digital-media

I'm still not convinced that there's a huge market for set top boxes that let you use your TV to access content from the web and computers on your home network. I'm not saying these little boxes aren't cool, I'm just not sure people are clamoring to pick them up. But if you're looking for a media streaming device there's no lack of selection. There's the Apple TV, a whole slew of Windows Media Extenders, and you can even use an Xbox 360 to watch content from your PC running Windows Vista.

But in terms of feature for the price, it'd be hard to find a better bargain than the new Popcorn Hour A-100. This $179 box supports YouTube, Flickr, Shoutcast, BitTorrent, and a slew of other internet protocols. It can handle MPEG 1/2/4, WMV, H.264, MP3, AAC, and WMA audio and video files in addition to most standard image and subtitle formats.

The box itself has S-Video, Composite, HDMI, and Component outputs, and 2 USB ports for plugging in an external hard drive. There's no hard drive included. There's also no WiFi support. You'll need to connect the A-100 into your home network via the Ethernet Jack, which will probably do a better job of streaming HD video anyway.

[via Boing Boing Gadgets]