Brite-View BV-5005 HD Media Player(Supports: Full-HD 1080p, HDMI, ethernet, Internet)

Brite-View BV-5005 HD Media Player is a Full-HD (1080p) media player set-top-box.
It allows to play SD and HD videos, photos and music whether they are on your computer, your USB drives (even USB hard disks using NTFS, EXT-3, FAT16/32 and HFS+ file systems), the Internet.

Brite-View BV-5005 HD Media Player can be connected to your TV via HDMI.

Brite-View BV-5005 HD Media Player is a streaming network media player. It can be connected to your local network via ubiquitous ethernet wired connection.

Key Features of Brite-View BV-5005 HD Media Player

• Play the latest video and audio formats on the PC (including Real Media)
• Experience HD 1080p output
• Multiple input sources through USB, LAN.
• Highly compatible device that supports HDMI and composite inputs.

Alternatives:

• HTPC with XBMC or other software
• WD TV Live
• ASUS HDP-R1 O!Play
• Seagate FreeAgent Theater+
• PopcornTV
• Apple TV (Only if you will watch videos and listen to music from iTunes, including rental videos)

Brite-View BV-5005 HD Media Player on Amazon

Formats supported: Brite-View BV-5005 CinemaTube HD Media Player

• Video: VCD 1.0/2.0, SVCD, MPEG1 (DAT/MPG/MPEG), MPEG2 (MPG/MPEG/VOB/ISO/IFO/TS/TP)/M2TS, MPEG4 (MP4/AVI/MOV) , DivX 3/4/5/6, Xvid (AVI/MKV), H.264/AVC (TS/AVI/MKV/MOV)/M2TS, VC-1 (TS/AVI/MKV/WMV)/M2TS, WMV9 (WMV), FLV, Real Video 8/9/10 (RM/RMVB up to 720p)
• Audio: MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AIFF
• Photo: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
• Subtitles: SRT, SUB, SMI, SSA

File Formats Not Supported
Does not support protected premium content such as movies or music from the iTunes Store, Cinema Now, Amazon Video on Demand, Movielink, and Vongo.


Physical Specifications
Capacity: N/A
Interface: Ethernet, HDMI, Composite A/V

Brite-View BV-5005 CinemaTube HD Media Player review

Pros:

• Can play AVI, FLV, Real Video, Windows Media, MKV and MP4 videos (MPEG-4 and MPEG-4 AVC)
• Can play M2TS, TS files videos
• Can play DVD and Blu-Ray images
• Can play media content from your local network
• Can stream CNN, ESPN, CBS and Hulu your way
• Allows to download torrent files
• Can play HD videos (1080p)
• Supports HDMI
• Cheap!

Cons:

• Wi-Fi not supported

The brite-View CinemaTube is your HDTV’s new best friend. The CinemaTube can save you the time and trouble of burning and sorting physical CD and DVD disks. What's more, its networking capability makes it easy to stream computer and Internet entertainment right into your living room. Just plug in a network cable--or directly connect an external hard drive--and start enjoying your high-definition movies, music and photos with your friends and loved ones.

The CinemaTube is easy to set up and use
Satisfy Your Senses with 1080p Blu-ray Video Quality and Advanced Audio Decoding
Are you a movie aficionado who demands Blu-ray quality? The CinemaTube will meet your high standards and satisfy your tastes. It supports a variety of HD-capable video formats, including H.264/AVC, DivX, MPEG4 and WMD9. It can also decode multiple audio output formats like MPEG I Layers 1, 2, and 3 (2-channel); MPEG II Layers 1 and 2 (multi-channel); LPCM, ADPCM, FLAC, AAC, WAV, WMA and OGG, RA, and Dolby Digital AC3. DTS (downmix) is also supported by CinemaTube, so you don't need an additional DTS receiver to enjoy HD videos with DTS tracks.

The CinemaTube also supports the direct access of ISO files, so you can navigate the DVD menu and watch your video exactly as a traditional DVD would behave. The intuitively designed remote and razor-sharp 720p user interface make changing the subtitle, language or selecting desired chapters easier than ever.

Intuitive remote control design

Third-Party Integration Lets You Stream Internet TV without a Subscription
Not subscribed to cable service but still want to watch television network content? The CinemaTube makes that possible. Install popular third-party applications on your computer and connect the CinemaTube to the same network--now you’re ready to enjoy internet and PC content in the living room via UPnP. Once you enable file-sharing on your PC or Mac, the CinemaTube can also stream existing content from your computer to PC.

Download Multiple Torrents Simultaneously with Energy-Saving "Green" Technology
The CinemaTube doesn't just play media, it can also download up to 3 torrents at the same time. The CinemaTube uses just 10 watts of power while downloading, which is far less than the 100 watts your PC requires to simply power on. It's simple to download with the CinemaTube. Just save torrent seeds on your network computer, or on the USB storage device, and let the CinemaTube do all the downloading. Note that only NTFS and EXT-3 file formats are supported in this feature.

