Media Center Vs PS3\Xbox 360 Vs Netgear EVA8000

Cube623 · Jun 9, 2007, 12:51 PM

Not sure if I've posted this in the correct forum so sorry in advance

I've recently moved house. When I lived at my old house I had my computer connected to my projector and watched TV and media through my projector that way.

Now I've moved, my computer is in a different location to my projector. We miss watching videos on a big big screen so we want to carry on doing it, question is what to get (btw we have about £500 to spend).

We would like to play most formats of videos (mainly AVI), possibly HD and stream live TV but we have found many ways of doing it but we are unsure which way is best.

Option 1
Media Center PC (Possibly Phillips LX2000 http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/804556)
One idea we have is to buy another computer basically. We don't want one with all the bells and whistles we want one that has a TV Tuner, Media Center (Windows Vista?), Possibly play HD Movies (not a neccessity), and a lot of storage (Phillips LX2000 seems to fit the bill).

Option 2
Playstation 3 Or Xbox 360 (before I start I don't want a flame war on which is better, I just want to know which option is the best)
The second idea is to buy one of the next gen consoles as we are told it can wirelessly stream media (including TV from a PC with a TV Tuner?). This would mean we can watch media wirelessly and also have a great games console. However most of the videos I have are encoded using DivX and XviD in the AVI format. Can the PS3 and 360 play them? Also can it stream live TV from a computer with a TV Tuner Card? If it can this option would look very appealing to me.

Option 3
Netgear EVA8000 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-EVA8.../dp/B000Q2LSEE.
The other idea we had is to buy a wi-fi media digital entertainer. This can play most types of video (DivX and Xvid), HD movies (up to 1080p) and can stream live TV from a TV Tuner Card. This costs £210 which is cheaper than all the options but i have to admit the Option 2 idea is growing on me (if it can play the formats I need)

But the question is...which is better

.

Cheers
Cube623.

Lowfat · Jun 9, 2007, 06:21 PM

X360 will not play Divx(without a hassle). PS3 will only play DivX if you install Linux on it. The PC will play DivX oviously, but I really do not think it has the power to play 1080P or even 720P for that matter. I'd almost opt for the netgear. The X360 can play Divx, but you need to use a software encoder that will encode on the fly and/or encode them to mpg before you can watch them over the 360. I tried for days and days to get this to work and nothing I tried could get it to work.

Jun 9, 2007, 12:51 PM	#1
Cube623 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: England Posts: 322 Rep Power: 0	Media Center Vs PS3\Xbox 360 Vs Netgear EVA8000 Not sure if I've posted this in the correct forum so sorry in advance I've recently moved house. When I lived at my old house I had my computer connected to my projector and watched TV and media through my projector that way. Now I've moved, my computer is in a different location to my projector. We miss watching videos on a big big screen so we want to carry on doing it, question is what to get (btw we have about £500 to spend). We would like to play most formats of videos (mainly AVI), possibly HD and stream live TV but we have found many ways of doing it but we are unsure which way is best. Option 1 Media Center PC (Possibly Phillips LX2000 http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/804556) One idea we have is to buy another computer basically. We don't want one with all the bells and whistles we want one that has a TV Tuner, Media Center (Windows Vista?), Possibly play HD Movies (not a neccessity), and a lot of storage (Phillips LX2000 seems to fit the bill). Option 2 Playstation 3 Or Xbox 360 (before I start I don't want a flame war on which is better, I just want to know which option is the best) The second idea is to buy one of the next gen consoles as we are told it can wirelessly stream media (including TV from a PC with a TV Tuner?). This would mean we can watch media wirelessly and also have a great games console. However most of the videos I have are encoded using DivX and XviD in the AVI format. Can the PS3 and 360 play them? Also can it stream live TV from a computer with a TV Tuner Card? If it can this option would look very appealing to me. Option 3 Netgear EVA8000 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-EVA8.../dp/B000Q2LSEE. The other idea we had is to buy a wi-fi media digital entertainer. This can play most types of video (DivX and Xvid), HD movies (up to 1080p) and can stream live TV from a TV Tuner Card. This costs £210 which is cheaper than all the options but i have to admit the Option 2 idea is growing on me (if it can play the formats I need) But the question is...which is better . Cheers Cube623. __________________ Last edited by Cube623; Jun 9, 2007 at 12:56 PM.

Jun 9, 2007, 06:21 PM	#2
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	X360 will not play Divx(without a hassle). PS3 will only play DivX if you install Linux on it. The PC will play DivX oviously, but I really do not think it has the power to play 1080P or even 720P for that matter. I'd almost opt for the netgear. The X360 can play Divx, but you need to use a software encoder that will encode on the fly and/or encode them to mpg before you can watch them over the 360. I tried for days and days to get this to work and nothing I tried could get it to work. __________________