Insanely confused regarding media players! (Xtreamer? Dune? PCH? ACR?)

[nakulvit]

Hello all!
I'm currently setting up a theatre at home and i'm getting a Denon AVR-3312. Now where i'm confused is the media player. The two main features i'm looking at are:

1. DTS-HD MA 7.1 Passthrough
2. FLAC 7.1 Passthrough (for MKV's)
3. BD-Folder & BD-ISO support

I don't really have a budget constraint as i don't plan to upgrade anytime soon.

Now the reason to my confusion:

1. Dune HD Max:
Has ALL the features i need with the added bonus of not buying an additional blu-ray disc player. My only concern is if it's a universal/region-free blu-ray player or not. Also have doubts about the quality vs a standalone Sony or Philips Blu-ray player.

2. Xtreamer Prodigy/Sidewinder 2:
Seems solid but support of passthrough of BOTH DTS-HD MA and FLAC 7.1 NOT confirmed.

3. PCH C-200:
Seems solid but support of passthrough of FLAC 7.1 NOT confirmed.

4. AC Ryan PHD2:
Seems solid. Supports FLAC 7.1 Passthrough but DTS-HS MA 7.1 NOT confirmed.

I could only think of these 4 as they are amongst the most popular. Does anyone have an opinion? I'd be really grateful if anyone could clear my doubts!

Also, how do these players differ in terms of video/audio quality?

 

[ontherocks]

What features you would get depends on the underlying chipset.
Look at chipsets first and decide, then look at the players that have it. Then go for quick & prolonged firmware update support.

Read about all the chipset features here iboum.com : Future Entertainment Technology : Chipsets in Media Players

Almost all of the media players with the same chipset have similar features, barring a few, like built in antenna, internal hard disk slot, hard disk cooling fan, coaxial output, usb3, front display.

 

[ashishkesarwani]

1. Dune HD Max:
Has ALL the features i need with the added bonus of not buying an additional blu-ray disc player. My only concern is if it's a universal/region-free blu-ray player or not. Also have doubts about the quality vs a standalone Sony or Philips Blu-ray player.

Dune HD Max plays all region Blu Rays and DVDs by installing a patch file available at dealers end or else you can also download the same from the internet. Now once you install this patch all you need to do is press Mute 4 times on the supplied remote and your preferred Blu Ray region is selectable by pressing either 1 for A, 2 for B and 3 for C, for DVDs its region free after installation of the above mentioned patch file.
The Video performance is also good and beaten by only Oppo BD players.

 

[nakulvit]

What features you would get depends on the underlying chipset.
Look at chipsets first and decide, then look at the players that have it. Then go for quick & prolonged firmware update support.

Read about all the chipset features here iboum.com : Future Entertainment Technology : Chipsets in Media Players

Almost all of the media players with the same chipset have similar features, barring a few, like built in antenna, internal hard disk slot, hard disk cooling fan, coaxial output, usb3, front displa

I already checked that website and they didn't mention FLAC 7.1 support. That's very important! I can manage with the remaining. I just need one USB port to connect my external HDD to.

Dune HD Max plays all region Blu Rays and DVDs by installing a patch file available at dealers end or else you can also download the same from the internet. Now once you install this patch all you need to do is press Mute 4 times on the supplied remote and your preferred Blu Ray region is selectable by pressing either 1 for A, 2 for B and 3 for C, for DVDs its region free after installation of the above mentioned patch file.
The Video performance is also good and beaten by only Oppo BD players.

Interesting. But won't that mean that i have to keep patching it everytime i update the firmware? I don't mind buying a seperate blu-ray player as long as i get a media player with confirmed support of DTS-HD MA and FLAC 7.1 passthrough.

 

[nakulvit]

What features you would get depends on the underlying chipset.
Look at chipsets first and decide, then look at the players that have it. Then go for quick & prolonged firmware update support.

Read about all the chipset features here iboum.com : Future Entertainment Technology : Chipsets in Media Players

Almost all of the media players with the same chipset have similar features, barring a few, like built in antenna, internal hard disk slot, hard disk cooling fan, coaxial output, usb3, front display.

