WD HD TV alternatives...

[muddi900]

I was looking to buy the WD HD TV thing, but then I found out that it doesn't have Component out. Since my TV doesn't have HDMI, it's quite useless for me.

I need advice on an alternative to it. A little google-fu brought me to Popcorn Hour (http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/), but it's a little expensive, even the cheaper older model.

So are their any alternatives in the same price range (130 bucks) as the WD HD TV thingie?

And no, I am not interested in net-tops and HTPC's!

[Hawkzombie]

For about the same price, I -think- you're stuck unfortunately. I say take the plunge. It does have standard Composite cable jacks in the back, and I'm sure ONE day you'll have a television with HDMI on it (hopefully soon)...otherwise, you may have to pony up a bit for the Component jacks. Good news it a lot of the other units offer built in HDDs and a few other options the WD does not have.

I looked up the one similar to the one you talking about (This is it right here (http://www.egreatusa.com/wdhdtvmeplki.html)) and I gotta say...I like it. What's the price compared to the WD one? (EDIT: Nevermind, looked at the official site at some of the things...almost more than double) It honestly might be a little better to invest in that, since it has an Ethernet port AND supports wifi.

EDIT: Looks like I got confused...seems that's NOT one of the Popcorn Hour deals, but they used it in their descriptor when I did a Google search of my own and that popped up :P

It's 160 bucks, so maybe that's a viable alternative?

[muddi900]

Buying the WD thing(what's the official name anyway?) would be like buying an overpriced VCR. It doesn't even play VHS tapes. I may take the plunge and buy Popcorn hour. It will cost me more, but it'll use less energy than my PC.

Also, that egreat thing looks Russian or Polish. So, no I don't trust it :D

[Hawkzombie]

The official title is Western Digital TV HD Media Player

And yeah, it seems really sparse on options...I was thinking of going for it, but for 50 bucks more I can have a unit that takes internal HDD -and- has networking ability. I'm gonna look more into these Popcorn Hour units as well...if you can customize the UI (Or hope of hopes, somehow load XBMC onto it) I'm sold.

[muddi900]

The official title is Western Digital TV HD Media Player

And yeah, it seems really sparse on options...I was thinking of going for it, but for 50 bucks more I can have a unit that takes internal HDD -and- has networking ability. I'm gonna look more into these Popcorn Hour units as well...if you can customize the UI (Or hope of hopes, somehow load XBMC onto it) I'm sold.

It actually runs on a modified version of XBMC.

[Hawkzombie]

It actually runs on a modified version of XBMC.

And sold.

Is that the unit I linked, or is it one of the Popcorn Hour ones you're looking at? Now you need to give ME details :D

I've been wanting something like this for a while, and while a HTPC would give all the options and more, I would honestly prefer this sort of option.

EDIT: See, something like http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=productinfo&item_id=12 is perfect for me and within my proposed budget (I was thinking around at least twice that for a HTPC) plus you can add a blu-ray drive to it...if it's under 400 with everything, this is the unit for me.

[muddi900]

This is cheaper and has all the features you want:
http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=productinfo&item_id=6


It lacks the the choice to add Blu-Ray drive and it doesn't come with media sharing software, but you can use TVersity or WMP11, both of which are free. Also, the other one isn't out yet.

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=buynow

the cheaper and available one is called A-110 and the expensive unavailable one is called C200.

[Urizen]

I was about to buy the Popcorn Hour myself over a year ago, but decided to go with the WDTV Player because I'm not interested in streaming too much content.

The WDTV Player is solid. Plays a lot of formats and codecs, even though WD hasn't updated their firmware in a hell of a long time. I'm pretty sure there is CFW out there that enables some network sharing if it's something you must have. The GUI is crisp and clean. Until a few months ago the PH didn't play MKVs but I'm glad to see that's changed. The WDTV plays ISO files, though, which is pretty sweet.

I know people are putting their entire DVD collection on external drives, which seriously sounds like the best VCR ever.

The only time I had trouble with the WDTV was when I got a few clips in OGM format and had to convert them to AVI. Other than that instance, the WDTV has played back everything I've thrown at it without a hiccup. Turning subtitles and dubs on and off is a breeze. Shifting, enlarging or reducing the viewing frame on your TV screen is also a primary option. Ideally, there would be options to stretch the viewing box to fill the screen, or fit to X-Axis or fit to Y-Axis. So that's one drawback. The second is that there's a lag on all button presses on the remote. I don't know if that's something unavoidable, but I've gotten to use to it.

Sounds like you've got your mind made up on the PH, though. Let me know how it works out?

Ever considered this (http://www.vunow.com/) or this (http://www.jadootv.com/)?

[Stmfuller]

I have a HTPC with beyond TV...but I know you're not interested in that...but it does work well should you ever get the gumption.

[muddi900]

The WDTV Player is solid. Plays a lot of formats and codecs, even though WD hasn't updated their firmware in a hell of a long time. I'm pretty sure there is CFW out there that enables some network sharing if it's something you must have. The GUI is crisp and clean. Until a few months ago the PH didn't play MKVs but I'm glad to see that's changed. The WDTV plays ISO files, though, which is pretty sweet.

