HD media player or blu ray player??

[Shake The Rug]

Ok so here's my quandry. I just got an HD camcorder and want to play the files in all their HD glory without having to downconvert to dvd, which obviously is a big drop in quality. I do not have a blu ray player, but even if were to get one I am not interested in having to buy a blu ray burner, software, blu ray recordable discs, etc. One thing that fascinates me is that with all the HD personal camcorders out there, I can't find much info on this issue as to what the heck folks do when the actually want to watch the footage they've recorded - besides just hooking the camera up to the tv.

So I started to research these "HD media players" that are around. You can hook up a hard drive (via usb) to them which then hook to your tv so you can play a vast array of video files. However, I'm also seeing that blu ray players have usb ports as well. Will they allow me to play video files from an external hard drive as well? Or is that not what the port is for? Or if it can be done, does the blu ray player only play a handful of formats?

Any info is greatly appreciated!

[pixelthis]

Ok so here's my quandry. I just got an HD camcorder and want to play the files in all their HD glory without having to downconvert to dvd, which obviously is a big drop in quality. I do not have a blu ray player, but even if were to get one I am not interested in having to buy a blu ray burner, software, blu ray recordable discs, etc. One thing that fascinates me is that with all the HD personal camcorders out there, I can't find much info on this issue as to what the heck folks do when the actually want to watch the footage they've recorded - besides just hooking the camera up to the tv.

So I started to research these "HD media players" that are around. You can hook up a hard drive (via usb) to them which then hook to your tv so you can play a vast array of video files. However, I'm also seeing that blu ray players have usb ports as well. Will they allow me to play video files from an external hard drive as well? Or is that not what the port is for? Or if it can be done, does the blu ray player only play a handful of formats?

Any info is greatly appreciated!


A computer helps a great deal.
You can plug your cam into your TV directly with either HDMI, or(if it has it) a USB
connection.
The main reason for your USB on your camcorder is to plug it into a computer.
The included software that came with it is instaled on this computer.
You can store, edit, and manipulate your files, watch them directly on your TV by hooking up your computer to it, etc.
Of course playing with HD files requires a decent computer, but its not that hard, really,
I play with HD video on my computer all the time, sometimes up to 1080p.
You can buy a "media server" but it is limited in its utility, and can only store files,
and play them back.
Editing and managing files on your computer is fun , and quite a hobby all in itself, and
allows a more "finished" product.
My computer cost 500 bucks + upgrades (another 400 or so) and I LOVE IT.
Expensive?
Well, I found an old computer shopper mag from 1996 the other day.
120mhz PENTIUMS were going for three grand, that was nine years ago.
A computer can be media server, editor, and a lot of other things, a bargain, really:1:

[Shake The Rug]

Thanks very much for the reply but I can already hook my laptop up to my tv via hdmi. I'm not really interested in continuing to do that - just too burdensome. I also edit all my home movies on my computer. Ideally what I want to do is play my finished hd movie files using either the media player or the blu ray player (if it is capable) which is why I posted my original questions.

[pixelthis]

Thanks very much for the reply but I can already hook my laptop up to my tv via hdmi. I'm not really interested in continuing to do that - just too burdensome. I also edit all my home movies on my computer. Ideally what I want to do is play my finished hd movie files using either the media player or the blu ray player (if it is capable) which is why I posted my original questions.

WELL, all a "media player" is is a limited computer.
And you are talking serious cash for one of those.
Making blu discs might be cheaper.
But with integration accelerating, pretty soon a computer is going to be a must have,
regardless.:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Thanks very much for the reply but I can already hook my laptop up to my tv via hdmi. I'm not really interested in continuing to do that - just too burdensome. I also edit all my home movies on my computer. Ideally what I want to do is play my finished hd movie files using either the media player or the blu ray player (if it is capable) which is why I posted my original questions.

For what you are trying to do, a media player will do just fine. When I do anything with my HD cam, I just do all editing on my computer, and stream the video to my PS3. I also have a O!play hooked to two eSATA 2TB drives connected via HDMI to my reciever, which passes the video through to the television, and allows me to do surround sound as well.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=sPkRGUeRrpiVYl5K

You can hook up a harddrive to a PS3(or perhaps another BR player), but you have to make sure it can pass the video format you are shooting with.

Either way will work for what you are trying to do, but I would go for the media player just for simplicity sake, and despite what Pixel has said, the O!play cost me $79 bucks on sale.

[pixelthis]

For what you are trying to do, a media player will do just fine. When I do anything with my HD cam, I just do all editing on my computer, and stream the video to my PS3. I also have a O!play hooked to two eSATA 2TB drives connected via HDMI to my reciever, which passes the video through to the television, and allows me to do surround sound as well.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=sPkRGUeRrpiVYl5K

You can hook up a harddrive to a PS3(or perhaps another BR player), but you have to make sure it can pass the video format you are shooting with.

