In the third and final part of our home theater series we take a look at media hubs. By Alisara Chirapongse

Now that you have the visuals and the audio covered, you’re going to need something to play movies with. Forget the regular DVD player—these media hubs can store your whole collection of bootlegged movies digitally so you can finally get rid of the incriminating evidence.

Apple TV

Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the best-looking media hubs out there is by Apple. It’s also clever: if you live in the US, where it lets you download movies and music videos directly from the iTunes store thanks to its ability to connect to the net. Of course, this being Thailand, you’re going to need a computer (either PC or Mac) to sync your files to the Apple TV, via either the ethernet or WLAN.
Hard disk space: 160GB
Price: B16,980
Where: iStudio, 2/F, Zone F, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-613-1540/1.

LG RH399H

If you’re the type of person who does nothing but stay at home watching DVDs, then LG’s 320GB model might be a perfect fit for your couch potato lifestyle. You can transfer your downloaded shows through its USB port. Don’t worry about it getting full; it can store up to a staggering 935 hours of digital media, helping reinforce your sedentary existence. If you somehow still have some friends left, the machine also lets you record your files in HD DVD in case you want to share.
Hard disk space: 320GB
Price: B14,900
Where: Power Mall, 5/F, The Emporium, Sukhumvit Soi 24, 02-269-1000.

Sony DVD/HDD RDR-HX950/B

Sony usually scores well when it comes to sophisticated design for their gadgets but, somehow, this HDD player still sports the whole retro VHS machine look. Don’t judge a media hub by its ugly exterior, though, as this Sony HDD can store up to 250GB of your video and audio digital media files. Just load your entire collection of ripped DVD movies or downloaded contents through its USB drive. 
Hard disk space: 250GB
Price: B20,990
Where: Sony Style, 3/F, The Emporium, Sukhumvit Soi 24, 02-664-8531/-3.

Pioneer DVR-560H-S

The design might not be as pretty as the Apple TV, but Pioneer’s multi-purpose player is a great alternative for non-Mac fans. The machine plays all sorts of DVD formats, and if you’re one of those constantly picking up things from BitTorrent, you can transfer your movie files in a variety of formats, including MPEG, AVI and WMV, and store them in the player via its USB port.
Hard disk space: 160GB
Price: B19,990
Where: Power Mall, 5/F, The Emporium, Sukhumvit Soi 24, 02-269-1000.