astroglide's home theater: what i own, what i would buy today - Page 14

troymclur · #**131** 02-20-2007, 02:00 PM

DiscoveryHD is your friend. It has the best HD broadcast IMO and the programs are top quality. Look out for "Equator", "BUGS!" and "Sunrise Earth" (that last one is a dream watch with your morning coffee/orange juice/yoga)

I'd also recommend you get in line for an HD-DVR. Not sure about your location, but i've been on a waiting list for over a month.

ratholeusoul · #**132** 04-11-2007, 10:30 AM

Sorry for bumping, but I need some advice and this is the perfect thread for it.

So far, I've watched my movies and tv series on my computer screen (I mostly download torrents), but I'm getting a new TV setup (Samsung 40" EU from stars shop) soon after moving to a bigger place.

I'd like to continue watching downloaded stuff on my new big TV-to-come. I need some suggestions on which dvd-player or storage-player to get.

- It has to run all the divx, xvid, avi formats (just basically anything VLC runs).

- I'd prefer to move the stuff onto that player wirelessly, since my computer is gonna go into another room and I'm not a fan of long cross-room wires.

- I'd prefer if it used hdmi instead of [censored] old analogue garden hoses.

I guess what I basically want is an Apple TV, except I want it to play anything I copy, beefy hard disk and not having to pay ridiculous amounts of money just for the brand.

Suggestions?

astroglide · #**133** 04-11-2007, 07:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I guess what I basically want is an Apple TV, except I want it to play anything I copy, beefy hard disk and not having to pay ridiculous amounts of money just for the brand.

[/ QUOTE ]

the roku hd1000 was the first thing that came to mind, but it appears that they've "temporarily" discontinued the photobridge line. not a good sign for the company.

when i was at the ces i saw a funny demo from netgear with unicycles, juggling, and etc pushing their new wireless media player. it doesn't have ALL media support - i'm sure they don't have outlier codecs, but standard stuff including xvid is in there. it also doesn't have a built-in hard drive, so it generally relies upon server software that you run on your pc. usb storage support is there though: ipods, flash drives and presumably external hard drives. anyway, for $350 this netgear EVA8000 hd hdmi media player might be a nice fit for you. but if really you need pc-grade freedom, just dedicate a home theater pc.

here's a cnet review. it looks pretty snazzy, i'm glad your question reminded me of it. if you pick one up, circle back here and let us know what you think.

mmbt0ne · #**134** 04-11-2007, 07:09 PM

astro,

LCoS TVs. Whachu know uhbout dat?

MrWookie · #**135** 04-11-2007, 07:40 PM

His link is BUSTO since apparently Sony changed models again. However, his recommendation was for a LCoS TV (Sony calls it SXRD). I have an earlier model Sony SXRD, and the picture quality is spectacular. I like it much, much better than most DLPs. The colors are richer, especially if you're not looking at it dead on.

mmbt0ne · #**136** 04-11-2007, 07:45 PM

I saw on Gizmodo where these things are pretty cheap, but I wasn't sure if they had the same "rainbow" problem as dlp's

Osprey · #**137** 04-12-2007, 06:57 AM

Sony has green blob issues with their SXRDs- I don't think JVC has that problem with their LCOS, but Sony picture quality is supposed to be better.. Sony is supposed to be fixing it, but AVSforum is full of people with green blobs and haze.

Phresh · #**138** 04-12-2007, 09:48 AM

What's the difference between a DivX file and an .avi file? Can I just burn an .avi to a disc or blank DVD and watch it on my TV with that DVD model?

MrWookie · #**139** 04-12-2007, 10:32 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I saw on Gizmodo where these things are pretty cheap, but I wasn't sure if they had the same "rainbow" problem as dlp's

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know how bad the green blob problem is, but I'm pretty sure LCoS TVs don't have the rainbow problem.

ratholeusoul · #**140** 04-12-2007, 11:07 AM

[ QUOTE ]

here's netgear EVA8000

[/ QUOTE ]

That seems even shittier and more expensive than apple tv. I think I'll wait a while and see what they come up with here
http://www.appletvhacks.net

Seems like it's just a matter of time until you can get VLC running and an external USB book hooked up, giving you infinite storage.

Actually (15min pause to continue writing) I found this Xoro DVD player for 80euro
http://xoro.com/Product/DVD-Player/H...roHSD8410.html
which seems to have a lot of the features that the Oppo you recommended in the first post, plus USB capability. I guess if I could get one of these to play along with a USB book storage like this I'd be all set up
http://tinyurl.com/3ccfoz

Thoughts?