Media Streaming Device - Which One?

So I am looking into getting a media streaming device in my room.

I download a lot of movies/TV shows/Music Videos from friends and the internet but I don't always like watching it on my computer due to the small screen.

Which is the best Media Streaming to get if I was to play the content off of a portable hard drive?

So far I have been looking into a Western Digital Media Player.

Any helpful tips or suggestions.

The Western Digital TV Live is the one I use.  I like it because it will play VUDU/UV movies/Netflix and ripped DVD/BR movies over the network.  It doesn't support Amazon Prime    The Amazon Fire stick is great for portability and plays Amazon Prime and Netflix but no Vudu.  So you have to see what's more important to you, VUDU or Amazon Prime.

Will it play movies from a hard drive?

I usually use AVI files.

I mainly watch Hulu and Netflix.

I used to work for Vudu so I hate them.

ITDEFX said:

So you have to see what's more important to you, VUDU or Amazon Prime.

Click to expand...

Or you can get a Roku and have both.

I do have a Roku and I like it a lot.

Yeah you could do Roku.

The WD TV Live has a USB port so yes you can plug in a portable hard drive and play movies off of there.  Back when I bought it, it had the highest file compatibility compared to the other streamers on the market right out of the box.

I have the current gen WD TV. I love it to death. If you're looking for something that will do Netflix and all that shit, move along because this may be the only stream box that doesn't have a Netflix app. (How did the Netflix app become the free AOL disk of streaming media? I think everything I own except the WD TV comes with the Netflix app preloaded.) If you're basically looking for VLC in a box, here you go. I've had one thing where the audio didn't play for some reason. It was a 2K 35mm scan someone did and I'm not sure what codec they used for the audio. I can probably fix it, just been too lazy.

Lots of people can't see the point of this, but it sounds like it may be what you are looking for. It's overkill for a lot of people, if they're just ripping stuff in a standard fashion. I have a large collection of stuff that is in every format under the sun, some with subs or multiple audio streams. Once I switched to a USB connected drive, everything just works, with that one exception, from really shitty ancient videos I have to full DVD rip iso and VIDEO_TS folders (with menus!)I'm sure someone has some sort of cheap PC/Raspberry Pi/Plex alternative that's cheaper. Cool. But I don't have the time to with that anymore.  I could not be more pleased with it.

One caveat, if you're going to need subs, like I do, there's a particular way you have to set it up that they don't explain well in the manual. Off the top of my head, I can't remember which option it is, but if you choose Media Server, it either reduces you to one stream at a time and won't pass the .srt file and you have to choose Network Share or it's the other way around. Of course, if you're going direct via USB (highly recommended, based on much tweaking) it's irrelevant.\
 
TLDR: get the WD TV for your files and if you want Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Prime, etc, buy a cheap stick. 

Thanks Captain. I watch Netflix and Hulu Plus on my 360 and half the devices I own.

This sounds like just what I need.

Just wanted to make sure since this site is full of tech people.

Guess that is what i need.

Thanks