HD Media Player v/s DVD Player with USB

kabramahesh

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Can anyone please give me a comparison (benefits / limitations) between a HD Networked Media Player (like the NMT etc.) as against the new DVD players with USB2.0 support. My understanding is that both can play Movies from an external HDD, but not sure about the formats. Also, if there are any additional features.

thanks
Mahesh
 
Can anyone please give me a comparison (benefits / limitations) between a HD Networked Media Player (like the NMT etc.) as against the new DVD players with USB2.0 support. My understanding is that both can play Movies from an external HDD, but not sure about the formats. Also, if there are any additional features.

thanks
Mahesh

The HD Media player can play latest high definition formats like .mkv which are more or less the default for HD Rips. This is not currently supported by DVD players.
 
I will put this way-

DVD player- Pros: A dedicated movie device with better upscaling technology
Certain DVDp are as good as CDp for stereo playback

Cons: It has limited codecs & difficult to upgrade.
As transports,lens wearout,life is 4to5 yrs.

Mediaplayer- Pros: All in one solution(supports newer codecs)
Codec support with upgrading facility,Net connection,
Wifi ready,Video recording,opt for PC

cons: Not so but as it is all in one,performance can be above
avarage
 
I have tried both solutions. The media player won hands down in terms of practicality, support for audio-video formats and sheer ease of use. In addition, I could easily store the files in FLAC format (music) and keep updating my songs on one PC HDD and play them from any room in the house, since each room has a media player connected via LAN.
The DVD USB menu was difficult to navigate, could not search for the songs I wanted quickly and response time was slower.

Coming to the most important point - Music quality... there are good standalone media players like Squeezebox and Popcorn Hour (Sonos is too costly in my opinion) that are as good or better than most DVD players in the 10-20K Rs bracket. If you still are not satisfied, you can always add, in the future an external DAC like Beresford or DACMagic, since all mediaplayers today have a digital output option.

Since you are looking for a DVD replacement, I suggest going for the Popcornhour, which costs $260 (direct from website) for shipping to India. Otherwise the TVix (marketed by La Kozy in Mumbai) is also a very good option for both movies and music. There is another thread on 'Networked Media Tank' or some such which has many more options and players compared.

-Jinx.
 
On a related but slightly off-topic note -
Does anyone know how I can stream FLAC files using Windows Media Player 11. I have setup my networked media player to receive WMP wav/mp3 files which it does without a problem. However, I can't get WMP to stream FLAC files...
In other words, what do I need to do to play FLAC using WMP and my networked media player? Any help is greatly appreciated.

-Jinx.
 
On a related but slightly off-topic note -
Does anyone know how I can stream FLAC files using Windows Media Player 11. I have setup my networked media player to receive WMP wav/mp3 files which it does without a problem. However, I can't get WMP to stream FLAC files...
In other words, what do I need to do to play FLAC using WMP and my networked media player? Any help is greatly appreciated.

-Jinx.

Is it playing FLAC files or not even playing them? If not playing then you would need the codec from FLAC - download just get the corresponding Windows one.
 
spirovious - is the 8K price you are talking in India?? Where I can get that??
Is this available in Mumbai??
 
One more pro for Media PLayer is that the firmware update which helps us play newer formats which is currently not possible in a DVDp
 
Yes I think it is indian price.
On ebay india it is offered for 8 k!
International price starts from 100 $ approx
 
For a person like me, who doesn't download movies but rent them from seventymm mostly, and buy at times, a dvdp is more convinient. In wd tv too you can attach external dvd player, flash with hacked firmware, and then there are encryption issues.
But when I think about converting my music to files, the dvdps are disappointing. 5996 says it can play wma, but it didn't play a wma lossless.

I think for a person like me, I would need both till the time there is a better usb dvd player that can play all formats, and is upgradable.
 
Can anyone confirm-

If anybody(friend) bring it from US with box removed,can it be carried to India with same price paid(5.5k)?
 
Is it playing FLAC files or not even playing them? If not playing then you would need the codec from FLAC - download just get the corresponding Windows one.

Sorry for the late reply. Saw this just now.
It (WMP11) plays flac files on my PC/laptop. I had already installed the FLAC codec you mentioned (thanks for the link). The problem comes with streaming flac files to a NMT via WMP11. It does not add the flac files to WMP library and hence cannot see them to stream. That is the issue. How do I get WMP11 to stream flac files?
The other option I have is Tveristy but I wanted WMP for ease of compatibility with all laptops in the house. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Ajinkya.
 
Can anyone confirm-

If anybody(friend) bring it from US with box removed,can it be carried to India with same price paid(5.5k)?

As long as the price of equipment is below Rs 25,000, there is no duty on the item. Please ask your friend to carry along the purchase receipt to show the custom officials, just in case. But there is no problem carrying something worth ~125$ (Rs 5.5K) from US to India under the current rules.
 
Can anyone confirm-

If anybody(friend) bring it from US with box removed,can it be carried to India with same price paid(5.5k)?

My bro got it for me - also Blue Jeans cables and philips universal remote - no questions asked:eek:hyeah:
 
One more pro for Media PLayer is that the firmware update which helps us play newer formats which is currently not possible in a DVDp

Now adays firmware update in PHILIPS DVDp solves the problem of format compatibility issues. If you want sound quality, video, performance. All are not available in single unit. Go for good Hi fi compoent system, buy a good DVDp that supports most of the format like PHILIPS DVP 5996k and go for a good speaker system like creative/JBL pro which are available in PC shops. This is a setup meant for budget customers. HTS packages available in market sans any one of the qualities.
 
Sorry for the late reply. Saw this just now.
It (WMP11) plays flac files on my PC/laptop. I had already installed the FLAC codec you mentioned (thanks for the link). The problem comes with streaming flac files to a NMT via WMP11. It does not add the flac files to WMP library and hence cannot see them to stream. That is the issue. How do I get WMP11 to stream flac files?
The other option I have is Tveristy but I wanted WMP for ease of compatibility with all laptops in the house. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Ajinkya.

Additional info - When you want WMP to play all the formats, download & install K-lite codec, also use power DVD9 for playing DVD movies which supports variety of features. if you couple your power DVD to creative/jbl speaker set. It outclass all the commercial HTS available in market. But make sure you use proper DVD with min 5.1 sound format. for playing MP3 use real player & make sure you update with all the necessary codecs.
 
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