HD Recorder with USB to watch movies? Apple TV?

Question

Hi,

I download movies off the Internet to watch on my computer. However I have just purchased myself a new 50 inch Plasma screen to watch these on. I purchased a Sony HD recorder with a USB port in which I thought I could simply add a USB storage device to it and upload movies onto the hard drive. Not the case though! Its only for uploading MP3's.

Does anyone know of a HD recorder in which you can upload movies to? I need to keep it with HDMI so I can upscale to 1080p.

Maybe I should get an Apple TV but they dont play all the movie formats. Can anyone suggest of something better than Apple TV?

Answer 1

You are a little ahead of the curve but there are a few devices that are floating around. You might check Engadget HD to see if there is anything that they have covered. With CES going on right now there is no shortage of coverage about this kind of thing. It might sound silly, but the PS3 might be an option, they just added a bunch of codecs.

I think there is a media center PC or two out there that will do what you want.

Also, Apple TV only goes up to 720p, I think.