Looking for a good media player for my living room

[Lethal_NFS]

Basically I am looking for something that will play .mkv, .wmp, .mp4, ect, from an external hard drive or thumb drive, to my living room TV.

Anyone know of a good media player?

[MjW]

Hah. you are in luck. I was looking into the exact same thing a couple of days ago. I didn't get anything in the end but it's nice to get to share all that crap I read with someone. lol
In my case I wanted to stream 1080p MKV from the computer to the TV but it's the same thing.

I researched until I got a headache and had to take an aspirin. Then I googled some more.

I ended up with 3 media players. I am listing them by price, with the first being the "cheapest". Prices might vary over there.

1. WD TV Live v3 (Cheapest new, smallest?, Netflix)
2. Popcorn Hour A-200/A-210 (Cheapest used, no built in wifi, plays HD audio, Bitstreams some of them decodes others, 3D, HDD slot inside, can download torrents )
3. Boxee Box (Pricier than WD TV, better UI, special design, awesome remote, Netflix)

In the end I decided to keep the current setup with the HDMI cable, at least for a while longer until I learn to use the mac properly. Plus wireless streaming of HQ 1080p films is not an easy one to pull.

But if I was to get one of those 3, it would have been the Popcorn Hour A-210 (fan-less, comparing to A-200). The other two are VERY similar in what they do, but they just look and do it differently. They also had a ton of extra features I'd never use. There are many videos on youtube for all three.

Popcorn Hour A210:

+More decoders

+3D and HD audio support

+Built-in torrent client

+Place for a HDD inside

+YAMJ Aeon skin

-Ugly remote
-If you want wifi you have to get it extra in the form of an official Popcorn Hour usb adapter.
-Most expensive when new

[Lethal_NFS]

Thanks man! +rep

[MonkeyClaw]

Just wait a few months and get an Ouya!

http://www.ouya.tv/

[Lethal_NFS]

Just wait a few months and get an Ouya!

http://www.ouya.tv/

Not interested in the Android gaming. I just want something that will play these movies I have, without needing my PC.

[MonkeyClaw]

But it is not just for Android gaming! In you look in the software list for the Ouya you will notice a wonderful program call XBMC!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ouya_software

[Lethal_NFS]

But it is not just for Android gaming! In you look in the software list for the Ouya you will notice a wonderful program call XBMC!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ouya_software

My modded Xbox has XBMC on it. It is actually quite nice. But I really don't want to wait months to watch these movies in the living room. They are mostly movies for my kids.

[MonkeyClaw]

My modded Xbox has XBMC on it. It is actually quite nice. But I really don't want to wait months to watch these movies in the living room. They are mostly movies for my kids.

No problem! I was just throwing it out there! I know most people keep thinking of it as strictly a gaming machine, but one of the main reasons I want one is so I can use it to stream my ripped blu-rays (yes, purchased ones) from my DLNA server without having to deal with that Cinavia garbage! That and the fact that it will have emulators!