Western Digital WD TV Review
This player is the most convenient way to play HD movies or user-generated videos, listen to high-quality digital music and show high-resolution slideshows of your family photos on your TV.
It supports high-definition video playback of up to 1080p through an HDMI connection or standard definition for TVs with lower capabilities. The WDTV HD Media Player is full HD 1080p video playback and is an ultra-compact, USB 2.0 device .
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Here are some great features of the Western Digital WD TV
- Media Library – This unique feature lets you view all your media by media type in one menu regardless of its location in folders or drives. You can view content by categories such as genre, album, artist and date. / Search – Search by genre, title, artist, filename and partial filename
- Create custom slide shows with a variety of transitions and background music
- Movie viewing – Fast forward, rewind, pause, zoom, and pan; View subtitles - Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date
- Music - Fast forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat; Supported USB Device file systems: FAT-32, NTFS, HFS+ (no journaling)
Where this device really shines is in the supported codecs. The WD TV supports almost every major codec being used today including H.264 and Matroska. If you prefer watching video files on your big screen TV rather than your small computer monitor, but don’t have time to burn them all to DVDs first, this is the device for you.
Basically has all the advantages of a PS3 media playback without actually buying a full ps3 . Just plug you portable hard drive or mem stick in and play. Now when the family gets together we can easily watch the footage from the previous times the family got together! Fun! The WD gadget is little, the drives are little, it’s all easy to transport and hook up to anyone else’s TV.
Here is what one of the owners had to say about the Western Digital WD TV.
The Western Digital WD Tv will do everything you need it to and with the HDMI hook up the picture and sound quality are amazing. (Richard)
Asus O Play Review
The ASUS O!Play is designed to easily bring your media into your living room, without sacrificing quality. The ASUS O play has a wealth of connection options, and playback over a network or directly from USB and eSATA drives.
ASUS O!Play is the most convenient way access your media files on your TV. The O!Play even supports HDMI so you can display your content in 1080p. O!Play also works great as a photo viewer to easily share your vacation photos with your family and friends.
These ASUS O Play are available from amazon at 3% off retail price. Click here to take advantage of this great discount!
Here are some great features of the Asus O Play
- Hassle-free multimedia playback without file conversion
- Full 1080p high-definition video via HDMI output
- Simple and fast plug-and-play connectivity (eSATA, USB 2.0)
- High-speed Ethernet LAN connection for easy network streaming
- Highly compatible device that supports HDMI and composite inputs
I have been waiting for a media player like this for a long time and this one does not disappoint at all. It plays every single file format you could want. I was using my Xbox 360 but I got tired of only being able to play .avi files at low resolutions. Now I can play high def .mkv blueray and .iso files and everything else imaginable.
Another thing that I liked is the fact that you can connect a USB HUB to the USB port of the Asus O!Play. Not only it will recognize it but it will also “see” all the external drives connected to it. The O!Play will read all video formats available, from simple FLV’s passing through the standard AVI’s and the most recent MKV’s.
Here is what one of the owners had to say about the Asus O Play.
I bought this for my mom so that she could watch different digital media. Her main concern was being able to use a USB drive in the media player with a pause option. This definitely met all of her needs. (A Lewis)
Roku XDS Review
Roku XDS sets a new standard with 1080p streaming video, the latest wireless technology, and Instant Replay. Watch over 100,000 movies and TV shows from Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus and more. Listen to music on Pandora, or listen to your own iTunes playlists.
The Roku XDS has Dual-band Wireless-N technology, so you can get it almost anywhere in your house. Extensive connector options. It even has an Instant Replay button, so you can skip back instantly in 10 second jumps.
These Roku XDS are available at Amazon at over 15% off retail price. Click this link to take advantage of this great discount!
Here are some great features of the Roku XDS
- Start watching movies on your TV in seconds using your high-speed Internet connection
- Featuring the largest collection of instant streaming movies and TV shows, from Netflix, Amazon VOD, and more
- Built-in wireless (dual-band Wireless-N) and wired Internet connectivity.
- Plays up to 1080p High Definition video. Works with any TV.
- Sets up in 5 minutes. Simply connect to your TV and to your high-speed Internet service. Does not require PC for streaming.
The Roku player truly is an impressive device. While not necessarily a replacement, the Roku XDS Streaming Player is another serious alternative to cable TV. This roku player is alot smaller than I expected which is a plus. It has an attractive sleek design. Super simple to set up.
Now I can say in all honesty that the Roku player is everything you can hope for and more. You will be up and running in just a few minutes. It is extremely easy to set up. From the time you open the package to the moment you’re watching a movie streaming from Netflix is around 15 minutes.
Here is what one of the owners had to say about the Roku XDS
I purchased the Roku XDS and it was extremely easy to set up. I am watching my Netflix movies in HD 1080p. I am very pleased with this item. (James S)