My current dvd player only plays avi files with DIVX formatting, but I have really been wanting one that can play mp4 files. I use the USB port on my current player to play just about any file from my computer that I like, so that is key as well.
Anyone know of a good one?
Mine doesn’t do that either. My workaround was to hook my PC to the TV, and play mp4s through a server app, and that worked flawlessly (except for an initial faulty cable). However, that method didn’t work for the DivX files so those have to be via USB. Kind of annoying, but it works so I’m cool.
What do you mean by server app?
A widely recommended one is Serviio. It’s small, you just run it in the background of your PC, specify a folder where your files are, and the TV (if it’s network ready, and most recent TVs are) should recognise Serviio in its network options. All your files will be there. In my case it even organises them all into groups using metadata sourced online.
I might recommend a Playstation3, actually. Does all of that, though you need to reformat to PS3 files.
The LG BD670 should do everything you need.
It plays Blu-Ray discs (including 3D). It comes with wireless capability built-in. It is DLNA compliant and will connect to your network and read files directly from your computer (it comes with Nero server software, which works fine). It will play internet-based services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon video, MLB.com, etc., etc. It also has a USB port in the front, and reads files just fine off USB keys and external hard drives.
It plays a huge variety of file types (.avi; divx.; .mpg; .mkv; .mp4; .wmv) and is compatible with a wide variety of codecs (DivX 3, 4, 5, and 6; H264/x264; MPEG4-AVC; MPEG-2; and more).
The LG website lists it as a discontinued item, but you can still get it from Amazon and a bunch of other outlets for about $120.
It only has a three-star rating on Amazon, but we’ve had ours for about a year, and overall we’ve been very happy with it. It will occasionally (every few weeks or so) decide to turn itself off once, for no apparent reason, but restarting it always seems to fix the problem. It can be a bit slow when firing up Blu-Ray discs, especially if it’s a disc with an extensive menu system.
Some Amazon reviewers complain that it loses its wireless settings frequently. When we first got the player, i found that it did not get a reliable wireless signal, partly due to the fact that it’s downstairs and at the opposite end of the house from our wireless router. I purchased a set of powerline ethernet adapters (similar to these) and the network connection has worked perfectly ever since.
For me, having a USB slot was essential, and this player has managed to play every file i’ve thrown at it so far.
It looks like the Sony BDP-S590 will play MP4 files. Supported video includes: MPEG-4 AVC (.mkv, .mp4, .m4v, .m2ts, .mts) : BD/DVD/CD/USB/DLNA. Also has a 2 USB inputs.
Are there any good software programs that can easily convert mp4 to Divx/Xvid?
There are quite a few, but if i were you, i’d look for a solution that allows you to watch mp4 and/or mkv files. Both of them are preferable, in terms of video quality at given bitrates, to DivX/XVid, and they have other features that DivX/XVid avi files don’t offer.
The Handbrake conversion program, which i use to convert DVDs to mkv files, used to offer support for converting to XVid avi files. They dropped this, offering the following argument:
Handbrake dropped avi support when they moved from version 0.93 to 0.94. If you really insist on converting mp4 to avi, you can find a copy of 0.93 (e.g., at Filehippo) and install it. It’s free, is easy to use, and does a perfectly good job of converting.
Serviio is a DLNA media server software. Your TV has to be DLNA-compliant to be able to act as a client. Just because it’s “network ready”, (I’m assuming you mean capable of Wi-Fi), doesn’t mean Serviio will work. But as you mentioned, most recent TVs are DLNA compliant.
The great thing about Serviio, (other than it being free), is that even if your TV does not natively support a certain file format, Serviio will transcode it on-the-fly so you can play nearly all media with the right profile.
I don’t know what kind of setup you have, but if most media you play is on your pc/hard drive, (as opposed to physical media), you may want to consider getting a STB media player like WDTV. It will play virtually any media natively so it doesn’t have to transcode, like Serviio above. It also has popular apps like Hulu and YouTube so you can watch online videos through your TV, (although the latest model is missing the everpopular Netflix). A wireless connection would be clean and tidy, but it’s Ethernet-capable as well so it can read and index files on your local network. And it has two USB ports if you really want to stick a hard drive or flash drive into it:)
If you mostly want to play optical discs, disregard the above. Although you could still play them if you rip them onto your hard drive with freely available software.
※Just realized this thread is over 2-years old :smack:
Meh, two years is not that old
But I gave up on the WDTV, it played everything as quoted, but its GUI front end does not really endear itself to large librarys. Which is a pity, it was a solid performer in every other respect.
Declan
What i find most frustrating about these devices is that they all have important areas of missing functionality.
The WDTV is pretty damn good for local playback of ripped files, but it’s not very good at all with internet-based streaming. The GUI can be slow, and not having Netflix or Amazon Instant is a big omission.
Roku is fantastic for the online stuff, but can’t play the files off my NAS. Yes, i know i could use Plex, but i want a device that reads straight from the hard drive, and i’m not interested in a set-up that requires me to have my desktop computer transcoding video via Plex for playback on my TV. Not to mention a paid subscription to Plex.
Amazon Fire TV is too limited and too Amazon focused. AppleTV is not really much better. A Raspberry Pi won’t do Netflix and some other stuff natively, and requires some hacking for that stuff to work.
If you want good online functionality and good local playback, it seems that the only way to go is to attach a fully-featured PC as a media player.
My Samsung Blu-Ray player/entertainment center (has speakers) can connect wirelessly to the 'Net, access Hulu Plus and Netflix natively, and has a USB port that plays divx, mp4, and even mkv files. Forget the model number at present, but I have been very happy with it over the past 3 years or so.
Can it access media files on NAS or a harddrive on the local network? If so, I would be interested in knowing the model number.
Admittedly, online streaming is not that important to me. We don’t have Netflix in Japan, and I prefer watching movies with high PQ encoding.
I know there have been new models of WDTV every year for the last three years or so, (which I have never owned), but have you tried the latest which was released last autumn? I wouldn’t say the on-screen menu transitions are blazingly fast, but I definitely wouldn’t call it slow either. Kind of like changing digital channels; not instant like in the analogue days.
This is the reason I purchased WDTV along with the ability to select multiple subtitle tracks. I wish I had found it earlier. WD has a presence in Japan, but you wouldn’t know it from their marketing. You have to go looking for them.
And one more thing: I wish they would name their WDTV models differently. Every version has almost identical names and it makes it difficult to differentiate between models. Be careful if any of you are looking into purchasing one.
I should add, by the way, that the LG BD670 blu-ray player that i mentioned in my (much) earlier post is still going. We’ve now had it for almost four years.
It plays from my QNap NAS, and (if i want) from my desktop computer over the network (the computer runs a version of Nero MediaHome server, which came with the player). It also does Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, MLB, etc., etc.
The only downside is that it can’t do the sort of media-rich library stuff that you get with software like XBMC. No movie covers, actors, etc., etc. It’s basically just a folder structure. Not a deal-breaker, though.
Thanks for this. Not a deal breaker at all. I’m mostly interested in being able to natively play high resolution files with selectable subtitles, mostly mkvs. If the media player can play optical discs, that’s a nice bonus.
One more possibility, and one that i’m strongly considering right at this very minute, is a cheap small-form-factor computer like this one.
It’s only about 60-70 bucks more than a Roku, it runs Windows 8.1 or, if you prefer, an older version of Windows or some flavor of Linux like Ubuntu. It will get around all of the internet versus local streaming problems that i described above, and while it’s not a powerhouse in terms of specs like processing power and RAM, reviews suggest that it’s more than powerful enough to output 1080p video without lag or stuttering. The processor is certainly more powerful than the one in the Roku and most other dedicated streaming devices.
I have a spare USB hard drive that i could attach if i need local storage on the device, but if it can stream from my netwrok, i don’t know why i’d need that anyway. The 64Gb SSD that comes with it should be plenty for the OS and a few programs, and you can whack a copy of XBMC on it for the rich media experience of album covers, DVD covers, actors, etc., etc.
It lacks wi-fi, but as i said earlier in the thread, i used wired connections anyway. I also have a small Logitech USB wireless keyboard, so all i need is the device. If i decide later on that i want more memory, it can be upgrade with a new SoDimm, and if i decide that i want onboard storage, there is space for a second 2.5" hard drive.