Media player / streamer with 3.5" HDD

t31os · 12 Apr 2014 at 11:11

Our media box went pop last night...

3.5" 1TB drive survived no problem though, thank god for that...

Looking for something that can play HD content, DVD vobs, FLV, Xvid, etc... but must take a 3.5" HDD(or two, one is fine) and be connectable via the network for file transmission. The old box allowed FTP connection, or sometimes i just took the HDD straight out and plonked it inside the PC(when dealing with large amounts of files the transfers are faster). Must also connect via HDMI and provide USB connectivity.

We were using a TVIX M6500-A, which has just gone pop... (tried a different cable and someone is dismantling it now to check the internals - think it's good as dead though).

Can anyone suggest a suitable replacement? Budget is upto :EDIT: £150 - 200

ANDARIAL · 12 Apr 2014 at 13:53

Budget is upto £80

That limits a lot of streamers
Maybe a WD live?or something from the MM possibly

t31os · 12 Apr 2014 at 16:41

I'm prepared to push the budget upto £150 - £200.

I have been checking out media player after player all day so far... might actually just buy another Dvico TVIX unit and be done with it...

t31os · 12 Apr 2014 at 18:11

Been having a think, and the primary reason for wanting 3.5 internal storage was because we like to move the box around from room to room.

At this point, i'm thinking it might just be easier to buy 2 or 3 streaming devices and read the movies/tv over the network, off of one of the PCs via share(or just add a NAS). We simply stick a streamer in each room..

Meh... not sure, i still prefer the old way..

EDIT:: Nas + 2 streamers will cost me the same as replacing the unit, so gonna just go that route instead..
Anyone got some suggestions on a NAS + 2 streamers for £200?

EDIT 2:: Changed my mind again, ended up purchasing a Mede8er MED800X3D instead and was extremely happy until i discovered the fan is loose and catches the casing, making a grinding noise. I'm now in the process of getting a refund and purchasing another(doesn't appear to be a common problem - just bad luck). Box streams over share just fine, and the YAMJ implementation a little painful to get to grips with, but once it's up and running, is really cool... (i can't wait to get another box - fault aside, it's an awesome box)..

EDIT 3: Replacement arrived, all working great, very happy.. Enabled samba, send files over share, easy peasy.... Can play movies whilst reading/stream from a PC on the network, etc... works great..

t31os · 15 Apr 2018 at 14:21

Still a solid unit(great investment, imho) and using it today all these years later, it's our home media hub and going strong still(upgraded to hosting a 3TB drive) and sits on the home network via a powerline adapter, simple drag and drop operation onto the network share(all auto, just like having a PC on the network with a shared drive/folder). The only limitation at this point is the absence of support for newer codecs like H265(but it's not really mainstream enough to be an issue yet).