Media player for TV. Digital media player

Recently, the TV has turned from a simple "box" to view analog TV programs in a high-tech device, which by its functionality can be compared with a computer. Modern models can be included in the home network. Some use them to surf the net, communicate via Skype with friends, and also for games. Of course, the "iron" TV does not pull powerful 3D-shooters, but "Evil bird" you leave for sure.

But here's a snag: all of the above features only SmartTV, the price of which often exceeds the cost of an ordinary TV and a powerful computer combined. Of course, for many consumers the need for such a purchase raises very big doubts. It's right, as the media player for the TV will turn the old LCD model into a good analog of the "smart", and for all the fun you are unlikely to pay more than five or six thousand rubles.

What it is?

It would be foolish to continue to talk about such devices, without making a digression and without describing the concept itself in more detail. So, what is a media player for a TV?

If you are a user of gadgets on the mobile OS Android, then you can imagine such a mini-computer under its control. Have you heard about Raspberry Pi? So, the media player is the same "Blackberry" based on the ARM-processor. Unlike the mentioned mini-computers, it already has a proprietary shell from the manufacturer, usually based on "Android" with the addition of some specific services and programs.

Roughly speaking, this is such a miniature system unit for which your TV acts as a monitor.

Benefits

In principle, you can well guess on the positive aspects of this kind of technology yourself. Having bought a media player for a TV for only four to five thousand rubles, you will make even a modern entertainment center a modern entertainment center.

Given the speed of development of "Android", you can not worry about the lack of any applications: players for video and audio files, browsers, programs for viewing images. We already said that there is even "Skype"! Of course, in this case, you will need to purchase an additional web camera, but it is also not too expensive.

In addition, portable USB-drives can be connected to such devices . In combination with the ability to launch torrent clients, this makes any media player for TV a real treasure for fans of watching movies.

Easy setup and security

If you somehow follow the news of IT-technologies, you probably heard about the scandal that erupted around SmartTV from LG. Recall that then users caught too intelligent technology in espionage. Not only that to refuse the targeted advertising in the settings was very difficult (the option is far hidden), so even after removing the corresponding check-box, user information continued to be sent to the company's server.

Of course, Android OS in this regard is far from perfect. At present, there are hundreds of thousands of malicious programs for it, which can be dangerous for your personal data. But there are important differences.

First, for "Android" there are many effective antivirus programs. Secondly, in the presence of not so deep knowledge of the subject, stationary media players can install not only another firmware, but even a new operating system! In any case, there are instructions on installing special ARM assemblies Debian and Ubunu without any problems.

As you can understand, there is no such fundamental possibility in SmartTV. Moreover, even with the update of its firmware, problems can arise, since not everyone has a normal wired Internet, and the USB-modem does not recognize such a technique simply.

Where can the content come from?

Unlike Smart TV or any Blu-ray player, a media player can easily "hook" a movie or music from a home network, from an external hard drive or a NAS server, whose popularity is now insanely large. Some of them have a built-in hard drive, which can be downloaded music and video, and no one canceled the playback from the flash drive.

Note that a portable media player with a stock of films will fit into your pocket, becoming a true and irreplaceable companion on a business trip or traveling.

Local network settings

Unlike the aforementioned "smart TVs", you are unlikely to encounter any problems. The most commonly used Wi-Fi network. As a rule, the device immediately "hangs" to the home wireless network, requesting only the password for the entrance.

If you want to connect the gadget to a wired connection, there can be more difficulties. So, for certain it will be necessary to enter the IP address of the prefix itself, the subnet mask and other attributes. Setting up a digital media player, you have to contact the manufacturer, learn how to configure the connected devices on his website.

Formats and other "buns"

As for the number of supported audio, photo and video formats, then in this case these devices are beyond any competition. In addition, the media player will be indispensable for those who have an HD video camera at home. Why? Judge for yourself:

• Burn to disk? Expensive, boring, and the optical storage devices themselves are gradually disappearing into the past.
• From the small display of the camera itself, it's simply inconvenient to watch.
• Of course, you can use a computer monitor for the same purposes, but where more colorful professional videos will look on widescreen TV.
• In the end, you can connect the system unit or laptop to the TV, but not everyone will cope with the settings.

Media players are different ...

To choose the best media player, it is very desirable to follow some of the recommendations below. First, the appearance and dimensions of the device should be in harmony with the appearance of all your equipment. It may sound absurd, but if the gadget stands out against the background of your plasma panel, it will catch your eye even when watching a movie.

However, the technical characteristics of the player are much more important, including the following parameters:

• The more supported formats, the better. The MKV codec is mandatory in their list. Ideal for imitation - a software media player "classic".
• It is highly desirable to use only the most productive chips (like Sigma Designs 8634/8642).
• It will be nice if the player will support the playback of images of Blu-Ray-discs.
• If you are a beginner, you should be interested in the option to automatically scan your home network for public folders.
• Is it possible to view IPTV? It is perfectly!
• For the same beginners, it will be much better if the technician adjusts the mode of displaying the image on the TV screen.
• In the case when the buyer considers himself to music connoisseurs, it is highly desirable to have HD-audio (DD TrueHD / Master Audio) decoders.

Some shortcomings

Of course, nothing is perfect in the world. Media players are not an exception. What are the disadvantages of the technology we are considering? How serious are they and prevent them from watching movies and listening to music?

You need to start with the fact that the Android platform without a stable and fast Internet is not enough for that. Of course, you can try to watch the movie on the device you just bought, but no one can guarantee that there will be a necessary codec or enough "omnivorous" player.

All you need to download from the network, so that the proud owners of GPRS / EDGE-channel in this situation, you will not envy. In their case, the best solution would be to connect the laptop or computer to the TV, since they will be able to cope with the adjustment of the image output, but it's unlikely to do without the normal Internet. In short, the network media player, which depends entirely on the availability of an Internet connection, does not exactly fit us.

Ease of use

If possible, be sure to turn on the device in the store, try to manage it. Often there are times when the media player is very good, but his menu and navigation on it are so terrible that it's impossible to use the device normally.

In addition, the size and ergonomics of the console should also be included. Today on the shelves you can find a lot of this kind of device, in which the consoles in size more like a flea horseshoe. It's not known what the designers are guided by, but in the dark you just do not get to the right button.

Avoid consoles that have only a couple of buttons: they look beautiful, but it's much more convenient to run many functions by a single click, rather than spinning through several menus. If there is such an opportunity, it is necessary to purchase a universal control device, which includes the functions of the mouse and keyboard.

Note that the keyboard, mouse and webcam in most cases will have to be purchased separately. The cost of specialized devices (a special camera for the player) is often much higher than that of their conventional counterparts.

Do not forget about the platform. ARM-processors can not be called too productive devices, so movies at maximum resolution can noticeably slow down. However, this statement is true far from all devices: almost any Sony-media player of this lack is almost certainly deprived.