# Set top media player help please!



## Mussels (Nov 30, 2011)

Girlfriend is looking into buying me a set top media player to connect to my older model 40" HDTV for christmas, saving me on power/heat from my gaming system being connected to the TV for mere media playback.


i'd like help hunting down what model for her to get me, since i don't want her to get ripped off and buy me overpriced junk.

while linking me to USA sites is fine to help choose a device, if you're going to comment on prices please use australian online retailers/prices.

TV's res is natively 1360x768,  but for media use it works fine at 1080i. 1080p support would be nice for future proofing, but not necessary.


Requirements:

bare minimum:
.avi playback
HDMI output.
USB input
720p playback

preferred:
768p playback
MKV + H264 playback, upto 1080p content.
NTFS support for USB drives.


perfect:
1080i/p playback
10 bit H264 playback (does this even exist in media boxes yet?)
subtitles on MKV/H264
SPDIF output for DD/DTS for my Z5500's
wifi N out of the box.
built in sata HDD port.
edit: streaming support to PS3 over wifi.



so far the best i can find is the patriot box office HD (bundled with wifi N adaptor) for $110 Au

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=172&products_id=12995



any other suggestions for devices? known problems with the patriot bo HD?


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## Athlon2K15 (Nov 30, 2011)

http://www.eminent-online.com/en/group/3/24/media-players-hd.html


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## Mussels (Nov 30, 2011)

AthlonX2 said:


> http://www.eminent-online.com/en/group/3/24/media-players-hd.html



care to elaborate? linking to a brand doesnt give me much info.

what models? why?


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## BumbleBee (Nov 30, 2011)

Mussels said:


> Girlfriend is looking into buying me a set top media player to connect to my older model 40" HDTV for christmas, saving me on power/heat from my gaming system being connected to the TV for mere media playback.
> 
> 
> i'd like help hunting down what model for her to get me, since i don't want her to get ripped off and buy me overpriced junk.
> ...



http://www.xtreamer.com.au/shop/xtr...inder-2-free-overnight-delivery-in-stock.html

these are pretty popular these days.

Edit: 

Sidewinder 2 
----------------
Realtek 1185 (2011)
500Mhz clock speed 
256MB DDR3
USB 3.0
HTML5 API
Passive Cooling
802.11n built in
10/100/1000 Ethernet
Web browser
better HD audio support
better storage support

PBO
---
Realtek 1073 (2009)
400Mhz clock speed
256MB DDR2
USB 2.0
Fan
802.11n dongle sold separately
10/100 Ethernet
can't pass Master DTS or TrueHD. can't downmix TrueHD.


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