Which Media Player is the Best

[Kittu]

guys xtreamer released their 2012 products and they are impressive

Xtreamer 2012 Announcements

What is impressive dear? You already have a product better than any xtreamer. They just delayed the launch of 1186 chipsets. Which many others already launched. Still the same 750 Mhz 1186 products , what are they thinking ? taking us back in time.

 

[saj2001ind]

well, yeah u r right, they using this chipset after himedia, but I like their firmware and software design.

do you own a xtreamer ? and which one if u do

 

[TheSeeker]

after some peek-in on the xtreamer forums, their gfx-heavy launch-ads now no more give that feeling of awe to me. i remember how i used to amuse myself reading through that xtreamer prodigy poster every now-and-then and fantasizing about the player, but thanks to kittu, i woke up to a bit of usual darky-dark reality
but lets give this credit to them that they are very good at marketing & keeping people on their toes

BTW, slightly OT, but i tried my buffalo USB DVD-RW today with the 900B, and it works flawlessly ! thanks saj2001ind ! though PS3 'seemed' to have a slightly better upscaling of DVD-movies, but not very sure of that unless a side-by-side comparison is made. this was just a 5-min testing.

 

[saj2001ind]

try changing the aspect ratio a lill, sometimes that sets correct upscaling with 900B

 

[TheSeeker]

tried. no use
i will make a comparison of the two devices today and will let you know in our 900B thread. though not to disappoint any of us users

 

[saj2001ind]

thanks that will be helpful

 

[gaurav_s]

To add to the chaos and confusion, for the likes of me, in the world of media players.
Here are some more options:

AVerLife ExtremeVision Wireless Media Player MCEEXVISN . Specs (http://www.avermedia-usa.com/AVerTV/Upload/ProductImages/0272 Datasheet_2.pdf), Rs5176.

Azend Group MediaGate MG-M2TVDW, Rs4815.

Just search on junglee.com (amazon's recent entry in india) and it throws up quite a no. of new options.

'njoy.

 

[freedom]

Hi Folks
Am new to this media player world, still reading up. All i need is a great reliable option to load my ripped blu-rays and connect to HDTV as well as my A/V. Is there anything else that has to be looked for? I see the following options
1. WD
2. Seagate
3. TViX
4.Xtreamer
Can someone guide me on the pros and cons of these or any reviews where these are reviewed/compared?
How do i select from these?

 

[GeorgeO]

Search for reviews on Google you will find a whole ton of them. They all have their pluses and minuses!

 

[Kittu]

Hi Folks
Am new to this media player world, still reading up. All i need is a great reliable option to load my ripped blu-rays and connect to HDTV as well as my A/V. Is there anything else that has to be looked for? I see the following options
1. WD
2. Seagate
3. TViX
4.Xtreamer
Can someone guide me on the pros and cons of these or any reviews where these are reviewed/compared?
How do i select from these?

Visit iboum.com : Future Entertainment Technology : HD Media Player Comparison Grid and mpcclub.com. They have tons and tons reviews about media players. Are you considering 3d option or 2d alone is good.

Popcord hour has sigma chipset, which is considered to have better video processing. So if you are good with 2d content , I would suggest you to go for popcorn hour or wdtv live/hub models.

If you want 3d for now realteks are the better option. Himedia and egreat players are better compared to xtreamer and measy.

Sigma 8910 chipset is on way. Which has hdmi 1.4 , vxp and framepacked 3d processing capabilities. But the players with this chipset will be super expensive. You can build a better htpc with that money.

Spend some time online , read ,compare specs and features then make a purchase.

HTH
Kittu

 

[freedom]

Visit iboum.com :

Popcord hour has sigma chipset, which is considered to have better video processing. So if you are good with 2d content , I would suggest you to go for popcorn hour or wdtv live/hub models.

If you want 3d for now realteks are the better option. Himedia and egreat players are better compared to xtreamer and measy.

Sigma 8910 chipset is on way. Which has hdmi 1.4 , vxp and framepacked 3d processing capabilities. But the players with this chipset will be super expensive. You can build a better htpc with that money.

Spend some time online , read ,compare specs and features then make a purchase.

