Comparison media Players

— Media player. Smart set-top boxes with a pre-installed operating system for the "smart" component of the connected display, whether it's an old CRT TV or a computer monitor with a suitable set of interfaces. The media player transforms any ordinary TV into the category of "smart" and expands the range of possibilities of many modern smart TV models. The vast majority of set-top boxes for TV work under the control of the Android operating system and its modifications. As a result, a huge list of compatible applications has been released for devices of this kind, which provide access to network storage of films and series, are responsible for viewing streaming broadcasts, browser operation, social network clients, etc. Media players with powerful electronics support any type of content and pull quite resource-intensive games. Smart set-top boxes are available in form factors from small to large: some of them are indistinguishable from a standard USB flash drive, while others can be made in a rather large case with Wi-Fi antenna “horns”.

— TV tuner. A separate device for receiving TV broadcasts of the digital broadcasting network and transmitting them to the TV screen or any other suitable display via video and audio outputs. An external receiver will be useful for older TVs that do not have a built-in tuner, and if the TV does not support the desired TV broadcast format. Broadcasting programs in digital format is the main, but by...no means the only task of most TV receivers. A considerable proportion of them can record broadcasts to a USB flash drive, play audio and video files from it, and read common file formats from memory cards. Advanced TV tuners can connect to the Internet and be used to consume media content online.

— Tuner for PC. Devices for watching TV on a computer. Among them, two main varieties can be distinguished: external tuners for a PC connected via USB, and internal tuners installed in a PCI-E slot as an expansion card. The first option, usually, is characterized by a minimum of equipment, however, such devices can be used with almost any computer, from a powerful desktop workstation to an ultra-compact laptop. Internal tuners can have several inputs and outputs, while they are only suitable for desktop PCs, the case of which allows disassembly and installation of additional boards. Note that in both cases, the set of native functions of the tuner for PC, usually, is very limited. But this cannot be called a disadvantage: many additional features (for example, IPTV or video recording) are easier to implement directly through a computer.

— Tuner for a mobile phone. A rare category of devices for broadcasting TV programs of the digital broadcasting grid on the screen of mobile gadgets. TV tuners of this kind are connected to a smartphone or tablet via a microUSB or USB-C port. They often receive DVB-T2 broadcast signals. To display an image from the tuner, you will need to install the appropriate mobile application on your phone. Smartphone tuners have not received wide popularity.

— Video capture device. A type of specialized equipment for capturing audio and video streams through the appropriate connection interfaces and transferring it to a computer for recording or organizing streams. A video capture device will come in handy for creating live broadcasts on Twitch or recording let's plays on YouTube. Such equipment is rarely equipped with its own drives and slots for them — usually it is designed for video recording using computer resources.

— CAM. CAM is an abbreviation for "Conditional-access module". Such modules are used in the networks of cable and satellite digital television operators as an element of a coded broadcasting system: a smart card is installed in the CAM, issued to the subscriber by a cable or satellite service provider, and the module itself, together with the card, is connected to a TV tuner, most often by the PCMCIA standard. The subscriber gets the opportunity to watch certain channels, depending on the specific settings of the card. Devices of this type are not independent tuners — they are only additional accessories necessary for operation in some television networks. When buying, you need to take into account that modern CAMs use several different coding systems and not all such accessories allow reprogramming. It is best to choose a module for a specific smart card.

Wi-Fi is a technology used for wireless connection to computer networks and for direct connection between devices. In media players, tuners and video capture devices, it can be used both to access the Internet or "local area" through a wireless router, and to communicate with a smartphone, tablet, etc. The AirPlay, Chromecast and Miracast functions are also based on this technology. The specific set of Wi-Fi features should be clarified separately; here we note that in this paragraph the specific supported version of such a connection can also be specified. Here are the main current options:

• Wi-Fi 5(802.11ac). One of the newest (for 2020) standards. Uses the 5 GHz band (less crowded than used in earlier 2.4 GHz versions) for improved reliability and lower latency; and speeds can reach 6.77 Gbps with multiple antennas and 1.69 Gbps with a single antenna.
• Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n). The predecessor of the above Wi-Fi 5, the first standard in which the 5 GHz band was introduced — here it is used along with the traditional 2.4 GHz and is not supported by some devices with Wi-Fi 4. Data transfer rate — up to 600 Mbps.

Note that, in addition to the directly claimed Wi-Fi standard, the media centre, digital receivers and video capture devices usually provide support for earlier versions — for maximum compatibility with different devices.

