Movie Time - 12 Media Players compared!

A modern home today has the comforts of a large screen LCD TV with the capability of playing both, full HD videos and 3D content. But, does your local cable operator or DTH service give you the pleasure of watching full HD 1080p content? Probably not. Hence, movies on Blu-ray discs are growing in popularity and demand because of the rich audio and video content and quality. HD content is also  available online in the form of streaming videos and  torrents. Websites, such as YouTube feature HD content, which is designed to be enjoyed on a PC. Making high-definition home videos is now also cheaper than before. So why not store them in a central location and enjoy them on your large screen in the comfort of your living room! Media players today have the capability of playing theater quality videos and audio on your HD television set. They can stream videos from the Internet, your PC or media server on the network with ease.

A media player today can function as an all-in-one solution for rich quality videos and audio, be it from the local hard drive, home network or the Internet, by simply using a simple remote control or your smartphone. A media player not only allows you to watch HD movies, but also gives you live Internet TV and radio broadcasts. There are plenty of high-definition media players available today. Manufacturers, such as Western Digital, Seagate, Asus, D-Link and many more have a variety of these players for you to pick from. Most feature wired networking; a few have either built-in or optional wireless networking. Some even have a built-in storage drive and others give you the option of inserting your hard drive for storing all your media in one place. While almost all players have the capability of playing full high-definition 1080p videos, there are major differences in features that sets one media player apart from the other.

Take, for example, the ones that can have a built-in hard drive. These media players can store a fairly large amount of media files internally and you don’t need to plug-in external storage drives, unless necessary. They can also be used as NAS drives, SAMBA shares or even media servers. Other media players, such as WD TV have the option of flashing third party firmware to tap hidden characteristics, such as torrent clients. The media players featured here have a lot in common, but also differentiate themselves because of the various feature sets they inherit. Some of these feature USB 3.0, built-in Wi-Fi, eSATA compatibility, and Web apps. So read on to learn more about two of the best players around - in terms of performance and value for money. if you want to take a look at all the players and how they fared, click on the scoresheet below.

Score sheet (Click to enlarge)