HTH
Kittu

Thanks, this is very informative. I only knew 2-3 names so far. Searching ( as someone suggested) gives you so much to wade through, its overwhelming. Since am in a spin trying to figure out other options in the HT set up, thought would get quick expertise and advise. Actually i have a 3D enabled TV so maybe a 3D option sounds better. Just to be sure, to play 3D gotta have a 3D disc ripped, i guess it will not convert 2D to 3D( may sound dumb but i am 0 on these aspects)
Getting from amazon USA this one
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Live-Media-Center/dp/B004GK0GKO/ref=pd_sim_e_2
Its coming to $250 and shipped to india, but does not have 3D.

 

[jpmlore]

i have egreat r300 (thanks to Mr. Kittu for the contact)..i am very happy with the purchase..

 

[Kittu]

i have egreat r300 (thanks to Mr. Kittu for the contact)..i am very happy with the purchase..

Glad to know you are enjoying the product.

 

[kneo]

Have bought WDTV Live last week. Am satisfied with this as I was looking for a no-fuss player, more than the chipset, etc. This allows me to watch movies easily without any fuss and is more than enough.

 

[thinkrupak]

After a lot of turmoil, finally got POHD Mini....so far satisfied (though GUI 2.0 is speed is not very satisfied) but globally its a nice product.

still learning all the networking functions as am my idea on network issue ...hyeah:

anybody is using this product?:sos:

thank you...rupak

 

[baijuxavior]

What functions are you looking for in the network? What are the devices you want to connect? Do you have a modem/router? Is the network wifi or wired?

 

[freedom]

After reading more see that popcorn hour A 300 with 3D playback is probably the best of the lot as of now. I do not see many good reviews of the Xtreamer Prodigy. I see that Hi Media is popular among folks here, that has a 3D option now too. Procuring Pop Corn Hour here in india is tough i suppose where as Hi Media is readily available. Any feedback from any owners who used Pop Corn Hour? I don't think i see any TviX supporters at all, how is that?

 

[thinkrupak]

What functions are you looking for in the network? What are the devices you want to connect? Do you have a modem/router? Is the network wifi or wired?

I am exploring the option of UpNp. I have connected POHD with my Sony Bravia + Soundbar via HDMI

Installed PS Media server in my Win 7 laptop and some how able to to access the laptop from the POSH. But sometime the connection suddenly drops. Also no idea what is NFS. Facing log on faiilure problem when i try to access via WORKGROUP.

 

[Rockfella]

Can't agree more. Thanks for the confirmation and sorry for bumping old thread. Stumbled upon it while googling for Asus players.

Do check the kind of GPU netbook has, and if HD audio is of some concern, also check if it supports Bitstreaming, other then that yes a netbook can be used as a media player/HTPC



mmmm I seriously doubt.



Here are my counter points .....

1. u get dual audio out(optical+ coax+ hdmi),u can select as raw/ pcm individually. this is not possible in case of pc, unless got extra audio card.

Wrong!! ...You get that in a PC as well. In an as inexpensive board as 5K you can get all audio out options. You can also do RAW/PCM. Bitstreaming is RAW. And you dont need an audio card, a GPU does all this these days.

2. u got hdmi + av output can be connected to any tv.

same with PC, all you need is a HDMI to RCA cable.

3.wow the most of all u get REMOTE with all functions, fast forward/ pause/skip/ select songs in order/ group , all in hand than storing as play list/ opening different player for some file

every single thing can be done with PC as well. with an assembled one its not out of the box, but you can easily achieve this by buying any IR kit. With branded products like Zotac ZeeBox Nano you get the remote with it.

4. yet not least players support iso files.. no need to extract/ mount like in pc, just select it opens up..

no need to extract????? .... how are you gonna play an ISO on a media player without extracting/ripping a BD to ISO ...?????. Infact there are two big disadvantage with media players (an actual disadvantage),

1. If you dont own a PC you cannot rip a BD/DVD to ISO, so you basically are stuck with only a Disc in hand with only a media player with you and no PC ..!

2. No media player supports Full BD ISO Menu Playback,(DVD yes) where else with HTPC you get that full control over BD ISOs ..... (and that is the reason we have to mount) and mounting is not a 10 steps herculean task. Its just a matter of right clicking an ISO file and select Mount to "x" drive ....... thats it ...


