Media player to play from hard disk

[renjith lal]

Hi,

I am looking for a media player which plays formats like ISO, BD 2D/3D, ISO, VOB and supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HDMA audio. At present I have a 3D blue ray player (Panasonic DMP 210) but it wont play all file formats and for steaming I have apple TV . So looking for a media player which plays almost all file formats from Hard disk and supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HDMA audio.


Would like to know expert opinion from all of you.

Thanks
Renjith

 

[mathan]

KDLinks - HD720 plays all. I'm using it and has played any type of file thrown at it. Check the below link.

KDLINKS HD720 Extreme FULL HD 1080P 3D HD TV Media Player with HDD Bay, Gigabit Network, Built-In Wifi (Realtek 1186 3D) - Home Products

 

[sam9s]

Also Consider Minix X8-H Plus ...... it does not do DTAMA and TrueHD, but does 4K video and has Wifi AC which I presume KDLINKS does not have.

It also has inbuilt XBMC which as per reviews works pretty well

 

[20kHz]

Please mention the prices of these..KDLinks and Minix X8-H Plus.
I am also interested in buying one soon.

 

[shuv]

Are these players available in India?

Xtreamer is another option.

 

[mathan]

Check the below link. It is available through Amazon.in but the price mentioned is exorbitant (Rs.19000) and not worth to buy it in India. Actual cost when I bought it in US is around $130 after discounts.

http://www.kdlinks.com/

 

[bose]

A year or two ago I had seen Kdlinks in Lajpat rai market. Delhi members may try their luck there.

 

[sam9s]

Please mention the prices of these..KDLinks and Minix X8-H Plus.
I am also interested in buying one soon.

Try geekbuying, it should be sround 150USD including shipping.

 

[renjith lal]

Thanks Mathan for your suggestion. Price to get it here is too high.
My only requirement is that it should play almost all file format and should support y TrueHD and DTS-HDMA audio. Popcorn hour is another option but getting it in India will be an issue and may need to pay duty for product cost plus shipping cost.
So that also will become too high. Need to see what is the best option.

 

[renjith lal]

Thanks sam9s. At present I have full HD tv. So 4K is not important for me at present.

 

[bikram_singh]

I've one Asus O'Play, which I am using for 6+ years without any problem. Will suggest you to check that. It plays everything and from all kinds of sources including LAN.

 

[mathan]

Thanks Mathan for your suggestion. Price to get it here is too high.
My only requirement is that it should play almost all file format and should support y TrueHD and DTS-HDMA audio. Popcorn hour is another option but getting it in India will be an issue and may need to pay duty for product cost plus shipping cost.
So that also will become too high. Need to see what is the best option.

All KDlink media players support Dolby TruHD and DTS-HDMA. They have also come out with a android media player capable of playing H.265 files which I think no other media players can play as of now. It is selling like hotcakes and not able to buy as it always becomes out of stock.

 

[BOSS8055]

Also Consider Minix X8-H Plus ...... it does not do DTAMA and TrueHD, but does 4K video and has Wifi AC which I presume KDLINKS does not have.

It also has inbuilt XBMC which as per reviews works pretty well

Even after being priced at 15K (on eBay), it can't decode DTS HD MA. It's totally understandable with WD TV as it is priced half. Why cant they part with a liitle money they are charging us extra to procure licensce for decoding. Atleast a pass through would have justified the price tag. OK they claim 4K as their trump card. But we got notice that it has on 1.4b HDMI (and not 2.0/2.1) which can do 4K at 30fps and not 60!! The conclusion is no DTS HD MA, no full support to 4K and no ablity to play frame-packed 3D. There a word around in street that "amlogic S802-H" chipset is not capable of HD audio at all.Then why shud we go for this non/semi future proof exhorbant device which doesn't turn its solid spec into real muscle! Though over priced than minix X8-H plus, KDLINKS gets regular updates regularly, does 3D well and allow normal DTS & DD TrueHD to pass through.
In short there is no real future proof medial player (there never will be in technology). It's always either the best out there or VFM. WD TV or raspberry pi2 model B are VFM products. If you want best out there in market right now, KDlinks (Rs.20K) is there. I dont think Minix X8-H plus "wifi ac feature", " H.265" or "half 4K" is a deal breaker as we can't sacrifice 3D n true HD & normal DTS. A solid HTPC would cost Rs.50K+.
Then what to do if u can't wait? Buy WD TV for Rs.7K+(after discounts online) and keep rest of the money for a much able player to get launched.
All the best.

 

[renjith lal]

Thanks a lot BOSS8055 for your detailed response. SO if I buy Western Digital then it wont play DTS and DTS HDMA files? Other better option is KD link.

