HD Media Player to watch movies on HDTV

[snbase]

I need some help deciding what the best and most affordable way to watch HD quality movies on my HDTV.

I have alot of HD 1080p and 720p movies on my computer all in .mkv format. And about half of them are encoded with DTS sound. I have researched the Western Digital HD Media player and read comments that it has trouble playing .mkv files with DTS sound.

I have a 52" LCD HDTV and a receiver that has DTS compatibility so i want to know the easiest way to play my movies on it. I have tried tversity but it just took too long for it to buffer. I was thinking about purchasing a external hard drive and a HD media player but not sure what the best are.

This is what i was thinking...

Western Digital My Book Essential 1TB External Hard Drive WDBAAF0010HBK-NESN - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136395

Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player WDBABF0000NBK-NESN - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136499

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Soopafresh]

DTS support is going to be a bit of a sticking point. You can convert the DTS to AC3 with the PopCorn MKV AudioConverter. http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showthread.php?tid=20887

[creamyhorror]

The WDTV Live does DTS downmix/passthrough, so he could get that instead.

[jman98]

I need some help deciding what the best and most affordable way to watch HD quality movies on my HDTV.

I have alot of HD 1080p and 720p movies on my computer all in .mkv format. And about half of them are encoded with DTS sound. I have researched the Western Digital HD Media player and read comments that it has trouble playing .mkv files with DTS sound.

That is NOT true about the WD players. I know people say that, but it's not true. It does passthrough to an amplifier which actually decodes and plays the DTS audio. Do note that the WD players cannot play HD audio formats like DTS-HD.

[cal_tony]

Wd or Seagate Fat+ for players. Have both. Like the Fat+ better. Both products have their own forums and they're worth checking out prior to a purchase.

For External hard disks, I like the Fannon. Just bought another 2tb one from TigerDirect for $159 delivered.
Whatever external you buy, look for one with Esata as well as USB. They will play movies thru the USB but you can load them on the drive thru the Esata at at least 3x the USB capability. 480mbs USB vs 1500 or 3000 max Esata.

Tony

[MJA]

check the Brite view DV-5005HD and the Patriot PCMPBO25 Box Office(internal 2.5" hard drive bay)

http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Office-High-Definition-Player-PCMPBO25/dp/B002Q4U9PY/ref=pd_cp_e_0

[snbase]

I was thinking about this media player:

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+1080P HD Media Player STCEA201-RK

Has anyone had experience with this player??

Also, if i go with a Seagate media player do i have to get a Seagate hard drive for it to be compatible??

I want to stay under $100 dollars on each.

[MJA]

you can get the refurb WD TV HD Media Player for $57

http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/204675

or the Asus O!Play High Definition Media Player for $69

http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/204681

I own the WD LIVE TV.tones of support/forums not like the others

[cal_tony]

I was thinking about this media player:

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+1080P HD Media Player STCEA201-RK

Has anyone had experience with this player??

Also, if i go with a Seagate media player do i have to get a Seagate hard drive for it to be compatible??

I want to stay under $100 dollars on each.

The Seagate player Free Agent Theater+ also known as the FAT+ does not require any special hard drive unless you want to use the internal docking bay. It also has 2 USB ports that will take any external hard disks.
I like my Seagate better than my WD. It has more features. However, both play just about anything flawlessly.

For files they refuse to play if you change the file extension to something else, they will usually play it.

Tony

[lowellriggsiam]

I have the Segate Freeagent Theater+ and I really like it, it plays dvdiso's menu and all. I havent used it for network related things though.

[snbase]

Does anyone have a HD Media Player with internal storage like these:<br><br>Argosy HV335T Mobile Video HDD Media Player <br><br>Masscool MP-1372RS 1080P HDMI 2.5"/3.5" SATA HDD/USB/NET Media Player<br><br>Is there a difference in speed or compatibility between one of these with a internal hard drive installed compared to say the Segate Freeagent Theater+ with a external hard drive??<br><br><br>

[DarrellS]

The cheapest way to play everything on your PC is to run a cable from your graphics card to your TV.



USB 2.0 / IEEE 1394a / e-SATA drives are getting hard to find. WD stopped making their's since they could charge as much for a drive with USB only. They do sell the new USB 3.0 drive now though which I believe has 5Gb/s transfer speed (that's 10 times faster than 2.0). Newegg has one with the 3.0 controller card for $169 and the 3.0 drive without controller for $149.

[ktnwin]

I have tried a few HDD media player and I found this brand the best for me: Argosys
1) you can add internal 3.5" HDD
2) it can also play from extern USB flash or USB HDD
3) component video, composite video and of course HDMI
4) network connection
This is the ONLY branch that can play DVD folder like a true DVD player, i.e. menu, chapters, angle, audio selection, subtitle selection, etc...
I have two of these at home, one was bought about 2 years ago, one just last week.
The old one is small like a 2.5" drive, only take external USB drives, no network.
Both have same user interface.