Realtek media player appliances

[Tom Metro]

I was doing some research into media player hardware when I ran across
this site:
http://www.iboum.com/net-media-players.php

which shows that there are a bunch of newer media players running a
Realtek chipset, instead of the usual Sigma Designs chips that the
majority of current (network) media players use.

See also this comparison grid:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1160835

Most of these new players are made by European companies and the devices
aren't easy to find here, but at least one is US-based:
http://www.mvixusa.com/ultio/1080p-high-definition-home-theater-pc.html

The reviews say the Realtek-based players are a bit faster than the
Sigma Designs ones, and can handle more formats, but it's yet to be seen
whether the platform will be any more flexible or open than Sigma
Designs is.

I do see the US vendor is promoting that they're making the source
(Linux-based) to their firmware available (the two European vendors make
no mention of the source) and are encouraging third party development:

http://www.mvixusa.com/ultio/mvix-ultio-challenge.html

Not surprisingly these devices lack a native MythTV client, but they do
provide a UPnP client, which may be usable with MythTV.

Surprisingly they do include a BitTorrent client. You'd think they'd
steer clear of that for fear of getting sued.

Many of these players let you playback DVDs from an ISO file and will
show the original DVD menus, just like a hardware DVD player.

So for about $170 you can get a box that connects to your network
(optionally wirelessly), uses 30W of power, and can playback HD content.
You can also optionally install a hard drive for local playback.

  -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/