If colourful ones of the paper kind can bring in a spirit of festivity to your homes, these five classy and sleek media streamers add that special touch of undiluted fun to your entertainment hub.
Sync one of these media streamers to your home network and channel all your stored digital music, TV shows, movies and photos to your TV, surround sound system and other AV kits. Choose one with an internal hard disk and you don't even need a network. It's said to be the future of home entertainment!
Best looker
Dune HD Base 3.0
Designed to fit in amongst high-end home cinema separates, the Dune HD Base 3.0 makes up for its lack of Wi-Fi by packing 7.1 analogue audio, component, composite and HDMI. It can also decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. A quick-load hard drive slot makes it easy to add extra storage to the in-built 512MB, and you can back up ripped Blu-rays, though that will take up a lot of space. Unfortunately, our review model struggled to play MKV – a format that stores both hi-def video and audio in a compressed file for quick streaming of films. Dune claims this is just a glitch.
Rs 22,000
Love: Cinephile styling, supports ripped Blu-ray
Hate: Expensive
Pocket-friendly
Asus O!Play HDP-R3
The compact O!Play doesn't have space for an internal hard drive, but eSata and USB 2.0 ports support external storage, while 802.11n Wi-Fi and memory card slots provide plenty of playback options. The user interface is clear and simple to use, but prone to cryptic error messages, and there's an occasional lag in identifying media files. Once that's overcome, the O!Play accepts most file formats, but 1080p MKV playback over a network is too choppy to be watched comfortably. Stick to 720p and you'll have no problem, though.
Rs 10,500
Love: Wide variety of connections and file support, clear interface
Hate: Hi-def files prone to judder, no hard drive
Good things, in small packages
LaCie LaCinema Mini HD
Despite being miniature, the LaCinema still squeezes in a 500GB hard drive. Connections are limited, but HDMI, ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, two USB 2.0 ports and optical audio cater for most situations. The LaCinema Mini HD struggled connecting to a shared network, but quickly hooks up to a plug-and-play (UPnP) server. Hi-def video playback is painfully slow to load even over a wired network, and it struggles to play audio from some MKV files. Factor in the tiny remote control and cramped, monochrome interface and it seems decidedly overpriced.
Rs 20,000
Love: Ultra-compact size, built-in 500GB hard drive
Hate: Slow to load HD content, poor interface
Simply put
Apple TV
Apple's is the simplest streamer to set up and its 160GB hard drive means it doesn't need to be connected to your home network, and extra storage can be added via the USB slot. HDMI, component video, optical audio, ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi are on hand to connect your PC and TV. You're initially limited to iTunes media – HD movies cost $15 to buy and $5 to rent; songs from $2. Media bought/ ripped elsewhere is supported though, and if you're happy to hack you can add a BitTorrent client or Boxee support.
Rs 18,000
Love: Slick set-up, online movie rentals, plenty of third-party hacks
Hate: Hassle to stream anything non-Apple
Top slot
Mede8er Med500X
The slightly larger Mede8er has HDMI, component, composite and ethernet ports. Wi-Fi isn't included as standard – it costs an extra Rs 1,600 – but wired connections are much better for streaming HD. There's no in-built storage, but you can add a 1TB hard drive for Rs 5,700. Supporting a wide range of formats and boasting a well thought out interface, media playback is smooth with impressively fluid 1080p. Even large MKV files stream effectively, although audio can be ever so slightly glitchy.
Rs 12,000
Love: Room for a massive internal hard drive, connections aplenty
Hate: Glitchy audio files, cluttered remote control
