Western Digital WD TV media player.

[Fatman_do]

This looks like a cool way to "take it with you" to a friend or family member's house.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=572

[mvallevand]

This is a nice box for what it does, but for $50 I'd buy a Popcorn Hour because it can be a GBPVR client and it can use an internal drive which is a lot more portable, and it can be networked if you want it to be.

They are based on the same chip.

Martin

[pcostanza]

I treated myself to the HDHR but when I grow up, I plan on getting one of these puppies. Things change so fast and hard drive and flash drive prices are coming down as size goes up, who knows what will be available when I age.

[Fatman_do]

This is a nice box for what it does, but for $50 I'd buy a Popcorn Hour because it can be a GBPVR client and it can use an internal drive which is a lot more portable, and it can be networked if you want it to be.

They are based on the same chip.

Martin

Don't you also then have to buy a hard drive as well? So $50+drive

Not saying it would compete with PCH, but my brother would probably like one of these. He does not have a HTPC, or a home network for that matter.

[mvallevand]

Unless you use flash USB drives, the WD box requires both an external USB based drive and drive enclosure, the PCH can use just a self contained drive so this actually reduces the difference in cost.

That being said I'd probably choose the WD for your brother, it probably won't get that much use.

Martin

[dirtyvu]

No one said that the WD TV is an all-in-one device. It's targeted toward people like me.

I have like seven external hard drives and multiple thumbdrives. Habits I picked up in college to pass large files around when the school started clamping down on network sharing.

It has the same potential as the PCH (except for networking) since it has the same chipset but it's only $100. So I'm waiting to see how future firmware updates go before I buy it.

[Fatman_do]

Unless you use flash USB drives, the WD box requires both an external USB based drive and drive enclosure, the PCH can use just a self contained drive so this actually reduces the difference in cost.

Ahh, I see your point there. I wasn't considering removing a drive from a USB enclosure either.

That being said I'd probably choose the WD for your brother, it probably won't get that much use.

Martin

Yea, like the other poster, he has quite a few USB drives so that is what led me to think of the WD for him. Less hit on my pocketbook too...

[SLR_65]

Has anyone bought one of these? If so, how do you like it?

My son lives in the country and doesn't have satellite, he just gets by on broadcast tv for now.

He has a lap top with TV out and he does have GBPVR loaded up and he does occasionally come in and grab some programs off my htpc but he likes to surf the net and stuff while watching TV so it's not real handy.

I was thinking though not a full fledged htpc, it would be a good compromise for the price.

Any thoughts, comments, recommendations would be appreciated (my son's birthday is the middle of July so I'm thinking it may make a nice birthday present).

Thanks!

Steve

[psycik]

Yes I'm also insterested in one of these for recommending them for friends and family.

Ideally I'd prefer they used popcorn hours, but with the A100 not being produced any more, the price point of the popcorn is around $400 NZD - when you add the exchange rate and the cost of freight.

These retail from $200 to $300 when on special. And are available from a shop (with a pretty decent 14 day no questions return policy).

Can they handle mkv's, h.264 video? Mostly I want it so that anything that i have I can them pass on, as currently with the computer hardware they have, they cannot play HD, and being techno-n00bs I'd prefer they dealt with another remote control rather than hooking the laptop the the tv.

[mvallevand]

There is so much choice now for media extenders it is tough to make recommendations if you aren't using GBPVR. There already are the new low priced Asus AOPlay, the ACRyan and the Xtreamer using a different chip (RealTec) then used on the PCH/WDTV appearing and I am anxious for the reviews, my gut is they will be pretty good. Xtreamer even contacted me to see what I need to develop for their box. My impressions from reading (too many posts) on avsforum about the WDTV its only advantage is price. It might play HE-AAC I never got this confirmed but disappointed users do move "up" to the PCH.

The EGreat at $145 US is a real NMT and it even has DTS downmix which the WDTV doesn't have, my concern with it as a GBPVR client is about the colour buttons, for a raw player they won't be missed and you would now exactly what to get.

In the future there is the HD MVP to, it might be interesting if only because Hauppauge usually has very competitively priced hardware and they are going to need to compete with the RealTek's.

Martin