Recommendations for HD player, HD recorder, etc?
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Recommendations for HD player, HD recorder, etc?
Hi,
I am looking for a box which will connect to our 1080P Sony TV, via HDMI (no other way I can see) and does the following
- Plays HD DVDs
- Plays normal movie DVDs
- Plays CDs/DVDs with MP4 files (and hopefully some other Mpeg formats too)
- Has a HD recorder
- Has a Freeview receiver
- Can run Iplayer and 4OD, using an ethernet cable connection for the internet
There must be loads of such boxes on the market, but it's hard to compare them on the brief specs published. I wonder if somebody here has such a box they can recommend.
A quick trip around Comet etc reveals very little which actually does all this, and no way to find out e.g. the DVD player compatibility.
I am looking for a box which will connect to our 1080P Sony TV, via HDMI (no other way I can see) and does the following
- Plays HD DVDs
- Plays normal movie DVDs
- Plays CDs/DVDs with MP4 files (and hopefully some other Mpeg formats too)
- Has a HD recorder
- Has a Freeview receiver
- Can run Iplayer and 4OD, using an ethernet cable connection for the internet
There must be loads of such boxes on the market, but it's hard to compare them on the brief specs published. I wonder if somebody here has such a box they can recommend.
A quick trip around Comet etc reveals very little which actually does all this, and no way to find out e.g. the DVD player compatibility.
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A quick trip around Comet etc reveals very little which actually does all this, and no way to find out e.g. the DVD player compatibility.
Anyhow, I'm sure someone will be along shortly to offer some ideas to point you in the right direction.
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Short answer, there isn't one box to do all that.
Longer answer, there is, but you need to build it yourself. See the HTPC thread for some more info.
You are currently stuck with 2 boxes - a Blu-Ray player that plays all the formats you listed, and something like a Freeview PVR.
(and yes, I do agree it's a hole in the market that would be lovely to fill, but it's a logistical nightmare for a h/w manufacturer, what with the myriad of different standards to cope with, all of which are still in flux. Personally i've bought an HP Microserver and an LG Blu-Ray drive, am waiting for delivery of a HDMI video card, and for stock of a BlackGold BGT3600 card, and then will be running XBMC and MediaPortal on it and saying goodbye to Murdoch).
Longer answer, there is, but you need to build it yourself. See the HTPC thread for some more info.
You are currently stuck with 2 boxes - a Blu-Ray player that plays all the formats you listed, and something like a Freeview PVR.
(and yes, I do agree it's a hole in the market that would be lovely to fill, but it's a logistical nightmare for a h/w manufacturer, what with the myriad of different standards to cope with, all of which are still in flux. Personally i've bought an HP Microserver and an LG Blu-Ray drive, am waiting for delivery of a HDMI video card, and for stock of a BlackGold BGT3600 card, and then will be running XBMC and MediaPortal on it and saying goodbye to Murdoch).
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Curious, that...
I think there are blueray DVD players which are also HD recorders, which do Freeview (obviously, otherwise how do you record from TV), and which run Iplayer (though possibly not 4OD).
But it seems impossible to establish which of these will play which video formats off a CD or DVD, beyond the standard retail movie disks (old DVD and blue ray).
If one forgets the need to play home-written DVDs, is there a solution?
Skypilot - thank you, though the DMR-BWT800 doesn't appear to do Iplayer/4OD.
One can achieve Iplayer (not 4OD, due to Flash) playback to an HDMI TV by using an Ipad, with an aftermarket HDMI output adaptor (about £50). I have actually got that working, but the 11g wifi AP could not keep up. I had to buy an 11n AP (Draytek 800). There is no way to feed an Ipad via an ethernet connection.
Reportedly, new Ipad firmware will be able to stream Iplayer video to a wifi-equipped TV over wifi. That is pretty slick, though the Ipad's wifi radio is going to be somewhat stretched receiving the stuff over wifi and then transmitting the stuff to a TV over wifi, at the same time. Maybe it works on the lower quality Iplayer mode only. Unfortunately our TVs only video input (that I can see) is HDMI...
I think there are blueray DVD players which are also HD recorders, which do Freeview (obviously, otherwise how do you record from TV), and which run Iplayer (though possibly not 4OD).
But it seems impossible to establish which of these will play which video formats off a CD or DVD, beyond the standard retail movie disks (old DVD and blue ray).
If one forgets the need to play home-written DVDs, is there a solution?
Skypilot - thank you, though the DMR-BWT800 doesn't appear to do Iplayer/4OD.
One can achieve Iplayer (not 4OD, due to Flash) playback to an HDMI TV by using an Ipad, with an aftermarket HDMI output adaptor (about £50). I have actually got that working, but the 11g wifi AP could not keep up. I had to buy an 11n AP (Draytek 800). There is no way to feed an Ipad via an ethernet connection.
Reportedly, new Ipad firmware will be able to stream Iplayer video to a wifi-equipped TV over wifi. That is pretty slick, though the Ipad's wifi radio is going to be somewhat stretched receiving the stuff over wifi and then transmitting the stuff to a TV over wifi, at the same time. Maybe it works on the lower quality Iplayer mode only. Unfortunately our TVs only video input (that I can see) is HDMI...
Last edited by IO540; 11th Oct 2011 at 16:01.
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The
Samsung BD-D8500M
could well be yer thing.
blu-ray
internet streaming
PVR
Freeview HD (albeit with a single tuner)
USB playback
2D to 3D conversion
etc etc
Samsung BD-D8500M
could well be yer thing.
blu-ray
internet streaming
PVR
Freeview HD (albeit with a single tuner)
USB playback
2D to 3D conversion
etc etc
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The current Panasonic models include Viera Cast, which certainly doesn't look up to much! The 2012 models will presumably replace this with the more capable Viera Connect, which should then allow them to access iPlayer. The one thing I really like about these models, though, is that the Blu-ray drive allows you to get content off them and onto other devices, a feature which is sadly missing from most of the alternatives.
