Ziz said:
I also prefer to have all my system components be dedicated to what they were designed for. I'd rather have four boxes that each do one thing well than one box that does four things half-ass.

I was trying to explain that the PS3 and 360 are absolutely brilliant in their video playback and streaming abilities, far from half-assed. In fact, the only thing I can think of that keeps these machines (especially the PS3) from being ideal media players is their lack in ability to record. But you are right about the extra money, if you can buy a little box that can do everything they can do just as well as they can for a few dollars less and a lot less shelf space, then that is clearly the way to go.