Options for digital media players

[D'z Nutz]

What's out there in terms of media players? I'm using the Apple TV right now and my sister is interested in getting one herself, however she's opting not to go the Apple route and getting something like an Xbox or PS3 isn't an option cause she doesn't play games so it'll be a bit of an overkill.

I'm aware of:
- Asus O! Play
- Western Digital WDTV
- Google Revue

Am I missing any?

We're basically looking for something that's outputs HD and can access movies from an expandable hard drive (whether it be a NAS or external USB drive). Netflix compatibility is not important.

[beecue]

Boxee Box and Popcorn Hour. I really like the layout of these two. Boxee is probably more convenient because it grabs media information automatically.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Boxee and WD live are IMO the best, and I prefer WD live of the two. Cheap, and everything just works. Snappy GUI too.

[schocker]

I have a wdtv live. For the price it is great and plays everything I throw at it. Generally just 720p mkv files. I use it with an attached drive though so I cannot comment on the network capabilities.

[D'z Nutz]

Thanks guys.

Damn, WDTV Live Plus looks really good for a $100 option. I might even consider getting one myself and selling my Apple TV.

Any of you WDTVLP guys using playlists? From what I'm reading, making playlists isn't exactly an intuitive process. Comments?

[CRXguy]

I have the O! Play. Works great for what I need and it's reasonably priced. My bro in-law setup a Boxee Box for my aunt and it's pretty nice especially the remote, but I can't justify paying $200 for it.

[D'z Nutz]

Haha yeah, when I saw the prices for Boxee and Popcorn Hour, I said no thanks!

[benyl]

I have a WDTV Live. Works awesome with my NAS.

No need for a PVR.

Sickbeard is already lining up all my TV episodes for download for the coming season. I just sit back and watch. haha

[googe]

I have a Roku. Not sure if they are in Canada. But it's cheap and good. Has all the inputs you need, does HD, supports external drive.

Most of them probably have the same features, so look at the channels that they support. Roku and Boxee all have several independent/internet channels, but I only really use mine for Hulu+, Netflix, and Amazon Instant.

Originally posted by benyl

Sickbeard is already lining up all my TV episodes for download for the coming season. I just sit back and watch. haha

Nice, never heard of sickbeard and just googled it. Sounds handy.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by googe
Nice, never heard of sickbeard and just googled it. Sounds handy.

Yeah me too! That's pretty awesome.

[heinz256]

I also have a WDTV Live and also highly recommend it. Works great with a MyBookLive.

[BrknFngrs]

If you have an inexpensive computer laying around I'd say do an XBMC computer. I moved to this from an O!Play and I'm very glad I did, such a wicked interface.

[the_game22]

Which of these would be best to stream video from sites like icefilms? (or can they be used for that as well as netflix and media from external hard drive)

[gpomp]

sickbeard + wdtv

[beecue]

I heard about sickbeard a while ago but never tried it since I have a pvr. I tried it the other day and it works pretty good. Now I just need my touchpad to put it to use.

[95teetee]

I have a WDTV player- replaced it with a cheap Wally World Seiki bluray player, because at least with this, I don't have to change the playback settings every time I watch a different movie (which I had to with the WDTV to get smooth playback).

This BD player also plays absolutely everything.

[topmade]

+1 for WDTV. Extremely easy to use and setup, perfect for any non technical people to use and IMO the best bang for your buck. It also goes on sale all the time for like $90.

[jav_]

are there plugins for wdtv that lets you stream videos from the web or is it just for streaming vids from ur comp?

[AE92_TreunoSC]

You can use your pc as a steaming host for the videos using the WDTV, I just never bother to use that, I hate streaming haha.

I adore my little WDTV, they had a few codec errors and it finally wasn't able to play a few videos of mine, then a week later they patched it and rectified the problem with headers in the codec.

The WDTV is tiny, cheap, plays everything and has great software support.

I really want a Boxee box but the WDTV hasnt let me down yet.

[the_game22]

does anybody have apple TV? I was reading that if you jailbreak it, that it is very good as well. anyone know anything about this one?
Only thing is I would like yo be able to attach a hard drive and you can't on the apple tv. I may have to look at getting a cheap computer as someone suggested.