gdgt

Peter, i get that. The funny thing is as i write my reply to you, i answer part of my question. Apple is Apple (what other company could get press from the release of a mouse or a trackpad?), Roku seems to be a media darling (Boxee too). Western Digital just isn’t sexy. I like that i can plug a portable drive with my MKV files (totally legit mkv files, of course) and it plays everything i through at it (unlike my 360s or ps3).

I thought about recommending the WDTV to my sister and realized that she’s not the consumer (at least not with the current offerings) that this is geared to. Apple and Roku are more likely to appeal to the average consumer (my sister) with a kind of set and forget appeal.

they just seem limited to me. i want to play just about any codec that i come across. i want to be able to stream it but i also want to be able to plug it in directly (usb). i guess i’m saying i want the maximum amount of options. I don’t see Apple or Roku filling my needs... but then again i don’t think currently any of these media boxes will do that. i think as of right now (and i mean this instant it will probably be two boxes to fill my needs. what i have now (WDTV) for codec support and file flexability and GoogleTV for the rest of the web. that combo may be what let’s me cut the cord (of TWCNYC).

Another thing to think of is integration with other products. For instance, can you control the WD from an iPhone?

do you need to? is that a necessary feature? i have a couple of Harmony remotes that control everything. while it would be cool to control some products with my iphone or ipad... ehh. not necessary. I've come to the conclussion that for the foreseeable future there is no one killer product for me. it will be two or three i use together in some kind of Frankenstein ballet.

Because typing out words on a remote totally sucks compared to a smartphone keyboard and because a good Harmony remote is like $150 whereas many people already have a smartphone.