nas/mediacenter thing

[old.windforce]

I want to buy a Nas/mediacenter thing to clear op some space on the pc and use it for back-ups

can anyone recommend a thing that:
- has 1 TB plus room
- does mediacenter function via HDMI (preferably just dump TS_video dir on it so i have menus)
- wired / wireless both ok, 100Mb/s is ok too
- has to be able to download bittorents without pc standing on
- price << 400 euro
- SAMBA, no driver bullshit

Help appriciated:wub:

 

[Raven]

PS3 + Network drive

Oh nm you want torrent too.

There are a few graphics cards with HDMI output these days, may be best to self build. Though €400 is a bit of a tight budget for that if you want hdmi out.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Read it wrong

 

[soze]

D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure

Is what i use it does most of what you want but it does not play media directly it needs a device like the ps3 to play it.

It not out yet but the WD TV 2 Leaked Western Digital TV-2 Media Player Reveals Modest Upgrades, Codec Support - Western Digital - Gizmodo seems like it will do a lot of what you want but no torrents.

 

[Cyradix]

I use the DLINK NAS + PS3 setup myself, but you could go for something like : Welcome To Popcorn Hour
Technical specs here : http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=productspec&item_id=12

 

[Zenith.UK]

Or you could do what I did with an old laptop.

If you buy yourself a laptop with a broken screen from eBay, attack it with a screwdriver and remove the screen completely. You are left with what is effectively a thin, low power PC. Plug in an external drive for storage and you have yourself a torrent mill and media streaming centre. I do have a PS3 under the TV so I have the capability to have a wireless media streaming system. I have mine wired though so I can stream 720p content without buffering. The processor in the machine is only a Celeron 1.6GHz so it can't decode 1080p smoothly, but 720p is fine.

In fact, this is a perfect example of what I'm talking about...
HP Pavilion dv9000 (Screen NOT Functioning - Broken) on eBay (end time 12-Oct-09 23:04:00 BST)

It's a decent spec laptop with a broken screen. It does however have a DSUB VGA output so you can hook it up to a monitor without a problem. Hell, it might just be that the video ribbon has come loose and needs reseating. Note the important point... it's got HDMI output.

 

[Raven]

My god, if it works in safe mode on an external monitor then its unlikely to be a graphics card fault, it can presumably be formatted and have windows re-installed, the screen problem can be fairly easy to fix too. Pretty bloody tempted myself.