So looking at different kind of media players out there, I looked at just about anything being offered. Mostly I wanted the Popcorn hour media player.
But in the end, I found something amazing instead. Asus makes these tiny PC machines, basically computers. You connect it to your TV with HDMI cable and enjoy the fruits of unlimited codec files.
The eeeBox EB1501p has a fast and energy saving Intel Atom processor (D525) with about 1,8Ghz I believe. And 2 GB of ram, and Nvidia graphics that work well with Full HD mkv files.
That being said I also bought the ace HTPC wireless keyboard with touchpad that really works brilljantly to the HTPC solution that I have put together.
Works well with windows XP, Windows Vista and windows 7. The eeebox has a wireless connection that works well with our router. And as a final finishing touch, I figured that I won't get far with 250gb HDD, so I bought a Western digital 2 TB external HDD.
Put it all together, and I have the perfect media solution for the living room. Works quite well.
The eeebox is basically a computer as I explained, and sure the processor has its speed limits, but full HD works perfectly.
The only hassle I had was to get the sound to work through the HDMI cable. But I found the perfect drivers on Asus homepage.
The best feature of the eeebox that you should keep in mind when thinking about buying a mediaplayer for the TV is that this thing is small and very quiet, even when playing 14gb full HD files. That being said. I can really recommend this item.
Just make sure to install a good OS to it. The inbuilt system has to many limits to even try out. The keyboard was a really positive surprise. Works fast, no lag, no quality issues (avoid bying mini keyboards with a steering ball, those are outdated and never last).
I feel really happy with this solution. We have the entertainment of the living room in full blast. All we need now is a good surround system. And then we will be complete. (sort of). :)
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