Which media player?

[DJ Yoda]

I've used a ps3, Droid mx3, roku 3, mygica atv582 (Takealot), Amazon fire TV stick, Windows laptop as a media player and have a Samsung smart TV. My opinion, the roku 3 was the most user friendly but you have to decide whether you want the US apps (Netflix, Hulu) or UK apps (Netflix, BBC iplayer) and it doesn't have dstv now/browser/kodi; the mygica atv582 android box is the most versatile and has been pretty reliable however you do need to purchase an air remote to enjoy the experience and Netflix is limited to 480p, the Samsung smart TV is really good but you need to choose between us and UK apps and has not dstv now or Kodi and can sometimes be a bit clunky.

And based on your experience with these devices, which one gives you better quality when you play/stream 1080p content?

 

[SL1v3R]

And based on your experience with these devices, which one gives you better quality when you play/stream 1080p content?

The only negative for me on the Mygica is that Netflix is limited to 480p and overall it is the best device that I've used to date. I have however wired my network between my video devices and only use the Amazon fire TV stock on WiFi so 1080p is flawless.

 

[SL1v3R]

thoughts on a roku vs wd tv player, a) interface, b) can roku handle ex fat flash sticks?

Never used a wd TV player but in all the reviews it does not compare against a roku. The roku can take fat32 sticks but has limited formats that it supports.

 

[SL1v3R]

Have a MyGica (android) in my bedroom - running EmbER / Kodi and a load of add-ons. On the TV's other HDMI sits the Chromecast.
Have an old EEE-PC in the lounge, running Xubuntu with Kodi on it, less add-ons.

Both Kodi installs can access my Movie Server (which is a Windows7 machine with Plex on top - it shares content to the LAN).
On my production PC I'm running a PlayON media server, with access to my complete video library - but only myGica can access that.

Still need to find a working solution for Hulu and Netflix to play on the Kodi's (for some reason it just does not work, even tho I'm using unoTelly DNS on the routers - cant find a working BlueCop Add-on). But then again, only been playing with this for the last two weeks...

I understand dropping android for ember on underpowered devices but the Mygica is powerful enough to easily handle android and kodi and I have access to all the android apps like dstv now, Hulu Netflix etc...

 

[The_Imp_ZA]

Just bumping this thread.

For local media playback at 1080p using an external harddrive, what would be best? A Raspberry Pie 2, WD Live or Roku 3? From what I can see those my options. I've heard that the Live can be slow, and the Roku doesn't support that many formats. Does the Pi have any issues at 1080p with bitrates higher than 10Mbps?