Playing video's off an external harddrive on my TV

[chrewm]

Hi I'm looking for a device that I can plug my external harddrive into (that is full of .AVI, .MP4, .divx, etc files), that i can then plug into my HDTV. I tried a couple different versions of the Roku, and it took way too long to load my video library, only to be able to load some of my .mp4 files.

So I'd just like to know what it is im looking for. I've heard people refer to them as "swing boxes" or something, but I try searching for "swing Box" on amazon or newegg and nothing comes up.

Obviously I am aware that some hi-end TVs already have this feature, but my TV does not. The USB on my TV only supports .jpgs and mp3s, so it's worthless.

I'm not really interested in buying a DVD/Blue Ray player with this capability, unless of coarse its cheaper then buying a stand-alone product.

Any help or suggestions would really be appreciated, I'm at a total dead end here.

[AaronDude]

Are you looking for a media player? The Asus oplay mini can play almost anything and do it well. You connect it to your tv with a hdmi cable and plug in your external hard drive or whatever to it. It's only 60 bucks at amazon, I got it and it works great.

[jagabo]

A few devices to choose from:
http://www.iboum.com/net-media-players.php

[yoda313]

I've never heard of the term "swing box".

Anyhow I'd recommend a wdtv media player. It is far more versatile than a roku when it comes to playing actual files off a harddrive. It seems that the roku models are geared for simpler streaming only functions and then only the portal style modes that it force feeds you to use - little customization or freedom of choice (note I don't own one but this is what I've gathered from reading reviews and such on cnet).

The wdtv plays a wide array of files off a ntsf formatted usb harddrive. The newer "live" models also have internet access for streaming media. I have a gen 1 model that doesn't have internet access. But it happily plays divx/xvid, wmv, h264, etc and mp3 and other audio files too. Also does jpg. I'm not sure what other differences besides internet access are involved with the newer models as I haven't shopped for an upgrade model.

There are competitors of course but the wdtv is pretty well respected around here. You can find cheaper older models on places like ebay or amazon of course. But new models are around 100.00 usd the last time I looked. Though models the like the live hub with the internal harddrive will undoubtly be more expensive.

[chrewm]

Thanks for the quick responses! a 'Media Player' was what I was looking for. Thank you for helping me out!! Much appreciated!

[yoda313]

Sure thing. Ask back with more questions when they come.

Also you can search the site for wdtv media player. There is a huge thread covering the earlier versions. Separate threads have popped up for the newer models too.

As I mentioned there are competitors to wdtv so you can check out different models. But be sure to check the codec support it has as well as top resolution (assuming it is an hdmi it SHOULD playback 1080p files but check the specs before buying if you are looking to playback 1080p).

[lingyi]

To answer your question about "swing box", what you're referring to is Slingbox. Which you don't want anyway. Slingbox allows you "Connect to one HD or SD source in your home theater, such as your DVR, digital cable set-top box or satellite receiver.".

Rather, I second yoda313's suggestion of a WDTV, preferably Live Plus or it's replacement Live Streaming. Both are about $80-100 new. Did a little checking on Amazon (was going to post on another thread that seems to have passed) and see some other media players as cheap as $30 with good reviews. BUT, I'd still go with the WDTV. In it's various incarnations, it has some very strong support groups and very stable "hacked" alternative firmware.

As for your MP4s, keep in mind that MP4 is a audio/video container and may contain different types of video and audio that may not play correctly on any media player. FWIW, I've had only a handful of files (out of hundreds) over the years not play on the WDTV.

[jagabo]

And many DVD and Blu-ray players have some ability to play files off USB drives or network shares. Support for different containers and codecs is usually not as good as with standalone media players.

I have a first generation WDTV Live. It has its quirks and shortcomings but overall I'm happy with it. My LG BD670 Blu-ray player can play media files off USB drives and network shares.