On first glance, this looks pretty cool. But then, you realize that not o­nly is it 30,000 yen, it supports XviD and not DivX. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty sure I have many more DivX files than I do XviD.
That and...you've probably actually heard of O­nkyo. In Japan, most DVD players or whatnot supporting MPEG-4 based formats have come from companies that aren't exactly well known.

Onkyo Corporation will release the "NC-501V(W)" network AV player, which supports playback of video/audio files stored o­n a PC via a network interface. It outputs to television and audio equipment. Though officially "Open Price," indicators suggest it will cost around 30,000 yen.

When connected to a PC via Ethernet, the device can output video and audio, and still pictures stored o­n a computer to TV and audio equipment. Supported video formats are MPEG-1/MPEG-2 and XviD, and for audio, WAVE, WMA, MP3, and AC3, and JPEG for still images.

One of the strong points of this system is the audio video transceiving, achieved by use of the independent network AV data transmission protocol, "Net-Tune System Protocol." This allows for smooth operation of video and audio contents. The basic operations of choosing the multimedia file stored o­n the PC and playing or stopping the files is done with the remote.

The PC-use control software, "Net-Tune Central ver 3.0" supports management and editing of video, audio, and still images. In addition to supporting seamless management of contents o­n multiple PCs o­n the network, it is also equipped with the capability to connect to multiple NC-501V clients. Supported operating systems are Windows 2000 and XP.

It is has internet radio capabilities, and receives around 400 stations. For the audio output, the device has o­nkyo's own "VLSC (Vector Linear Shaping Circuitry" which allows for a signal to noise ratio of 100dB, and high quality audio output.

Apart from an Ethernet port, the device also features a D4 output, S-Video output, Composite output, Optical digital audio output, and analog audio output. Power is from an AC with a power consumption of 5W. The external dimensions of the player are 205 x 153 x 27 (W x D x H), and it weighs 0.73kg. It can also be placed vertically; a stand is included.

Original Article:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040106/onkyo.htm

News Release:
http://www2.onkyo.co.jp/what/news.nsf/view/nc501v