Super-Size Your Digital Photo Frame
Imagine viewing your vacation, party and family photos - all on the big screen of your TV. The CinemaTube turns your HDTV into a super-sized digital photo frame, allowing you to share those wonderful memories with the people you love. You can even save background music to the same photo folder and enjoy the perfect mix with your slideshow.

[any ANONYMOUS forum user]

I have tried both WD TV and CinemaTube. For my review, I will be comparing CinemaTube primarily with WD TV since these are the media players having similar features at similar prices. Despite WD TV is the most popular media player, CinemaTube wins and I will show you why. To my belief, there are no other media player at this price right now which can beat CinemaTube. And, this is a statement from an advanced user.

I have tried both WD TV and CinemaTube by hooking it up with my 1.5 TB external hard disk drive (HDD, Seagate 7200 rpm inside) via USB and then connecting the player to my 720p plasma HDTV via HDMI.

What CinemaTube CAN do:

# Plays virtually any file you are aware of. I have many different files in my HDD, namely, x.264 coded MKV, DivX/XviD coded AVI, WMV, RM, MP4, MOV and so on. None of them failed. It even played .MTS files (from my HD camcorder) flawlessly. Unless the file specs are unusual and/or not supported by CinemaTube, it should play well. Other than WD TV Mini, none of the WD players play RM files.
# Can play upto 1080p although I could be able to test upto 720p as my TV does not support 1080p.
# DTS + Dolby digital ready. Could not test it as I do not have a dedicated surround system.
# Video preview. Very nice feature. Not available in WD players.
# Resumes playback. WD players does this too, CinemaTube does only in a nicer way.
# Edits playlist.
# Plays DVD menu with dedicated button. This means if normal DVD disk is copied into the HDD as VIDEO_TS folder or ISO file, CinemaTube plays it as if you were playing a DVD in normal standalone DVD player (for example, if I want to turn on/off English subtitles or go to a specific scene (scene selection), or extra features). None of the WD TV have this great feature. I actually returned WD TV because of the absence of this feature.
# Downloads torrents (simultaneously 3). I could be able to do it by setting up a static IP address for the player. No WD players can do it.
# UPnP streaming through 3rd party apps. CinemaTube is a networkable media player, so it can connect to your home network. Did not test it.
# Turns HDTV into a supersized digital photo frame.
# Plays a plethora of formats for music, photo and subtitle files.
# Compatible with Mac file system (HFS+ supportive). Not available in WD players.
# Remote control is bigger but much better than WD's.
# Really light and not too big.
# Universal voltage (100-240 V). Consumes little power.
# Spin down the HDD when the player is turned off.
# Two USB ports; one HDMI, component, composite video each; one L/R S/P DIF optical audio; one Ethernet port. Other than WD TV Live, none of the WD players have Ethernet port for internet connection.
# Can show files directly from any plugged USB storage devices like digital camera or camcorder like Flip Video.
# Optional wireless USB adapter.
# Now comes with HDMI cable. WD does not offer it.
# Does firmware update (online/USB update) frequently to get you more and improved features. This is where WD disappointed me. They have been in the market for so long time, but do little update.
# CinemaTube seemed to be faster than WD TV when same USB drive was loaded. Keep in mind that loading time of a HDD may vary depending on its capacity, rpm, how much space you are using, etc.
# I have liked its interface.
# Many more features you will come to know only when you play with it.

What CinemaTube CANNOT do:

# Can't search media file you are looking for. Here WD players win. CinemaTube still has to come up with an update to include this essential feature (specially, when you have hundreds of files in your HDD).
# Can't copy files between USB drives. WD TV Live does it.
# No torrent uploads. Torrent communities typically want members to maintain a typical upload/download ratio, therefore, you eventually have to use a computer to "upload" something. In addition to that, computer can offer better control in torrent client like configuration, speed, details, etc.
# Changes drive letter to a different one. Keeping the drive letter the same is important specially if you have OS files in your USB drive. You may have to reassign the drive letter if you want to hook it up back again with your computer.
# WD players are somewhat smaller than CinemaTube.
# WD has an online community which can help you.
# Occasionally, it fails to respond, but that happens to every standalone media player including WD players.

Last but not the least, excellent customer service from Brite-view. They respond to your email promptly and really try to answer your question. Their reps are knowledgeable. I cannot tell you how many times I asked them questions, but they responded very well. On the other hand, WD reps are just disappointing.

Bottomline: If you are looking for computer-free media file playback, torrent download and streaming, you are going to love this gadget. For your peace of mind, frequent firmware update and excellent customer service are also right there. Buy it, you won't regret