TOP-5: the most interesting media centers

Apple TV of the third generation will please the buyer with an attractive design, compactness and high quality of manufacture. The network player also has a stylish interface, which is typical of all the equipment of the company from Cupertino. In addition, the recommended cost of the gadget is only $ 99, which is a symbolic amount for Apple technology. However, there is a fly in the ointment in this barrel of honey.

Compared to other players, Apple TV has relatively little functionality. Do not count on playing any files downloaded from the Network. The player plays exclusively only content from the iTunes collection on the computer. The situation with Internet services is no better. MLB.TV, NBA, NHL and Netflix are interesting for residents of sunny California, but not for residents of the post-Soviet space. There is, of course, something to watch on YouTube and Vimeo, some regional content providers also pay attention to Apple TV (for example, the player is compatible with an online cinema DIVAN.TV ). However, there is no such wealth of choice as, for example, Dune players.

At the same time, Apple TV has a unique function – broadcasting content to the TV from Apple gadgets and computers. AirPlay technology allows you to watch videos and photos from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac on the TV screen. And all this without wires (via Wi-Fi) and tricky settings. You can also display games on the big screen from your smartphone and tablet. As the manufacturer notes: "Patrol the airspace on a combat fighter without getting up from the couch."

Apple TV cannot be called a knight without fear and reproach, as some adherents of this company believe. The company failed to make Apple TV the same revolutionary product as the iPhone and iPad. Because Apple TV is a good choice only for owners of Apple equipment and is not relevant for others.

Base 3D is the flagship player in the Dune HD range since the beginning of 2013. If you do not take into account exotics like Oppo BDP-103, thenBase 3D can be called the best media centre that you can buy now. First of all, Base 3D stands out for its extraordinary design. Externally, the device looks like a Blu-ray player without an optical drive and will look harmoniously in a rack together with an AV receiver. This will be appreciated by moviegoers who assemble a home theater from Hi-Fi components.

The next thing that pleases when you get acquainted with the player is a thoughtful interface, stable operation of the software and ease of use. The player has excellent functionality – it plays files of all common formats (including Blu-ray 3D) from any media. In addition, it gives access to the Internet and popular online services: Ivi.ru and Tvigle.ru for Russia, MEGOGO, DIVAN.TV and OLL.TV for Ukraine. And for dessert – the Dune Store branded store with games and apps.

According to many experts and moviegoers, Dune HD Base 3D has the best image quality among HD players due to the use of a high-quality Sigma Designs SMP8672 video chip. So, Base 3D in the media player test on the portal Hi-Fi.ru received the Best Buy award and high image quality is named one of the key advantages of this model. If you add a good TV and a multi-channel sound system to the player, immersion in the world of cinema will bring you a lot of pleasure. By the way, if the design is in the spirit of Hi-Fi and the status of the flagship does not matter to you, pay attention to the model – it has similar capabilities, but the price tag is smaller.

The disadvantages of Dune HD Base 3D are the high cost and large dimensions in comparison with other players. You can also criticize the flagship for the lack of 4K video support. Many top-class TVs already support 4K, but a top-class HD player does not. In addition, media centers with this option have already appeared (for example, Iconbit Toucan Nano 4K). However, it will not dramatize the situation, because there is very little 4K content yet and its triumphant coming is not expected in the near future. You can make another claim to the functionality of the player. Previously, Dune HD players played Blu-ray disc images along with their menus, and Base 3D is deprived of such an opportunity. However, recently all network players of all brands have been deprived of this opportunity (due to the machinations of the copyright holders). So we're not going to put it in the "cons".

Aura HD Plus is a player focused on watching streaming videos and online services. Moreover, it is clear that the manufacturer focused primarily on the Ukrainian audience. That's why we decided to include this model in our selection.

Like some other participants in our test, Aura HD Plus has clients for viewing content from popular MEGOGO, OLL portals.TV and DIVAN.TV, and EX.UA . However, this is only a small part of the content sources to which there is access. The player gives access to two hundred TV channels, including about twenty Ukrainian (Inter, UBR, 24TV, TVi, OTV, etc.) and several popular international (Discovery, National Geographic, Eurosport). In addition, the owner of the player will be able to enjoy music from several hundred Internet radio stations.

