Animal Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I've been after some form of media streamer/player so I can play all the videos/tv shows I've got stored on my pc. Looked at various network boxes, Popcorn Hour, WDTV, etc. but seeing so many conflicting reviews on them all was making it more confusing. Finally settled on a Sumvision Cyclone Micro 2+ on the recommendation of a mate and it's brilliant (and cheap). http://www.sum-vision.co.uk/productinfo/micro2/cyclonemicro2.asp The unit is only about 3" square, maybe 1/2" deep and plugs into the tv via either HDMI or Component lead. It has one SD card slot & one USB port and seems to cope with pretty much any video format I can throw at it. The remote is rediculously cheap & tacky feeling, but works fine. The real bonus is, due to it's size, it can be taken anywhere, so I can watch all my crap while I'm away without tieing up my laptop. Definately £30 well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Better off just getting a ps3 IMO. I couldn't be bothered with all that copying nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Aye, but a PS3 is more than £30, and I don't have the time to play on a console, I've got my laptop for gaming. Also, what codecs can the PS3 play? I tried to set-up my old flatmate's Xbox media centre and it pretty much failed to play anything. Apart from the fact that I am backing up my dvd collection, there's no copying involved, I already have a 2TB external drive half full of videos so it's just plug & play, no messing about setting up WiFi and hoping for good transfer rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Aye, but a PS3 is more than £30, and I don't have the time to play on a console, I've got my laptop for gaming. Also, what codecs can the PS3 play? I tried to set-up my old flatmate's Xbox media centre and it pretty much failed to play anything. Apart from the fact that I am backing up my dvd collection, there's no copying involved, I already have a 2TB external drive half full of videos so it's just plug & play, no messing about setting up WiFi and hoping for good transfer rates. You seem to have what I am talking about confused with 1995 I don't know anyone that doesn't have wifi in their home now, that includes my 87 year old Grandfather, so for the most part I would guess that most people would have it. I couldn't tell you the last time I played a game to be honest, I'm not much of a gamer at all. I still have 4 PS3s though. The PS3 plays every file type, no restrictions. Transfer rates aren't an issue as even a 54mbps router will easily send 1MB/s which is way more than most movies require. I run a wireless N router that easily transfers 5MB/s though, so don't have any issues there. Granted a PS3 will cost you more than £30, they can be had for under £100 though. And with that you get one of the best Bluray players on the market, not to mention all the other benefits of having a PS3 (games if you decide one day you want to play them, all the TV player channels, add ons for digital tv recording etc etc). Those little gizmos are great for when you want to take stuff over to a mates house etc, but they are pretty much being phased out with most modern TVs. My TV upstairs has played just about everything I have thrown at it via its own USB port. Don't get me wrong I haven't tried every file type, as I have a PS3 up there too, it was just for testing purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 The PS3 plays every file type, no restrictions. Hah! How is your MKV/MP4 support? How about DIVX/XVID with QPEL and GMC enabled? How about FLAC? Sure it can play all these if you're using some kind of transcoding from your PC, but that's not exactly the same. For £30 sounds like a bargain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 You seem to have what I am talking about confused with 1995 Well, Lucy'll be pleased - she thinks I'm stuck in 1986 (Musically, anyway) We have WiFi, but it does struggle streaming video between 2 PC's, especially HD stuff, takes a while to buffer, not good for enjoying films in peace. I've got a perfectly functional, albeit old, 38" HD tv, don't see the need to spend a few hundred quid on a new one just to do what a £30 gadget will do. I wanted a way to watch video already stored on a HD. My solution - £30. Your solution - >£100 on a PS3/new tv I fear I must have some Yorkshire blood in me [edit - sorry, Thorin] , as I won't spend money on shiny new things if I don't have to. Bah humbug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Hah! How is your MKV/MP4 support? How about DIVX/XVID with QPEL and GMC enabled? How about FLAC? Sure it can play all these if you're using some kind of transcoding from your PC, but that's not exactly the same. For £30 sounds like a bargain! I use PS3 mediaserver, but given all the threads about it in the past you already knew that. They can be had for a lot less than £30, my mate bought one for a tenner. Granted it doesn't have SD card support but it has the USB functionality, he uses it with his 1TB HDD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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