Built-in browser that allows you to browse the Internet on the TV screen to which the device is connected. Some specific features may not be available, but they are usually not critical for this type of Internet surfing; in addition, the capabilities of built-in browsers are constantly expanding.

IPTV service support — broadcasting by the IP protocol, using computer networks (including the Internet).

This feature should not be confused with online TV: in fact, IPTV is a type of cable television, where not an antenna cable is used to transmit the signal, but network equipment. Otherwise, IPTV and cable TV are completely similar: broadcasting is carried out through the operator; the choice of channels is limited by the assortment presented by the operator; and additional charges may apply for access. At the same time, the possibilities of IPTV are much wider than those of traditional cable broadcasting. Most specialized applications have a Time Shift feature (see below); any excerpt of a recently watched broadcast can be re-watched; in addition, it is often also possible to rewind the broadcast to a point in time before the start of viewing (if you turned on such a TV later than you planned). Other features may be provided for additional convenience, such as favorite channel lists, parental guaid, etc.

HDMI is the most common modern interface for working with HD content and multi-channel audio. Video and audio signals with this connection are transmitted over a single cable, and the bandwidth in the latest versions ( HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 2.1) is enough to work with UltraHD resolution and even higher. Almost any modern screen (TV, monitor, etc.) with HD support has at least one HDMI input, which is why most media players and TV receivers have outputs of this type. However, there are also models without HDMI — these are mostly outdated or the most inexpensive solutions that use only analogue video interfaces. There are also models for several HDMI and in most cases one of these ports is for the incoming signal, while the HDMI ports differ in versions.

— v 1.4. The version presented back in 2009, however, does not lose popularity to this day. Supports 4K (4096x2160) video at 24 fps and Full HD at 120 fps; the latter, among other things, allows you to transfer 3D video over this interface. In addition to the original v 1.4, there are also improved versions v 1.4a and v 1.4b, where the possibilities for working with 3D have been further expanded.

-v 2.0. Version released in 2013. Among other things, it introduced the ability to work with 4K video at speeds up to 60 fps, compatibility with ultra-wide format 21: 9, as well as support for up to 32 channels and 4...audio streams simultaneously. HDR support was not originally included in this release, but was introduced in v 2.0a and further enhanced in v 2.0b; media players from this category can support both the original version 2.0 and one of the improved ones.

— v 2.1. 2017 version, also known as HDMI Ultra High Speed. Indeed, it provides a very solid bandwidth, allowing you to work even with 10K video at a speed of 120 fps; in addition, a number of improvements have been made to HDR support. Note that the full use of HDMI v 2.1 is possible only with a special cable, but the functions of earlier versions remain available when using conventional wires.

LAN — connector for wired connection to the Internet and/or local area network using an Ethernet cable. A wired connection is not as convenient as Wi-Fi (see "Multimedia"), but it is considered more reliable and provides faster data transfer speeds. And the speed indicators depend on the device and can be 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps.

— AV output. Analogue output for video and audio transferring. Previously, due to the large size of the equipment, it consisted of 3 RCA jacks and was connected to the TV accordingly. Now the devices have become more compact and don't have free space on the case. Therefore, the AV output is a single headphone jack, to which a tee cable is already connected (check availability in the package). Since all components of the video signal are on the same cable, the picture quality and immunity to interference are low.

The model of the CPU installed in the media player.

This information is mainly of reference value: the processor is selected in such a way as to provide certain practical characteristics (maximum resolution, support for certain standards, embedded applications, etc.). So when choosing, you should focus primarily on these specifications. However, if you wish, knowing the processor model, you can find detailed data on it and evaluate the capabilities of the media centre to work with resource-consuming applications. This can be useful, in particular, if you choose an Android model (see above) and plan to use additional software intensively — the set of applications for this OS is very extensive, and some of them are quite demanding on system resources.

Also note that CPU data is often specified for advertising purposes — to emphasize that the device has a fairly advanced chip from a well-known brand. Among the most common brands of such processors are Allwinner, Amlogic, Rockchip, Realtek.

The clock speed of the CPU installed in the media centre.

On the technical side, the higher this indicator, the faster the processor works and the higher, accordingly, the overall system performance. At the same time, the CPU performance depends, in addition to the frequency itself, on a number of factors — architecture, number of cores, special design features, etc.; and the actual speed of the entire system is affected by performance of components other than the processor. In addition, manufacturers usually select processors in such a way that their computing power is guaranteed to be enough for all the features claimed for a media centre. Therefore, in this case, the CPU frequency is more of a reference parameter (and partly an advertising indicator that demonstrates the advanced specifications of the device), rather than practically significant for buyer.