4. unlike some pc players, u can adjust. color, contrast, brightness, easy change of aspect ratio, zoom... all in REMOTE..
i would strongly recommend media player..
just to add note.. most of the media players are updated frequently, supporting newer formats, so need not bother about it..
i own asus hd2, enjoying it, media player is the choice for
1. slide show( pictures)
2. you tube
3. internet radio
4. movies (480, 720,1080)

The above so called advantages are a piece of cake for an HTPC....... Just install XBMC and you have all your slide shows, you tube videos, internet radio, and movies in one single quality interface.

HTPC wins hands down when it comes to quality playback, media support, polished interface (YAMJ) and versitality.

And I have used WD TV, WD LIVE, AC Ryan POHD, sold every media player except WD TV (for my kid) and moved to an HTPC.

 

[Rockfella]

Well said.

Do check the kind of GPU netbook has, and if HD audio is of some concern, also check if it supports Bitstreaming, other then that yes a netbook can be used as a media player/HTPC



mmmm I seriously doubt.



Here are my counter points .....

1. u get dual audio out(optical+ coax+ hdmi),u can select as raw/ pcm individually. this is not possible in case of pc, unless got extra audio card.

Wrong!! ...You get that in a PC as well. In an as inexpensive board as 5K you can get all audio out options. You can also do RAW/PCM. Bitstreaming is RAW. And you dont need an audio card, a GPU does all this these days.

2. u got hdmi + av output can be connected to any tv.

same with PC, all you need is a HDMI to RCA cable.

3.wow the most of all u get REMOTE with all functions, fast forward/ pause/skip/ select songs in order/ group , all in hand than storing as play list/ opening different player for some file

every single thing can be done with PC as well. with an assembled one its not out of the box, but you can easily achieve this by buying any IR kit. With branded products like Zotac ZeeBox Nano you get the remote with it.

4. yet not least players support iso files.. no need to extract/ mount like in pc, just select it opens up..

no need to extract????? .... how are you gonna play an ISO on a media player without extracting/ripping a BD to ISO ...?????. Infact there are two big disadvantage with media players (an actual disadvantage),

1. If you dont own a PC you cannot rip a BD/DVD to ISO, so you basically are stuck with only a Disc in hand with only a media player with you and no PC ..!

2. No media player supports Full BD ISO Menu Playback,(DVD yes) where else with HTPC you get that full control over BD ISOs ..... (and that is the reason we have to mount) and mounting is not a 10 steps herculean task. Its just a matter of right clicking an ISO file and select Mount to "x" drive ....... thats it ...


4. unlike some pc players, u can adjust. color, contrast, brightness, easy change of aspect ratio, zoom... all in REMOTE..
i would strongly recommend media player..
just to add note.. most of the media players are updated frequently, supporting newer formats, so need not bother about it..
i own asus hd2, enjoying it, media player is the choice for
1. slide show( pictures)
2. you tube
3. internet radio
4. movies (480, 720,1080)

The above so called advantages are a piece of cake for an HTPC....... Just install XBMC and you have all your slide shows, you tube videos, internet radio, and movies in one single quality interface.

HTPC wins hands down when it comes to quality playback, media support, polished interface (YAMJ) and versitality.

And I have used WD TV, WD LIVE, AC Ryan POHD, sold every media player except WD TV (for my kid) and moved to an HTPC.

You can not compare an entry level media player with an HTPC. An entry level media player starts around 3000--3500, with that cash you simply can not built an HTPC, and in that respect, Media Players are the one to go for.

Coming to Asus O Play AIR. I think you are taking about DVD ISO playback. I am talking about Bluray ISOs. Very few media player supports Full BD ISO Menus, like DUNE BD Prime or HDX-B1), others few support basic menu navigation, but thats it, infact HDX BD1 is also said to support basic menu navigation and not the original BD Menus.....

The comparision starts with high end media players ... 8-9K above, thats when HTPC stats to look better. No doubt HTPC will always land a couple of grands expensive, but the level of A/V quality, level of customization, upgradability, choice of front end, quality and polished interface, that a basic HTPC offers, surpasses even the top end of Media Players.

Finally its not war, I understand, just want to clear that media players are not the only or the best option available ......