Video Streamer/player for my 1080p TV

[schwarznavy]

Hello,

I'm a little confused with all the media servers/streamers/storage NAS devices that I'm reading about.

I have a variety of videos -- some ripped from my DVD collection, some from my home video camera, some purchased on Internet, etc. They might be DIVX, XVID, MOV, MP4, etc. They might be 1080p, they might not.

So is there one device that I can use as a storage for these videos, and connect it to my TV, and have it transcode?

Is the Popcorn device one of those?

Also, I keep reading that some of these devices connect via HDMI cable? If so, then does it really matter if these devices are DLNA compatible?

Thank you.
Matthew

[jagabo]

The Popcorn Hour can access a NAS device directly (wired ethernet or wireless) and play most videos from there.

Another good choice if you are using external USB drives is the Western Digital TV HD Media Player at about US$100. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=572 Then just move the USB drive back and forth between the computer and the WDTV. Since the WDTV firmware is open source there are hacks that let you access NAS devices via a USB wireless network adapter.

DLNA compatability is not required for these devices. They connect to your HDTV via HDMI, component, composite, etc.