# advice on media players with built in HDD or can add in HDD



## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

i know nothing about these.
i thought media players were computers, with windows running etc.


however a friend has one and has got me thinking.

aim to store movies, tv shows via downloads and dvd rips.

any advice on recommendations, budget, setup etc. would be great

obviously on a lower scale £budget


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

Anyone use one?


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## boyasaka (Jun 13, 2009)

i have used a media player linked to my tv for years , first few were freecoms , then my lastst one is a HD one you can buy them seperates ie the media player which connects to your tv via either a hdmi lead or 3 phonos m (obviously using the hdmi lead linked to a hd ready tv will be better picutre ) then you just connect a external harddrive to that and away you go , or you can get one with harddrive built in , me and my mates all have cyclone ones , some of us have them as seperates (me included) some got them all in one .
all of us bought them from ebay ,, i will attach a few links to this for you ,, any more questions just ask

wow just looked for ya ,prices commming down fast can get one with 1TB harddrive built in for £118 quid 1TB haerd drive will hold around 1400 movies in avi file

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CYCLONE-HDMI-...K_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item335caba6d6

This one below is same as my current one , its tiny about the size or a box of 20 tabs, this plugs into your tv and then you plug a external harddrive into it , (remember if you buy this and buy a external harddrive to buy a 2.5 inch one as a 3.5 inch one required power to power it it where a 2.5 inch one gets power from what ever its plugged into ,,,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sumvision-Cyc...K_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item1e5c193a0b


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

thanks

think would prefer one where it had a HDD built in
can these also hook up seperate external HDD too?


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

what's the biggest external 2.5"? don't really want to use two power units


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

what's the interface like on CYCLONE HDMI LAN RECORDER MEDIA PLAYER 1TB HARD DRIVE?

do these media players crash, bog down like PCs?


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## boyasaka (Jun 13, 2009)

heres one same as mine 22 quid free postage and packing

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sumvision-Cyc...es_HardDriveEnclosures_RL&hash=item2ead451179

and to go with that depends on what ya wanna spend , prices vary loads to size of hard drive ,, remembering that a downloaded movie is about 700mb or 0.7 gb even a smallish hard drive say 80 gb will store over 100 movies

160gb one good for storing about 230 movies £34 quid including postage

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/160GB-Externa...K_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item4399c442a6

or if ya dont wanna spend that much 40gb one for 24 quid good for about 57 movies

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/40GB-2-5-EXTE...K_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item35a90a3121

so you could be up and running for 46 quid for both a brand new hardrive and media player

hope this helps ,,, chris


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## boyasaka (Jun 13, 2009)

mine has never crashed , they have a very basic softwhere in them just to give you a a on screen menu and you can store music and photos on them too and there is differetn folders pics , music movies ect ,,

not sure what is the biggest but u can get a 500 gb one which will store over 700 movies ,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/500GB-EXTERNA...K_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item3cabb2821b

i got my son one for xmas and just got him a small 20gb one as was only 8 quid ,, i put 25 movies on for him and when hes finished watching them ,gives me it i remove them and put a different 25 on ,,


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

sweet

think i prefer an all in one with built in HDD, so 1TB would be awesome as long as it doesn't fall over. 

a friend has recommended warez bb and rapid share, although my free sky broadband won't cope with that, so something else to think about

are these compatiable with macs?


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## boyasaka (Jun 13, 2009)

this is identical to one of mine .. cracking bit of kit , cheap as chips , does the job and will be a good entry for you without spending much money ,, get a bid on it lol !!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FREECOM-160-G...deo_TelevisionSetTopBoxes&hash=item53e16afb50


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## boyasaka (Jun 13, 2009)

no idea about macs , i use a web site called " iso hunt ", and you will also need a torrent downing software i personally use bit spirit , but theres loads ,,bit commet bit spirit bit torrent ,ect ect


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## boyasaka (Jun 13, 2009)

and if your mates downloading loads of movie why bother your self , take your hard drive round his once a month and get him to fill it with movies he has downloaded , thats what i do , me and me mates all just take our harddrives to each others and give each other movies ,, one of my mates downloads 24/7 so rather than me bother , these days i text him to see if he out new , and nip round and he chucks a couple of dozen new ones on me hard drive


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

yeah he's offered to lend me his stuff, so will do to


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

questions:

-can multiple folders be created in these and how to manage them? i.e. if one dvd boxset set to one folder rather than having one big list of movies say
-can other external drive be connected to play/transfer etc.?


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

just found out that won't work with macs as wrong file system


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

looking at western digital:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...ectronics&field-keywords=media+player+western

but then i need an external HDD

someone mentioned you can hook it through a ps3, is that right?


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

also found

Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD 1TB Media Player NAS Network Attached Hard Drive circa £150. only problem i would have is default at NTFS, which i would need to remformat to FAT32 for ps3 use.