I know people are putting their entire DVD collection on external drives, which seriously sounds like the best VCR ever.

The only time I had trouble with the WDTV was when I got a few clips in OGM format and had to convert them to AVI. Other than that instance, the WDTV has played back everything I've thrown at it without a hiccup. Turning subtitles and dubs on and off is a breeze. Shifting, enlarging or reducing the viewing frame on your TV screen is also a primary option. Ideally, there would be options to stretch the viewing box to fill the screen, or fit to X-Axis or fit to Y-Axis. So that's one drawback. The second is that there's a lag on all button presses on the remote. I don't know if that's something unavoidable, but I've gotten to use to it.

Sounds like you've got your mind made up on the PH, though. Let me know how it works out?

Ever considered this (http://www.vunow.com/) or this (http://www.jadootv.com/)?

The WDTV thing is awesome, but it's a glorified VCR for me because I can only use the composite output. I would jump on it if it had Component out. The VUnow thing looks cool, but HDMI only again. Egreat thing posted by Hawkzombie is also cheaper, supposedly same as Popcorn hour. I will research more and make my decision tomorrow, as I am tired and mildly injured right now :(.

[Urizen]

Two things:

That egreat device has the worst remote control ever conceived, considering what the device will be used for. (The WD TV remote is great.)

The WD TV player is often available at one online retailer or another for $99. That's how much I paid close to its launch, and how much a friend paid months later.

[Hawkzombie]

Honestly...my friend has his old XBox modded up with the XBMC, and I fell in love with the menus and GUI of the whole thing. If those popcorn Hour units use a modified version of that, that is something I'm really going to want to get into.

I'll probably pony up for the more expensive unit once it comes out, simply to stop using the PS3 as my Blu-Ray player.

[muddi900]

But...but...but...
What else would you use it for? :eek:

[Wraith]

Bumping this thread for the brite-View CinemaTube (http://www.brite-view.com/cinematube.php). Supports a pretty big list of formats/file containers, 1080p, built-in torrent engine and YouTube XL support. Doesn't have its own storage, but plays files from USB storage or remote PCs. $100 preorder. There's also the CinemaCube (http://www.brite-view.com/cinemacube.php), not quite as full-featured (720p, no YouTube XL), for $65. Wireless adapter sold separately for both.

[Hawkzombie]

Interesting...Right now I'm just using my PS3 and it seems to be working rather nicely. But that CinemoaTube is something I'd be VERY interested in. Clean Interface, and the support for so many formats is very nice...

[Urizen]

I've got the WDTV and have never used my PS3 for media playback. How do you guys use the PS3? WLAN streaming or over USB? Where can I find a list of formats the PS3 supports? Also, if you are streamming wirelessly, how does it work with 720p or 1080i? Any hiccups?

On a second note, that CinemaCube device looks to be more impressive than the WDTV. It plays back DTS, M2TS and even RealMedia. The torrent downloader app doesn't interest me, but I can see that being convincing for other people and competes more with Popcorn Hour.

I'm going to sit back and look at reviews for this before pulling the trigger. The WDTV has been more than adequate, but I've been disappointed by how WD's support. My understanding is ths product turned out to be really successful for them and they still haven't done anything to introduce improvements, like more codec support. I am definitely interested in this, if for no other reason than to tell my brother about it. He was getting increasingly interested in getting a WDTV unit of his own.

Two points where WD definitely beats Zinnet is with their device's form factor and more importantly, the devices respective remotes. The CinemaCube remote is a huge turn-off.

[Wraith]

I've got the WDTV and have never used my PS3 for media playback. How do you guys use the PS3? WLAN streaming or over USB? Where can I find a list of formats the PS3 supports? Also, if you are streamming wirelessly, how does it work with 720p or 1080i? Any hiccups?Setting up a shared folder in Windows Media Player (or copying from USB storage) works fine for compatible file formats. AVI/MP4 files seem to work best (not sure about other containers; I think WMV works too). For greater compatibility, PS3 Media Server does the trick. There have been a couple (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=11598&highlight=PS3%20Media%20Center) threads (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=11623&highlight=PS3%20Media%20Server) about it recently. I started using it so I could play MKVs with subtitles.

As for hiccups, it took a little work to get PS3 Media Server working for me. With my current settings, it occasionally pauses for buffering, but not often, over 802.11g. For both PS3 Media Server and Windows Media Player, fast forward/rewind/skip ahead/skip back doesn't really work when streaming. (Crashes PS3MS for me, and causes a long pause in WMP.)

[Urizen]

Thanks for the response, Wraith.

It looks like going to the PS3 would be step-down for the ease and compatibility offered by WD. For a minute, I thought you might have me regret my purchase. In all fairness, I'm sure if I'd had reasonable success with the PS3, I wouldn't have purchased the WD devce.

[Krispy]

The best alternative I think would be the new Samsung Bluray players which support mkv now. Reports over at HDBits say it plays everything and anything.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/03/samsung-blu-ray-players-adding-youtube-mkv-support/