dedicated HTPC vs. western digital TV HD

[THX-UltraII]

How does a dedicated HTPC with top notch hard- and software (software MPC HC edition, ReClock, Core AVC 1.8.5, Haali splitter) compares to the WD HD TV device if we ONLY look at the sound and picture QUALITY? (so NOT look at price, design, comfort, compatibility etc).

[Turtleggjp]

I believe I read somewhere that the WD player does not support Level 4.1 AVC video (from Blu Ray, HD-DVD) nor does it appear to support VC-1. If your intention is to play videos from these sources, you'll either have to transcode them first for the WD player (I think I saw that it came with software to do this), or get another device that can support these formats natively. I'd suggest the Popcorn Hour for that, as it supports Level 4.1 AVC and VC-1, plus it has an Ethernet port. Also, any HTPC with a dedicated graphics card for decoding will support the formats on Blu Ray & HD-DVD as well. Such clips will undoubtedly have better quality that what the WD player can play.

[woah!]

mine plays 4.1 just fine.... vc1 is the only format i cant play so far on it. it has replaced my htpc and it is about 1/10th the size aswell... also there has been a fireware update posted on their site.

i encode all my backups to a bluray spec with x264, so if i want to put it on a dvd9 i can. i mux the encode to mkv and 640 ac3 sound. these play perfect....

picture quality (to me) is very good on my sharp 52SE94U lcd tv...