O Canada! > Canadian > Canadian Chat > Ditching Shaw cable need media player ideas

reply to analog andy

Re: Ditching Shaw cable need media player ideas

reply to analog andy
Hmm looks like the WD Live might be the way to go although it would be nice to have a full web browser, this is where a netbook would come in handy with a htpc keyboard/mouse pad combo.

Lol I just remembered the kids have two netbooks I'll have to see if they have hdmi and if so I'll repo them.

reply to analog andy
The best feature of the WD unit is the upscaling it does.
Basically all my back up dvd's do not require repurchasing in blu-ray format as the upscaling does a decent job when viewing sd dvd's on 50" tv.
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~ Project Hope ~

reply to capdjq

reply to analog andy
Interesting. But what about News, Hockey games, Football games, Olympic Games, World Cup, Poker Games. These, according to what I read, are great if you want to watch movies or TV Shows all day long. Unless I'm missing something.

reply to analog andy
+1 for the WD player. I have had mine for over a year. Costco sometimes have them a bit cheaper. The one I have does mkv if you are downloading alot of HD stuff and it supports un-block.us with netflix and hulu. Can't speak for the others because I have never tried them.

reply to analog andy
I've got 2 WDTV Live Plus boxes and they work great for everything I throw at them.

I also have a zotac bookshelf pc setup for streaming other things but it rarely gets used.
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Broadline Networks Inc.

reply to analog andy
Another vote for WD Live. I have it, kids love it. If I was in the market I would be tempted by the Pivos AIOS Media Centre model when its on sale.

»www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX40159

reply to analog andy
Too much reading on the media players. So thinking a netbook with HDMI/linux/XMBC/wirelss htpc keyboard or one of those Zotac mini pc's.

reply to analog andy
manufacturer refurb boxee box on ebay for $100.
Bought 2 of them a while back. They work fantastic.

1080p playback
support for a plethora of formats
apps like netflix, navi-x, pandora, etc.

If you were going HTPC route though I would suggest XBMC.

reply to analog andy
well OP being as you don't want to build yourself a PC I'd say go for the WD live player. It will play the streaming stuff and will play most downloaded files.

reply to analog andy
Plugged an antenna into my TV: good for local channels (never watch them).
Plugged my computer into my TV: good for ALMOST everything else (always use it).

The one item you WILL lose by cutting the cord is live sports.

The software I use to play videos is Zoom player (»inmatrix.com) with VLC Media Player as a backup (»videolan.org). I don't use "media center" software or gadgets since I know my way around a computer.
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Watch my future television channel's public test broadcast!
»thecanadianpublic.com/live

reply to analog andy
Get an 4GB XBox for $199. With the Dashboard update last week, it finally gets browsing capability with IE10, as well as adding XBox Music and XBox Video, the latter streams HD video, Netflix too.

If you have Windows 8, whatever media content is stored on your computer can also be played on XBox, and vice versa. Plus there's no fiddling with settings to get the devices to recognize each other, something I've run into with an Asus OiPlay streaming from a Windows 7 PC.

»support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/···s-movies
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Logic requires one to deal with decisions that one's ego will not permit.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke.

reply to analog andy
I've set up an HTPC with a TV Tuner in it to get over the air channels with an antenna. I get 6 (CBC, CTV, CTV2 CityTV, OMNI, Global) channels, which contain 90% of what I'd want to actually watch.

I use MediaPortal on the front end, and For The Record on the back end, it works nicely, though it needed a bit of love to get up and running.

Can play anything you download, and has access to enough OTA content.

reply to analog andy

reply to analog andy
I have a WD TV Live unit. I like it for the most part.
Works well though some small issues like remembering where I left off watching program gets lost if the power shuts off.
Since power is so shakey where I am I put it on a battery backup.
It can also be a little stupid when finding network shares if the PC isn't on. Took 15 minutes last time to finally connect to my PC when both were on.
Also does not come with a browser built in if that is a concern. I thought I didn't need it but there was one time when I wanted it.
It does play anything I can throw at it wirelessly though I did end up running a Cat5 to the unit to makes sure.

reply to analog andy
I have a WD TV Live and love it. It is attached to my tv in the rec room and accesses media files via wireless on my Linux computer upstairs. No stuttering or freezing...

reply to analog andy
I thought about HTPC but just can't be bothered with building computers anymore.

I know Shaw offered one free rental but I got 4 tv's so really I'd rather use this moment to ditch them. I got the basic + of whatever its called these days goes up to 50+ channels I'm pretty sure my bill is close to $70 last time I checked. I also had a shitty experience with their support guys so I got rid of the internet about a 1.5 years ago.

I'm thinking of getting a good router, power line networking, USB HD or two hooked up to the router and a media player in each room. Also get antennas for the TV's to get a few of the local ota chnnels.

reply to analog andy
I have a Roku now. It's great for Netflix, Hulu, etc but terrible for any non-streaming media. Bought it long before they were selling them in Canada.

Perhaps the Roku2 they're now selling is better with local media, i've never tried it. If I didn't already have a Roku i'd probably spend a bit more and buy something a bit more powerful.

reply to analog andy
I use a popcorn hour a110 as my media box. I was thinking of upgrading to an a400 when it comes out. Popcorn Hour's are a bit of a higher end media box.

One of the main reasons I like them is they can house an internal 3.5" hard drive which lets me have more storage on my home network.

As for Shaw's transition to digital. It was inevitable. High Def and Internet need more bandwidth. Analog channels use up to much (You can fit about 3 digital HD channels in for every analog SD channel you remove).

I was under the impression they gave a free rental to people who were previously on analog only?