I have an Asus Oplay media player (actually have two of them). They sell for around $100.
It supports 1080p and the new HD audio formats via HDMI, plays just about every media file known to man, and has a USB port for thumb drives and SD cards plus much more. There is also a wireless version for a few more bucks.
The interface isn't the best, but it works and it is much cheaper than buying / or building a new computer.
I use this thing every day and works great but I do recommend using the wired for 1080p media.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1350/1/
