I thought I'd let you folks know about a pretty neat looking product out there called the Avel Linkplayer. They mentioned it on the Screen Savers the other day and it was almost exactly what I had been looking for, so I put an order in for one. It just arrived at the office today and I'll be checking it out a bit tonight. Features that stood out to me were:

-networkable, with capability for server software to sit on multiple machines at once
-plays a good amount of file types, from DivX and XviD to WMV HD (MDA WMVs to be added in a future firmware release)
-has USB 2.0 port for connecting Avel's storage devices, or any external hard disk, thumb drive, or card reader (as long as it's FAT16/32, unfortunately)

Some downsides include:
-for some unknown reason, the US version of the Linkplayer lacks the DVI port on the Asian version. This is inexplicable, especially since the US version has the Japanese D4 connector They include a D4 to component cable, but it's short and I want to be able to pick my own cables! Small consolation is the free D4 to Component adapter that they will ship to all current US owners.
-USB only on the front- it would be fantastic to have 2 or even four ports evenly split between the front and back, so you could have external hard disks more permanently affixed to the unit. However, I'm still uncertain as to wether or not a disk that's attached to the unit can have data written to it over the network. I would guess not.
-Don't get me wrong, I'm not xenophobic or anything, but companies like this who are trying to sell in the US should at least make some attempt to translate their documentation - or at least their website - correctly. My favorite line from the website is

Quote:
Our LinkPlayer has D4 to Component cable in the package, so you can enjoy a large screen (with component input) by this cable. No reduce performance. Don't worry.

Thanks, but I will.

Anyway, it should be an interesting little device. I know the KISS players have been mentioned here before, but those devices were just too expensive for me, and they just weren't the distinct device I was looking for. I also realize that a few months ago I was singing the praises of the Play@TV networked media player. Well, I still think it's a nice little device, and when I get an apartment, it'll probably get hooked up to my bedroom TV, but this is what's going in my home theater.

I'll just post a little followup when I've experimented with it. If anyone wants me to test something out, just let me know.