HD Media PLayers

[azfarhus]

Which is better b/w WD LIVE TV and GoFlex TV HD Media Player. Are those work fine and give smooth HD playback and picture quality? I saw in reviews that they have plenty of issues regarding playback, picture and sound quality, internet connectivity etc?

Should I buy one or better to go for standard DVD player?

[yoda313]

I have a wdtv gen 1 that doesn't have internet connectivity. It can do hd video just fine.

If there is playback issues chances are it is either with the way the file was encoded (ie poorly) or the internet connection itself. If you don't have a stable connection or a high enough speed hd video will stutter. That is not the fault of the player but the users internet speed.

I don't know what the standard minimum is for fluid and smooth hd video streaming. I have cable internet and my xbox 360 and ps3 are hardwired and don't get buffering issues very often - only rarely.

Also if you are using a wireless streaming device it better be a wifi N device with a near line of sight signal to the router to ensure a smooth hd signal. though I may not be fair to it if wifi n is "always" smooth regardless of location. Though in general a wired connection is always best. (edit I don't have wifi n so I am only going by wifi g experience and its not great with wireless video streaming - n may work flawlessly for n routers and n receiving devices but I can't say for sure from my experience as I don't have one - but wired should have no issues so long as its a fast internet connection)

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And fyi there is no such thing as a 100% perfect media player. Nothing will play 100% of the files that are on the internet. The only thing that will is a regular computer or a htpc setup. That is the only way to ensure the most compatibility. But if you have a relatively slow internet speed you'll still have stuttering/buffering issues watching hd video.

Edit - also harddrives need to be powered units when using a settop media player. I don't believe they have the power to run a usb harddrive on their own. A usb memory stick should be ok but not a regular harddrive. The full fledged harddrive should be a powered unit to ensure good playback.

[azfarhus]

Normally what how much video bitrate you use to watch movies I want to know upto what bitrate it can play without any lag with x264 encoding?

[jagabo]

My WDTV Live can handle up to about 40 Mb/s via its 100TX ethernet port, 70 Mb/s from a USB drive.

[Chopmeister]

I have a WD Live, and a Live Hub, purchased as part of my plan to move to networked video with HD recording and playback capability etc. They both seem to cope with HD material, either locally or over ethernet, just fine.