External media center HD

[ghiatti1]

Has anybody tried these HD units with remote control you can connect to the TV and play DVIX, Xvid, etc? I have seen some with optical output and I was wondering how good the video and audio quality are compared to a standard stand alone Dvix player.

[Krispy Kritter]

I don't know which unit(s) you are referring too, however, I have seen several of them reviewed/tested and they all suffer from video quality issues, even from a high quality source.

[DundeeDave]

Hello! I have just purchased on of the media players you refer to:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110158502346
And have no problems with quality issues, although you have to work out what it will or wont play. some xvid it will play with an mp3 soundtrack, some it doesn't like in which case it skips them.
I can also record via usb with Ulead video studio 8 straight to dvd with no droputs etc which i was really surprised at as I have had problems in the past with delayed write errors.
Hard drive HAS to be formatted to FAT32 though.
If you want any more info let me know
ps This item was bought secondhand as refurbished with the hard drive installed, you can just buy them without if you want.

[ghiatti1]

I am referring to those with optical audio output 5.1 and have seen some with HDMI, though too expensive. And the quality comparison is with my 40 Euro Divx player, a Silvercrest 6515 with Zoran Vaddis.

[Krispy Kritter]

Some people may be totally happy with the quality. Quality, after all, is subjective. One of the most popular standalone dvix capable dvd players is the Philips DVP642, and I have two of them. They have some limitations, but for $30 each, you can't complain...you just deal with it. After purchasing upgrading my TV to a 55inch HD model, I was no longer happy with the quality of the 642 (DVD or Divx). So I upgraded to an Oppo 971H which is one of the highest rated dvd players for video quality. DVD playback is now flawless and the Oppo has much better Divx support. Files that won't play in the 642 or that suffer playback issues, play just fine in the Oppo.

The bottom line is that you have to decide what works best for you. If you have a HD TV and are looking for quality, I would look for a quality standalone Divx player. If you are using an older CRT TV, the standalone media players may be satisfactory for you.

The biggest issue I've read with these players, is the same issue all of the cheap standalone players suffer from, which is macro blocking and just poor image quality as a result of the chipset used for decoding. The issue becomes more apparent as the file size/quality increase...especially at HD resolutions.

Try a google search on whichever model(s) you are interested, and see if you can find any reviews. Maybe they will meet your needs.