Media players have come a long way from large-sized receivers to portable devices that can work offline for a long time without recharging. Having had enough of miniature gadgets, the consumer again began to pay attention to stationary equipment - and for good reason, as manufacturers have prepared a lot of interesting things for connoisseurs of high-quality picture and sound. The hard drive home media player has the necessary set of tools to work with almost all existing types of audio and video files, as well as offering a level of communication possibilities never seen before.
What is a media player?
This is a balanced media player, but with extended functionality. Moreover, the inclusion of new options and capabilities not only does not reduce the quality of playback, but allows you to "read" modern HD formats, with which youNot every TV without a built-in set-top box can cope. But then another question arises - why is a media player better than the same TV with integrated Blu-ray? The fact is that the presence of a built-in set-top box does not exclude playback problems, including slowdowns and freezing. This may be due to the nuances of internal connections, the characteristics of an optimized processor and underestimated power. In turn, a media player with a hard disk gives you much more options for connecting not only to a TV, but also to a projector, while maintaining stable playback. It is also a universal player for a wide variety of files that can be obtained from an unlimited range of existing content sources - from a regular flash drive to a wireless network.
Design
For the most part, these are compact-sized set-top boxes, the body of which is made of metal (usually extruded aluminum). In general, if plastic is used in media centers of this type, it is only in budget models of the lowest price group. The rear panel of the device is the main base for placing connectors and communication ports, and the front panel provides a modest display to display basic information about the operation of the device. The side panels, in combination, also serve as radiator grilles from the cooling system. The latter is required to reduce the temperature in the processor, which forms the computing basis of the media player with a hard drive and is located on the motherboard. Power supply for the entire systemprovides power supply. At this stage, remote PSUs are mainly used, but progress does not stand still and serious changes in approaches to the implementation of this part are not ruled out. But manufacturers of media players are in no hurry to refuse classic remote controls. Although many firms are willing to demonstrate the ability to control via a smartphone, the familiar button pad is still the most convenient solution for this task.
Hard disk implementation
In itself, the question of the ability to work with a hard drive may seem of little relevance in the age of ubiquitous high-speed data transmission without wires, but for a stationary home media center this is an essential point. Firstly, the presence of an HDD or, moreover, an SDD compact disk is unlikely to violate the ergonomics of the device, reducing the internal free space. Secondly, network-independent storage with terabytes of high-quality content is a pretty significant argument in favor of such models. In extreme cases, you can use an external hard drive for a media player of a suitable format. Particular attention should be paid not only to the type of hard drive, but also to compatibility with the file system of the main device.
As for internal drives, they are provided on the same motherboard with a corresponding connector. So far, the basis is 3.5-inch standard format bays, but, again, relying on maximum size optimization, manufacturers are gradually mastering the SDD format. In terms of connecting harddisk to the media player, the configuration is the same as in the case of a computer. A SATA cable of the appropriate format is used - for example, a 6 Gb / s channel is used for SDD.
Network Capabilities
To work with computer networks, a set of tools is also provided, including an Ethernet interface, a LAN connector or a Wi-Fi module. Thanks to a special function, some models allow you to organize automatic work with torrent trackers by downloading content from the Internet. For example, models with a Bittorent client have such options. Initially, you should pay attention to which Internet services a particular network media player with a hard drive and corresponding interfaces is oriented to. For example, Western Digital software interacts with Flickr and YouTube by default.
Additional functionality
Of the latest innovations, it is worth noting support for 3D format and Android OS. As for 3D playback, as the name implies, it allows you to watch stereo video. The only problem is the lack of high-quality content, as is the case with other progressive but volume-demanding formats like 4K and 8K. Actually, this is one of the reasons why media players without a hard drive are in a deliberately losing position due to the lack of a direct opportunity to manage valuable and rare files. If we talk about the Android OS, then, as experts say, this is only the first step towardsa full-fledged operating system, to which all media players will switch in the future. At this stage, Android makes it much easier to work on the same Internet and with player applications.
Connecting a device
For all the technology of modern media players, many of them support obsolete interfaces like RCA connector ("tulips"), S-Video and even Scart. Without fail, media players with a hard drive for a TV are equipped with an HDMI port, and if communication with a computer is expected, then VGA with DVI will also need to be taken into account. In full accordance with the current moment, it is worth focusing on high-speed connectors such as DisplayPort and Thunderbolt. Thanks to these interfaces, you can truly experience all the advantages of a digital media center in its modern design. Although, of course, much will depend on the capabilities of the device for direct playback, but it always makes sense to purchase a device with "growth" characteristics.
Media player setup
The user interface largely determines the usability of the media player. What will you have to deal with in terms of settings? Unlike TVs, the settings menu in this case is extremely limited. As a rule, these are either context-sensitive dialog boxes, information panels or file selection menus. In addition to the stylistic design of the interface, only the choice of actual connectors for connection, the definition of codecs or software updates can be of fundamental importance. By the way,for those who plan to perform basic playback settings through a media player with a hard drive, it is just worth purchasing a model with an operating system. In this case, problems with the settings will disappear by themselves, since the main functions, parameters and tasks can be configured according to a familiar ergonomic scheme.
What are the disadvantages of media players?
With all the advantages of a media player, this device also has weaknesses. Most of them rests on the standard nuances of using individual devices that require connection. In particular, situations are common when the media player does not see the hard drive or simply does not "read" the data on it. In this case, problems with a lack of power for the hard drive are not ruled out, or a mismatch of file systems makes itself felt. For example, today the new exFAT configuration is often used, with which not all gadgets are compatible. A separate group of problems arises with the establishment of wireless connections, therefore, one should approach with utmost care in advance the issues of similarity of operating parameters for all equipment and devices that, in principle, are planned to be used in the operation of the media center.
Conclusion
The concept of a stationary universal media player shows its viability and demand in the market, which encourages manufacturers to develop this class of entertainment equipment. Moreover, manufacturers go towards the consumer notonly in terms of improving the characteristics of technology, but also in pricing policy. A productive and functional media player with 2 hard drives today can be purchased for 8-10 thousand rubles. It will have an optimal set of interfaces and all modern functions for working with the network. If you need nothing more than a solid player without unnecessary optional load, then in the families of leading brands you can find a simple model for 3-5 thousand rubles. In terms of playback quality, both devices are more likely to match each other, and selection according to specific characteristics should be done on an individual basis, since a lot in the operation of media centers depends on the nuances of the workflow and the tasks that the device will have to solve.
