Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have previously tried WD TV (1st generation) and CinemaTube and compared them since these were the media players having similar features at similar prices. Despite WD TV was the most popular media player, I had shown that CinemaTube was the winner.
Read my review here:
http://www.amazon.com/Brite-View-BV-5005HD-CinemaTube-Multimedia-Downloader/dp/B002CNOYRS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1280036605&sr=8-1
Now that both WD TV Live Plus and CinemaGo are out to fight, I can see CinemaGo is still going to be the winner for similar reasons. Although this time I did not try WD TV Live Plus (I didn't feel to), but after comparing their available features, from my previous experience with WD TV and CinemaTube and current experience with CinemaGo, I must say it will be hard to get a better product in the market at this price point.
This time I have tried CinemaGo by hooking it up with different external hard disk drives (HDD), namely, 1.5 TB Seagate (7200 rpm inside, the notorious 7200.11 batch, still surviving though), 880 GB Seagate portable (5400 rpm), 320 GB SimpleTech portable (5400 rpm Hitachi inside) via USB and then connecting the player to my 720p 37" plasma HDTV via HDMI.
Like any other media player in the market, this device is very simple to use, for its main job (as a player), you DON'T need to a "PC to keep open".
Idea is like this:
External USB/eSATA HDD .....> CinemaGo .....> HDTV (through HDMI)
And, you are good to go. All you need is to put movies, music, photos in HDD! Of course, you need a PC to put the digital files in that external HDD (portable preferred, you know why I am saying that).
For torrent downloading, you still don't need to keep PC open!!! Once you copy the .torrent file in HDD, and configure with CinemaGo after attaching this device with network router through ethernet cable (wireless also possible, not recommended as it's slower), it will download the file w/o any PC!
For streaming things like Hulu, you need to keep PC open as PC will run the software (PlayOn) to communicate.
What CAN CinemaGo do? Well, all that CinemaTube can and MORE!!! It may sound like I am repeating my previous review but you will find interesting new and/or improved features time to time. Have fun reading...
# Plays virtually any file you are aware of. I have many different files in my HDD, namely, x264 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 CinemaGo, it should play well. Other than WD TV Mini, none of the WD players still play RM files. This is because WD TVs (other than Mini version) are based on Sigma chipset while CinemaGo is based on Realtek chipset. I mainly use x264 coded MKV (with AC3 or DTS audio) video files now-a-days, no glitches so far. Some FLV files failed, but Brite-View let me know that they are working on it.
# Can play upto 1080p although I could be able to test upto 720p as my TV does not support 1080p. However, I have ripped a blu-ray movie disk (BD) into my HDD and kept it untouched (~40 GB BDMV folder). CinemaGo played the movie without any hitch and although I did fast forward/ rewind a few times even at highest speed (32x), playback could not be interrupted. Amazing! It also supports playback of blu-ray ISO file. BD menu is not supported yet (and, not by similar media players either), we will see how Brite-View handles that in future.
# DTS + Dolby digital ready. I could not still test it as I do not have a dedicated surround system.
# Video preview. Was not available in WD players before. I don't see it available in WD TV Live Plus in their official website.
# Resumes playback. WD players do this too, CinemaGo does only in a nicer way. For example, once I detached my HDD after watching a movie half the way and turning off the player. The next time I wanted to play the rest of the movie; and on hooking up that HDD and selecting that movie, the player wanted to play the movie from the point where I stopped!
# 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, CinemaGo 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 had this great feature until WDTV Live Plus came up. It appears that CinemaGo is pretty fast for menu navigation.
# 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 yet.
# UPnP streaming through 3rd party apps. CinemaGo is a networkable media player, so it can connect to your home network. With included and dedicated wireless N USB 2.0 adapter, you can also do it wirelessly. Built-in wireless could be there (like bulkier Asus O!Play Air), however, built-in wireless does not always perform as good as external USB wireless. For WD TV Live Plus, you have to buy the adapter separately.
NOTE: I am not very wireless fan. It is slow (and only good upto 720p, in some cases still stuttering). Playing computer content (or online Hulu, etc through 3rd party software) wirelessly by this device is possible and may be useful if you have a desktop.
# 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 (and many others'). This is another good reason why I have liked CinemaGo so much. The remote is easy to understand, feels good in your hand like a TV remote and is very responsive.
# Really light and portable. CinemaGo is comparable with WD TV Live Plus in terms of size and way smaller than CinemaTube.
# Universal voltage (100-240 V). Consumes little power.
# Spin down the HDD when the player is turned off. The portable HDDs actually get turned off when the player is off.
# Two USB ports, one eSATA port; one HDMI, one composite video; one L/R S/P DIF optical audio; one Ethernet port. USB ports are in the front for easy access. Someone might complain that USB ports are so close that it will be hard to use two bulky USB flash drives at the same time; however, the portable design of the gadget may not allow the USB ports to be far apart from each other (try to use slim flash drives). eSATA port is a new feature (for speed aficionados) which was not there in CinemaTube. Again, to keep it portable (possibly), the company has decided to exclude component video, therefore, if it is mandatory for you to use component video feature, CinemaGo is not for you (go for CinemaTube instead). I have also noticed that CinemaGo has a power button in the front. CinemaGo can send signals via HDMI and composite at the same time and show the same video (with audio) on both displays.
# Can show files directly from any plugged USB storage devices like digital camera or camcorder like Flip Video.
# 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 (& many others, I guess). They have been in the market for so long time, but do little update.
# CinemaGo seems to be faster and more responsive than its previous model CinemaTube. Keep in mind that loading time of a HDD may vary depending on its capacity, rpm, how much space you are using, etc.
# CinemaGo's user interface (UI), to me, is way better than CinemaTube's UI. A new look of the UI in the near future.
# Flickr support (searchable) is nice.
# Muzee music service. Many free channels are available. I normally play two channels of my choice wirelessly; and, they sound very nice and never stuttered. You can add channels to your favorites.
# File copy/move is possible.
# File search. Very desirable feature specially, when you have hundreds of files in your HDD.
# Support for file sharing (Simple NAS).
# Music "Previous", "Next" features are supported when playing back music.
# RSS reader is supported.
# When I received CinemaTube, it used to change drive letter of HDD to a different one. Keeping the drive letter the same is important especially if you have OS files in your USB drive. It was disappointing that I had to reassign the drive letter if I wanted to hook it up back again with my computer. Not any more after they fixed through a firmware update and not in CinemaGo either.
# Many more features you will come to know only when you play with it.
What CinemaGo CANNOT do:
# 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.
# Already mentioned that BD menu is not supported yet.
# WD has better online community "so far".
# Occasionally, it fails to respond, but that happens to every standalone media player including WD players.
# No direct Netflix option (subscription required though) unlike WD TV Live Plus. You can still stream Netflix in CinemaGo using 3rd party software in your computer.
# No internal bay for a portable HDD like Patriot Box Office. Frankly, I am happy that CinemaGo doesn't have it. In order to add/change/delete media files, taking out a HDD and putting it back is painful. And, there is a...Read more›
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