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New York, 1:38 AM
Mon Dec 21
19 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of whiteflea whiteflea
    12/15/09

    In reply to Playon!HD Mini Takes On The Best HD Media Players
    Stupid Question: Why do NONE of these media players have a digital tv tuner?
     Reply
    whiteflea was starred whiteflea was unstarred
    Image of whatne1wuddo whatne1wuddo
    12/15/09

    @whiteflea: I believe AC Ryan has a larger box that does have it and does DVR stuff.
     Reply
    whiteflea promoted this comment whatne1wuddo was starred whatne1wuddo was unstarred
    Image of diamonddnice diamonddnice
    12/15/09

    @whiteflea: because most people get a box from their cable or satellite provider with a digital tuner so it's not a feature most people are asking for.
     Reply
    whiteflea promoted this comment diamonddnice was starred diamonddnice was unstarred
    Image of reapur reapur
    12/15/09

    @whiteflea: I believe it's because they're all closed systems to greed rights and no one can put one in without handing all their profits over to the big three.
     Reply
    whiteflea promoted this comment reapur was starred reapur was unstarred
    Image of whiteflea whiteflea
    12/16/09

    @diamonddnice: Well, see, these set-top boxes seem to me like an alternative to cable and satellite, as HTPCs are. Right now, the last touch my HTPC needs is a TV tuner, so that I can finally release myself from the onerous burden of a DirectTV contract. If I were in the market for one of these boxes, it would be for the same reason that I built my HTPC (except my HTPC doubles as my gaming rig, so bonus).
     Reply
    whiteflea was starred whiteflea was unstarred
    Image of diamonddnice diamonddnice
    12/16/09

    @whiteflea: i think most consumers are not like you. Most people don't have htpc and most don't see the need for it. And me personally, i don't even want one. i just want to watch my videos and music on my plasma. I don't want anything else on my computer there. And a tuner may add value to you but i'm not sure a tuner adds much value.

    i'm not well versed in these things. But how does a tuner get shows. don't you still have to pay a cable company for a signal? Can you get specialty channels like showtime or setanta sports and stuff?
     Reply
    diamonddnice was starred diamonddnice was unstarred
    Image of whiteflea whiteflea
    12/17/09

    @diamonddnice: "But how does a tuner get shows. don't you still have to pay a cable company for a signal? "

    No. Broadcast television is free and in HD in most areas, now. With a tuner card, you just hook it up to an antenna (you CAN hook most of them up to cable also, though, if you want to pay for cable). If you have a really new TV, you wouldn't need a tuner card (unless you want your computer to be a DVR for HD versions of network shows), because you could just hook the antenna up to the TV like the old days. If you have a slightly older TV (my 1080p, 42" LCD bought in 2008 is apparently old enough for this, sadly), then you need a digital tuner / tuner card. In this case (my case), you can either 1) buy a tuner card for an HTPC, 2) not watch network TV, or 3) buy a set-top digital tuner box (~$30), which for some reason is a totally separate device from a set-top media box even though it's something that can fit on a USB stick (many tuner cards are just little USB sticks, though these are lower quality than actual cards).

    "Most people don't have htpc and most don't see the need for it."

    You're right, but the same people that don't see a need for an HTPC also wouldn't see a need for a set-top box like the one in this article. Thus, it stands to reason that the people who want a set-top box are the same sort of people who want an HTPC. It just seems like common sense to me for a manufacturer of one of these set-top boxes to go "Oooh...if I put a tuner card in there, then this becomes a DVR on top of everything else - suck it, HTPC manufacturers!" And even though I already have an HTPC, it's really just my gaming rig hooked up to my TV. I would totally spend the $100 on a set-top box and another $30 on an antenna and have my gaming rig devoted totally to gaming and net-surfing if the set-top covered all of my needs. Admittedly, my need for over-the-air HD broadcasts is minimal, but certain shows my wife and I watch together (Big Bang Theory, for instance), cannot be watched online with any sort of regularity or convenience unless you are a pirate, which I'm very much against, and other shows we watch that CAN be accessed online (The Office, etc) are 1) not in HD if watched online and 2) now owned by Comcast, a business that really hates people watching ANYthing for free. So, that's why I'm currently shopping around for a tuner card.
     Reply
    whiteflea was starred whiteflea was unstarred
    Image of diamonddnice diamonddnice
    12/17/09

    @whiteflea:
    "Broadcast television is free and in HD in most areas, now"

    see that's the rub. other then 30 Rock i pretty much watch nothing on those channels. Viacom properties like MTV are not even in HD. But i like the foodtvs, discovery, ect. I watch mostly cable, and specialty cable channels Like showtime or FSC or Setanta for soccer games. And i didn't see those mentioned. So i'm not sure it would be perfect. I do get the dvr angle but then you have to consider this has no hard drive so the manufacture is probably thinking he'd have to add one. And doesn't #1, buy a tuner card for your pc accomplish the same thing in a less integrated form? Regardless i feel your pain on a need not being met. I don't listen to FM radio. i do like AM sports talk radio but Apple refuses to put an AM radio in ipod.

