Media Player for the mother.......

[cava83]

Hi All,

I need a media player, that will mostly play pretty much any format, it's easy to use and requires NO maintenance.

I personally have an ATV2, but there is too much fannying around with XBMC, some things work, some don't, sometimes it needs a restart and so on, it's more for semi geeks, not for an old lady that just want's to watch movies.

To summarise;

• Easy
• No maintenance
• Fool proof

Any recommendations?

Been looking at various brands;

Roku
WD
Netgear

I can't seem to decide. Not too bothered if it needs an external hard drive, but would be better with an all built in package.

Have looked at this review http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/multimedia-voip/multimedia-voip-reviews/31620-two-100-streamers-compared-wd-tv-live-vs-roku-2-xs

But then found this > http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00466IEXE/?tag=cliospnet01-21

Any thoughts, kindly appreciated.

Thanks,

Gabi.

 

[Tom]

A dvd player and a subscription to love film?

You'll never make it useable.

 

[Revels]

Where is she going to get the media from? And in what format?

Downloading, renaming, moving folders/files, re-scanning.. etc. That isn't foolproof and again, it's for the geeky really.

If you make it even remotely awkward, she won't use it.

Either LoveFilm like Tom said or ATV2 and then bung a load on an iTunes account for her to do as she wishes with.

 

[Tom]

Or ATV2 with netflix (in 2012)

 

[Andy.]

I've got the WD Live Hub. Very easy to use, even my 4 year old can find his films easily and the mother in law can also work her way through it. The UI was one of the main selling points. The latest firmware also automatically find the metadata for films etc too so you get pretty thumbnails and descriptions with all the files without having to go through them all one by one.

Downsides, you can only put films on using the network connection or copying from a USB flash drive and not through USB on a PC. Transfer speeds do not match the 1GB/s on the box. (12-14mb/s).

It has played everything that I have put on it and I would still recommend it.

 

[cava83]

Content will be provided from my DVD rips and through other mediums.

She lives in Mallorca, so no fancy lovefilm/netflix for the time being.

I'll do all of it for her, adding movies and so on, all I need her to do is choose the right channel and off you go.

Tom, Revels, those suggestions are great, I will use them for my other half.

Andy, that is great, That is exactly it, the UI needs to be simple. That's a pain in the ass regarding you cannot directly copy, maybe that will be resolved in future firmware upgrades. Your version doesn't have the Wifi I think, is that still the case? Excellent stuff. Any other info you can share? Some additional pics of the interface would be awesome.

Thanks,

G

Excellent, think I might buy it today.

 

[1812lsd]

Cyclone Micro 2+ HD Media Player.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/sumv...ce=google+shopping&utm_medium=google+shopping

 

[Andy.]

It doesn't have wifi built in, buy worked with my linksys dongle fine. There are quite a few videos of the interface on YouTube, but if you want to see anything specific, give me a shout and I'll take some snaps.

 

[Homer-Simpson]

Maybe this then?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-004-WD

 

[cava83]

Maybe this then?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-004-WD

That does look awesome, specially the interface looks so easy like Andy's.

Might even buy one for me, hope it has lovefilm enabled in the future.

 

[Revels]

I wouldn't worry so much about Lovefilm. Their streaming movies selection is awful.

 

[cava83]

I wouldn't worry so much about Lovefilm. Their streaming movies selection is awful.

Roger that. Ice films ?

I think I will purchase one tomorrow and have a go with it. Really needs to be idiot proof, might lend it to a couple of people at work, plenty there.