OT -Bravo D3 - hardware hi-def WMV player?

Laurence wrote on 11/27/2004, 7:07 PM
Does anyone know anything about this box?:

http://www.movietrack.net/articles/news/37.html

By "high definition video" are they refering to "DVD resolution" or HDV resolution? I would love to have a DVD player that would also play HD WMV files. Is that what this is, or is it just designed to play archived movies at SD resolution?

Comments

Laurence wrote on 11/27/2004, 7:15 PM
I found the answer here:

http://www.vinc.us/product.asp?ID=31&PID=21&SEQ=1

Yes it does play high resolution wmv files through a DVI output connected to an HD TV! Cool!
p@mast3rs wrote on 11/27/2004, 7:30 PM
This has been hyped since January '04. Honestly, its vaporware til it finally shows up for sale. The sad part is that the technology (WM9 HD, Mpeg-4 HD, etc...) has been out for so long that its inexcuseable that it has taken this long for something to make it to market.

I am willing to bet Nero Digital players make it out before any WM9 player does and Ahead didnt start working on this until this past summer.

Personally, in MS' quest to dominate the video compression market, they should have either pressed manufacturers or developed one themselves or at the very least, enabled playback in the Xbox.

Once Ahead's H.264 AVC codec is released at the end of this month, its all over for MS. I was part of the beta test for Ateme's H.264 AVC and it was heads and shoulders above WM9.
farss wrote on 11/27/2004, 7:49 PM
Actually there's lots of WMV9 players around and they've been available for years although they're getting more refined now. Sales of Media Centre PCs are pretty brisk down here and the PC mags are full of stuff about them, including how to roll your own.
There's also heaps of options if you want to avoid uStuff code, you can get the same functionality out of Linux as well, albeit with a bit more setting up.
I hope Ahead do a better job on their H.264 codec, I've only bought one codec from Ahead and it was a total dog.
If you don't need WMV9 playback in a STB there's an Aussie company that's been selling a DivX / XVid player for over a year now.
Bob.
Laurence wrote on 11/27/2004, 8:10 PM
I know there are other players, but aren't most of them just designed to play back archived SD resolution at higher compression rates? This is the first one I've seen that is touted to actually play back HD media files.
farss wrote on 11/28/2004, 2:15 AM
The one I'm talking about will playback HD XVid, any Media Centre PC will playback HiDef as well as everything else. Add a tuner card to it and you're laughing, but wait, there's more, it'll even record HD off air.
So why would you buy s limited functionality STB, these things are about the same size, do everything including slice bread, they'll browse the web, edit video, come with remote controls and can send the video to a tablet PC that you can curl up on the couch with.
Bob.
p@mast3rs wrote on 11/28/2004, 5:22 AM
I have a Media Center PC. Its not all that great. First, it records into MS' MS-DVR format and its a pain to edit out commericals and burn a DVD. Not to mention when I purchased it that it cost $2k. You would think that they would have had the ability to archive to WM9V but they use Mpeg-2 capture cards that leave less than desireable quality.
Laurence wrote on 11/28/2004, 6:59 AM
I have an X-Box connected to my TV at home. If Microsoft would sell a "Media 10 player" for that I'd be all set.
Bill Ravens wrote on 11/28/2004, 6:59 AM
Bill gates learned absolutely nothing from Steve Jobs. M$, in their greed, wants a license fee to license set top player manufacturers to use WMP9. They just don't get it, and I'm sure they never will.

As for media center PC's, I just don't think your average Joe-DVD wants to buy a PC to play his DVD's. Set top players will always dominate, except in the pizza-eating, techie comminity.
Laurence wrote on 11/28/2004, 8:53 AM
Even at a relatively high tech home like mine, nobody wants to wait for a computer to boot up and navigate menus just to watch a movie! A set-top HD DVD player is what we all want. Getting back to the thread subject, the Bravo D3 looks like the first one. Are there any others available (or at least being advertised) yet?
Orcatek wrote on 11/28/2004, 10:23 AM
boot-up? I never turn it off - with energy star active, it takes a few seconds for the drive to spin up, that's it.
farss wrote on 11/28/2004, 11:29 AM
Exactly, and assuming that something will not sell because only propellor heads will buy it could be a mistake. The average teenager down here does know the difference between AGP and MP3. They are the ones with the highest disposable incomes and the ones who set the path of The Next Big Thing. If that wasn't the case then MP3 players wouldn't sell yet the market for them is huge. If the population can work out how to get music into one of those I don't think using a PC to play a movie is going to stymie them.
Certainly the technology gap accross generations is huge, The pre baby boomer generation is still pretty firmly stuck with VHS, the middle aged group have pretty much shifted to DVD but the under 25 set seem to be not interested in any of that technology, they see the PC as the hub of their entertainment world and it makes perfect sense, one box does everything.
Bob.