Either way will work for what you are trying to do, but I would go for the media player just for simplicity sake, and despite what Pixel has said, the O!play cost me $79 bucks on sale.

Thats because its not a media server, it stores nothing on its own, its basically an
interface for other storage media.
a SWITCHBOX with e-sata interface, basically.
A genuine media server will run a lot more.
Although HP had a box with a power supply, you could stack drives in it, 500 $.
Most true media servers are north of a grand, and whats the difference between
them and a 500$ computer?
A computer is more versatile, basically.
But that thing talky is talking about is a "server" as much as an ABACCUS
IS A POCKET calculator.
TYPICAL.:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Thats because its not a media server, it stores nothing on its own, its basically an
interface for other storage media.
a SWITCHBOX with e-sata interface, basically.
A genuine media server will run a lot more.
Although HP had a box with a power supply, you could stack drives in it, 500 $.
Most true media servers are north of a grand, and whats the difference between
them and a 500$ computer?
A computer is more versatile, basically.
But that thing talky is talking about is a "server" as much as an ABACCUS
IS A POCKET calculator.
TYPICAL.:1:

You cannot argue this point effectively, as once again your are majoring in minors, and have not tried it as well.. The bottom line is with what he is trying to do, an eSata drive with 2T storage, and a media player will accommodate exactly what he is trying to do. I know, I have already done this with the player I mentioned and cascaded INeo 2T drives.

The total cost for both items and HDMI and USB cables? About $250 dollars, not a thousand.

[pixelthis]

You cannot argue this point effectively, as once again your are majoring in minors, and have not tried it as well.. The bottom line is with what he is trying to do, an eSata drive with 2T storage, and a media player will accommodate exactly what he is trying to do. I know, I have already done this with the player I mentioned and cascaded INeo 2T drives.

The total cost for both items and HDMI and USB cables? About $250 dollars, not a thousand.

Yeah, all he has to do is figure out how to do that.
Which doesnt adress my point that your little toy is not a genuine server.
Bottom line, buying a computer and hooking it to your system is the simplest,
no muss no fuss way to get media to your system, edit, store, and use it.
And a netbook will do if you dont want a larger device..
The whole "media server" thing is the biggest marketing ripoff since bottled
water and the yearly auto model change, is all I AM SAYING:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Yeah, all he has to do is figure out how to do that.
Which doesnt adress my point that your little toy is not a genuine server.
Bottom line, buying a computer and hooking it to your system is the simplest,
no muss no fuss way to get media to your system, edit, store, and use it.
And a netbook will do if you dont want a larger device..
The whole "media server" thing is the biggest marketing ripoff since bottled
water and the yearly auto model change, is all I AM SAYING:1:

He already said that he does not want to connect his computer to his television, and he wants another alternative. Read the OP post, and stop trying to interject your foolishness over his request. Besides, computers are too noisey for this purpose.

We are not talking about a media server, we are talking media players which do not have internal drives.

Thirdly, hooking up a media players is just as easy as hooking up a computer to your television, except a media player is way more quiet. You just plug the USB cable from the drives into the media players, and connect a HDMI cable from the media player to the television. It's a snap, and it is cheaper than a computer.

[pixelthis]

He already said that he does not want to connect his computer to his television, and he wants another alternative. Read the OP post, and stop trying to interject your foolishness over his request. Besides, computers are too noisey for this purpose.

not IF YOU GET RID of the 486 with the scuzzy drive.
New computers today are very quite, I leave mine on all the time, as opposed to you turning your brain off 70% of the time




We are not talking about a media server, we are talking media players which do not have internal drives.

A "media player" without internal drive is a DVD player!
A "media server" has storagw to access and store media, basically a COMPUTER.



Thirdly, hooking up a media players is just as easy as hooking up a computer to your television, except a media player is way more quiet. You just plug the USB cable from the drives into the media players, and connect a HDMI cable from the media player to the television. It's a snap, and it is cheaper than a computer.

"MEDIA PLAYER" = SWITCH BOX, basically, converts ones and zeros to HDMI.
Think a computer is obtrusive, wait till you get all of those wires running all over the place.:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

not IF YOU GET RID of the 486 with the scuzzy drive.
New computers today are very quite, I leave mine on all the time, as opposed to you turning your brain off 70% of the time

Typical pix stupid $hit. I have two new computers, and they are just as noisey as the old ones. Hard drives and fans create noise whether the computer is new or old.






A "media player" without internal drive is a DVD player!
A "media server" has storagw to access and store media, basically a COMPUTER.

Wrong fool. A media player does not play a disc stupid. This is a media player

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Media-Player-Black/dp/B002MCZJ3C

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Network-ready-Player-WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN/dp/B002KKFP9Y/ref=pd_cp_e_1

http://www.amazon.com/NBOX-TV-Media-Player-Supports/dp/B002N3DIC4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273604432&sr=1-6http://www.amazon.com/NBOX-TV-Media-Player-Supports/dp/B002N3DIC4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273604432&sr=1-6

These are media players. They have no hard drive or fans, so they don't make any noise whatsoever.





"MEDIA PLAYER" = SWITCH BOX, basically, converts ones and zeros to HDMI.
Think a computer is obtrusive, wait till you get all of those wires running all over the place.:1:

So I guess my brain switched off is better than yours switched on. First, Media players do not convert anything, they are an interface between a disc drive and a television or receiver. HDMI is a carrier of digital audio and video signals(you know, those zero and ones you say need converting) so there is no need to convert any digital signal to pass through it.

So this is an example of your brain switched on? Now I understand where they get the term brain fart - and apparently your farts have blown your brains completely out of your stupid little head.

[pixelthis]

Typical pix stupid $hit. I have two new computers, and they are just as noisey as the old ones. Hard drives and fans create noise whether the computer is new or old.







Wrong fool. A media player does not play a disc stupid. This is a media player

only plays external media, like a CD\DVD player.
Fergot that you were so misunderstanding of comparsions as to be almost autistic


[QUOTE]These are media players. They have no hard drive or fans, so they don't make any noise whatsoever.
As opposed to you.
Any decently built computer (my HP is not quite a year old) are extremely quiet.





So I guess my brain switched off is better than yours switched on. First, Media players do not convert anything, they are an interface between a disc drive and a television or receiver. HDMI is a carrier of digital audio and video signals(you know, those zero and ones you say need converting) so there is no need to convert any digital signal to pass through it.

Basically a glorified switchbox, thanx for confirming that for me



So this is an example of your brain switched on? Now I understand where they get the term brain fart - and apparently your farts have blown your brains completely out of your stupid little head.

You're the one that can't buy a decent computer:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

[QUOTE=Sir Terrence the Terrible]Typical pix stupid $hit. I have two new computers, and they are just as noisey as the old ones. Hard drives and fans create noise whether the computer is new or old.







Wrong fool. A media player does not play a disc stupid. This is a media player

only plays external media, like a CD\DVD player.
Fergot that you were so misunderstanding of comparsions as to be almost autistic



As opposed to you.
Any decently built computer (my HP is not quite a year old) are extremely quiet.






Basically a glorified switchbox, thanx for confirming that for me




You're the one that can't buy a decent computer:1:

Oh brother.....:out:

[Mingus]

I have a question. When you downconvert from a HD signal like from a HD camcorder to a DVD disk. Then take that dvd disk and copy to a HD computer or to a blu ray disk (via a blu ray burner) does this create HD video . I am a little fuzzy about this.

[kevlarus]

I have a question. When you downconvert from a HD signal like from a HD camcorder to a DVD disk. Then take that dvd disk and copy to a HD computer or to a blu ray disk (via a blu ray burner) does this create HD video . I am a little fuzzy about this.


Once you down convert that HD content to DVD standards, that's all you have left. So the best you are able to do, is "upconvert" that DVD content when displaying on HD display, but is still no where near the resolution you had from the original HD content you started with. You also won't have the HD audio that you started with (although, from a camcorder, you not really starting with top of the line multi-channel mixing etc.)

Others here could give you the precise numbers that are in the DVD spec with relation to the maximum resolution (verital) that a DVD can produce (480 maybe ?) whereas HD is 720 to 1080 (p and i). Once downconverted, that extra HD information is permanently lost. Now, if the camcorder can use the DVD format disk to create HD video, then that's a different story. You won't have 2 hrs worth on a dvd, but it would be HD but that all depends on the camcorder in question.

[pixelthis]

I have a question. When you downconvert from a HD signal like from a HD camcorder to a DVD disk. Then take that dvd disk and copy to a HD computer or to a blu ray disk (via a blu ray burner) does this create HD video . I am a little fuzzy about this.

I think that last chap misunderstood you.
As long as your material isn't copy protected you shouldn't have a problem
with getting full resolution on a BLU disc, just set the res in the burning software.
If you use a DVD burner you will be limited to 480i, max for DVD, although
de-interlacing provides a good pic at 480p.
You can burn HD files to a DVD disc if that is a DATA DISC, but it will only play on a computer that can handle HD material.
Once you downconvert a HD program to standard def you can't "re-convert" it to HD,
the original material is lost forever, although the material you copied from is still intact.
Does that cover everything?
I know what you are trying to do, and trust me, armies of engineers , each one
smarter than you and me, has thought of every contingency to
prevent you from doing it.
In other words there is no workaround to copy a BLU disc.
At least not yet.:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I have a question. When you downconvert from a HD signal like from a HD camcorder to a DVD disk. Then take that dvd disk and copy to a HD computer or to a blu ray disk (via a blu ray burner) does this create HD video . I am a little fuzzy about this.

The simple and clear answer is no. Once you downconvert(keyword here) from HD, it is no longer HD period.

[kevlarus]

You can burn HD files to a DVD disc if that is a DATA DISC, but it will only play on a computer that can handle HD material.



Incorrect. With HD source material on a computer, with Blu aware burning software, you can burn it to a regular DVD+-R/RW (I think either mpeg2 or avchd). That DVD will not play in a dvd player but it will play in a bluray player (or PS3) just fine. You will get around 40-60 mins. on a double-layer dvd depending on the encoding scheme used (mpeg2=40m).

That's authoring the disc not copying the file as a data disk, completely different animals of course.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Incorrect. With HD source material on a computer, with Blu aware burning software, you can burn it to a regular DVD+-R/RW (I think either mpeg2 or avchd). That DVD will not play in a dvd player but it will play in a bluray player (or PS3) just fine. You will get around 40-60 mins. on a double-layer dvd depending on the encoding scheme used (mpeg2=40m).

That's authoring the disc not copying the file as a data disk, completely different animals of course.

You are totally correct, now watch the old bean try and correct you with his handy misinformation card.

[pixelthis]

Incorrect. With HD source material on a computer, with Blu aware burning software, you can burn it to a regular DVD+-R/RW (I think either mpeg2 or avchd). That DVD will not play in a dvd player but it will play in a bluray player (or PS3) just fine. You will get around 40-60 mins. on a double-layer dvd depending on the encoding scheme used (mpeg2=40m).

That's authoring the disc not copying the file as a data disk, completely different animals of course.

This is true, thanks for the clarification.
What I was talking about was that you could not burn a HD DVD that would play in
a DVD player.:1:

[pixelthis]

You are totally correct, now watch the old bean try and correct you with his handy misinformation card.

I will leave the misinfo to you, hate to take away your hobby.:1:

[kevlarus]

This is true, thanks for the clarification.
What I was talking about was that you could not burn a HD DVD that would play in
a DVD player.:1:


Well, that's true. I've been waiting awhile for good quality to come along and now that it's finally here, the move companies don't even want you to have a fair use of video after buying it.

Wicked wicked world.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I will leave the misinfo to you, hate to take away your hobby.:1:

Oh no, I wouldn't dare take your crown from you Mr. King of Misinformation.

[kelsci]

I have been fooling with some point and shoot cameras. Two of them, the kodak Z810 and my brothers Panasonic TZ5 shoot 720P high def video. When files from either camera are downloaded into my computer I will transfer them to a dvd-r using the program DVD FLICK.
Particulaly on the TZ5, the dummed down video files look fantastic on a dvd-r at dvd resolution, more so than a few panasonic cameras(the LS7,DMC-LS80 and DMC-LS85) look that can shoot at 848X480 widescreen. Even the kodak looks pretty good. You can always save the files to a portable hardrive or leave them in your computer for the day when you have BD burning down the road. Although I have not tried it, I "think" it is also possible to store those files on a dvd data disc as high-def but I am really not sure of this.

[pixelthis]

I have been fooling with some point and shoot cameras. Two of them, the kodak Z810 and my brothers Panasonic TZ5 shoot 720P high def video. When files from either camera are downloaded into my computer I will transfer them to a dvd-r using the program DVD FLICK.
Particulaly on the TZ5, the dummed down video files look fantastic on a dvd-r at dvd resolution, more so than a few panasonic cameras(the LS7,DMC-LS80 and DMC-LS85) look that can shoot at 848X480 widescreen. Even the kodak looks pretty good. You can always save the files to a portable hardrive or leave them in your computer for the day when you have BD burning down the road. Although I have not tried it, I "think" it is also possible to store those files on a dvd data disc as high-def but I am really not sure of this.

I have done that but don't see the need, really.
The competition for BLU as far as HD is concerned is one thing...
THE HARD DRIVE.
A harddrive will store more than a BLU disc, wanna share?
Thats what a portabler HD is for.
Although a 60 gig BLU disc is hard to beat for portable high density data storage.
But how portable? HOW MANY BLU drives, even play only, are on computers yet?:1: