# Best device to stream videos



## delux0 (Jan 19, 2012)

Hey all!

So I'm in the market for a DLNA/UPnP device and cannot decide on one!! I will be using the device mainly for streaming video from a shared drive on my home network. So netflix and all those others are not a huge deal for me as I already have a TV with built-in internet apps. So far my set up is: 47' Vizio M550nv, Xbox360, and a Panasonic SC-BTT770 surround sound system...this doesnt really matter I dont think but I thought id just share. So my question to you is what would be the best device to stream my video? So far I have found these:

Boxee
Western Digital WD 
GoogleTV
Roku2

Any help is appreciated!!

Thanks!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I have a Western Digital HDTV unit and its worked great so far. Even my 7 year old knows how to use it.


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## KalaniP (Dec 17, 2008)

Have you considered a Dune? That's the only one I'm considering adding, based on what's out there now...


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## chris71478 (Dec 2, 2011)

Roku is more for Internet video, not a good choice for you. Boxee is better, but quite expensive for what it does. WD and dune sound like the best bets for you. Perhaps check out popcorn hour as well.


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## delux0 (Jan 19, 2012)

so i think i narrowed it down to the following:

Boxee Box
WDTV Live
Dune HD TV 101

What do you think i should get? I would like it to be able to play the main video formats (mkv, avi, divx) with ease. Also, of course for it to be 1080 and if possible support surround sound. I have not heard anything about the Dune, does anybody have info on it?


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## KalaniP (Dec 17, 2008)

Dunes are discussed in a lot of threads. I kept seeing them mentioned as being the best things out there, and did some searching and reading, and came away highly impressed.

Not the cheapest option, but they do seem to be the best, and they're still not outrageously expensive, at any rate.


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## sholling (Oct 6, 2010)

I have a Netgear NeoTV550 in two of my rooms because it plays both MKV and ISO formats and supports DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD pass-through. It also supports 24bit 192khz 5.1 channel FLAC playback. What it does not provide is any form of internet video like Netflix. It's not perfect but at this stage of the industry nothing is, it's just the best solution for meeting my requirements that I've found so far. Hopefully we'll see even better solutions in the coming years. (review)

The latest Western Digital TV Live is more of a Swiss Army Knife solution in that it does a whole lot of things but there are specialized devices that do each of them better. For example it supports Netflix and both MKV and ISOs but does not pass-through DTS-HD MA and while it supports 16bit FLACs it does not play multichannel FLACs and downgrades 24bit FLACs to 16bit during playback. 

I personally use a two-box solution - Roku and NeoTV550 to give me the best of both worlds.


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## KalaniP (Dec 17, 2008)

Sholling, you should really take a look at the Dune player, which does do everything you want in one unit.

The sole exception is ISO playback on the bottom end unit (the one the OP is looking at, unfortunately) but the higher models do.

Dune HD TV 101 Wireless

Just to cherry-pick some from the feature list:

Network player: connect the player to a local network and play content directly from PC or NAS (UPnP, SMB, NFS).
MKV player: play HD and SD video in a popular MKV format and other modern video file formats, including top quality HD video with very high bitrate.
High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey’s Audio APE, WAV/PCM, etc).
Media sources: external HDD (USB), external optical drive (USB), USB devices (USB flash drive, USB card reader, etc), PC and NAS in local network (SMB, NFS, UPnP, HTTP), other Internet and local network media sources (HTTP, multicast UDP/RTP), premium streaming video services are fully supported
Video codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, WMV9, VC1, H.264; support for very high bitrate video (up to 50 MBit/s and higher)
Video file formats: MKV, MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, M2TS, VOB, AVI, MOV, MP4, QT, ASF, WMV, DVD-ISO, VIDEO_TS
Audio codecs: AC3 (Dolby Digital), MPEG, AAC, LPCM, WMA, WMAPro, FLAC, multichannel FLAC, Ogg/Vorbis; support for very high quality audio (up to 192 kHz / 24-bit)
Audio file formats: MP3, MPA, M4A, WMA, FLAC, APE (Monkey’s Audio), Ogg/Vorbis, WAV, AC3, AAC

They are backordered right now, unfortunately.

The step-up units are in stock, however, and add a ton of other features.

I've read nothing but raves about the Dune units. I really need to get one! Except my ATV is meeting my needs perfectly at the moment...


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## sholling (Oct 6, 2010)

KalaniP said:


> Sholling, you should really take a look at the Dune player, which does do everything you want in one unit.


Thank you for the information. Like your ATV my two-box solution meets my needs in both the family room and my bedroom plenty well for now. My Roku XS boxes give me Netflix in up to 1080P with up to 5.1 DD+ sound, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, and Epix and a few others that I really enjoy and it meets my needs, and the NTV550 (which has very similar feature list) plays everything that I have on my server. A Dune would be high on my list though if I were looking for a new single box solution.


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## delux0 (Jan 19, 2012)

Thanks guys for the help, the decision just keeps getting harder and harder!! haha, can you guys do some more convincing on the dune though? Does it play divx? 

Correct me if im wrong but with the dune, you dont get any streaming features (spotify, ability to stream tv shows) and it costs more than a boxee or wdtv. So why is it so much better? 

Also, what is the difference between the Dune HD 101 and the Dune HD Smart D1?


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## delux0 (Jan 19, 2012)

o man, just stumbled upon yet another one!! Its called the PlayOnHD and it has a built in hard drive!! Im beginning to think I should just give up and wait till something newer/better comes out. OR just invent my own...I have some good ideas for a great device.

PlayOnHD:

LINK: dhttp://www.playonhd.com/en/?upn=products&subpage=playonhd


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## sholling (Oct 6, 2010)

delux0 said:


> o man, just stumbled upon yet another one!! Its called the PlayOnHD and it has a built in hard drive!! Im beginning to think I should just give up and wait till something newer/better comes out. OR just invent my own...I have some good ideas for a great device.
> 
> PlayOnHD:
> 
> LINK: dhttp://www.playonhd.com/en/?upn=products&subpage=playonhd


A few posts back I linked a review/shootout between the PlayOnHD, Boxee Box, and NeoTV 550.


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