Looking for a Good Media Player

byebye

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Jul 31, 2006
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I am currently looking for a media player that will mainly play .AVI's.
the connection need to be one of these S-Vid, RCA or Coaxial.
was looking at Masscool then read that they don't support there product.
then i looked at WD Live and many said that most .AVI's don't play.
currently looking at "Patriot Box Office All-in-one Media Player with HDMI PCMPBO25"
i have not researched this one much yet.
i would like some opinions about if this is a good one or if there is a better one.
highest price limit is a firm $250 would like it to be about $125
Thank you for your help
 
Solution
I have the Popcorn Hour A-200 (for about 8 months) and it does what you need and is in your price range:
http://www.amazon.com/Popcorn-Hour-Networked-Media-Black/dp/B0036U7WJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287641199&sr=8-1

I also have the Nixeus Fusion HD (for about 3 months) and it is also in your price range:
http://www.amazon.com/Nixeus-Fusion-Network-Player-Digital/dp/B003SG860E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1287641282&sr=1-1

The Nixeus Fusion HD may be about $20 more than the PCH-A200... but their customer service & RMA is based in the USA and they are great! They have also been consistanly releasing new firmware updates with new added features. Plus they had a 2 year warranty/support.

sukhbirgs

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Oct 15, 2010
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Helly byebye, there are 100's of these media players out there and new ones coming out everyday. It all depends how you are gonna use it. For starter here is my basic questionnaire without going into to much hardware details:

1) Hard Drive Bay (store media at source), not a deal breaker if connected to network.
2) WiFi/high speed ethernet ( Most have wired but if you don't have connection at location) to access network

3) Full HD 1080p capable ( you had asked for S-video, rca or coaxial, i would recommend not to base your selection on these connections, instead you can buy cheap HDMI to RCA cable $10 at amazon)

4) Video Formats/file extension played (all most all of them play avi and other popular formats, but look for m2ts, vob, iso, rm/rmvb real media)
5) Video Compression (mpeg 4, vc-1, h.264, rm/rmvb)
5) Access to online content (youtube, hulu other online channels)
6) Support community/manufacture

The list goes on, why you should check these out is because your budget is from 125 to 250 and most of these players fall within this range.

Now to available media players: please check mpcclub.com, you will find all the major media player reviews over there, or search amazon for "Network Media Player" and read user reviews that are very recent because these units tends to change fast.

Patriot Box office is not bad for the price, but it does have stiff competition from Asus O!Play. (google for comparison and you will find lot of info)

If you want to go little bit higher around $200 then you can look at "Popcorn Hour", they have few models within this price range or wait like lot of people are for "Boxee Box" by D-link (http://www.boxee.tv/box). It's on preorder on amazone for around $200. I have one on pre-order and if you can wait till it comes out (november) then i can provide my take on it.

Again its all your personal choice, search around and maybe shortlist few of them and then ask again if you want. Good luck and always consider not your current but future needs also so you can enjoy it longer.

 

sgvtech

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Jul 28, 2010
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I have the Popcorn Hour A-200 (for about 8 months) and it does what you need and is in your price range:
http://www.amazon.com/Popcorn-Hour-Networked-Media-Black/dp/B0036U7WJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287641199&sr=8-1

I also have the Nixeus Fusion HD (for about 3 months) and it is also in your price range:
http://www.amazon.com/Nixeus-Fusion-Network-Player-Digital/dp/B003SG860E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1287641282&sr=1-1

The Nixeus Fusion HD may be about $20 more than the PCH-A200... but their customer service & RMA is based in the USA and they are great! They have also been consistanly releasing new firmware updates with new added features. Plus they had a 2 year warranty/support.
 
Solution