What hardware media player do you have?

[zespri]

Mine is wd tv live, I bought it somewhat 3 years ago it was cheap, lacked wifi, but was convenient.
When I bought 46` Samsung LCD last year, I was hoping that built in wifi and media player will replace wdtv live for me. This has not happened as UI of Samsung is just appalling - all folders get flattened in one huge file list, which is horizontal and not vertical. So I kept using wd tv live.

Now I want to give my old true we tv live box to my mother in law and by some replacement. I've been looking at boxee, and what is great about it, that being a piece of hardware, you also can download a software version on your pc an give it a try. The interface I liked even more than the one of we tv live. However, there also where downside. It is twice as expensive as wd tv live. It used to support torrents download, which was eventually cut out. This is a real bummer, because it shows that companies choose technologies based on political correctness, which is on my opinion is not right. Yes it is possible to do illegal things with the technology, but it does not mean that the technology itself is illegal and should be avoided. Another down side is a number of small glitches. I was not able to get RSS feeds to work the way they are supposed to, however I found a workaround, although a bit inconvenient.  A feature to be able to play the next item after finishing playing the current one has been requested for months and has not been added yet. (you can use playlists to workaround, but again, a usability thing).

I do hope that someone will create a proper torrent application for it in the future as API is public and you can point your boxee to any public repository to get applications.

Another thing that was on my radar is called Dune HD. Unfortunately I discovered it after boxee, so inability to download and try it tainted my opinion a bit, but I have not looked at it that much anyway.

I would like your feedback on different hardware media players you had a go with:
- Wd tv live
- boxee
- dune hd
- popcorn hour
- other?

Tell me if it supports wifi, is it easy to work with, does rewind/fast forward works properly, are DVDs supported (I think that WD tv live STILL can't play DVDs), is there built in subtitles search? Can ANY internet radio be listened to with it, or only pre-set ones, is it easy to transfer files to attached hard drive?

Any thoughts on the topic is welcome.

[Echo35]

I built myself an XBMC box once (Same thing as Boxee) and it worked splendidly, but thanks to my Netflix subscription and good amount of network storage at my house, my 360 is now my media box for all things TV. As far as portable media devices go, I've been wanting a Cowon of some sort, but my PSP serves in the mean time.

[zespri]

I built myself an XBMC box once (Same thing as Boxee) and it worked splendidly, but thanks to my Netflix subscription and good amount of network storage at my house, my 360 is now my media box for all things TV. As far as portable media devices go, I've been wanting a Cowon of some sort, but my PSP serves in the mean time.

ah - netflix. I'm not in a country where netflix is available. This changes things quite a bit.

[Echo35]

I built myself an XBMC box once (Same thing as Boxee) and it worked splendidly, but thanks to my Netflix subscription and good amount of network storage at my house, my 360 is now my media box for all things TV. As far as portable media devices go, I've been wanting a Cowon of some sort, but my PSP serves in the mean time.

ah - netflix. I'm not in a country where netflix is available. This changes things quite a bit.

Well, 360's and PS3's are still beastly good at streaming media from your network, so that does make a nice integrated solution if you have one or want to get one, but if not, you can't go wrong with a Boxee/XBMC.

[gamerman]

Well, 360's and PS3's are still beastly good at streaming media from your network, so that does make a nice integrated solution if you have one or want to get one, but if not, you can't go wrong with a Boxee/XBMC.

I agree. I have a 360 and my toy box is full of video games, but they aren't even the best thing about it. It's media streaming capabilities are amazing. I've heard Boxee is great, but I'd recommend getting a cheap xbox if you can. They're decently priced on craigslist.