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  1. I currently have the AC Ryan PlayOnHD Media Player. It can play everything except Bluray ISOs. It can't play Netflix. It has a 30 sec skip forward/back button which is really useful but it only works properly on MPEG2 videos - on anything else it goes to random times in the video.

    Could anyone suggest a good High Definition media player or Bluray player that doesn't have the above problems?. Ideally it should also have the following features:
    • 16:10 aspect ratio option
    • 576p option that displays properly without bugs
    • Doesn't show interlacing artifacts on interlaced home recordings
    • Wired Ethernet or gigabit connection
    • USB 2.0 ports so I can connect my hard drive to it which contains the files I want to play.
    • MPEG2 videos play without bugs
    • h264 videos (such as those ripped from Blurays) play without bugs
    I'm not interested in a HTPC.
    Last edited by VideoFanatic; 9th Jan 2013 at 17:38.
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  2. I'm a MEGA Super Moderator Baldrick's Avatar
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    A HTPC with XBMC. But it's expensive and it's not easy to configure full blu-ray support in XBMC...but when it works you can play everything.
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  3. Thanks but I'm not interested in a HTPC.
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  4. get Dune device http://dune-hd.com/eng
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    cheapest Roku device just for Netflix, or some other cheap Netflix player like WDTV Live
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  5. It's kind of obvious, but the best player is your computer connected to your tv.
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    Originally Posted by VideoFanatic View Post
    I currently have the AC Ryan PlayOnHD Media Player. It can play everything except Bluray ISOs. It can't play Netflix. It can play Xvid MP4 videos but it won't play the MPEG-1 audio that's inside the video. It has a 30 sec skip forward/back button which is really useful but it only works properly on MPEG2 videos - on anything else it goes to random times in the video.

    Could anyone suggest a good High Definition media player or Bluray player that doesn't have the above problems?. Ideally it should also have the following features:
    • 16:10 aspect ratio option
    • 576p option that displays properly without bugs
    • Doesn't show interlacing artifacts on interlaced home recordings
    • Wired Ethernet or gigabit connection
    • USB 2.0 ports so I can connect my hard drive to it which contains the files I want to play.
    I'm not interested in a HTPC.
    There is no media player or Blu-Ray player available today that can do everything that you want.

    The media players that have Netflix support won't play Blu-Ray ISOs. The Dune players as well as the Popcorn Hour C-200 and C-300 players, which can play Blu-Ray ISOs with menus, don't offer support for Netflix.

    There are Blu-Ray players that support Netflix and media file playback, but they have drawbacks as media players. Media file playback is limited compared to what some media players offer, and a 2012 model Blu-Ray player will be problematic for playing Blu-ray rips. After 2011 Blu-Ray players are required to obey Cinavia protection as a condition of their AACS license.

    Baldric is correct. If you want a single do-it-all machine today, the closest you can get is an HTPC. Otherwise you would need more than one machine, perhaps two media players as _Al_ suggests or a smart Blu-Ray player for discs, plus Netflix and other video streaming services, and a high-end media player for everything else.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 9th Jan 2013 at 12:00.
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  7. What's that Cinavia protection you're on about? I will have already have removed the copy-protection from my Blurays before I put the ISOs or videos on my hard drive connected to my media player so how could it possibly prevent me from watching my videos?

    So if I forget about playing Bluray ISOs is there a media player you could suggest that will do what I said in my 1st post?

    I'm not really sure about a HTPC. Isn't it just like watching a video in Windows Media Player (or VLC, etc) for example but on your TV? I split my PC's HDMI output to my monitor and my TV and when watching a video on my TV in a software media player it doesn't look as good as when I play it on a dedicated media player connected to my TV.
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  8. I'm a MEGA Super Moderator Baldrick's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by VideoFanatic View Post
    Isn't it just like watching a video in Windows Media Player (or VLC, etc) for example but on your TV? I split my PC's HDMI output to my monitor and my TV and when watching a video on my TV in a software media player it doesn't look as good as when I play it on a dedicated media player connected to my TV.
    You can get very good quality but it's not as simple as a dedicated player. Especially to get smooth playback. You need a good graphics card also.
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    Originally Posted by VideoFanatic View Post
    What's that Cinavia protection you're on about? I will have already have removed the copy-protection from my Blurays before I put the ISOs or videos on my hard drive connected to my media player so how could it possibly prevent me from watching my videos?

    So if I forget about playing Bluray ISOs is there a media player you could suggest that will do what I said in my 1st post?
    You asked about Blu-Ray players with media playback capability as well as media players, and I thought it was only fair to point out their limitations. Cinavia is a sort of audio "watermark" that so far can't be completely disabled by ripping software, and can survive re-encoding. Although it isn't present on every disc, Cinavia will prevent you from playing some Blu-Ray rips using a Blu-Ray player. Cinavia won't stop you from using a media player to play Blu-Ray rips.

    I can't recommend a media player that meets all your other requirements. From what I understand, no discrete media player plays everything perfectly. ..but I don't even have one. My own requirements are so simple that my TV's integrated media player is good enough for playing TV shows I have captured myself.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 10th Jan 2013 at 01:12.
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  10. Much appreciated thanks, I didn't know about that Cinavia protection thing. I don't think I'll bother getting a Bluray player.

    Can anyone suggest a good Netflix media player which has a 16:10 aspect ratio option? The Roku isn't much good as I use unblockus.com so I can access the better Netflix selection in the USA and it's not possible to change the DNS settings on the Roku, instead you have to change it on the router which I don't want to do.
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  11. I'm not sure which media player to get. I'm really just looking for something that plays netflix at this point but every media player seems to have a lot of bad reviews.
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  12. I also use this, you can put apps on it. Got it from BB for $60 on sale. Plays BR too. It comes with software that connects to your computer, but I have not used that yet.

    http://www.lg.com/us/blu-ray-players/lg-BP220-blu-ray-dvd-player
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  13. Most likely Cinavia protection that will prevent him to play some of his ISO's

    VideoFanatic - You need something for ISO's so you are limited SEVERLY (I always back-up to MKV), there is Dune or Popcorn , you might find more inspiration here http://www.iboum.com/net-media-players.php , google if particular device can handle BD ISO but it is quite rare.

    And then something for Netflix (if player cannot handle that or not even your TV), so do not be taken back by some reviews for those devices, Netflix works on those little machines flawlessly. As for latest WDTV Live streamer provided they got rid of that bug that causedto sign-in to Netflix account again and again after restart or some time, not sure.

    EDIT: I just want to add, when you search for player that plays Blu-Ray ISO, lots of players offer so called BDLite capability, which means playing just movie, no menu, possible problems with playlist playbacks, maybe not capable playing some TrueHD+AC3 or DTS MA audio etc.. it all depends on firmware and may vary from version to version. So here comes handy ClownBD, during BD backup for example, after checking one box it will create extra AC3 track, and you can choose that one audio if you hear nothing while playing your BD backup.
    I know to create ISO is easy but then you have to fork some money for player if you want to go with that. Exactly life like situation.
    Last edited by _Al_; 10th Jan 2013 at 13:39.
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