nice, thank ben.

I though about one of these things but then I realize the cost even at $219 u still need to but a HD. so thats another $100.

I end up getting a dell 531s for around $350 after reselling the monitor.and $30 for the StreamZap remote control.
I got this free HTPC program called Media Portal. it works great and is more versatile and also u get a fully working PC to boot.

Granted it is not as small as this MediaGate thingy.
but I think it's a much a better value.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your exp. #2

Yep, good thoughts #2...I did the same with a minibox I made for $200, it was my TV emulator box, took me 8 months before it occured to me that I should drop $20 into it so i could play DVDs and divx..bacon's beautiful.
And Media Portal is a great piece of software.

yea, think building your own box for less is the better option.

Firmware updates? Hmmm. Already has known problems

With a PS3 you can stream videos to your TV wireless from your PC.

#7, at twice the price for the same job?

#2 and #4 have the right idea.

I have one of these. I don't have a hard drive, I just use the wifi and wired connections to stream video from my main computer and DLINK DNS-323 NAS device. Wifi works most of the time, but because of traffic and interference from neighbors it does drop signal sometimes. Wired connection is rock solid so far.

A full blown media PC does have much more potential, but this is easy to setup and works great and I am extremely lazy.

#2, With your numbers it is still cheaper to get something that just works (MediaGate MG-350HD + HD, which you don't really need because it has got wireless).

It also has digital audio outputs, is smaller, and does 720p (which depending on your desktop you may or may not be able to do)

I'm not saying building your own PC for a media PC is a bad idea, it would definitely be more versatile, but it sucks more power and is usually louder. If you want to play HD xvid/divx files with surround sound and just works, I think the MediaGate is better. If you want something that will play media plus do DVR stuff, then obviously going with your PC is the wa y to go.

What desktop computer can't do 720p?

#7, To do that, is that a hack? Or is that native OOTB?

Somewhere there has to be a PC to create the xvid/divx content, right? So at least by building your own you've got a dedicated machine to encode the files, too. Getting component and HD signals out isn't that tough, but adds to the cost.

I like the idea of buying a Dell and reselling the unneeded parts...

I love this media station, it works just like a PC media player, which you can almost play all kinds of file, and for this price it is bargain. Even though, some people will think why not just get a low end PC, but think about it low end PC does not have all type of Video/Audio Interface for your TV or monitor or projector. And This itself can also work as an external hardrive if you want get more use of it. I had get this for my company with same exact model for $350+ last year. can't believe it drop so much now.

This is a cool device, but I'm expecting a further price drop in the near future.

Will this device convert your DVD's to divx or do you need to do that on a regular PC?

it support nav 720p/ cp 1080i, and it play iso/vob file.

will u carry ur dell around? or this device?

it play mpeg 1/2/4, avi, .ts/tp the chipset it use is better then xbox 360....

I've had one of these for almost a year. We use it daily. Rarely use the hard drive in it, almost all our viewing is over the network wire to my file server in the garage, but sometimes we listen to internet radio over it.

It is very good for playing DVDs (or iso images of them), which it has full support for (including menus!). It also plays other various mpeg/mpeg2/xvid video files. High bitrate high definition (25Mbps) hasn't been so successful with, although it plays high def .ts streams I rip from cable ok.

My reasons for it over a htpc? Quick boot time, low power consumption, small footprint, portability. Reasons I'd prefer a htpc? Being able to play blu-ray or hd-dvd rips, FLAC and SHN audio.

#2. thanks for the idea. i too was thinking about something like this. but your idea seems to be the smarter way to go.

A friend of mine has one of these & probably has like 4 or 5 500GB hard drives full of movies. He says this is the only unit that will play movies in ISO format (not sure if that is true or not) which makes it easy to burn a movie for someone if needed. You don't have to turn off the unit to swap hard drives either. Pretty sweet.