If aesthetics were our chief consideration, Patriot Memory’s PBO Core would take the prize. Nixeus and Western Digital wrap their devices with copious amounts of cheap plastic; Patriot utilizes elegant brushed aluminum. And despite this media player’s petite dimensions, it’s large enough to accommodate an internal 2.5-inch hard drive.But in a market this crowded, a media player needs more than style points to deserve our higher accolades, and Patriot needs to try harder. If you need additional storage, the PBO Core features the typical front and rear USB 2.0 ports. And like the Fusion HD, this device provides a USB Mini-B port for rapid file transfers from a host PC. The rear panel has an HDMI 1.3 port, an optical digital-audio output, analog stereo RCA outs, and a composite video output. There is no component video and no coaxial digital-audio output. The box connects to your network via either hardwired Ethernet (10/100Mb/s) or an optional USB Wi-Fi adapter.