    " the same people that don't see a need for an HTPC also wouldn't see a need for a set-top box like the one in this article. "

    This is where i'd disagree. like i said. i like this. all i want is to stream video and music from a hard drive. And i don't want a HTPC for several reasons. And trust me i've seriously considered building them. Even researched different OS's and tuner cards. But one, it's time consuming, two, can't justify the cost now just to have it sit under my tv, three, noise, i don't want to hear the fans and drives, don't want to have to buy more remotes or recievers, they look large and ugly unless you buy an attractive case which is more money. Last, i've no interest in doing anything on my computer on my tv.

    not to mention. i have a dvr, get most of my channels, Now i still hate the cable company but that's a different matter. i'm probably getting the WDtvhd but like the popcorn and the stuff with extra hard drives just add more things i don't need and elevate the price to a point i won't go. I think a tuner would be a similar item at least from the perspective of a buyer in my situation. i'm not saying your tuner idea is bad, or that nobody needs it, just offering an explanation as to why they may think they don't need to integrate one. All that being said, my cable company does have some way you can plug a hard drive into the cable box and access media. but i think it's only pictures. it's a start though. Sadly from your perspective it's still coming from a crappy cable company.
     Reply
    diamonddnice was starred diamonddnice was unstarred
    Image of atomfive atomfive
    12/15/09

    In reply to Playon!HD Mini Takes On The Best HD Media Players
    I am so gun shy to buy anyone of these media players. It seems like everyday a new one comes out. I want one, but the buyers remorse is gonna kill me.
     Reply
    whiteflea approved this comment atomfive was starred atomfive was unstarred
    Image of AlexSea AlexSea
    11/30/09

    In reply to Asus O!Play Review: Best-Priced HD Video Player Is the New Champ
    just curious, would a 5400rpm HD (in an enclosure) connected through usb 2.0 be enough to drive 1080p? that is the nerdiest sentence i've ever typed, by the way...
     Reply
    bornonbord promoted this comment AlexSea was starred AlexSea was unstarred
    Image of bornonbord bornonbord
    11/30/09

    @AlexSea: Then you've got some nerding-up to do, son. ;-)

    1080p that you have on your computer is likely highly compressed using some sort of MPEG codec. The throughput needed is pretty low. USB 2.0 and 5400 RPM will do juuuuust fine.
     Reply
    bornonbord was starred bornonbord was unstarred
    Image of Nathan Obbards Nathan Obbards
    11/30/09

    In reply to Asus O!Play Review: Best-Priced HD Video Player Is the New Champ
    I wondered why you didn't run this in your comparison tests as I have heard so many people swear by it.
     Reply
    Nathan Obbards was starred Nathan Obbards was unstarred
    Image of bonedog73 bonedog73
    11/06/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    Will any of these give me Hulu on my TV? I need something that will do that. I have a roku and ps3.
     Reply
    Edited by bonedog73 at 11/06/09 10:57 AM bonedog73 was starred bonedog73 was unstarred
    Image of Cash907Censored Cash907Censored
    11/06/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    I got my dad the WD HD TV last Christmas, and he loves it. I love it because it just works right out of the box and plays every format I throw at it, yet it's simple enough for a 65 year old man who's afraid of the iPhone to use. I bought a 2 pack of seagate 2.5" external drives from Sams Club for 130 bucks back in January, and once a month I'll pop over to my folks house and swap out the drives, leaving him with fresh movies and tv episodes to watch. He loves to brag to his friends about how his kid is so sneaky, and gets him "Hollywood movies that are still in theaters."
    He's happy, I'm happy, WD TV gets two thumbs up. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Cash907Censored was starred Cash907Censored was unstarred
    Image of bigdave914 bigdave914
    11/06/09

    @Cash907Censored: The WDTV is the first gen with out ethernet, this article is about the WDTV Live also know as WDTV 2. Its got eithernet and some other differences. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Cash907Censored promoted this comment bigdave914 was starred bigdave914 was unstarred
    Image of Cash907Censored Cash907Censored
    11/06/09

    @bigdave914:
    Yeah, I'm aware of that thanks. Thanks to a recent firmware update, the only difference between the WD HD TV and the WD TV Live (version reviewed above) is the newer model has an ethernet port. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Cash907Censored was starred Cash907Censored was unstarred
    Image of KassiaHaoe KassiaHaoe
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    Why is it called "Apple TV Killers" if you think Apple TV is a poor product?
     Reply
    Duckspwn:Loves Approving Reds promoted this comment KassiaHaoe was starred KassiaHaoe was unstarred
    Image of Duckspwn Duckspwn
    11/05/09

    @KassiaHaoe: Because they killed Apple TV in terms of performance? #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Duckspwn was starred Duckspwn was unstarred
    Image of ossuary ossuary
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    Good article. I have been looking over this info for a while now and glad to see it collected.

    i like the idea of the Patriot, BUT I just don't see them following up with sequential firmware updates like WD will do (and has done with the previous WD TV).