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

p1tse said:


> looking at western digital:
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...ectronics&field-keywords=media+player+western
> 
> but then i need an external HDD
> ...


I was looking at these - I already have a WD Passport drive (500MB), in an ideal world I (like you) would prefer a player with a built in hard drive. But I think the WD one takes a USB stick.

It's just that it's another device to power up and connect - but saying that i could get rid of the DVD player as everything would be on the player?


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

if it's a passport drive it won't need extra power source

in an ideal world i would prefer an all in one with HDD built in as a first goer


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

think i've narrowed it down to:

Iomega ScreenPlay Director 1TB Media Hard Drive Hi Speed USB

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/184022
£135


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

p1tse said:


> if it's a passport drive it won't need extra power source
> 
> in an ideal world i would prefer an all in one with HDD built in as a first goer


Can the passport drive work directly off the player then in the same way as a USB??



p1tse said:


> think i've narrowed it down to:
> 
> Iomega ScreenPlay Director 1TB Media Hard Drive Hi Speed USB
> 
> ...


Read some reviews of that one, looks good. If you get it, let us know how you get on with it. Cos i'm interested in something. Friends keep giving me copies of films on USB but can't be bothered to convert to play on DVD.


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

yeah the 2.5" portable external hard drives don't use extra power source

i was hoping you would get it lol.

anyone know if this plays mkv files etc.?


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## wolliwuk (Feb 11, 2008)

I use a PS3 for a media centre. I put a bigger hard drive in it. It connects to the internet so I can watch BBC iPlayer (which is built into the software so quality is good) I can watch youtube vids and browse the net plus I can either add films I have ripped or downloaded or stream them from my iMac in my office which is on another floor. Can also access all my music in iTunes. Plus i can play games and watch DVD's and Blue Ray movies on it as well. Best of all worlds really


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

p1tse said:


> yeah the 2.5" portable external hard drives don't use extra power source
> 
> i was hoping you would get it lol.
> 
> anyone know if this plays mkv files etc.?


I know the WD media player plays virtually everything inc mkv.


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

how about rmvb files


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

p1tse said:


> how about rmvb files


No apparently not, you'd have to decode them first.

..........but I think this one might handle it.

So now you're down to 3:

The Asus, WDTV or Iomega ?? Decisions eh?


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

i have a WD TV and its fantastic, i currently have a 1TB external hard drive plugged in and it has hundreds of films on

great bit of kit and definetly a worthwhile buy
I did a lot of research before buying and the WD TV won hands down, the user interface is very nice, easy to navigate and looks great. build quality is excellent and it plays most file types (particulary MKV)


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

Does your external drive need power - like i said above I have a WD passport drive but will I still need to power it or can the WD player power it in the same way as a USB stick?? 

THis bit I am confused about!


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

you don't need power with your passport same way as you don't need power when going into the computer

update:
thinking of this: Sumvision Cyclone MKV Media Player Version 2 £70

Sumvision Cyclone MKV Media Player Version 2 Divx, ISO, Rmvb & MKV HDMI USB/SD Media player HDMI full 1080p Supports DTS - Ebuyer

will be wanting to play avi, mkv, rmvb etc. 

need a portable external hard drive. any recommendations. or should i just get something like the western digital passport: 500gb via ebuyer £68

is this a good setup for £140, for starters?

was looking at an all in one, but can't find one which plays rmvb and also mac drive ready


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

I'll have a look at that one, another option.

my wd passport is ok, never had a problem with it. Need to recheck the power thing tho cos I'm sure mine doesn't work without a sep power supply??


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

mouthyman said:


> i have a WD TV and its fantastic, i currently have a 1TB external hard drive plugged in and it has hundreds of films on
> 
> great bit of kit and definetly a worthwhile buy
> I did a lot of research before buying and the WD TV won hands down, the user interface is very nice, easy to navigate and looks great. build quality is excellent and it plays most file types (particulary MKV)


decided against WDTV, as it doesn't play rmvb


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## Coops (Apr 26, 2008)

Having a look at the Sumvision Cyclone, it appears that the only real problem it suffers is overheating. V1 suffered quite badly and although they have addressed the issue V2 still has some heat problems.

Overally tho, I can only find good reports - plays the files you want inc rmvb. Do you have any files in iso format? If it's a movie then there appears to be no problem as it automatically plays the largest file in the iso (the movie) but if you have tv series in iso then this may be an issue?


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

my external does have power, but it is a 1TB Lacie, you can get other externals like the WD passport which can be powered from the WD TV USB, and when you power the unit off via remote it will automatically spin down the hard drive to.

i looked at the cyclone, but i really wasnt happy with the user interface, the WD TV is by far the nicest layout i have seen, and I have mine set so it has an icon for each area (Blu Ray, DVD, TV etc.) and then all cover art so i can browse through my movie collection really easily


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