Media Player

[JLMichels]

I have been researching which high definition media player to get to stream video and pictures to my TV from my NAS and my computer.

It seems that none of the media players are perfect. The specs on a few are good, but when you read the reviews it seems they all have problems. So I widened my search to include game consoles. It looks that the PS3 is very promising. It supports a wide variety of file types. It is only a few dollars more than the better players such as the netgear EVA8000. It inclues a blue ray disk player. It probably has a much faster more powerful processor. I don't know if I would need it, but it has local storage. I am not sure if any of the other game consoles might also be considered.

What I can't find info on is the quality of the interface for playing media. Does it have good browsing features? Is it fast? Can you use a playstation remote or universal remote (rather than a game controller) to navigate menus, etc.

Does the PS3 play files as saved by beyond TV without conversion to another type.

Any info or experiences with using the media over a network would be helpful. I am planning on a fully cat 5 Ethernet set up.

Apple TV gets good reviews, but it doesn’t support many file types. Does it work well with beyond TV.

[queonda]

All depends on what your wanna spend and if you wanna play. the ps3 going to be divx certified: http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/44..._technology_to

Xbox360 you can get the HDdvd add on drive (separate) but you can also connect to your computer.

You can always get a low cost computer.

I have a HDHR and watch HD over my 100M network. No problems.

[JLMichels]

I don't want a PS3 for games. The blue ray player would be nice though. I don't know anyhing about a HDHR. It doesn't connect to a TV though does it?

I have looked a little into a dedicated computer. I think this might be the future. But I don't want to hassle with boot up, set ups, noise, lock ups, and configeration. I don't want to leave it on all the time. If someone has info on a small system that avoids all these problems and isn't over say $800 I'd take a look. Itshould look and act like a componant.

So it still seems the closest think to a computer that by design avoids all these things is the game console. PS3 seems like a good price for what it can do. I see that the xbox can be modified to work, but am unclear on any advantages over PS3, and I don't know if I want to spend hours trying to make the modifications myself.

[queonda]

Originally Posted by JLMichels

I don't want a PS3 for games. The blue ray player would be nice though. I don't know anyhing about a HDHR. It doesn't connect to a TV though does it?

HD HomeRun connect to your network and records clear qam and btv supports it.

[queonda]

20% off coupon for PS3: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,13...s/article.html