media player
How To Setup Xbox 360 Media Player ‘Ecosystem’ Guide: Part One
December 23, 2009
As promised in my How To Setup Xbox 360 Media Player Guide teaser, with this help of this guide you should be able to stream everything. Play anything. Hundreds of HD movies. Thousands of songs. No DVDs, no DRM, no getting up from the sofa. No need for your PC to even be on and above all, no fruit! I told you I’d show you how to do it, so here it is. From scratch.
Part One: Infrastructure and Software
I recommend that you follow this guide with a clean installation of Windows 7 on a modern, Intel, dual-core or better native PC (ie. Not VM or Boot Camp), with at least 2GB of RAM, an internal SATA HDD, wired Ethernet and USB2 onboard.
Continue reading »Archos 1 Vision Portable Media Player (Just £25)
December 16, 2009
The market for 4Gb Portable Media Players is a little crowded, and mostly dominated by Apple’s iPod as we all know. However, there are so many alternatives that in some cases, including this one, the Archos 1 Vision that offer more functionality as well as stylish aesthetics that rival that of the iPod.
The new Archos 1 is probably the best value media player I’ve come across. Costing just £25, it can store up to 2,000 compressed songs; however the feature I was most impressed with was its compatibility with lossless music FLAC files which provide much clearer, uncompressed audio than the standard MP3 alternative.
The down side to this though, being songs can reach over and above 50mb each so you would quickly fill up a 4Gb player. It also plays MP3, WMA, FLAC, APE and WAV music files which provide a lot more compatibility than the iPod. Your audio library is organised in the usual manner, being by artist, song name, genre etc.
Continue reading »iPod Touch 3rd Generation Review
December 13, 2009
When Apple released the original iPod Touch back in 2007, I don’t think even they knew what it would become. One button, a touch screen for navigation and a “Mac OS X” operating system… Well, the release event was the only time we ever heard the iPhone OS referred to as Mac OS X by Steve Jobs, but nevertheless, it was still an impressive device!
It was clear that Apple wasn’t taking full advantage of this powerful mobile device however, and when the jail-breaking scene took off things got a lot more interesting. With the apps that soon followed, the iPod Touch became less of a music device and more of a portable computer that could handle e-mail, web surfing and even light gaming device which was an area Apple certainly “played” up at the press conference where they announced the 3rd generation iPod Touch. Since 2007, Apple has sold over 20 million iPod Touches and 34 million iPhones, but if you were an early adopter, is it worth splashing out on the 3rd generation iPod Touch?
Continue reading »Mintpass’ Mintpad (Personal Media Player)
October 18, 2009
PMPs (personal media players) are becoming increasingly popular for their versatility and array of features, but less so for their often over exuberant price tag. So when the new Mintpad from Mintpass was unveiled (after a long enough delay for us to wonder where it had gone) people were definitely interested, and now it’s come across from Korea and has arrived with us in the UK.
Not only does the price tag attract attention, but the interesting shape and design also draws eyes and it in fact looks suspiciously like a modern electronic version of a Post-it note. It’s operated by stylus which instantly creates attractions and problems, but beside that, on the physical side, it is incredibly competitive, with a small sleek design that looks suspiciously like a blend between the Nintendo DS and a square Apple iPod Touch.
Continue reading »doubleTwist Review (iTunes Alternative)
October 16, 2009
doubleTwist is brought to you by the same guy who broke the copy protection on DVD’s way back in the 90’s, and allows you to sync your iTunes library, purchased songs included, to a host of mobile devices and MP3 players. After grabbing quite a bit of media attention since its original release for Mac OS X in February 2008, a Windows version has been released and recently updated, and allowing access to the Amazon MP3 music store. So what’s the fuss about? I finally gave into temptation and took a look for myself, and I’ve quite liked what I’ve seen so far…
A Complete Xbox 360 Media Player ‘Ecosystem’ Guide (Teaser)
October 13, 2009
Stream everything. Play anything. Hundreds of HD movies. Thousands of songs. No DVDs, no DRM, no getting up from the sofa. No need for your PC to even be on and above all, no fruit.
For a simple, straightforward process for everyone to accomplish this and so much more with reliable ease, The Average Windows Nerd presents “Xbox 360 – A Complete Ecosystem Guide”, a practical and detailed step by step guide to making your Xbox 360 the media hub of your Windows 7 – networked Home, just like I did for “how to play iTunes H264 movie files on the Xbox 360“.
Continue reading »Songbird Review (Free iTunes Alternative Music Player)
September 22, 2009
No matter how much Apple try to improve iTunes, there are still missing features that people want… Say hello to Songbird, a free music player / iTunes alternative with a web browser built right in, available for Windows, Linux and OS X.
When you start Songbird for the first time, you have the option to import all of your songs from your iTunes library, and install various plug-ins that come with Songbird, including Last.fm and the 7digital music store. Installation of plug-ins (I chose all available) and iTunes integration took about 30 seconds. Regular playlists were imported, but my own smart playlists weren’t.
Continue reading »Sony Walkman S Series Review
September 12, 2009
About a week ago we brought you a preview of the new addition to the Sony Walkman line up: the S-series, and now having put it through some rigorous use we’ve managed to come up with a full review looking at whether or not this MP3 player can punch its weight.
To make this review of the Sony Walkman S Series easier to read and compare it’ll be split up into 7 main sections: Screen, UI, Headphones, Syncing, Speakers, Features and Battery as well as a couple of others looking at more general aspects.
Continue reading »Sony Walkman S Series And E440K Speaker Kit Released
August 26, 2009
It seems the people in the Walkman department of Sony have been busy as it was only a couple of weeks ago that they presented us with the Sony Walkman X Series, and now they’re back again with another new addition to the Walkman line, the Sony Walkman S Series and an all in one kit which looks pretty interesting as well.
Microsoft Zune HD Video Demo
June 1, 2009
You can now see the Microsoft Zune HD in action in the following video! Last week we reported that the Microsoft Zune HD had been announced after much speculation over the months as to what it might actually encompass as a device. Some of the wilder ideas such as it being a portable Xbox gaming device or it being a Zune mobile phone to compete with Apple’s media player/mobile phone, the iPhone – as we saw these were pretty wide of the mark.
