Media Players

[SteeleJoe]

Thanks Craig.

Maybe everyone knows this already but I discovered an unexpected bonus with media players. Try to follow the expert technical jargon that I'm going to use:

Apparently some (or all) Media Players have something (I can't remember what it's called -- sorry) that actually adds something to something else that improves the picture when playing some files...or so I'm told by a person who unlike me isn't a complete moron on IT topics.

I bought the media player because my Sony home theater wouldn't play approx 40% of the files I have. But what I have discovered is even the files it would play (divX), look better played on my ASUS.

[Spoonman]

Upscaling is the word your looking I believe.

[JUDAS]

Upscaling is the word your looking I believe.

Somehow I found SteeleJoe's description more entertaining He reminds me of me

[SteeleJoe]

Thanks Spoonman -- that is indeed the word my friend used.

Upscaling is the word your looking I believe.

Somehow I found SteeleJoe's description more entertaining He reminds me of me

In an effort to be entertaining I actually tried to sound more clueless than I really am -- but that proved to be impossible.

[jaideeguy]

Just 'window shopping' on amazon.com and found this great little portable media player, but probably impossible to find here in LOS. But if anyone knows of it ot something like it, please post.

http://www.amazon.com/Micca-Slim-HD-Full-HD-Portable-2-5-Inch/dp/B003YA13UE/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303784895&sr=1-10

[Spoonman]

Jaideeguy, that looks near on identical to the nasty cheap chinese ones Ive seen (and purchased) from Tukom, just has a different "brand" name printed on it.

Steer clear, they are crap.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Spoonman

[SteeleJoe]

The cheapest ones I've seen that are rated as OK -- according to research I've done are around 2,600 baht. Mine cost 3,000 (after some brief haggling). It's about the size of a CD case and as thick as fairly long paperback. It's lighter than a book of that size though and not much heavier if at all than a CD.

To me, that makes it portable.

[jaideeguy]

steele.....where did you get yours?? what brand?? and does it have memory and can you give us a review??

Thanks...

[sleepwalker999]

Can the WDTV Live do wireless streaming?

Would like to have it under the TV in my bedroom streaming from the computer downstairs.

I see they are going for around 3,500 at the moment seems like a good price.

[jfchandler]

I believe the answer to that is YES... I set up my friend's unit in my home, with a wireless N connection... And you'd really want a wireless N (vs. G) to stream music or video...

However, the WD model that my friend bought didn't come with wireless built-in... He had to buy and add a USB wireless N adapter that he plugged into the WD box, and then it received the signal from my wireless N router.

You might want to evaluate, however, how well a wireless signal travels between different floors in your home... Depending on the construction materials and style involved, that could present issues.

Edited May 1, 2011 by jfchandler

[sammycic]

Can the WDTV Live do wireless streaming?

Would like to have it under the TV in my bedroom streaming from the computer downstairs.

I see they are going for around 3,500 at the moment seems like a good price.

i have the same setup as you describe. Works O.K. on "G" but won't stream 1080p. No problems with 720p. I am switching over to a "N" router.

you will need a wifi adapter for the wdtv live or you could look at the new asus O! play HDP-R3 which has built-in wifi. not sure of price but by the time you buy the adapter may work out the same.

Very happy with my WDTV Live.

[sleepwalker999]

Cheers for the information guys

Excuse my ignorance but was is the difference between a G and a N router?

I don't mind if I can't watch the HD stuff as my telly is just an old 30" Panasonic so I'm sticking to DVD-R stuff for the foreseeable future.

Sammy what wifi adapter do you use?

Thanks again, think I will pick one of these up next month.

[sammycic]

Cheers for the information guys

Excuse my ignorance but was is the difference between a G and a N router?

I don't mind if I can't watch the HD stuff as my telly is just an old 30" Panasonic so I'm sticking to DVD-R stuff for the foreseeable future.

Sammy what wifi adapter do you use?

Thanks again, think I will pick one of these up next month.

I bought a D-Link DWA-140 for 750bht. It is "N" but can be used for "G".

"N" is the latest technology and a lot faster for wireless.

[jfchandler]

G and N are two different protocols for wireless data transmission.... both widely and commonly used in PC hardware.

G is the older and slower variety, typically rated at up to 54 Mbps...

N is the newer and faster variety, rated I believe at anywhere from 160 to 300 Mpbs maximum in theory, depending on the equipment and environment.

In a wireless setting, the speed and data throughput you can achieve is limited by the slowest link in your data chain. So, for example, if you had an N wifi router but only a G wireless adapter or receiver, you'd basically only get G speeds on the receiving PC. So to benefit from N equipment, both your router and receiver/adapter need to be N type equipment.

