GB LAN and can be equipped with one 2.5” HDD. I haven't tested the NetFlix one yet though. The community is very active with development of different video feeds etc so be sure to find some updates for Xtreamer Live! - Standard 'widget' type apps like YouTube works perfectly.
It was very easy to do and took about 10mins. I've updated to the latest firmware from the Xtreamer site. If you go for a bigger drive, make sure it doesn't exceed 9.5mm width (some higher capacity ones do). I've also added a Seagate Momentus 500GB drive (model: ST9500325ASG) which at $50 is a bargain on Amazon. I wirelessly stream files with the device's NAS capability using Windows 7 then out to the TV via HDMI. My setup is as follows - I have a wireless router which the sidewinder is connected to via ethernet. so far it plays everything I've thrown at it and was reasonably easy to get up and running. This is the cheapest and most effective method and it's expandable to play from all PCs using the existing CAT5 network cable!.
Overall I really enjoy this device because I no longer need a complicated PC configuration to play HD movies from my PC. The menu is ok but there's a learning factor involved. The original remote is ok but could be designed to be more user friendly - especially in the dark. I replaced the remote control with an Avex URC-R6 remote so that I only need one remote instead of two. The forum has been helpful but the searching feature needs improvement. The optional internal hard drive is needed for additional features but it will work just fine without it over the network. Just throw an old laptop drive in it until the bug is fixed.
The round about fix for this is to play the HD mkv movie from a PC over the network. Do not get the optional internal drive until the stuttering bug for playing HD mkv movies has been resolved. It plays through an HDMI connection (includes digital audio) to the TV. In fact, it'll play any movie on anyone's PC in my house. This device plays any movie that I have on my PC over the home network.
I'm not sure if any TV would ever be able to do the same in the future. This media player has a vast compendium of codecs at its disposal to play any media thrown at it. Why should one play from removable media ever again when everything is on the internet? When LED TVs become throwaway, which is pretty soon, I'll have one of these with each TV unless they're built into the TV, which is happening already. This device is the wave of the future for media players. Inpage 3 5 By Xtreamer Sidewinder 6,5/10 9778 votesĬrazy white boys massachusetts.