Anyone use the Prismiq Media Player before?
10-05-05, 01:53 PM
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Anyone use the Prismiq Media Player before?
thinking about purchasing this;
http://www.prismiq.com/products/mediaplayer.asp
seems like a good way to play video files and mp3s.. reviews look pretty good
http://www.prismiq.com/products/mediaplayer.asp
seems like a good way to play video files and mp3s.. reviews look pretty good
10-05-05, 04:02 PM
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This product is actually over a year old and AFAIK, they haven't updated it much. When I reviewed it last summer, it only supported native playback of MPEG 1 streams. It relied on the host PC to transcode any other formats to MPEG 1 into real time and just as one would expect, video quality suffered significantly.
For my money, the best network media player continues to be a hacked XBox running XBMC. Get a refurb unit for $120 and softmod it to load XBMC. There's a learning curve involved in getting it set up, but it's well worth it.
For my money, the best network media player continues to be a hacked XBox running XBMC. Get a refurb unit for $120 and softmod it to load XBMC. There's a learning curve involved in getting it set up, but it's well worth it.
10-05-05, 05:58 PM
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their faq says:
Q: Which video formats does the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer support?
A: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Motion-JPEG, VOB, and AVI.
what would be 2nd best alternative besides the xbox?
Q: Which video formats does the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer support?
A: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Motion-JPEG, VOB, and AVI.
what would be 2nd best alternative besides the xbox?
10-05-05, 09:18 PM
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They had that same list of "supported" codecs when I reviewed the unit. By support, they mean that their software can transcode those video videostreams into MPEG 1. Unless there's been major changes to the software and hardware, I suspect that continues to be true. Any reviews that you read for this unit, make sure that they're recent. It was a well regarded unit when it first debuted, but that was mainly because it was one of the first of its type.
Unfortunately, I haven't kept up with these products because I've been really happy with using XBox's. When I was looking at the Prismiq, I also tried out the Pinnacle Systems ShowCenter, which was much better; but also flawed in its own way. It also cost as much as an XBox at the time. They appear to have a ShowCenter 200 model now, so that may be worth taking a look at.
Also, there's the Buffalo Tech Linktheater. I never tried one of those, but I believe Blake has been using one of these. If you can get his attention, maybe he'd care to share his thoughts on it.
Unfortunately, I haven't kept up with these products because I've been really happy with using XBox's. When I was looking at the Prismiq, I also tried out the Pinnacle Systems ShowCenter, which was much better; but also flawed in its own way. It also cost as much as an XBox at the time. They appear to have a ShowCenter 200 model now, so that may be worth taking a look at.
Also, there's the Buffalo Tech Linktheater. I never tried one of those, but I believe Blake has been using one of these. If you can get his attention, maybe he'd care to share his thoughts on it.