There shouldn't be any problems with playing video files either, but there is one nuance that alerted us. The specification of this model states that it supports DTS audio tracks optionally. As it turned out in the review from Allo.ua the player can output the sound of the DTS track digitally to the AV receiver, but it cannot decode it itself. That is, without a receiver, instead of sound, the DTS tracks will have silence.

An interesting feature of this model is the programmable remote control included in the package. It has six buttons that can be assigned commands from other remotes. For example, you can assign a TV on/off command to one of the buttons so that you can watch videos online using one remote control.

The player has a second version – , which differs in the presence of a Wi-Fi adapter included in the package. If you plan to connect a network player to a wireless network, then the Aura HD Plus Wi-Fi model will suit you. There are still models of the previous generation on the market – Aura HD and Aura HD Wi-Fi – but they are no longer relevant for purchase.

iNext 3D Kid is a mid–range player with leadership ambitions. In our selection of models, it can challenge Dune HD Base 3D and at the same time not scare off buyers with a sky-high price. Although, of course, miracles do not happen and you have to sacrifice something…

In this case, the functionality of the player went under the knife. The iNext 3D Kid does not have a built-in Wi-Fi adapter and there is no slot for installing a hard disk. In our opinion, these features are not critical. After all, there is a similar model – iNext 3D Kid W – with a built-in wireless adapter. And files can be played from USB drives or connected to a PC via a gigabit Ethernet adapter.

We did not find any significant drawbacks in the iNext 3D Kid, but it has interesting features. The player is based on the Realtek RTD1186 processor and the Android 2.2 operating system. The graphical interface of the player is based on the Casablanca GUI shell and has nothing to do with Android. The functions of 3D Kid are similar to other players: movies and Internet videos, listening to music and viewing photos. The software developers have prepared a pleasant surprise for the Ukrainian audience. In addition to the traditional MEGOGO cinemas, DIVAN.TV and OLL.TV player owners can also watch other interesting local services, in particular, play and download content from the portal EX.UA 3D Kid has a browser, a torrent client and clients for services like YouTube and Picasa, but you should not count on any bonuses from Google.

The device works with indoor and outdoor temperature ranges from 0°C to +65°C and -40°C to +65°C. Measurement of internal humidity is possible from 10% to 99%, external – from 1% to 99%. The atmospheric pressure level is measured from 300 hPa to 1110 hPa, precipitation – from 0 mm to 9999 mm, wind speed – from 0 to 180 km/h. All of the above indicators are updated every 48 seconds.

If "Avatar" has made an indelible impression on you and you have a 3D TV, then you should pay attention to this model. iNext 3D Kid plays both Blu-ray 3D images and files containing so-called vertical (Above/Below) and horizontal (Side-by-side) stereo pairs. To date, only a few network players can boast of such a "chip".

iconBIT, unlike most of the companies whose products we are considering in this collection, deals not only with media players. Its assortment includes smartphones, tablets and other gadgets. Apparently, the experience of working with Android allowed iconBIT to produce not only traditional network players, but also original mini computers based on Android. We decided to introduce you to one of them, namely Toucan Stick HD, to show you what alternative conventional HD players have.

The manufacturer characterizes Toucan Stick HD as a network micro-computer and media centre on the Android 4.0 platform. According to our impression, this player is suitable for fans of the Android platform. The device is made in the form factor of a flash drive, which is rare for media players. The advantages of this concept include compactness: the gadget is slightly larger than a USB flash drive and does not require a place near the TV for placement, but connects to the HDMI input. There are also disadvantages – a limited set of openings. USB flash drives and hard drives cannot be connected to the player. And the connection to the Network and to the PC for playing content is carried out via Wi-Fi (there was no place for the Ethernet port). Moreover, the gadget does not have a remote control, but you can connect a mouse to it using a USB splitter cable.

iconBIT Toucan Stick HD turns the TV into an Android gadget with the appropriate interface and capabilities. With it, you can watch videos (both files and streaming) in quality up to and including Full HD. In addition, the gadget allows you to browse websites in Google Chrome browser, use Facebook, Vkontakte, Twitter, Google+ networks, use IPTV services, download and use Android apps from Google Play. According to reviews, there are problems with slowing down and unstable operation of some applications. In general, the capabilities correspond to the price (about $ 100) and the compactness of the gadget, but are inferior to traditional network players. This manifests itself in such details as, for example, the absence of a DTS audio track decoder.