External Media Centre WTD but which one?

[Scampa]

Been looking around for a while but can't yet find what I want

any way min 400gb
Front display so I dont have to have TV on to play music etc
support all the usual, inc HD DIVX,VOB,AVI,MPEG
Photo Viewer/ Slide show
Firmware Upgradeable

IS there anything close to the above?

Cheers Scampa

[mmace]

you can get a windows XP Media Center that does all that.

Or wait until Vista comes out and have a look at some future releases that use SideShow either on the box or on the remote (there's remotes being released with LCD's so you can check email, use the MCE menu etc without it showing up on screen)

[Scampa]

you can get a windows XP Media Center that does all that.

Or wait until Vista comes out and have a look at some future releases that use SideShow either on the box or on the remote (there's remotes being released with LCD's so you can check email, use the MCE menu etc without it showing up on screen)

Sounds great but expensive not like the £100 ish I had in mind

[Scampa]

This is the kind of thing that I'm looking for not ideal but in the right direction :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-5-HDD-MEDIA-PLAYER-AV-VIDEO-NTFS-Avi-Divx-MP3-MP4-DVD_W0QQitemZ140079000773QQihZ004QQcategoryZ16178Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[mmace]

apologies, with you saying front screen I was thinking you meant something like this:
http://www.engadget.com/media/2007/01/1-19-07-origenaes21t.jpg

[Scampa]

LOL damm that looks nice, but I am on a budget, kinda more interested in the ones similar to my link, I dont mind fitting a hd afterwards if just bare bones (prob work out cheaper) but just want the capabilities from my list, cant find any more details or review on the one in my link so to much of a gamble to buy atm :(

[PhilEnfield]

I grabbed one of the cheap HDD Media Players from China a few months back. It took 2 months to arrive (that's another story).

The one I have works OK'ish, but for MP3s the GUI is a bit naff and it is limited on how many folders/files it can access.
I bought it mainly to view DIVX/XVID on the TV, without having to convert & burn to disk .... and for this it works quite well, apart from the odd lipsync issue and the occasional Invalid codec message.

In summary ..... for £30-£40 you get what you pay for and I wouldn't recommend it, if your main use is MP3s. They are far from perfect and still have a long way to go with their firmware. SVP do one for £37'ish, but no LCD display. I guess you could always have a play and send it back for refund, if you 're not happy. You cant easily do that to China ;)

[Scampa]

I grabbed one of the cheap HDD Media Players from China a few months back. It took 2 months to arrive (that's another story).

The one I have works OK'ish, but for MP3s the GUI is a bit naff and it is limited on how many folders/files it can access.
I bought it mainly to view DIVX/XVID on the TV, without having to convert & burn to disk .... and for this it works quite well, apart from the odd lipsync issue and the occasional Invalid codec message.

In summary ..... for £30-£40 you get what you pay for and I wouldn't recommend it, if your main use is MP3s. They are far from perfect and still have a long way to go with their firmware. SVP do one for £37'ish, but no LCD display. I guess you could always have a play and send it back for refund, if you 're not happy. You cant easily do that to China ;)

Got a link to it so i know which one to avoid :p

[Scampa]

Found loads here : http://www.kjglobal.co.uk/acatalog/Multi-Media_Players.html

bit pricey though :(

[Nacimroc]

Just get yourself a Xbox and chip it! You can get an LCD for the front which means you can play music with the TV off!

You can watch any video format, play any music file, picture viewer, internet, easy networked to pc, plus any xbox game ever made, emulators for almost every old console etc etc.

Cheapest media centre around by a LONG way.

[Scampa]

Just get yourself a Xbox and chip it! You can get an LCD for the front which means you can play music with the TV off!

You can watch any video format, play any music file, picture viewer, internet, easy networked to pc, plus any xbox game ever made, emulators for almost every old console etc etc.

Cheapest media centre around by a LONG way.

Well I do have a xbox chipped think it has a executer 2 chip in with a 120gb hd, but wouldn't really know were to start also, i would somehow have to wireless the xbox. If you have any links to a dummies guide then it would be worth looking into, cheers

[Nacimroc]

You can get wireless adapters for the xbox! Not all that cheap, think about £40!

xbox-scene is a good site as well as a few others if you google it!