Brite-View BV-5005HD "CinemaTube" 3-in-1 1080p Full HD Multimedia Player/Streamer/Torrent Downloader, Black

by Brite-View

Product Details

User Guide [2.08mb PDF]

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Download Guide [1.17mb PDF]

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Quick Installation Guide [6.04mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 8.2 x 1.7 inches ; 9.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002CNOYRS
• Item model number: BV-5005HD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The brite-View CinemaTube is your HDTV’s new best friend. The CinemaTube can save you the time and trouble of burning and sorting physical CD and DVD disks. What's more, its networking capability makes it easy to stream computer and Internet entertainment right into your living room. Just plug in a network cable--or directly connect an external hard drive--and start enjoying your high-definition movies, music and photos with your friends and loved ones.

The CinemaTube is easy to set up and use

Satisfy Your Senses with 1080p Blu-ray Video Quality and Advanced Audio Decoding
Are you a movie aficionado who demands Blu-ray quality? The CinemaTube will meet your high standards and satisfy your tastes. It supports a variety of HD-capable video formats, including H.264/AVC, DivX, MPEG4 and WMD9. It can also decode multiple audio output formats like MPEG I Layers 1, 2, and 3 (2-channel); MPEG II Layers 1 and 2 (multi-channel); LPCM, ADPCM, FLAC, AAC, WAV, WMA and OGG, RA, and Dolby Digital AC3. DTS (downmix) is also supported by CinemaTube, so you don't need an additional DTS receiver to enjoy HD videos with DTS tracks.

The CinemaTube also supports the direct access of ISO files, so you can navigate the DVD menu and watch your video exactly as a traditional DVD would behave. The intuitively designed remote and razor-sharp 720p user interface make changing the subtitle, language or selecting desired chapters easier than ever.

Intuitive remote control design

Third-Party Integration Lets You Stream Internet TV without a Subscription
Not subscribed to cable service but still want to watch television network content? The CinemaTube makes that possible. Install popular third-party applications on your computer and connect the CinemaTube to the same network--now you’re ready to enjoy internet and PC content in the living room via UPnP. Once you enable file-sharing on your PC or Mac, the CinemaTube can also stream existing content from your computer to PC.

Download Multiple Torrents Simultaneously with Energy-Saving "Green" Technology
The CinemaTube doesn't just play media, it can also download up to 3 torrents at the same time. The CinemaTube uses just 10 watts of power while downloading, which is far less than the 100 watts your PC requires to simply power on. It's simple to download with the CinemaTube. Just save torrent seeds on your network computer, or on the USB storage device, and let the CinemaTube do all the downloading. Note that only NTFS and EXT-3 file formats are supported in this feature.

Super-Size Your Digital Photo Frame
Imagine viewing your vacation, party and family photos--all on the big screen of your TV. The CinemaTube turns your HDTV into a super-sized digital photo frame, allowing you to share those wonderful memories with the people you love. You can even save background music to the same photo folder and enjoy the perfect mix with your slideshow.

One-Year Warranty
The CinemaTube BV-5005HD comes with a one-year limited warranty within North America. Please visit www.brite-view.com for more details on brite-View multimedia player warranty policy.

Supports a Vast Array of File Formats

• Video: VCD 1.0/2.0, SVCD, MPEG1 (DAT/MPG/MPEG), MPEG2 (MPG/MPEG/VOB/ISO/IFO/TS/TP)/M2TS, MPEG4 (MP4/AVI/MOV) , DivX 3/4/5/6, Xvid (AVI/MKV), H.264/AVC (TS/AVI/MKV/MOV)/M2TS, VC-1 (TS/AVI/MKV/WMV)/M2TS, WMV9 (WMV), FLV, Real Video 8/9/10 (RM/RMVB up to 720p)
• Audio: MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AIFF
• Photo: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
• Subtitle: SRT, SUB, SMI, SSA
• Bitstream or decode Dolby Digital and DTS Surround audio
• USB Hard Drive File System: NTFS, EXT-3, FAT16/32 and HFS+

What's in the Box
This package includes the brite-View BV-5005 HD CinemaTube multimedia player, one composite (RCA) audio/video cable, one Ethernet cable, a remote control (2x AAA batteries included), power adapter, quick installation guide, and complete user manual.

Product Description

CinemaTube BV-5005HD is an advanced "Networking" multimedia player that brings full high-definition movies with fidelity audio to 1080p Full HD display. It can play media files stored on any USB storage devices (NTFS/FAT-16/32/EXT-3/HFS+ format)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

235 of 242 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best media player in the market right now at this price, November 9, 2009

By 

mukhi "mukhi" (Stockton, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brite-View BV-5005HD "CinemaTube" 3-in-1 1080p Full HD Multimedia Player/Streamer/Torrent Downloader, Black (Electronics)

I have tried both WD TV and CinemaTube. For my review, I will be comparing CinemaTube primarily with WD TV since these are the media players having similar features at similar prices. Despite WD TV is the most popular media player, CinemaTube wins and I will show you why. To my belief, there are no other media player at this price right now which can beat CinemaTube. And, this is a statement from an advanced user.