I am just wondering if we can buy Oppo 103 will it solve the issue? Will it play all the files? It is 600$ in US. I know we cannot buy from India due to exorbitant price.
Just a thought.

 

[sam9s]

Even after being priced at 15K (on eBay), it can't decode DTS HD MA. It's totally understandable with WD TV as it is priced half. Why cant they part with a liitle money they are charging us extra to procure licensce for decoding. Atleast a pass through would have justified the price tag. OK they claim 4K as their trump card. But we got notice that it has on 1.4b HDMI (and not 2.0/2.1) which can do 4K at 30fps and not 60!! The conclusion is no DTS HD MA, no full support to 4K and no ablity to play frame-packed 3D. There a word around in street that "amlogic S802-H" chipset is not capable of HD audio at all.Then why shud we go for this non/semi future proof exhorbant device which doesn't turn its solid spec into real muscle! Though over priced than minix X8-H plus, KDLINKS gets regular updates regularly, does 3D well and allow normal DTS & DD TrueHD to pass through.
In short there is no real future proof medial player (there never will be in technology). It's always either the best out there or VFM. WD TV or raspberry pi2 model B are VFM products. If you want best out there in market right now, KDlinks (Rs.20K) is there. I dont think Minix X8-H plus "wifi ac feature", " H.265" or "half 4K" is a deal breaker as we can't sacrifice 3D n true HD & normal DTS. A solid HTPC would cost Rs.50K+.
Then what to do if u can't wait? Buy WD TV for Rs.7K+(after discounts online) and keep rest of the money for a much able player to get launched.
All the best.

well cant argue on DTSMA and THD. Guess it depends on personal choice. I personally would not be worried for HD Audio specially with these media players coz most of the time I (or others for that matter) would be using the player with downloaded mkv x264/x265 movies, which are almost always ripped with HD Audio down sampled as DTS and DD. For HD Audio ripped movies it would cross 10GB+ file size not making feasable for most of us for download. Same goes with ISO, that will be a 30+GB
download.
Rest remains the Bluray disks ......well a decent bluray player comes as cheap as 6000 these days so instead of spending so huge amount on media players get a bluray player which can passthrough DTSMA and DDTHD easily, and for downloaded mkvs get a non HD audio, NON 4K player, like MINIX NEO X6. Minix x6 can play all video formats including latest x.265, has XBMC preinstalled and also supports Miracast (to cast your mobile directly to tv), price < 100 USD. You still land up under 12000 for both BD Player and Media player and have best of both worlds ..

 

[renjith lal]

Hi sam9s,

I already have Panasonic BDP220. But it wont play some formats, dont remember exactly which one. I used to download video songs which may be in DTS HDMA. So I was thinking if it can play DTS and DTSHDMA it will be great.

 

[sam9s]

thats ok renjith, just weigh your options, how much exactly would you be viewing the DTSMA or THD content. Just for couple of video songs, if you ask me frankly I would not be bothered. (specially if I have an avg audio system , coz believe me you would not find much of a difference between DTS and DTSMA) Most of the time practically speaking we need HD Audio when you play Bluray discs and for that bluray players have become pretty cheap these days (and you already have one). For the rest files any decent Media player <5-6K will do the job.

 

[BOSS8055]

Thanks a lot BOSS8055 for your detailed response. SO if I buy Western Digital then it wont play DTS and DTS HDMA files? Other better option is KD link.

I am just wondering if we can buy Oppo 103 will it solve the issue? Will it play all the files? It is 600$ in US. I know we cannot buy from India due to exorbitant price.
Just a thought.

"WD TV media player" supports DTS & DTS HD but not DTS HD MA (please refer to page no:220 of the manual). DTS HD ( 7.1 Channels at 96kHz/24bit max) is a lossy where as DTS-HD MA is lossless and the bit rate is 3-4times higher than the former. Regarding 3D, it does SBS and TAB but doesn't decode sequential pack 3D or newer extensions due to "sigma chipset" limitations.Software decoding even if given by firmware update is also not possible due to "weak SOC". I hope this gives more insight towards WD TV.

 

[manniraj]

Thanks a lot BOSS8055 for your detailed response. SO if I buy Western Digital then it wont play DTS and DTS HDMA files? Other better option is KD link.

I am just wondering if we can buy Oppo 103 will it solve the issue? Will it play all the files? It is 600$ in US. I know we cannot buy from India due to exorbitant price.
Just a thought.

I think the Oppo 103 is retailing for $499 in US and the Darbee version is $599 and yes the price is too high in India.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

You can check this out as well

Mede8er MED1000X3D High Definition 3D Multimedia Player with Wi-Fi (Black Finish)