Best media players?

[nubreed000]

So we have media players like the Patriot Box Office, Asus O!Play Air, and WDTV Live.

I'm reading reviews but they're all dated. I had the Asus Air but returned it at the beginning of the year because it was very unresponsive, and it wouldn't even connect to my network.

What are the best ones available now? It seems as if nothing new has been released since the beginning of the year...

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I have a WD TV Live and have been pretty pleased with it. There's an active community of users and support forums, and firmware updates seem to come out regularly. The interface is clean and intuitive. I don't use it with any network shares (USB HDD only), but apparently it works fairly well with Win7 homegroups. Also, if using wifi, one must make sure to get a supported dongle.

I've only come across one series of videos that unit couldn't play; they were encoded with an unusual audio codec. The gf and I have enjoyed at least a hundred hours of hassle-free before-bed playback. I don't know if I would rely on the WD for a main-line media centre; I have an HTPC in my living room for that. It's great for $100 though.

 

[QueBert]

The Boxee Box is probably the best, it's UI is like 5 steps above anything else out there IMHO

 

[nubreed000]

Yea the boxee box is waaay more expensive though. If I had a wireless router then maybe i'd go for it, but on its own the boxee box would be useless without wifi :-\

 

[cmdrdredd]

An Xbox 360 makes a decent media player if you're only trying to play content streamed off a connected PC on the network.

Or a basic laptop hooked up via HDMI to your TV. In fact, a laptop with up to date codecs can playback just about any media file you can create.

 

[phillyman36]

I have a Dune Base 3.0. Works great for me plays my dvd and blu ray isos.

 

[Homerboy]

If you want "the best" then you need to build an XBMC player. There is nothing that can touch it. Not even the Boxee (which is built off of XBMC).

Building is fairly cheap and easy too. There are step-by-step tutorials for most the pre-packaged Atom/ION combos out there (Zotac, Acer etc) to install XBMC LIVE.

 

[beginner99]

If you want "the best" then you need to build an XBMC player. There is nothing that can touch it. Not even the Boxee (which is built off of XBMC).

Building is fairly cheap and easy too. There are step-by-step tutorials for most the pre-packaged Atom/ION combos out there (Zotac, Acer etc) to install XBMC LIVE.

sure but any atom system will cost 3-4x time the price of a wdtv live + the work to set it up. I have wd tv liv it's not perfect and has certain strange flaws when using it with a network (no issues with hdds) but all in all it's cheap and just works out of the box. I use it for watchign tv series and movies but not for youtube etc..

 

[Homerboy]

sure but any atom system will cost 3-4x time the price of a wdtv live + the work to set it up. I have wd tv liv it's not perfect and has certain strange flaws when using it with a network (no issues with hdds) but all in all it's cheap and just works out of the box. I use it for watchign tv series and movies but not for youtube etc..

Oh I don't question the price difference. He just asked for "the best"

 

[grajasekar]

Have you thought about a Logitech Revue or a Roku??

Or you could get a basic notebook the way everyone here says, or better yet a WDTV for 100 bucks and you're good to go.

 

[boomhower]

I have a WD Live TV and love it. Have it connected via a 5Ghz bridge. 1080P content encoded at reasonable bitrates plays great. If I was buying today I would stick with WD but would go with the Live Plus version to get netflix and save on the power bill instead of using the PS3.

 

[crisscross]

How is the Popcorn hour?

 

[Oric]

Wdtv live is the best ... Ability to find an install unofficial firmwares is a plus