Netflix - Reasonably priced media player ??

maximus02

Hi

I hope this is the correct forum for this question.

I am in a trial month of using Netflix. It looks good on my PC bought would like to get a reasonably priced network media player so I can watch on my TV downstairs.

I have a WDTV live media player but I can't use it for Netflix. No sign of any firmware upgrades in the near future.

Can anyone suggest a decent player which is suitable? I believe some Bluray players will work.

Thanks in advance
Max

pizzahead77

You could try the Roku series of devices - they cost around €100 or so depending on the model you get

Senna

I have the WDTV Live media player and it has netflix on it. Is yours the live or maybe the older version?

maximus02

Senna

My player is nearly 3 years old. I think there is a newer as in this link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B005NYOKC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357346435&sr=8-1

Is this the one you have? Netflix works fine on this one? How about spotify?

Mine is this model:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Live-Media-Player/dp/B002LZUHMI/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1357346610&sr=1-4

Thanks

NANOJO

maximus hi i have both the wdtv live and an apple tv and i much prefer the apple for netflix as the interface is better and easier to navigate through

Senna

maximus02 wrote: »

Senna

My player is nearly 3 years old. I think there is a newer as in this link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B005NYOKC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357346435&sr=8-1

Is this the one you have? Netflix works fine on this one? How about spotify?

Mine is this model:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Live-Media-Player/dp/B002LZUHMI/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1357346610&sr=1-4

Thanks

Yeah your right there is a "live" and a "live streaming" model, i have the Live streaming and thats the one that has netflix. They both look the same.

Snake Plisken

12 gig Playstation 3 currently 149 euros in HMV
Latest Western Digital Live Netflix can be ropey and buggy on it I find

Bought an Apple TV Version 3 last week much prefer the Netflix interface on this, but no usb socket and think u have to convert movies to MP4 for streaming.

deaglan169

this is what im using find it fantastic can be got online for a bit less

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/lg-bp620-3d-blu-ray-player-13184192-pdt.html

wandatowell

Quite a few Blu Ray players have access to Netflix nowadays,

Pretty good option if you have a HD tv

Well worth a trip to Harvey Normans for a bit of recon

thebman

I have an Apple TV 3 which works grand for Netflix access and a PS3 which works ok, not as good as Apple TV.

Mostly I still use my laptop as others generally don't want to watch what I'm watching.

maximus02

Thanks all for great info.

deaglan169, That LG bluray player looks very good.

Do you know if you can play videos from a PC through your network? If I have downloaded videos in MKV, MP4 or other formats, can I play these direct from my PC or would I need to download them to USB stick first and play from there?

Thanks again.

deaglan169

you can connect to any wifi device with it i can connect to my android phone and stream video/audio files via dlna server app, so i presume if you set this up on your laptop it would do same, ive tried most formats via usb and they all work flawlessy

Simi

I second the LG BP620. I got it from amazon for £75 just before Christmas. It really is a fantastic device. The software also appears to be updated regularly, which is good.

It will play pretty much anything over a network (except flac - usb stick only) using windows media network sharing or the supplied nero? media streaming software. You definitely need to connect using ethernet to stream hd content though. (I use powerline adaptors.)

I use WMP but it can be quite a chore to set it up so that it'll pick up mkv files so you might be better off using the software supplied.

One thing I have noticed is that mp4 files that contain a lot of b frames can be quite jittery, but it can be fixed by muxing them to mkv.

maximus02

Hi Again

I did some research last night and again this morning. Then I started to go into impulse mode and decided to buy this.

http://www.did.ie/panasonic-3d-blu-ray-player-dmp-bdt120eb

Panasonic is a good make and it looks like a good price to me.

Amazon link here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0083SX5SA/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0Z0PASZ02XPXQPF7RBPM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=317828027&pf_rd_i=468294

Seems to be working great so far with Netflix coming in loud and clear. Excellent picture for streaming movie.

Thanks for all help.
Max

Padraig Mor

Had been considering a WD TV Live, but it looks like the LG and Panasonics linked above offer pretty much the same capabilities for a similar price - but with the addition of a Blu Ray/DVD drive built in. I already have a PS3 but I think it's a bit of a no brainer to have the additional functionality when it only costs €10 - €20 extra? Or am I missing something? Are the blu ray players as 'smooth' as the WD when handling DLNA playing of server media files etc - or are they an exercise in frustration?