Now that I have settled for a LG Blu-ray HTiB, I am looking for a media player that can play downloaded stuff on my TV without having to burn them on DVD format and play in the DVD player or transfer via thumb drive on my PS3.

Are there media players that allow me to do just that? It'd be preferable that these players have an internal hard disk while allowing connections to an EXTERNAL hard disk (I plan on transferring media from hard disk to media player) and a USB slot to transfer media from PC (downstairs) to media player upstairs.

Also, I'd like to ask, the media stored on these media players, are they virus proof? I was told that whatever media stored on my PS3 is virus-proof since virus for PC can't attack my PS3. The same concept applies to these media players?

Lastly, can these players play MKV files and am I right to assume the media played will be upscaled to 720p?

Thanks.

A few TBs worth would be the norm.

There doesn't seem to be any info regarding virus attacks targeted at the WDTV or the Dvico Tvix. But any PC viruses should not affect them either as they're probably running proprietary software/firmware, like the PS3.

Two of my brothers own the Tvix (the round tube shaped one) and they seem happy with it. Costs about RM1.8k, though IIRC. I'd go for the WDTV, since that seems to be a popular and cheap option.

Alternatively, if you have a good quad-core computer and a gigabit connection between the PC and the PS3, you can install a media server on the PC and stream your media to the PS3. I hope you considered wiring your place during renovations.

Edit: removed brothers' Tvix model since I'm not sure.