Media Server - What to buy?

Quixotic

Quixotic

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Can anyone recommend a media server (or multimedia player). I have looked at Mede8er 500X2, WD TV Live and Seagate Go Flex. These are I believe a few years old. Any new ones?
 
I don't think media players are that usefull in South Africa (or any 3th world country for that matter). The reason is the very limited and expensive internet access. Use rather a older, disc based technology. You can put all your private stuff, movies, pictures on dvd or blueray. If You reside in a country where internet is fast and cheap, a media player comes to shine.
 
The MED-500X2 is not very old. I think you might have it confused with the MED-500X. I have one and I would definitely recommend that. I haven't had any problems with mine. I am not sure of newer ones but maybe other members can shed more light.
 
I got the WD TV Live (2010 model) last month, i'm very happy with it

Check out for the WD TV live 2011 model with built-in Wi-Fi
 
My use will be largely as a server and less for downloading/streaming large media files from the internet.
 
Other contenders appear to Popcorn Hour (uses Sigma chip), D-Link Boxee and AC Ryan. Any views?
 
I would say Boxee because I have one. Honestly , I did not own any of the others so I can't tell you why Boxee is better.
 
Sorry, I forgot to mention, I own the xtreamer ultra for almost 6 months now with the 16GB SSD (you won't need that if you are going after the server mode) and the extra passive cooler and wifi. Got mine in ctown. Here is a list http://scoopdistribution.co.za/index.php?cPath=109&page=1&sort=4a
of course it will be cheaper to import. If you are not that technical you might look at a more simple device though. The ultra can be confusing for newbies and the manufacturer (and forum) is not very helpful.
 
The WDtvlive is a great network player but its lot of work to get fanart , I would suggest any of the ones running xbmc .
 
Never bothered with dual display but yes it does support it. Here is a extract of its description. The specs are a year old, a long time by today standards. However it still does work rather well what I use it for. NAS over wifi and web page (private use), IP security cameras hub, kids watch movies on their tablets while in the bedrooms and of course, play full hd on my big screen. Everything works rather nicely.
"The Xtreamer Ultra comes built in with nVidia ION2 GT218 40nm based GPU is built with 727 million Transistors: Core clock rate is 550MHz, shader clock at 1375MHz with support for DirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1, Dual Link DVI, DisplayPort, VGA. While memory is at 512MB DDR3 at 800MHz on a 64bit interface for greater memory bandwidth and four times as many SPs as the GeForce 8400 GS.c The Xtreamer Ultra GPU encapsulate 32 shader processors, a 64- bit memory interface, 12.8GB/s of memory bandwidth, and a 22W power envelope. Despite the specifications, the GT218 will supposedly share its host card with 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, and it will have both."
 
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I have a Wd live tv HUB, very happy with it, comes with a 1TB HDD and plays everything i need it to. Also allows metadata and posters for tv shows and movies if you like.
 
As well as displaying the UI on the TV and using the remote control, do any come with PC GUI to control, select/play and manage the files on the media server harddisk?
 
rahil said:
The MED-500X2 is not very old. I think you might have it confused with the MED-500X. I have one and I would definitely recommend that. I haven't had any problems with mine. I am not sure of newer ones but maybe other members can shed more light.
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I have the Mede8er 500X and have absolutely no problems with it :)
A friends bought the latest mede8er last month, it came with a wireless keyboard and supports up to 3TB hard drives. He's also quite happy with it.

Quixotic said:
My use will be largely as a server and less for downloading/streaming large media files from the internet.
Click to expand...

What sort of server? File server? DLNA? This makes me think you might prefer the HP Microserver.

Quixotic said:
Other contenders appear to Popcorn Hour (uses Sigma chip), D-Link Boxee and AC Ryan. Any views?
Click to expand...

I've heard good things about Popcorn hour, but it is more of a media player than a server

Quixotic said:
As well as displaying the UI on the TV and using the remote control, do any come with PC GUI to control, select/play and manage the files on the media server harddisk?
Click to expand...

The mede8er comes with a file manager as part of it's UI, and you can plug it in to a PC and manage it that way, or connect over FTP, or set it up as a samba file server.
 
Mouse said:
What sort of server? File server? DLNA? This makes me think you might prefer the HP Microserver.
Click to expand...

Usage will be to play the media files on a PC or Laptop via network cable and wireless, and to select (from PC or remote control) for playing through HDMI connection (up to 1080p plus 5.1 audio) to AV Receiver (Denon AVR-2310C1).
 
Quixotic said:
Usage will be to play the media files on a PC or Laptop via network cable and wireless, and to select (from PC or remote control) for playing through HDMI connection (up to 1080p plus 5.1 audio) to AV Receiver (Denon AVR-2310C1).
Click to expand...

The mede8er will handle all of that without any issues. I can't speak for the rest as I haven't tried it personally, although the threads I've read suggest the HP server will also work for you
 
Require re-confirmation of an earlier question. Will Mede8er 500x2 allow control from the PC such that the files can be browsed and played from Mede8er to the hi-fi? This way there is no need to look at the TV screen or have the TV on (ideal when just playing music).
 
Quixotic said:
Require re-confirmation of an earlier question. Will Mede8er 500x2 allow control from the PC such that the files can be browsed and played from Mede8er to the hi-fi? This way there is no need to look at the TV screen or have the TV on (ideal when just playing music).
Click to expand...

Maybe I didn't properly understand the question, but wouldn't the Mede8er serving as a shared drive accomplish this?
For example, my Mede8er drive is shared across my network here, I can create a playlist in Winamp from any PC in the house and the PC will only actually see that the music is located on "Z drive" or whatever I have it mapped to in Windows and Linux
 
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