marzman Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Does anyone here have any experience with hard disk media players? I'm currently in the market for a new external HDD but thought I'd go for a media player this time so I don't have to keep putting my movies onto a memory stick to play on my Xbox. I know there are cheap options out there such as the sumvision range, but I'd like to know what I'm buying is upto the job. A big point for me is that it also must have a network connection so I can upload to it remotely... So what I'm after is as follows: 2TB HDD HDMI Network point Play all file types (MP4, mkv, H264 etc etc) Ive been looking at the LaCie La Cinema range which looks pretty good, but I'd like to spen a bit less than their £180 if possible. The last point I'd like... I've got a nice little video camera that records in AVCHD format (.mts) but it won't play on anything I've got... Has anyone had any experience with this format and got it playing on an HDD media player? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Have you thought about a NAS HD? Then stream to whatever you want... AVCHD (mts) plays fine on a PS3 or a PC with a decent codec pack and MPC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narcotix Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I've got a 2TB NAS connected to a WD TV Live Streaming Media player. It's played everything I've thrown at it without any issues.. The SumVision range is cheaper but the interface is not very nice at all ... This on the other hand looks Brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky370z Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 i have a lo-tech one compared to the above. has a 500gb laptop HDD that has a full 1080p HD output. plugs in the back of the telly via a lead ect. has a micro usb port to load movies onto. will play almost any format of movie. it came from china (EBAY Special) and was about 40 quid. (doesnt include the HDD) but will take upto 1TB apparently. the unit is great. bit temperamental sometimes but it is quite old now. so will be looking to upgrade. i will get the same unit just the latest version i think. i have a feeling that the new ones have a network port also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Luckily my TV has USB and network connections so no need for a media player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I've got a Logitech Squeezebox Touch with a 1Tb USB desktop drive attached to it. The Squeezebox is networkable. I have it rigged through my stereo. Really nice bit of kit and not that expensive when compared to Cocktail Audio or Brennan JB7. This is just for music. Still play movies through the xbox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richyfingers Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 The western digital TV live seems to come well recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 The western digital TV live seems to come well recommended. I did originally want to go for the Western Digital option as my existing external HDD is WD - but i read a few forum posts (i cant find the site they were on now ) slating it, saying it was slow and temperemental, which i really want to avoid... so anyone with first hand experience of one would be useful. I watch a lot of movies in this manner, and want something that is 100% reliable... i cant be doing with flaky performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I just went and Googled it and there are a few reviews on Amazon saying the newest version of the WD is a step back from the old. Seems they've changed something which makes it a bit tempremental and not play everything the old one did. Wish they'd just update the PS3 to play everything its hardware can support. I have a few backups from before I got it (so encoded wrong) that wont stream direct from my NAS. Need to remux them to a supported one for the PS3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Luckily my TV has USB and network connections so no need for a media player I find it mad how nearly everything has usb & internet connections now. My bluray player does, my amp does and so does my telly. So if I want to plug in a hard drive and watch a film you are really spoilt for choice as to where to plug it in. In fact all 3 items have built in wireless internet, so you can just stream videos straight from your mobile phone or you tube or even netflix or iplayer. Have you considered the AppleTV? Im not an apple fan, but from what i understand it does everything you mention apart from having a built in hard drive - you can just plug an external HD into it and off you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yep the days of needing media players etc are gone, buy a new TV and everything will stream to it wirelessly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yep the days of needing media players etc are gone, buy a new TV and everything will stream to it wirelessly Thats not a bad idea actually... Im in the market (next 12 months) for a new TV anyway, so i might as well wrap up the cost of a media player/solution into that. Im after a Samsung ue55 d8000... sexy tv However with regards to streaming... my xbox is on a wired connection, and i stream from my laptop via xbox media center, but my laptop is not wired... and i suffer major slowdown issues. How do people get around this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yep the days of needing media players etc are gone, buy a new TV and everything will stream to it wirelessly Thats not a bad idea actually... Im in the market (next 12 months) for a new TV anyway, so i might as well wrap up the cost of a media player/solution into that. Im after a Samsung ue55 d8000... sexy tv However with regards to streaming... my xbox is on a wired connection, and i stream from my laptop via xbox media center, but my laptop is not wired... and i suffer major slowdown issues. How do people get around this? Guess it must depend on what size file you are streaming and the wireless speed. Ive a dedicated media pc plugged into my home cinema setup which I use xbmc on, buts its a wired internet connection. I stream video from that to my laptop in the garage wirelessly to play on the plasma screen in there without any problem. Is the d8000 that borderless LCD model? If so id checkout the reviews on it before buying. I was considering one of them and opt`d for the 50" Panasonic ST30 instead. Much better picture quality but not as sexy looking physically! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkie34 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Try AC RYAN Chris.I have the play on mini 2 and it works very well on a wired network,can also do it wirelessly with a separate dongle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yep the days of needing media players etc are gone, buy a new TV and everything will stream to it wirelessly Thats not a bad idea actually... Im in the market (next 12 months) for a new TV anyway, so i might as well wrap up the cost of a media player/solution into that. Im after a Samsung ue55 d8000... sexy tv However with regards to streaming... my xbox is on a wired connection, and i stream from my laptop via xbox media center, but my laptop is not wired... and i suffer major slowdown issues. How do people get around this? Guess it must depend on what size file you are streaming and the wireless speed. Ive a dedicated media pc plugged into my home cinema setup which I use xbmc on, buts its a wired internet connection. I stream video from that to my laptop in the garage wirelessly to play on the plasma screen in there without any problem. Is the d8000 that borderless LCD model? If so id checkout the reviews on it before buying. I was considering one of them and opt`d for the 50" Panasonic ST30 instead. Much better picture quality but not as sexy looking physically! That's the one... i fell for the borderless screen - it looks fantastic while playing Avatar on Bluray. You may be right though regarding picture quality for general viewing... i'd heard it wasnt the best... i'll do my research before committing to anything. Try AC RYAN Chris.I have the play on mini 2 and it works very well on a wired network,can also do it wirelessly with a separate dongle. Cheers Wayne, i'll investigate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 My current tv is a Samsung 46" LED, well over a year old now so horrendously out of date but superb picture and it will play pretty much any file on USB or wirelessly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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