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Buyer’s guide
Connections, file formats and more
Choosing a video streamer is a complicated business. There are many factors to consider, including video formats, whether you want to play files locally as well as remotely, and whether you can route a network cable to your player or need to access files wirelessly. Then, you need to decide if you want a built-in DVD player and whether you’d take advantage of the gaming capabilities of the Xbox or PlayStation.
The number of variables means there’s no single video streamer that will suit everyone, so even if the Labs Winner doesn’t appeal, there may be others that meet your needs.
Wireless vs wired
If you’re planning on using a wireless network connection to stream video, it’s worth bearing in mind that none of the devices on test are capable of streaming HD video reliably. Even Apple’s TV with its draft-n Wi-Fi couldn’t stream an HD QuickTime movie trailer when used with a D-Link DIR-655 draft-n router, and that was just 10m away in the same room. Only the Xbox 360 managed to stream the entire WMV-HD clip flawlessly; others either played sections smoothly but paused every few seconds, or were jerky all the way through.
Essentially, if you want to watch HD videos, you’ll need to use an Ethernet cable. If running a cable is out of the question, there are two options. One is to invest in a pair of HomePlug adapters. Then you can use the mains wiring in your house instead of a network cable to link your video streamer to your router. All you need is a spare power socket next to the router and video streamer. Unfortunately, the basic 14Mb/s HomePlug 1 devices offer a throughput of only around 5-10Mb/s, so you’ll need 85Mb/s HomePlugs for throughput that’s fast enough for HD video (around 15-20Mb/s). A pair can be picked up for around $150, so it isn’t a cheap option.
Alternatively, look for a video streamer that can play such files locally, either from an internal hard disk or externally from a USB flash drive, hard disk or via DVD. This isn’t ideal, though, as it means your videos aren’t stored in a central location – a crucial factor if you plan to have multiple video streamers in the house.
This article appeared in the March, 2008 issue of PC Authority.
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Comments: 2
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
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virgilwashere
Jun 20, 2008 4:36 PM
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RAID1 is *not* backup. RAID makes access to data more more reliable, but do not be lulled into a false sense of security. RAID may reduce the chance of losing data due to drive failure but it is no protection against losing your data due to other means, e.g. user error.
Comment made about the PC Authority article:
Network Video Players?
Play your video, photo and music files on your TV from a networked PC. We put five network players to the test
What do you think? Join the discussion. |
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virgilwashere
Jun 20, 2008 4:45 PM
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You seem to have missed some of the more popular options available for network streaming.
* Softmodded Xbox classic and Xbox Media Centre (XBMC) - my personal favourite for Standard Def.
* MediaGate 450HD
* Popcorn Hour A100
* ZIOVA Clearstream devices
XBMC for Linux on a SFF PC has the best outlook for HD streaming. When it comes out of beta. Any other HD streaming device seems to be a compromise in some way or another - mainly the user interface.
Virgil
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