I have tried both WD TV and CinemaTube by hooking it up with my 1.5 TB external hard disk drive (HDD, Seagate 7200 rpm inside) via USB and then connecting the player to my 720p plasma HDTV via HDMI.

What CinemaTube CAN do:

# Plays virtually any file you are aware of. I have many different files in my HDD, namely, x.264 coded MKV, DivX/XviD coded AVI, WMV, RM, MP4, MOV and so on. None of them failed. It even played .MTS files (from my HD camcorder) flawlessly. Unless the file specs are unusual and/or not supported by CinemaTube, it should play well. Other than WD TV Mini, none of the WD players play RM files.
# Can play upto 1080p although I could be able to test upto 720p as my TV does not support 1080p.
# DTS + Dolby digital ready. Could not test it as I do not have a dedicated surround system.
# Video preview. Very nice feature. Not available in WD players.
# Resumes playback. WD players does this too, CinemaTube does only in a nicer way.
# Edits playlist.
# Plays DVD menu with dedicated button. This means if normal DVD disk is copied into the HDD as VIDEO_TS folder or ISO file, CinemaTube plays it as if you were playing a DVD in normal standalone DVD player (for example, if I want to turn on/off English subtitles or go to a specific scene (scene selection), or extra features). None of the WD TV have this great feature. I actually returned WD TV because of the absence of this feature.
# Downloads torrents (simultaneously 3). I could be able to do it by setting up a static IP address for the player. No WD players can do it.
# UPnP streaming through 3rd party apps. CinemaTube is a networkable media player, so it can connect to your home network. Did not test it.
# Turns HDTV into a supersized digital photo frame.
# Plays a plethora of formats for music, photo and subtitle files.
# Compatible with Mac file system (HFS+ supportive). Not available in WD players.
# Remote control is bigger but much better than WD's.
# Really light and not too big.
# Universal voltage (100-240 V). Consumes little power.
# Spin down the HDD when the player is turned off.
# Two USB ports; one HDMI, component, composite video each; one L/R S/P DIF optical audio; one Ethernet port. Other than WD TV Live, none of the WD players have Ethernet port for internet connection.
# Can show files directly from any plugged USB storage devices like digital camera or camcorder like Flip Video.
# Optional wireless USB adapter.
# Now comes with HDMI cable. WD does not offer it.
# Does firmware update (online/USB update) frequently to get you more and improved features. This is where WD disappointed me. They have been in the market for so long time, but do little update.
# CinemaTube seemed to be faster than WD TV when same USB drive was loaded. Keep in mind that loading time of a HDD may vary depending on its capacity, rpm, how much space you are using, etc.
# I have liked its interface.
# Many more features you will come to know only when you play with it.

What CinemaTube CANNOT do:

# Can't search media file you are looking for. Here WD players win. CinemaTube still has to come up with an update to include this essential feature (specially, when you have hundreds of files in your HDD).
# Can't copy files between USB drives. WD TV Live does it.
# No torrent uploads. Torrent communities typically want members to maintain a typical upload/download ratio, therefore, you eventually have to use a computer to "upload" something. In addition to that, computer can offer better control in torrent client like configuration, speed, details, etc.
# Changes drive letter to a different one. Keeping the drive letter the same is important specially if you have OS files in your USB drive. You may have to reassign the drive letter if you want to hook it up back again with your computer.
# WD players are somewhat smaller than CinemaTube.
# WD has an online community which can help you.
# Occasionally, it fails to respond, but that happens to every standalone media player including WD players.

Last but not the least, excellent customer service from Brite-view. They respond to your email promptly and really try to answer your question. Their reps are knowledgeable. I cannot tell you how many times I asked them questions, but they responded very well. On the other hand, WD reps are just disappointing.

Bottomline: If you are looking for computer-free media file playback, torrent download and streaming, you are going to love this gadget. For your peace of mind, frequent firmware update and excellent customer service are also right there. Buy it, you won't regret.

UPDATE: 05/05/10: Some features (which I always wanted or like) added in Cinematube in newer firmware versions:
* Added Flickr Support
* Added Music "Previous" "Next" feature when playing back music
* Support for file copy/move
* Support for file search
* Support for file sharing (Simple NAS)
* Supported playback Blu-ray ISO file
* Added new high definition UI
* RSS readers added

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love My New Toy, November 18, 2009

By 

Chih-tao Hou "paw baochun" (Alameda, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brite-View BV-5005HD "CinemaTube" 3-in-1 1080p Full HD Multimedia Player/Streamer/Torrent Downloader, Black (Electronics)

Before I bought this media player, I did my research on AVS forum. Here were the major reasons helped me make up my mind.
1.Inexpensive.
2.Support rmvb format files.
3.Support .iso DVD menu with button on remote.
4.Support online update.
5.BitTorrent download support...you know what I am talking about...

After I got my toy,
1.Remote is amazing! Quick response! Very user friendly.
2.UPnP function works well. No problem plays video from my Playon app.
3.Smooth PC connecting.
4.I have tried to play rmvb, avi, and DVD image file without any problem.
5.Fantastic image and sound quality, totally worth it!!
6.The last and the most important one for me, fast and stable BT downloading!! (I have AT&T 6MB DSL)

By the way, I did contact customer service to ask a couple technical questions, and they responded nicely and quickly.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with my new toy, and surprisingly, even my mom knows how to use that!!

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but could be better, April 9, 2010

By 

Zerauskire - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brite-View BV-5005HD "CinemaTube" 3-in-1 1080p Full HD Multimedia Player/Streamer/Torrent Downloader, Black (Electronics)

I like to wait awhile before I review a product so that I have enough time to really get a good opinion of it. A lot of people just rate it as soon as they buy it and don't give themselves time to see all the little quirks the product may have. So after using this device for awhile here are my pros and cons.

Pros
- Updatable firmware via internet connection
- Plays almost every file you can think of
- Very easy to configure (even if you have to do it after every update)
- Smooth interface (after recent update. First interface wasn't so great)
- Great picture Quality
- HDMI port
- Comes with HDMI cable and a few extra cables as well
- The unit is very compact and light
- The unit looks pretty cool
- Reasonably priced


Cons
- The button layout on the remote control isn't very user friendly and the video control buttons are very small.
- For this item in particular the wireless adapter and CinemaTube are shipped separately. My wireless adapter arrived 10 days after the CinemaTube did and that was only after emailing them to let them know I never got it. (They were very nice about the situation though so this made up for this issue completely)
- Power cord is pretty short considering most people may be placing thing on top of their entertainment center and it's not long enough to reach the standard plug height.
- Every time it updates you have to re-configure the wireless settings.
- Loading the video preview slows down the system and causing scrolling through movies to lag.
- There should be an option to load the preview manually or put a slight delay on it loading.
- Every now and then the directories when browsing UPnP device show as "Empty" and you have to reboot.
- Wireless should be built-in.
- Unable to use your own wireless adapter, it has to be a proprietary one.
- The wireless adapter is rather large.
- If you stop a movie in the middle of watching it and it returns back out to the menu there is no data for the UPnP connection. It just says "Empty". You have to back out and go back in.
- There's no way to set a default directory on your UPnP server so you have to navigate to the same directory every time.
- Some times it won't let you fast forward or rewind. I think this may be dependent on the file type though. I've ran in to this issue with some .avi files but I'm not sure if they were standard .avi or divx.



So given the above pros and cons my experience hasn't been too bad or too good. I'd say the product as of now is pretty average but the price helps to sway me towards it being worth it. I'm really excited about the fact that it can be updated via the internet because I'm sure most issues will be addressed. When I got the device it went through 3 updates. This was good but at the same time annoying because after every update I had to re-configure my wireless settings.

My biggest issue with the device right now is the whole "Empty" folder message I keep getting. Sometimes I have to keep clicking on the UPnP option over and over again until it finally shows my folders. I don't have this problem with my PS3. Also after a certain amount of time watching a movie if you back out it puts you back to the "Empty" folder message and you have to back all the way out again and reload it. One time I even let it sit for about 10 minutes on my list of movies via my UPnP server and when I came back to select a movie nothing would play so I hit back and it sent me to the "Empty" folder message again. Keep in mind though that all of this experience has been via the UPnP option. So far anything loading off an external hard drive seems fine.

I have not run in to a file type yet that it could not play and that is pretty awesome.

When I first got it set up I didn't care much for the interface but after the first update, the new interface was a huge improvement. It also makes the user manual useless though.

There really isn't much in the way of customization but that's ok. I would like to see some additions of bookmarking folder locations for UPnP servers though. I'd also LOVE to see an option similar to XBMC which allows you to stream video via a FTP connection. This makes setting up a server very simple. Just drop the files on to your FTP and stream away.

I don't use the torrent option because while it seems nifty it's not all that practical. If you're going to go through the trouble of doing it the way it's set up then why not just download the file on your computer and then just put it on a portable hard drive and plug that in to this device. Most people compress movie files in torrents anyways to decrease transfer times.

Regardless of all the Cons I'm still somewhat happy with the device. With that being said though, if a PS3 were able to play all the formats this thing can, I would have got that instead even though it costs more.