Network media player

[Ian Oliver <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The hunt for a good network media player is driving me mad!

We tried a MediaGate MG-35, and I even got into firmware hacking it,
but its codec support was pretty grim, and UI even worse, and it
doesn't have RGB output via SCART.

It was then with great excitement that I read about the N35 (good
reviews on Hijack) and we've been using this for a month.

Sadly, the RGB output doesn't do 576i, the codec support isn't much
better than the MG-35, and the UI is slightly better but not great.

I've also played around with PC-based solutions, including the very
impressive geexbox, but these have again fallen short of the mark due
to difficulties with video output and remote control.

Here's what I'd like -
1) RGB SCART output. Composite sucks and I'm using a centralised system
with a SCART switcher. I might go HD in the future but it's really not
high up the list. I'm happy to make my own cables, and even grab pin-8
switching from inside the box, but I do need something that does 576i
RGB.
2) Full Ir remote including power on/off. Both the PC-based solutions
and the XBMC seem to fall over on this one.
3) Great codec support - we want it to just play the DivX and XviD
files we have without lip sync issues. ZoomPlayer on a Windows machine
and Geexbox for Linux do this so YOYOY do the dedicated boxes struggle
so?
4) A UI that someone has actually thought about.

All advice welcome!

Ian Oliver
Sunny Leeds, UK
Using Java on Tini for control via Dallas 1-wire