Advice on a multimedia tablet?

[Caldezar]

I'm looking for a multimedia tablet for streaming media over a home network. Primarily it will be used for movies (HD content included) and web surfing, but I'd like to extend it to music if it can be done effectively. All movies/music are stored remotely on a NAS. I'd REALLY like to stay away from the iPad as I'm not interested in reformatting several thousand movies and TV shows for Apple to play nice. (Quite a bit of mkv content) My personal preference as it stands is a Windows device, but I'm not completely shut off to Android or other options.

Currently I'm thinking about an Archos 9. But I'm hoping to get some suggestions from people that have tablets used for similar purposes. I considered a laptop with a swivel tablet-top, but they're expensive, and I already have a nice laptop. Thoughts?

[Dwayne]

Here is a link to an article about the Asus Transformer and its DLNA ability, coupled with MyNet

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Video Streaming –Enable ASUS Eee Pad Transformer to play HD movies from PC and DLNA Media Server | Home Media Center

Also, from all of my research you will want the tablet to have an IPS display. They have superior qualities. Whatever you decide on, check out the comparisons between devices with and without the IPS display.

I hope to have my Transformer in my hands tomorrow (Purolator willing) and I can give you my thoughts on how it will work. I have my music and about 60 movies on my WD MyBook Live and I will set up my Media Player to stream the content over my network and see how it goes.

[johnnyblazzwa]

i haven't used it but if i was in the market for one the acer iconia's look pretty nice with the amd fusions cpu

[Technokat]

From everything i have seen it looks like the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the best Android tablet on the market, and has the best screen on the market other than the ipad 2. It comes out in canada on aug 26 far as i can see. Was thinking of getting one.

[Dwayne]

Features and price will determine which Tablet to get, here are a couple of comparisons:

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 | News | TechRadar UK

But here is the kicker:

Samsung 16GB Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Wi-Fi : Android Tablets - Best Buy Canada

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 10.1" 32GB Tablet (TF101-B1) : Android Tablets - Best Buy Canada

Also, Samsung has no extra memory capability while the Asus can take a micro SD card.

There should be 3G versions of the Asus sometime soon, or so it is reported. For some, that is not a big deal though. I would recommend doing a lot of reading, there are many choices out there, and in the end you have to be happy with your own purchase.

[Caldezar]

I was really hoping to fins what I'm looking for in a Windows platform. But Android could work. My biggest concern would be to have the ability to stream HD content, and ensure the widest support for HD encoding. The problem is that the tablet market seems to be very flaky outside of Apples iPad. There's always the concern that whatever option I go with won't have proper support shortly after purchase.

[Dwayne]

Somehow I don't see support for Android diminishing any time soon. As for the media and widest support for encoding, I am experimenting with VPlayer and Diceplayer on my Transformer. I have had good results with both programs playing my mkv files that were encoded using Handbrake. I have been using the free versions of each of these, but the costs are minimal. My next step will to see how streaming the videos off of my WD MyBook Live works. I have the Twonky server running, as well as enabling the WD2Go service for remote access to the NAS. I hope to let you know something later tonight.

The IPS screen on the Asus is wonderful, btw, clear and looks good running around 60% brightness... better for battery life that way.

[Dwayne]

I am able to use upnplay and vplayer to stream from my MyBook Live using the Twonky server to provide the access. No problems, all my movies are mkv encoded h.294 with aac (usually) sound. I can also see the media player stream shared from my PC. It looks like upnplay is the best bet as it uses an installed player instead of the default player, which didn't play my mkvs.

[Andy]

All I will add is to stay away from the Transformer. It's cool and all but it is under powered and you will have issues with HD content. Also the build quality is seriously lacking. It's all over the place. It was a great first try, but there will be much better available before the holidays. Specifically the tab 10.1.

I'm a former TF101 owner ... just killed it last week ... spilled chocolate milk on it .. LOL. Not a good day. Now I have a useless keyboard for it.

[Caldezar]

Think I'm gonna have to go get my hands on a few options amd see what I like. If I can't find a decent Windows tablet, I'm sure I'll wind up with Android.