The only feature i really care about is DTS-HD MA passthrough and FLAC 7.1 passthrough. I can manage with the rest!

Dune HD Max plays all region Blu Rays and DVDs by installing a patch file available at dealers end or else you can also download the same from the internet. Now once you install this patch all you need to do is press Mute 4 times on the supplied remote and your preferred Blu Ray region is selectable by pressing either 1 for A, 2 for B and 3 for C, for DVDs its region free after installation of the above mentioned patch file.
The Video performance is also good and beaten by only Oppo BD players.

But won't that mean that i have to keep patching it after every firmware upgrade? I don't mind buying a seperate blu-ray player as long as i get a media player with support for FLAC 7.1 & DTS-HD MA!

 

[ayush_x]

has anyone here heard abt xtreamer ultra.
If yes can you guys give your opinion abt the device?

 

[dranil]

The only feature i really care about is DTS-HD MA passthrough and FLAC 7.1 passthrough. I can manage with the rest!



But won't that mean that i have to keep patching it after every firmware upgrade? I don't mind buying a seperate blu-ray player as long as i get a media player with support for FLAC 7.1 & DTS-HD MA!

No need to keep patching everytime, once you do this thats it.
And you get frequent firmware upgrades automatically through the net
and everytime some new feature will be there.
Anil.

 

[ashishkesarwani]

As Anil wrote that you just have to patch it once and thats it, also Dune is a customer centric company so they listen to their customer's request and try and implement the same in their new firmwares which you can do of the Net by connecting the player directly with the ethernet cable.

 

[nakulvit]

Got the Dune HD Max! So far so good!

P.S. I bought it in Hyderabad for 34k. Is that a fair price?

 

[nindo]

Got the Dune HD Max! So far so good!

P.S. I bought it in Hyderabad for 34k. Is that a fair price?

congrats on your buy :thumbsup:...i think it is a good price...most places its quoted @ 36k.!

 

[dranil]

You can get it in Dubai (dealer) for Dhs.2000 (Indian rupees 26000).

 

[sam9s]

Though you already have bought DUne, I somehow dont justify the price, Anyway, this is the route I would have taken.

For a media player, for my MKV or file playback, I would have completely opted out of these media Players, instead would have gone for this pretty decent piece of electronics called ....

zotac zbox ad02 plus

Its an HTPC packed in such a small form factor that the current media players will eat their hat. Powerfull enough to play every format and full BD ISO rip. Ofcourse all passthrough is available as it uses HD6310. On the top of that can use the application interface of your choice. XBMC in my case, which is "THE BEST" movie media experience till date. Then of-course you can add Boxee, or Windows Media Center as well to the same machine to give you a better choice of options.

and Not to forget the support for 3D movies, inbuilt wifi and blutooth (not sure if Dune has this) and some decent gaming as well.

Price around 15K.

Then for the disc play back, I would have opted for a simple 8-10K Sony BD player which is good enough for all Bluray playback.

The entire combination would have been far better in terms of versatility and experience and would still have landed cheaper then Dune.

Just my 2 paisa .... no discouraging the current buy in any manner ....

 

[Sudhir Wadkar]

If Blu-ray material is considerable, then Blu-Ray player is recommended. Otherwise Xtreamer is the best option for Audio/Video streaming. Im having Onkyo HTS-3300 with Xtreamer since last one year & the results are very good. Xtreamer plays vast range of media perfectly.
Once in 2005 I purchased Sony-DVD player & in the next year I realised that I could not play DIVX/ XVID files through this player.
Xtreamer gives firmware updates from time-to-time.

 

[gaurav_s]

zotac zbox ad02 plus

Even i like this box a lot from the specs point of view , is there any way to get this in Bangalore and at reasonable cost.

Thanks
Gaurav

 

[Kittu]

Even i like this box a lot from the specs point of view , is there any way to get this in Bangalore and at reasonable cost.

Thanks
Gaurav

9900956779 - Zotac authorized dealer.