Page 1 of Looking for a Cheap media box for streaming avi`s to tv...

preferably with a remote control, & upgradable firmware for a bit of future proofing, handling of hi def mkv`s would be a huge bonus, but i don`t think i`ll get my wish on that one....

connection would be via standard ethernet cable.

thanks guys :) (& gals)

How about this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-1080i-Media-Player/dp/B002KQ2JKQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260042222&sr=1-1&tag=myrev09-21

Or this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001ILFDCK/ref=nosim/?tag=myrev09-21

Second one deffo seems to play MKV`s.

cheers Ben, but it looks like those are both media drives, ie, you have to plug them in directy to the pc, then drag the files onto it & move the unit to the tv, what i`m looking for is a device that can sit downstairs with the tv & connect to the network thats allready in place & stream directly from the pc upstairs, it`s to replace my Mk1 xbox..

this looks like it`ll do everything :)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sumvision-Cyclone-MKV-LAN-HDMI-UPNP-Media-Player_W0QQitemZ360211911788QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_HardDriveEnclosures_RL?hash=item53de4d946c



more than i can afford at the moment tbh, but it looks the part & seems to tick every box :)

Quote:

it looks the part & seems to tick every box
I`ve just been reading a thread at dvdforums.com about this unit, big pockets are now selling them & a member of their staff has been testing the unit.
Might be worth a read if you still plan on buying one.
Here`s the link
:)

cheers pat, it really does look like a nice bit of kit, the only thing that gives me pause (other than having no money lol) is that for another £70 i could get an aspire revo, & dump windows on it, which is a much more flexible option, tho, tbh, it`s a mute point for now, gotta get xmas out of the way, then save for an lcd tv before it`s worth looking at media solutions for the front room :)

my housemate went halves on a sumvision freeview/media player to use in the meantime, paid £30 (£15 ea) for one on fleabay, no streaming capacity, but it has a multi card reader & usb port, so when my 32gig sd card turns up, i`ll just chuck stuff on that & plug it into the freeview box. i`ll give it a test run when it arrives & post my thoughts on it :) my biggest concern is lip synch on xvids, which for some reason was allways a problem on older dvd player with the xvid function

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360209105397&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I`ve been running a couple of Popcorn hours for a while now and have found them pretty relaible and play pretty much everything I want (I`ve ripped all DVD to VOB, and have Blu Ray as M2TS). I`m running them from a NAS but they`ll talk to Windows and Linux quite happily.
Only downside is that the default interface is not the best (it`s functional), but there are a load of pretty easy tweaks for it.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Popcorn-Hour-HD-Networked-Media/dp/B001OG7WGE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260442489&sr=8-1&tag=myrev09-21

i did actualy look at those, & they look like an excellent bit of kit, only the price put it out of reach :(

Xtreamer

the Xtreamer`s get good reviews, but, again it comes down to price, tho, if you can access the hard drive in reverse (ie, read it from a networked pc, as well as the other way around) it might be handy, almost like a simple version of a NAS box :)