It’s Show Time

This is where a HD media player comes handy. Media players can play almost all file formats you download from the Net on large-screen televisions. Some can even store the content on their hard drives so that you don’t run out of space on your PC. While we have already written about the popular and wallet friendly Amkette Flash TV HD,here are two more options that liberate your downloaded content from the confines of a computer.

iOmega ScreenPlay DX HD Media Player

ScreenPlay can run any file type that you throw at it. From the exotic .mkv to the mundane .avi,this one has an answer for everything. But what the ScreenPlay likes to do is play files over the air. It can,with the help of the 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter,connect to your home Wi-Fi network and play files stashed in your computer hard drive. In case you want to do it differently,you can just copy the file directly to the 1TB storage space of the device and play it from there.

There is also a gimmicky qwerty keyboard for typing. The Wi-Fi connectivity also means ScreenPlay can go online and play videos from YouTube or other compatible sites. Or you can just lie back and browse the Net from your sofa. ScreenPlay can also be configured to automatically download podcasts to the inbuilt hard drive.

The interface is easy to understand and the navigation fluid. However,if you have many files saved,if could be a while before you get the one you want as there is no search function in the interface. As the device has three USB ports,it will show only the ones that have storage devices plugged in. Plus music files are automatically sorted by artist,genre or album,while photos can be accessed by date.

The settings on the device let you increase or reduce the size of the subtitles or change the size of the picture. The browser on the other hand has quick links to Pandora,YouTube and Flickr,though getting used to the keypad on the remote might take some time. iOmega’s ScreenPlay DX costs Rs 12,999 for the 1TB model and Rs 14,999 for the 2TB model.

ONIDA NexS media player

Onida’s HD media box has one USP compared to the competition. This one can play 3D video,if you are able to find any content that fits the bill and if you have a 3D TV at home. This media player can also play almost all available file formats on any LCD or LED screen,but with an emphasis on the latter. It does not come with the regular AV cable outputs needed to plug it into old television models,and is strictly meant for the digital era.

Though there are optical and network interfaces available to ensure that you get the best image quality,the media player can’t play anything over the air as there is no Wi-Fi option — you can go online if you get yourself a wireless network card and connect it to the unit. The interface is a bit complicated,when compared to the other HD players I have seen,but nothing you won’t be able to master within a couple of hours. The media player has no inbuilt storage,though it does allow you to copy stuff from one USB to another using the two ports on the unit. The remote is thankfully easy to use with separate buttons for subtitles and video selection.The ONIDA NexS media player is priced competitively at Rs 6,490.