What's your recommendation for a good media-playing device?

A cheap laptop plus a big lcd monitor?

I just bought a Roku and I love it. There is a channel called Plex which allows you to stream your own video files through the Roku box for free. There are also music channels you can use. It doesn’t play DVDs, but why would it? DVD players are $20 new nowadays. The Roku box was only $60.

I use a 32” flatscreen TV for a computer monitor, so I have that functionality as a side effect.

For something more portable, tablets are similar enough in regards to media playback that overall quality is all you really need to look for. iDevices have limitations that Android tablets lack (like being unable to use non-proprietary charging cords, or only being able to sync using one particular, buggy program) so I’d probably go with a Samsung Galaxy tablet.

I already have a dying laptop (screen is now going, which has prompted this question), and I’ve considered simply getting a monitor for this purpose. That might be the direction I take, especially if it’s everyone’s first suggestion. :P

It’s just that I know the laptop will likely not last another year, and also I like being able to fold it up and put it away easily when people come over. Not as convenient with a separate monitor, though it’s doable.

And I absolutely need the ability to plug in an external hard drive – @flip86, I almost never stream, except for radio. So, what I started thinking is, “What I really need is a monitor with a USB port… oh, wait.”

I like @jerv‘s idea, use it with your TV. You probably don’t need a USB port on the TV as much as you need a video out on your laptop. The laptop probably does have a video out port and there are probably ways to make that signal compatible with a spare input port on your TV.

Apple TV?

@dabbler I don’t own a TV.

@DeanV As I understand it, Apple TV is just a streaming service… I don’t stream, and I would still need some kind of monitor. :)

Thanks, though.

I see, I misread. If you were to set up some sort of home network though (really easy to do nowadays) it’d be a good interface for viewing your content.

This is a pretty good time of year to get a TV; old models still on close-out, holiday pricing starting and all. I paid under $300 for mine, and it has VGA jacks do I could hook up most laptops. But for your needs, any laptop built in the last five years would also work, and I’m sure someone is selling an old 15” or 17”....

Here is my set-up. It was fairly cheap and works well.

1. Got a cheap tv. Mine was around 50 bucks.
2. Got a Raspberry Pi. I paid around sixty for a case and SD card for it.
3. Install RasPlex on the Pi.
4. Set up Plex Media Server on a computer on your local network. Use that to serve up the media to the Pi. I send stuff from my local machine and a remote one with no problem
5. Get the iOS or Andriod or Windows Phone app to control it.

This is the interface on the TV

This is how I control it from my iPod Touch

This is how I administer the servers

Thanks, @johnpowell. I think that might be more complicated than I want to go – particularly as it means running the media on one of my functional laptops, which I’m already using for other things (I don’t think the dying one is going to stand up well to installing new software – I’ve already taken everything off it that I possibly can). I was hoping to dedicate one machine to this task. To be honest, I’m leaning towards stopping at the “get a cheap tv” or monitor stage.

But I’ve never heard of RasPlex, so I’ll look into that some more – it sounds a bit like an open source version of AppleTV, do I have that right?

And you get bonus points for having QI in your “recently added” list.

@glacial :: It kinda is but it kinda isn’t.

What sized screen are you looking into? If you would be happy with a a 7 inch screen we are in a different territory. A Kindle Fire might suffice if you are alright with a small screen.

@johnpowell The one I’m replacing is 17”; I’d like to keep it in that neighbourhood if I can. Kindle Fire would definitely be too small for me.