What media player to use with my TV? Help please.

The_Last_Username

I'm exploring the posibilities of what to connect to my TV?

My blu-ray player gets so little use AS A PLAYER nowadays because of streamed content and other "stuff"; I plug in a "stick" with movies &/or music or stream via either PC or smart box.

SO .... looking ahead, I've been looking at the likes of the Sumvision Cyclone Micro 4 or an Android-type box like the Sumvision Android 4x

http://sumvision.com/product/Cyclone-micro-4/micro4.html

http://sumvision.com/?p=product&id=549

Whilst these (and the equivalents I've found) look okay-ish, none of them (yet?) seems to do everything I want; so over to you for suggestions.

What would I like?

A small, energy-saving one-box solution that will do these things:
* Wi-Fi connectivity a must.
* Bluetooth also is a must.
* Be "smart", having preferably a web browser together with "catch-up" tv like iPlayer & 4OD etc.
* Be able to connect certainly a USB "stick" (& pref. hard drive) PLUS SD card would be nice, as would the ability to do Miracast from my tablet and phone.
* Be able to play lots of formats - h265 included. (Don't think Android boxes play, for example, Flash content STILL? But would prefer not to have the irritation of files not being supported.)
* Also the ability (via a remote control ) to pause/fast-forward/rewind both music & movies.
* Support for 5.1 (or greater ) audio output.

There may be more "would likes", but these already have me stumped.
Because I can't yet find anything that will do all these things.

So, can it be done?
Should I wait & see if new products launch which WILL do these?
Should I just "bite the bullet" & get a micro-pc?

AarghhH! HELP. Please.

fenlander_uk

I think you've defined a media pc.

enfield_freddy

ok , a subject I know quite well , Cyclone Micro 4 is a cracker , the android thing running XBMC is C$%^ , you can get better using a raspberry Pi and openele (xbmc)


I have a nas drive with my media on . I use an intel nuc for openelec , using "istream" and film on (freeview) but find the menu system rubbish for music.


my next job was to buy a 7 in monitor and a set of speakers for the cyclone , Monitor: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IR5VRS4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 , yes it has a little stand and looks like a miniature computer monitor , this is sat on my desk , speakers , I chose those : http://www.awd-it.co.uk/microlab-solo-15-wooden-2.0-80w-stereo-speakers.html




so I now have a good system for watching TV , and streaming live films , as well as a "21st century" jukebox" with about 25,000 audio files , all sat in the own CDs and grouped into folders by artist


that sumvision android box was a let down , bad china maker , just projected what was an android tablet on your TV , hell it even had a dialer and maps!!!! , the copy of xbmc was pirated , could not be upgraded


scan computers sold there stock off at cost , they were that bad




cyclone 4


A small, energy-saving one-box solution that will do these things:yes
* Wi-Fi connectivity a must.,, yes
* Bluetooth also is a must.,,, no
* Be "smart", having preferably a web browser together with "catch-up" tv like iPlayer & 4OD etc. no
* Be able to connect certainly a USB "stick" (& pref. hard drive) PLUS SD card would be nice, as would the ability to do Miracast from my tablet and phone.
* Be able to play lots of formats - h265 included. (Don't think Android boxes play, for example, Flash content STILL? But would prefer not to have the irritation of files not being supported.) ,, yes
* Also the ability (via a remote control ) to pause/fast-forward/rewind both music & movies.,, yes
* Support for 5.1 (or greater ) audio output. ,,, yes




however going for a system using XBMC (or standalone openelec) will give you some "different" things than a basic media player

The_Last_Username

Awww pooh!

So ...... from a sub-£100 'ickle media box thingy I'm now up to an Intel i7 NUC and almost £1k!!! :eek: :rotfl:

Replace desktop too ; it may be the most intelligent & "workable" option, it seems.:cool:

enfield_freddy

well I started with a n2820 , with an old 30g ssd and 4g of memory , that was about £150 , HOWEVER I am now using the new 513 nuc (i3 5010u) with a 2t h/drive to hold openelec , and a M2 data card (128g) for win 8 ,




what you have asked for (above) is to wide a scope for a single player ,if you want to do it cheaply , buy a now tv box , flash it with roku and run plex streaming from your PC , OR buy a HDMI capable vid card and play everything to your big screen


as a quick side note cyclone micro 4 (not the android thing) set up on wifi , you can play files (music/vid) from your PC OR right click on a film/music >play to> sum micro by wifi , this works on win 8 , not sure about 7

fenlander_uk

£1k - no way! I recently replaced my previous media pc with one of these. Great price at JL - nearly £100 cheaper than Amazon - and it does absolutely everything I want.

