Which Media Centre/Streaming Device

[JonnyK]

Hey Guys,

Have my main pc upstairs with lots of tv shows/movies etc.. lots of which are in .mkv format and are 1080p etc.

what is the most format friendly cheapest device that can plug into my tv downstairs that would access all of my movies via ethernet? (I used to use a ps3 and I know the best option is probably building a media pc, but ultimatley i want a device that costs less than £100)

many thanks!

 

[C2kev]

sumvision cyclone II+ from ebuyer with an external hard drive/SD card/memory stick

http://www.ebuyer.com/274064-cyclon...-player?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products

 

[Emma.]

sumvision cyclone II+ from ebuyer with an external hard drive/SD card/memory stick

I had one of these. A little inconsistent sometimes but worked 90% of the time.

 

[James28]

Jailbroken AppleTV with XBMC/Plex etc?

 

[C2kev]

really? its played everything i have tried, mostly .Mkv files and 3D SBS Mkv files. Also i think it gives a better picture than my PS3 and takes NTFS sticks which the ps3 doesn't

 

[glenn_adam_doble]

"Vuze" on mac/pc and stream over the network to PS3 or Xbox 360 in HD

 

[Emma.]

really? its played everything i have tried, mostly .Mkv files and 3D SBS Mkv files. Also i think it gives a better picture than my PS3 and takes NTFS sticks which the ps3 doesn't

It always played everything I wanted. The trouble I had was getting it to read the hard drive or memory stick I plugged Ito it.

Gave up with it and bought a Playstation and stream wirelessly now. So much easier

 

[JonnyK]

Jailbroken AppleTV with XBMC/Plex etc?

i thought the apple tv struggled with 1080p mkv's?

 

[JonnyK]

sumvision cyclone II+ from ebuyer with an external hard drive/SD card/memory stick

http://www.ebuyer.com/274064-cyclon...-player?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products

also this is not ethernet.. im not running up and downstairs everytime i want to watch a film.. i simply want to select from the whole library

 

[Dink]

i've got one of these

gives a better picture when playing .mkv files than my HTPC

although i'd probably get one of these if bought another

 

[James28]

i thought the apple tv struggled with 1080p mkv's?

My bad read properly you were after this.

 

[JonnyK]

My bad read properly you were after this.

come again?

 

[Adam]

Whats your max budget.

I use a Mede8er which is one of the best on the market. I have it connected to my LAN and play all of my content off my NAS.

 

[JonnyK]

ideally £100, the wd tv live seems to fit the bill so far.

 

[Adam]

Yeah, if thats your budget then you cant go wrong with the WD.

 

[conneh]

Can't you use your PS3 (if you still got it) and PS3 Media Server on your PC. It's so good. It works.

 

[FlamingMonkey]

WDTV Live is brilliant, I use mine everyday and I havent had anything that it doesnt play, plus does 1080p and DTS, awesome bit of kit.

 

[Mot!]

I tried a WDTV live and an AC Ryan playon HD (I think that was it's name)
Both had their faults so I opted for the popcorn A110 in the end. It's been faultless playing from my Qnap NAS which has my whole library of TV and movies on it.
Been using the popcorn for 18months now.

I did consider the earlier mentioned medi8er but I've never tried one.

 

[Tyler@Ultimate]

If the pc you have upstairs is running windows Vista or 7, then your best bet is to get a xbox 360 slim (as their not as loud) and use it as an extender. It will connect directly to the pc upstairs and access anything that's on the hhd. Also will stream .mkv

If you then want to display all the tv programs and film nicely then media browser is awsome for that. It will have all imbd data info and all your films can have dvd covers so you can see what they are.

I would take a picture of my setup but currently at work.

 

[cava83]

WDTV Live is brilliant, I use mine everyday and I havent had anything that it doesnt play, plus does 1080p and DTS, awesome bit of kit.

This is what I bought my mum, works great, she needs simple things.

The only issue I have had is that on the coverflow, it doesn't show the movie info, however, when you are inside the movie it does.

Great purchase

 

[JonnyK]

If the pc you have upstairs is running windows Vista or 7, then your best bet is to get a xbox 360 slim (as their not as loud) and use it as an extender. It will connect directly to the pc upstairs and access anything that's on the hhd. Also will stream .mkv

If you then want to display all the tv programs and film nicely then media browser is awsome for that. It will have all imbd data info and all your films can have dvd covers so you can see what they are.

I would take a picture of my setup but currently at work.

gave this a go tonight as we do have 3 xbox's in my house and it seems to work a treat. however my 1080p films do not seem display in my shared folders from the xbox!

 

[Tyler@Ultimate]

Where are the films stored? And when you say 1080p do you mean the .mkv files?

 

[JonnyK]

shared in the same (network shared) folder on my pc where the 720p mkv's are, so unsure why it can't see them!

 

[Tyler@Ultimate]

Think my might have to install codecs onto your pc. Look into shark007 install the correct codec e.g. 32bit 64bit and that should work fine