USB will save a lot of hazzle and also save energy which is otherwise required by the streaming component which needs to be 'on' throughout the network streaming session.

 

[reignofchaos]

Unless you care about HD audio over HDMI, get the xtreamer. You won't be disappointed. Most of the issues are sorted out now and it performs flawlessly. Folks who say that the xtreamer has bad image quality are on crack or don't know how to setup their device. I have the HQV test disc (both the SD and HD versions) and other than 3:2 cadence detection, it passes every single test with fw 2.3.1. The latter is immaterial as you'd not have any 576i content to play on an xtreamer anyway.

Plus the networking support is flawless. It plays 1080p videos over ethernet without any trouble at all and has *no* sync issues. Plus its one of the cheapest at 8000 bucks including wifi dongle if you buy it from ebay and apply a 10% coupon.

 

[chits007]

@reginofchaos:
why not choose WD TV Live over XTREAMER?
Both has same capapbility ;WD is cheaper and has all capability what xtremaer can do ; widest community support ;customer support is good..;Sigma chipset

Where do you find WD TV LIVE underpeform XTREAMER ?

 

[freeekychakra]

For your requirement, just get the WDTV (without live).

'Live' part is not better either. It has sync and speed problems when streamed via network.
Just copying the content to your external HD and connectiving via USB will save a lot of hazzle and also save energy which is otherwise required by the streaming component which needs to be 'on' throughout the network streaming session.

What about the audio sync issues??? Does it exist only while streaming? or the WDTV will also face problems!

Unless you care about HD audio over HDMI, get the xtreamer. You won't be disappointed. Most of the issues are sorted out now and it performs flawlessly. Folks who say that the xtreamer has bad image quality are on crack or don't know how to setup their device. I have the HQV test disc (both the SD and HD versions) and other than 3:2 cadence detection, it passes every single test with fw 2.3.1. The latter is immaterial as you'd not have any 576i content to play on an xtreamer anyway.
Plus the networking support is flawless. It plays 1080p videos over ethernet without any trouble at all and has *no* sync issues. Plus its one of the cheapest at 8000 bucks including wifi dongle if you buy it from ebay and apply a 10% coupon.

I care about both HDMI and HD Audio! What I care least about is networking and streaming!

@reginofchaos:
why not choose WD TV Live over XTREAMER?
Both has same capapbility ;WD is cheaper and has all capability what xtremaer can do ; widest community support ;customer support is good..;Sigma chipset

Where do you find WD TV LIVE underpeform XTREAMER ?

WDTV Live outperforms Xtreamer probably in most formats!! But the formats I am concerned with, it performs horribly as far as the reviews go and this problem is not fixed just as yet!

That being said:-
Do you guys know anything about the new Iomega Screenplay Director HD? It promises pretty much the same as the Xtremer and WDTV! And I havent heard any rough reviews about it either! Comes for around 7-7.5k!!! Any takers for this one??