Classic Shell makes 8.1 as friendly as Windows 7 (it's upgradable to W10) and I control it almost exclusively from my Nexus 7 using the Unified Remote and FoobarCon apps. Being a pc you can configure it however you prefer - I use VLC and Foobar2000 as my main media players - of course it does all my downloads, rips, transcodes, file serving etc. as well - but I'm sure some people would prefer just to install Kodi.

I've tried a Sumvision and played with a Raspberry pi, but nothing quite matches the flexibility and sheer power of a dedicated pc.

enfield_freddy

where do you get your 1K from?


intel nuc I3 from scan , same spec as the HP sh*t , but faster CPU and more features

In Stock
1TB Seagate ST1000LM024 Momentus 2.5", 9.5 mm, SATA II 3Gb/s, 5400rpm, 8MB Cache 12ms also PS/3 Compatible OEM
Scansure
£35.69 £42.83
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X
£17.40 4GB Corsair Value Select DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-12800 (1600), 204 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 11-11-11-28, 1.35V
LN53866

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4GB Corsair Value Select DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-12800 (1600), 204 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 11-11-11-28, 1.35V
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£17.40 £20.88
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£188.13 Intel BOXNUC5i3RYK NUC Barebone, 'Rock Canyon', i3-5010U Dual Core 2.1GHz, DDR3L, M.2, Intel HD 5500 - No RAM/SSD/OS
LN62150

In Stock
Intel BOXNUC5i3RYK NUC Barebone, 'Rock Canyon', i3-5010U Dual Core 2.1GHz, DDR3L, M.2, Intel HD 5500 - No RAM/SSD/OS

total £289.46

faster CPU than the HP thing , and you have missed an inportant thing , CIR , yup a £6 xbox remote works perfect on this




as stated above , I duel boot with mine , kodi + media files of a disk set as ext4 , (2t) running openelec , and win 8 (now 10) on one of those M.2 cards , PS , YES the intel can have 2 drives , not one like the HP sh*t

The_Last_Username

Yes, by the time it would be done the OVERALL COST would be in the region of £1k.

Um ..... if ( so far just "IF" ) I decide to go "the whole hog" and replace the desktop - and hence the cabinet it's in to give us a new look & more room - I am certainly NOT going "backwards" in CPU "power" to what we already have; hence I would want a good i5 (which compared to the current chip rules out most of the current "u" derivatives) or an i7.

Yes I do check the benchmarks.

SO .......... Intel NUC i7 (NUC157RYH) = £400-ish.
SSD - 256GB M2 will do (I'm reluctant to say 128 will be enough) = £100-ish.
Plus a 2Tb i.e. WD Green 2.5" for the storage - £100-ish
Memory? 16GB ( 2 x 8's; future-proofing) = £90-ish.

Semi-decent keyboard & mouse & that's just about the computer; say £700 or so.

BUT then I would also have to redecorate following the removal of the cabinet, and purchase a new hi-fi rack (for the bits on top of this cabinet) etc. etc. :cool:

Yes yes yes I know that would (at some time) need doing anyway - the point is I would need to do it NOW and not in (say) two years time.

The_Last_Username

BTW, the benchmarks ARE important because (as a family) we do fairly regularly edit home video (albeit in quite a basic form) and photo's for distant relatives.
I remember all-too-well the time and hassle of doing these jobs on a Semperon! :eek:

enfield_freddy

why do you keep saying 1k and then looking at i7,s , the bloke wants a media player ,


I suggested the sum micro , OR the next stage , a unit built running xbmc (standalone)


I basic n2820 (which is well fast enough) a second hand 2.5 drive and 4g memory will set him back £137 if he shops carefully ,


horses for courses ,


I have replied to the OP saying he has set his sites wide for a SINGULAR media player , but as yet , he has not redefined his list

The_Last_Username

Errrrrr ......... I just did, see above freddy.
Together with an explanation of "why".