Generally speaking, an N router and adapter is going to be preferable for sending video over wifi....especially if the bit rates (quality/size) of the video are larger/higher resolution.

There may be somewhat of a price difference with N equipment generally being higher priced than comparable G units... But if someone shops well, you can usually find good quality N equipment at decent prices... and IMHO, a worthwhile forward-looking investment for anyone serious about streaming video via wifi.

[sleepwalker999]

Thank you again

I assume that my Zyxel one port wifi from True is on the G side of things?

Looks like I need to go check out prices and see just how much more expensive it's going to be to get a N wireless setup going as well, a worthwhile investment long term by the sounds of it but slightly annoying.

Any recommendations for a decently priced N router? I suppose I could just start by getting the D-Link DWA-140 adapter and if it's not good enough with the Zyxel then get a new router at a later date.

What if I just ran a cable from the PC to the box I presume that would work fine? Or I could just get an external drive to start off on as an alternative to streaming from the computer.

Ah well plenty of decisions to make..

Thanks again

[jfchandler]

Needless to say, sending data over a hard wired Ethernet cable from your PC to the media player is going to be faster and more stable than pretty much any wireless connection -- assuming you can run the cable in a way that works for your home and the distance isn't excessively long. Likewise with attaching a USB hard drive containing your files directly to the media player box.

I'd assume your True provided router is a G-based router.... But, if you're going to buy a USB adapter, which is less expensive than the router, then it would make good sense to buy an N adapter for your media player regardless. An N adapter will work fine with a G router (they're backwards compatible). And then whenever you get around to upgrading to a new and eventually N router either from True or out of your own pocket, you'll be ready to go. The cost difference between a USB N and G adapter these days should be pretty negligible.

I haven't priced N routers in Thailand lately. But these days from online sources in the U.S., I'm regularly seeing Linksys and Cisco N four-port routers, often refurbished or on sale, for $35 to $40.... Considering the market here is far less competitive and those particular brands have to be imported, I'd assume the prices here for the same type routers would be higher...

[Spoonman]

The WiFi adaptor I use on my Xbox360 is a "G", it streams 1080p movies ok.

[trajan]

my first experience with media players today.....

just got an eGreat R200-II media player for B3980 at FortuneTown, but also bought an internal SATA hard drive 2TB for B2900 which I just plug inside the eGreat media player.

I connected the media player to my Samsung TV with an HDMI cable that came with the media player.

Then I plugged into the media player my external USB hard drive (which has some regular non-HD movies) that normally is plugged into my laptop. Works great!

just wondering:

(i)can I also buy any USB wifi adaptor (I guess I will look for "N" types as that is the best?) and just plug it into the media player (and then wirelessly connect the media player to my True Internet home router/wifi) and then stream movies to my TV via the media player?

(ii) where do I download HD movies to save onto my media player which now has an internal hard drive of 2TB?

[Phil Conners]

(ii) where do I download HD movies to save onto my media player which now has an internal hard drive of 2TB?

Please check the forum rules and refrain from discussing downloads of pirated movies.

17) Not to post links to pages that contain objectionable material. This includes, warez, cracks, pornography, pyramid schemes, referral ID's, eBay listings and requests for donations. Discussion of file-sharing of pirated material is prohibited, however file sharing for legal purposes is allowed.

[trajan]

Sorry, I'm not too tech minded. Are all HD movies downloadable, pirated by definition?

Are there any recommended ways to acquire HD movies in soft format (not CDs) to put into my brand new media player hard drive without "pirating"? thanks!!

[Spoonman]

Sorry, I'm not too tech minded. Are all HD movies downloadable, pirated by definition?

Nah there not pirated, all the big movie studios upload there latest blockbusters onto the internet to be distributed for free, making money is for chumps.................

[trisailer]

You can buy movies and music video from Amazon and itunes. There are many other places to get content legally including audio books and documentaries. I've bought a few from Nat Geo.

You can also rip DVD's to your HD using one of the programs like DVD Shrink or DVD Fab. Both are available from Cnet.com. These are the two that I use and there are are many more. These are free. Don't pay for a program, they're crap.

If your media player has wifi you can download directly to the hard drive.

I don't buy the street copies anymore because you can't get the quality on a single layer DVD.

[trajan]

You can buy movies and music video from Amazon and itunes. There are many other places to get content legally including audio books and documentaries. I've bought a few from Nat Geo.

You can also rip DVD's to your HD using one of the programs like DVD Shrink or DVD Fab. Both are available from Cnet.com. These are the two that I use and there are are many more. These are free. Don't pay for a program, they're crap.

If your media player has wifi you can download directly to the hard drive.