    I LOVE the specs of the Popcorn Hour box, but at that price and size, I would go for a PS3.

    For features, support, and price, I think I am going with the WD TV Live (as soon as it actually freaking shows back up in stock somewhere). #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    ossuary was starred ossuary was unstarred
    Image of Unknown2U Unknown2U
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    This is what I plan to do. Currently I rent 2 HD-DVRs for $16 a month each.

    My PC has Windows 7, I purchase this thing next year: [www.cetoncorp.com]

    I rent 1 cable card for $4 a month. That device will allow me to record up to Six Live HD Channels Simultaneously.

    Then I just use my Xbox 360 to watch TV.

    Beats the PS3, let's face it. Most people watch more TV than they do movies. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Xeno promoted this comment Unknown2U was starred Unknown2U was unstarred
    Image of Xeno Xeno
    11/05/09

    @Unknown2U: You'll be happy, this I know from experience. The Creton 6 tuner card will cost more than any of these boxes however. These are all in one single purchase devices. It's not a apple to apple comparison. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Xeno was starred Xeno was unstarred
    Image of Unknown2U Unknown2U
    11/05/09

    @Xeno: Well I have read that the Centon adapter will be like $300. That's what the company is aiming for. Plus you get a real TV experience.

    The card pays for itself in one year if I get ride of my two DVRs from the cable company. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Unknown2U was starred Unknown2U was unstarred
    Image of Xeno Xeno
    11/05/09

    @Unknown2U: I understand. Currently I love my CC tuners and will probably build a new WMC box with a Centon Tuner. What I'm saying is that these boxes serve a simpler task and even the most expensive of them is $300. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Xeno was starred Xeno was unstarred
    Image of diamonddnice diamonddnice
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    do you really need to kill apple tv? its not like it's popular like an ipod. Isnt' this kinda like saying, "which soft drink will be the Fresca killer?" #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    omgwtflolbbqbye promoted this comment diamonddnice was starred diamonddnice was unstarred
    Image of Vermifuge Vermifuge
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    Out of these 5 "Apple TV Killers" do any of them work with the iTunes store? #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    matt buchanan promoted this comment Vermifuge was starred Vermifuge was unstarred
    Image of dallasmay dallasmay
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    The best ATV Killer Ever

    [store.apple.com] #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    matt buchanan promoted this comment dallasmay was starred dallasmay was unstarred
    Image of Hank Scorpio Hank Scorpio
    11/05/09

    @dallasmay: I've been thinking of going that route, mostly because the WD doesn't have Netflix/Hulu, etc. With a Mini, I can play literally anything (including the Flac-HD files that I can't burn to a disc that's readable by my Sony BD player).

    I'm hoping WD will add those, or Roku will add Hulu and the ability to play media off a connected drive (which is rumored). But, if neither of those things comes to fruition by the end of the year, I'll probably go with a Mini. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    Hank Scorpio was starred Hank Scorpio was unstarred
    Image of RoboBagins RoboBagins
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    The more I heard about this, the better deal it sounds to build a nettop XBMC [lifehacker.com] #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    RoboBagins was starred RoboBagins was unstarred
    Image of tucker tucker
    11/05/09

    @RoboBagins: i would love to see this post redone with that nettop included in the comparisons. #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    tucker was starred tucker was unstarred
    Image of Justin Paulson Justin Paulson
    11/05/09

    In reply to HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
    Can you really call it an AppleTV killer when the thing was barely breathing anyway? #hdmediaplayers
     Reply
    OCEntertainment promoted this comment Justin Paulson was starred Justin Paulson was unstarred
    Image of bonedog73 bonedog73
    10/30/09

    In reply to 12 Things You Need To Know About Apple TV 3.0
    I've thought about Apple TV a lot but I picked up a Roku instead due to price. Apple has a lot of content but none of it's free. I get Netflix for $13 bucks, and I can watch TV shows for free on the web/hulu. Apple TV is just too expensive for what they give consumers. #appletv30
     Reply
    bonedog73 was starred bonedog73 was unstarred
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