Underneath my TV is a collection of boxes, each with a different purpose in life and it was this that got me thinking – why is there not a combined all-in-one device that does all of these functions and more? What devices then are under there? The first is the cable tuner but this can be swapped out for a Freeview HD recorder for example. Freeview by the way is the UK Free to air channels and there is 50 TV channels and 24 radio stations. Next up is my DVD player, this is not used as much these days but always handy to have.  Last on my list is my media player, this can handle movie’s streamed from my NAS box and such. My Goal device would be all of these combined into one box that connects to the network – but, do this thing exist?

What do I want this magical device to do?

The first thing it must have a dual tuner Freeview HD recording with all the trimming that they come with, this would be recording one channel while watching another, ability to record entire series and so forth. You can buy this device already and you can check out this page to see some reviews of such devices. 

Next up we need to replaced the media player function as well – I would need to play movies across the network of course (as all my stuff sits on a NAS) and the ability to play just about any format. The devices out there at the moment include the popcorn for example.

Just not enough demand

I have a feeling that I will have to buy many devices to meet this goal, I have a DVD +HD Recorder but you have a sit there and program the thing to record what you need and leave it powered on (not standby). The other bad side of this HD recorder I have is that there is no way to easily get the media off there, why can I not just access the drive via the network and watch what I have recorded on my computer? Instead I have to write it out to DVD and convert it back or just download it, probably quicker to be honest.

Talking of downloading..

I find it silly that in this day and age they restrict you so much from trying to watch what you want, I understand they do not want people to redistribute the stuff on-line and thus why they force you to watch it back on the TV in the living room. The reality is I can download an entire TV Series and watch it were I want quicker then I can record the thing, this I find very sad indeed.

If you know of such a device..

If you have come across something of what I am looking for, then feel free to use the Contact us for and I can update this post or even do a review of the said device if I can get my hands on it.

(Betamax for the win)

Technology moves on and people try and find easier and better ways to manage and watch media, be it video, pictures or even music on there TV. It was not that long ago that it was quite simple, you bought a DVD Player that suited your price range and features, plugged it into your TV and you can now go out and buy movies on DVD. Storing 100′s of Movies presented an issue and there had to be a better way – and now there is, media streaming devices come in many shapes and sizes as well as cost and functions – this post serves as a grounding on what to look for.

What have you got now?

Let’s begin with what you have now and how you plan to consume your media. If you collection is based on DVD for example then you are going to need something that can play DVD or a means to convert the collection to a media format (such as handbrake). If you have a large collection of files already on a hard drive for example – then maybe one of the many media streaming devices might suit you better and it also depends on what your TV is capable of and what media you might have to play now or in the future.

The Blu-Ray Solution

Steve over at TheTechBuzz did a review of the Visio VBR220 Blu-Ray player – this not only plays all your DVD collection and the Blu-rays of course but can also stream as it has inbuilt wireless which means you can can NetFlix and the like. While this is a good solution for some, it might not suit everyone.

The Media Streaming device

In this section we have devices such as the WDTV, WDTV Live, ASUS O!Play and many many others (there is a lot out there). the main features of these is that they are small, quiet and can play just about anything out there and most do full 1080p. Given that 1080p media would struggle over wireless, a lot of these support or only work with a Harddrive full of media plugged in.

There is a couple of ways to think about this – if you can store all your media on one (or more) harddrives and are happy to to copy across new stuff now and then, the WDTV would suit the bill, be aware that not all media players can play everything and you might be disappointed when you try and play that latest MKV 1080p movie and it fails to even see it there.

Limitations

I own the WDTV – this operates via a hard drive plugged in and it can indeed play just about anything you can throw at this thing. The issues comes when the movie you have is encoded with DTS Audio – the WDTV has no hardware to decode the audio – so you end of with silence. Now this is not the end of the world – you can use the free PopCorn Audio Converter to take the audio down to 5.1 with no loss of quality in the video. What this player can do is if you take an ISO of a DVD (which you need to remove the protection of course) or the files “as-is” – the WDTV can just play them, like I said these media players can play just about anything.

What about other services?

A lot of these media streaming devices are now offering extra on-line services such as NetFlix and other USA Based stuff (not sure what UK people get, probably just YouTube). This can save you switching on the computer I guess but how well a small YouTube video would scale up on a 42″+ TV is unknown…

Expandablity

One more important point – is there a growing community so you can expand that device? This can add something to an older device, such as how I managed to Add Wireless support and various services (such as Apple Trailers) to my now ageing WDTV player – I agree it is not for everyone and you could ‘brick’ the device but good to know all the same.

Anything else?

Let us not forget the consoles such as the XBOX and the PS3 and also making a small desktop PC as a media centre – these give even more flexibility in that they can display any web page and you can watch streams on there and so forth – plenty of options on the table my friend – just a case of you working out what is best for you, for the money that you can afford and what you want to do.

WDTV

Western Digital are about to launch a Media Player that costs £80 which enables you to play most video formats MPEG1/2/4, WMV9, AVI (MPEG4, Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEG4, H.264) along with many other music and photo formats, upto a resolution of 1080p via a USB HDD plugged into the device. This in turn is then connected to your HD TV via HDMI which you can control via the provided remote control.

Combined with a My Passport portable drive (sold separately), this player is the most convenient way to play HD movies or user-generated videos, listen to high-quality digital music and show high-resolution slideshows of your family photos on your TV. Also works with popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices.

Ideal For
Hassle-free playback of HD movies, home videos, digital music, and photos on your TV.

System Requirements

• My Passport portable hard drive or other USB storage device with supported video or audio content stored on it.
• Standard or high definition television with HDMI or composite video connections

Package Contents

• HD Media Player
• Stand for My Passport portable drive
• Compact remote with batteries
• Media converter software (Windows only)
• Composite AV cable
• AC adapter
• Quick Install Guide

You can buy one at PLAY and is due for release 17/11/2008.

Supported formats Include:

the link to the device is HERE – for all the specs.