Which network media streamer?

robjf

robjf

robjf

Soldato
Joined
31 Oct 2003
Posts
4,566
Location
Derby, UK
Good afternoon.

I have my birthday coming up and one of the thoughts i have had to ask my GF for is a media streamer. Currently I have a NAS which holds all my media files and have an XBOX in the living room and a PS3 in the bedroom to watch stuff with.

Ideally I want to bring the PS3 downstairs so i can play on it in the living room, hence the need for a media streamer to replace it. I have had a look through various threads but keep getting confused by which ones have a nice GUI and the different versions available from the different providers.

What i would like is the following:
- Stream all manner of files over the network
- Nice GUI
- Remote control
- HDMI interface
- Are there any that are able to view iplayer etc?

Bearing all of these things in mind, which is the most suitable for me (or my girlfriend to buy for me!)

THanks for the help guys!

Rob
 
PS3 media server is excellent, although a little buggy at times. PS3 has iPlayer and a couple of others now.

Lots of other streamers out there but PS3 works best in my experience and you have a console/bluray player 'thrown in' - only down side is you have to have a PC or NAS box on somewhere.
 
Last edited:
I have a NAS already which streams (using the DLNA standard) to both my PS3 and Xbox 360, but i would like a media streamer as an addition to these, I dont need a software solution to stream the content from.

Any ideas?
 
Ive just bought a WDTV from the Rainforest site. Its yet to arrive, but the reason I bought mine was due to the growing issue of Cinavia DRM on PS3, right now theres no known work around when playing a file locally or by streaming. Clever protection but certainly spoils it for folk who rip their own legally owned movies.

I'll let you know what the WDTV is like when its setup. It seems to have a good community support (read as, hacked firmware) which is why I picked it over the AC Ryan PlayOn HD.
 
Main options for non-crazy money are, I believe:

PlayOn! HD
WDTV
Viewsonic VMP74

I have the Viewsonic and it works beautifully for me, especially at the excellent price point. However, in another thread where we discussed it, dmpoole had two different units that were faulty when they arrived.

I think he also ended up buying a Sony BDP-S370 (or 570, not sure) Blu-ray player which also handles streaming content admirably.
 
I got a Sumvision Cyclone Micro 2 Multi Media MKV Player Adaptor to try today - figured what the hell for £30+ - same sort of scenario.

Purchased the pro version of Tversity today - then read about the Cinavia DRM for the PS3... that did work brilliantly .... but of course I got to leave PC on - have no NAS at this time.

So after 20 minutes have sold the Cyclone on .... I thought I would throw it through the window after the delayed remote that you get - impressive size and played the 4 different movies I put on ... HD stuff - but the remote wouldnt work across the room unless your a sharp shooter ;)

Ordered the WD TV Live and a Logitech Harmony 300i - then read about the rubbish firmware that WD do..... fix one thing ... break another!

so am too thinking of sending this back without opening it.

decision decisions...
 
Was looking at the new Xteamer Ultra as on paper it lookes very impressive and was initially anounced at possibly being around the 200euro mark which is impressive but preorders are now 285euro + whatever vat you get stung with on import so meh could get a Revo and set that up.

Alternativly been looking at D-Link Boxee or the AC Ryans (although Ryans seem to have some issues not totally solved yet like mapping networked drives, no doubt these will be fixed in time). Seems quite a minefield on trying to find a decent one thats a good price, supported and does everything the hunt continues.
 
I'm very passionate about my films and used most methods :p I recommend WD TV Live, its brilliant and pretty cheap. If you want a PS3 server, use Tveristy or PS3 Media server, both decent.
 
Surprised no one has mentioned XBMC on an jailbroken Apple TV 2 (£90). It's the business.

Just can't beat the XBMC default interface combined with it's customisability should anything not suit your needs.
 
I just (literally) ordered a Playon HD2, will be delivered tomorrow if rainforest rivers are as speedy as they claim.
Its the new one, I think its the only one with the new chip in it, most ofthe media players use the same chip so have same limitations.
This is USB3 and has a plug n play hot swap 3.5" bay.
Perfect in my book as means I can literally just use this. I think you have to format the discs in the unit so a bit of a ballache to setup initially if like me you have just about your entire CD/DVD/BLUray collection ripped to discs. (saves like soooo much space)

Will report back tomorrow if its any good :) (assuming the mosquitos dont slow down the delivery)
 
I can't believe nobody has mentioned the boxee box, it's amazing! Also has the best UI of any of the media players out there, and is only passed by XBMC in format support.

I've had mine since it was released and can't sing it's praises enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom