Toss up: media players

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This was published 11 years ago

Toss up: media players

By Adam Turner

If you prefer to watch internet video on your television rather than on a computer, then a media player could be the answer.

Media-player features are built into a range of gadgets such as televisions, Blu-ray players, video recorders and games consoles. Yet a stand-alone media player is often cheaper than upgrading one of these devices.

WD TV Live, $149.

WD TV Live, $149.

The first step is to decide what you want to watch. The Apple TV media player is great for hiring movies or streaming video from iTunes running on your computer or an Apple device.

But you'll find it frustrating if you want to wander outside the Apple ecosystem. The Apple TV won't play files from a USB drive or stream them straight from a computer or network drive without iTunes (unless you hack it). And it features a HDMI video output only, so it doesn't play nicely with older televisions.

Apple TV, $109.

Apple TV, $109.

If you're looking to watch DivX files downloaded from the internet, a more flexible media player such as the WD TV Live could be the answer. It happily plays a wide range of formats from USB or across your home network. It also offers access to the ABC's iView Catch Up service. Unfortunately, the WD TV Live lacks a movie-rental service, although that could come eventually.

The verdict
The Apple TV is cheaper and will suit those who live an Apple lifestyle, but if you’re not wedded to Apple then the WD TV Live might better meet your needs.

Apple TV
$109
apple.com/au

WD TV Live
$149
wd.com

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