CinemaTube, 3-in-1: a full 1080p HD media player/streamer/torrent downloader

Other products by brite-View

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• ASIN: B002CNOYRS
• Item model number: BV-5005HD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #741 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 9, 2009

Product Description

Product Description

OVERVIEWbrite-View CinemaTube is a networkable full 1080p HD media player/streamer features HD playback from removable USB HDD, streaming contents from remote computers and UPnP devices, as well as built-in torrent downloader!Full 1080P HDIt supports 1080p video formats in 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(AVI/MKV),Xvid (AVI/MKV),H.264/AVC(TS/AVI/MKV/MOV)/M2TS,VC-1(TS/AVI/MKV/WMV)/M2TS,WMV9(WMV),Real Video 8/9/10 (RM/RMVB,to 720p) and FLV;Audio formats in DTS,DolbyDigital AC3,MPEG1 Layer 1,2,3(2CH),MPEG2 Layer 1,2(MultiChannel),LPCM,ADPCM,FLAC,AAC,WAV,WMA,OGG, RA; Photo formats in HD JPEG,BMP,GIF, PNG. Note:Media files protected by DRM are not supported in current version.DVD MenuIt supports ISO files, so you can navigate the DVD menu and watch your video as if there was a regular DVD! A DVD Menu button on the remote for this feature!Playback FeaturesYou can play media files directly from any removable USB storage device (including HDD,Digital Camera,HD Digital Camcorder,FLIP Video) with zooming and rotation functions. A preview function with video playback, panoramic photo slideshow with background music an editable playlist to play preferred files continuously!StreamerWith built-in wired connection(An Ethernet cable is included. For wireless connection, an approved and dedicated USB wifi dongle is necessary and it's sold separately),the CinemaTube can stream contents stored in shared computers (with or without password-protected), or stream online contents like CBS, CNN, ESPN, Hulu etc from UPnP devices (with 3rd parties apps like PlayOn installed in computers). NOTE:Due to the "best effort" nature of networking, the streaming playback quality might not be in HD! .BONUS FEATURESWith built-in torrent downloader, you can download torrents without turn PC on.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brite-View Did It Again with CinemaTube! Decent Player, November 6, 2009

By	Patty O'Daddy (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I own the last gen device (CinemaCube; BV-5003) too and the CinemaTube (BV-5005HD) is definitely a notch way up. It now comes with full HD 1080p support in all file format, and acts as a streamer and P2P downloader. The product is very easy to use and the remote control that comes with it is in high quality and very responsive. I am especially happy they decided to go with the black design this time (it does tend to "attract" finger prints, though).

- I connected the CinemaTube to my network; its very easy to configure and connect the files in my pc (I have Windows Vista Home Premium).
- I watched movies via network and CinemaTube works fine without any problem.
- I watched most HD videos (Xvid 720p, mkv 720/1080p,) stored on the hard drive attached to the BVCT as suggested; it works like magic. No problems so far.
- The online firmware option is GREAT! Very easy breezy.
- The UI is basic and simple. To me it's really great and easy to use, but the brite-View guys are working on the improvement of GUI according to this brite-View rep on a user forum.
- The subtitle configuration is great.
- ISO and DVD file support is pretty good with all menus working.
- Being able to create a playlist is pretty nice, although it only works with the attached drive (not with file on the netowkr)
- USB Connectors on the rear is much better than the CinemaCube design
- Torrents can actually be pulled from the networked PC now (I had to put them on a USB drive first and feed it to the CinemaCube before).

Overall, it's a great product with great price, with very friendly and responsive tech support.

1 of 1 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

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.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy Investment "Cinematube Player", November 6, 2009

By	Benny (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

First of all, I am not some kind of heavy users who really know about NMT serve. I hate struggling in those complicated settings. All I want is plug in, play and enjoy my variety of media files via "fair-priced" unit through my TV. No matter reading from my external hard drive or streaming from my pc, cinematube does the great job for me. simple and easy to use. some other time, I use it's upnp function to watch hulu and youtube via other application i downloaded in my pc. it's truly additional bounce for me. And also dedicated remote, online update, and torrent features attract me a lot.

BTW,I noticed several threads from other forums discussing how admired of their customer service and refund policy. I vote in!

Worthy price, Dedicated remote, Torrent, and Sweet service!! brite-view, you do the good job!

Give you 4 out of 5 stars, just want you to keep updating firmware. XD