I don't buy the street copies anymore because you can't get the quality on a single layer DVD.

thanks very much Trisailer!! very helpful

[trajan]

I plugged a Western Digital SATA 2TB HDD box into my Egreat R200-II Media Player....

in the "file manager" menu on the Media Player, it has a "Network" icon and a "UPNP" icon...Im confused...is one of these the HDD drive that I plugged in?

The user manual has no mention of this and I cant find any references in google searches...

appreciate any guidance from "Media Player" veterans on this?

[as an alternative, is there any way to USB cable connect my Media Player to my laptop? so I dont need to store movies directly on my Media Player?]

thanks!

[trisailer]

<br />I plugged a <b>Western Digital SATA 2TB HDD box</b> into my <b>Egreat R200-II Media Player</b>....<br /><br />in the "<b>file manager</b>" menu on the Media Player, it has a "<b>Network</b>" icon and a "<b>UPNP</b>" icon...Im confused...is one of these the HDD drive that I plugged in?<br /><br />The user manual has no mention of this and I cant find any references in google searches...<br /><br />appreciate any guidance from "Media Player" veterans on this?<br /><br />[as an alternative, is there any way to USB cable connect my Media Player to my laptop? so I dont need to store movies directly on my Media Player?] <br /><br />thanks!<br />

<br /><br /><br />

I don't know about your Egreat, but my Dvix opens to a selection page where I choose movies. It has 4 USB inputs plus a built in SATA drive. The remote has a "go to" button that allows me to select which drive I want to access. When I go to that drive it shows me the content which is in files. Some of it has the artwork with it.

If your seeing "network" your probably in the wrong place. My network is for accessing content over wifi

[SteeleJoe]

UPDATE on the ASUS

I've got the device hooked up to a 2TB external. It mostly works very well and for me, certainly worth the 3,000 I paid for it.

It has on occasion frozen up and it can be pain to scroll through the list to find what I want amongst thousands of files. But I'm very glad to have bought it and if it last long enough it will serve well as the media source in one of the bedrooms when I eventually buy something better for the living room.

[trisailer]

These media players are very cool because you can obtain content in a variety of formats and they will play everything including music. My Dvix has a website where I can get the artwork for each movie so when I look at my files it's not just a folder with a name. I'm too lazy to do it but it can be done.

If you buy one you may want to consider getting one that has a wifi capability. If you have a fast enough internet you'll be able to stream youtube and other on line content. There's a bunch of stuff available.

Another thing to consider before you buy one of these things is that the new TV's have media players built in. We got a Samsung Series 5 (I think their up to series 7 now) it has a media capability that works the same as the media player. I just carry a drive to the bedroom and plug it in and can watch movies without the media player. This TV was about 1000 baht more expensive but that is much less than the cost of a stand alone media player.

[trajan]

These media players are very cool because you can obtain content in a variety of formats and they will play everything including music. My Dvix has a website where I can get the artwork for each movie so when I look at my files it's not just a folder with a name. I'm too lazy to do it but it can be done.

If you buy one you may want to consider getting one that has a wifi capability. If you have a fast enough internet you'll be able to stream youtube and other on line content. There's a bunch of stuff available.

Another thing to consider before you buy one of these things is that the new TV's have media players built in. We got a Samsung Series 5 (I think their up to series 7 now) it has a media capability that works the same as the media player. I just carry a drive to the bedroom and plug it in and can watch movies without the media player. This TV was about 1000 baht more expensive but that is much less than the cost of a stand alone media player.

thats a good point!

I got a Samsung LED very thin flatscreen TV (I think series 6) which has USB ports in the back....I plugged-in a small Samsung WIFI USB adaptor (I got them at PowerBuy in Central World) and it now links wirelessly with my True internet home wifi router...(can watch youtube vids and other online content etc. on that particular TV anytime)

in addition, if I plug-in my external 2Terabyte harddrive into the USB port on that particular TV (which harddrive normally is plugged into my laptop), I can play the movies stored on it, directly on the TV. The HD movies are especially terrific!

A. if I can somehow figure out how to wirelessly connect all my TVs (on both floors) to my laptop (which has vids stored on it and on a connected external drive...then I could watch videos anywhere in the condo without physically dragging any harddrives from room to room...is there anyway to do that?

B. I think that built-in tech in newer TVs will eventually render separate "media players" obsolete, right??

[trisailer]

"B. I think that built-in tech in newer TVs will eventually render separate "media players" obsolete, right??"

I hope so.

The wireless feature would be nice. Let us know if you figure it out and then I won't have to carry the hard drive back and forth to the bedroom.

[SteeleJoe]

I think that built-in tech in newer TVs will eventually render separate "media players" obsolete, right??"

I should think so. But then there will be something else we'll "need".