Prologue
For some reason the ever increasing crowd of people in search for the ultimate media player have been disappointed by one application after another. The task is not a simple one for the developers as the complete package should feature an easy-to-use and comprehensive user interface, support for nearly every file format and punch to run the finest Full HD resolution. So far we haven’t come across a device or program that fully meets these requirements. Xbox 360 let the XBMC fanatics down as did PS3 and its limited file support. PC hardware-based HTPCs usually require more or less advanced setups and UI lessons for the non-tech-savvy family members.
Plex is designed to deliver just about everything we need from a media player. Plex (OSXBMC) is a Mac OS X version of the XBMC media player (XBox Media Center) which was considered to be the best media player before it became obsolete due to a lack of support for Full HD video or digital video outputs. In addition, the hard to find Xbox needs to be modified with a modchip to run XBMC. The developers of Plex promise a complete format support and an extensive appearance customization.
In this hands-on we tested the Plex’s media playback and network features as well as usability and user interface.
Plex is available only for Mac OS X and requires the Leopard version of the OS as well as Intel-based Mac computer, so unfortunately older Macs are unable to run the application.
Result for: htpc
Shuttle has announced the launch of its latest small form factor PC, the XPC G5 6801M Vista , which includes a dual format HD drive by LG allowing playback of bothHD DVD and Blu-ray films.
The PC uses a Radeon HD 3450 with full 1080p Resolution which can output in either DVI or HDMI through a bundled adapter.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Shuttle will run on an AMD CPU, with basic setups starting at a 2.2GHz Athlon 64 X2 all the way up to its latest 3GHz equivalent. “The system also comes with at least a dual DVB-T tuner for digital over-the-air broadcasts, a 320GB hard drive, and 2GB of memory.” At its cheapest, with the Blu-ray/HD DVD drive, the 6801M Vista costs $1,721 USD and is available now.
