Author Topic: Xtreamer NMT Comprehensive Review (Read 9209 times)

raptor · « **on:** Dec 02, 2009 at 08:22 PM »

I was given the opportunity to do a product review of the Xtreamer NMT, courtesy of Sir Eric a.k.a Bitstream. I spent around ten hours to test the features as well as do some sort of torture test using some of the most demanding HD rips. Here it goes –

PACKAGING

The demo unit that Bitstream provided was a sealed unit. It comes in a small packed white box with the Xtreamer logo and some art work. One thing noticeable is that the package is very light.

Opening the box, the items are well placed and neatly packed – first thing you’ll see is the media player, placed at the middle; the other items are placed on two smaller white boxes (Quick guide, RCA cables, stand, remote control, batteries, power adapter, and two small screws???). The unit did not come with HDMI cable, and Wi-Fi module.

Here are the pictures –

HARDWARE

First thing you’ll notice really is how small and light the unit is … or maybe it’s just me, being used to PCH A-100 and TVIX M6500. There’s a power indicator, but no power switch, and that’s the only thing you’ll see in front. Following are the rear ports – 2 USB master ports, 1 USB slave port, Optical Out (audio), HDMI port, and 10/100 Ethernet LAN port. At the bottom of the unit is the exhaust for a small fan unit – at its size, having a fan is an excellent idea from the manufacturers – I used a similar sized fan as a DYI on my PCH A-100 and it effectively cooled the unit even with an internal 3.5-inch disk.

What’s hot?

Something that I did not expect from such a small and very competitively priced unit is a big welcomed surprise. Well, I was initially wondering if where those 2 small screws would go – those are for an internal 2.5-inch SATA drive. Yup, at that size and price, the unit supports an internal SATA drive – currently the maximum capacity that you can plug in is 640GB, but this is expected to increase as the new HDD models become available. This makes it a very good choice for frequent travelers and jet setters – you can bring your HD movies, photo collection, and MP3’s and enjoy those on a large screen TV and not from an iPod-sized screen.

What’s not?

There are no buttons or switches to control the functions on the unit – so don’t lose your remote control.

Casing is made of plastic material. Feels sturdy, but heat dissipation could be an issue for marathon usage. On the other side, this makes the unit very light and affordable.

The buttons of the remote control are not touch sensitive. I’m not sure if there are forum members my age who used Texas Instruments Scientific Calculators in college – well if you have used those, it almost feels that way.

Other things to note

The unit does not have COAX out for audio, I do not see this as a negative however, since most AVRs have optical in and that using HDMI is the best way to output digital audio if you’re really into it – you can only output HD audio through HDMI, and this is the same with the more expensive NMT’s.

I did not have much time to properly fit the cables, which were taken out from my TVIX connection. Due to the light weight of the unit, the weight of the cables are somewhat tilting the unit from its stand – I would advise to put some slack on the cables before installing the unit to avoid this.

Overall Hardware Impressions is very positive. What really makes this unit stand out on its price point is the support for an internal drive.

Here's the Xtreamer side-by-side with TVIX M6500 -

raptor · « **Reply #1 on:** Dec 02, 2009 at 08:28 PM »

TESTING

Prior to testing, I upgraded the firmware to 2.02 via USB. If you’re familiar with other NMT setups, this is fairly an easy task – took me around 15 minutes to start playing some media files.

I initially checked the different features, remote control functions, and tested switching on different media files and formats just to confirm the stability of the player before playing one full length movie (Godfather – EUREKA), short documentary (Tokyo Reality), and demo videos. First day of testing took around 6+ hours. The following day, I tested the other video formats (ISO DVD, Full Blu-ray rips, AVI, M2TS, and DVIX) and network functions (file sharing, Youtube, and media center function).

Storage Media

I did not have a 2.5-inch SATA drive on hand, so all the test media were from an external USB drive – 1.5 TB Seagate (NTFS format) on an AC Ryan enclosure (as shown on picture below). This should be a better torture test for performance since the USB connection is a slower interface than the internal SATA drive – another note is that I’ve read in other threads of some NMT’s having problems playing large movie files on USB drives.

Hardware used on test (Xtreamer, 1.5TB HDD on AC Ryan Enclosure, Panasonic 42PV8, Denon 1909 AVR with 5.1 spkrs)

Media Files

Godfather 1 &2 – EUREKA rips (27GB or so file size)

Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto HD OSIRIS, 60fps – 5.8GB (At 60fps you can see Cotto’s face contort on slowmo when hit by Manny –just like watching Time Warp of Discovery Channel, but this version really makes a high-end PC use a lot of juice)

Tokyo Reality 1080p – 1.8GB (this is a short documentary that really stutters on my quad-core PC, but works flawlessly on TVIX)

Iron Man 1080p – 8.3GB

Up 1080p – 7.6GB

Bee Gees One Night Only – DVD ISO

Sony Blu-ray Demo – 22.4GB (Full Blu-ray rip)

Sharkwater Blu-ray – 21.3GB (Full Blu-ray rip)

And a bunch of other movies files, photos, and music files (avi, 720p & 1080p mkv’s, m2ts, ISO DVD, jpg, and mp3)

cHess · « **Reply #2 on:** Dec 02, 2009 at 08:41 PM »

wow, review....waiting mode.

raptor · « **Reply #3 on:** Dec 02, 2009 at 08:42 PM »

TEST RESULTS

Here are my observations –

Video

I’ll start with video because this is likely the main interest of most prospective buyers.

Pros:

Video quality is impressive and at par with PCH and TVIX

.

If you’re planning to use those monstrous EUREKA rips, Xtreamer flawlessly plays those videos without a hitch. It played Godfather 1080p 27GB EUREKA full length, Pacquiao-Cotto 60fps 720p OSIRUS full length, and Tokyo Reality 1080p full length without any problems. Also did excerpts of Godfather II EUREKA, Up 1080p, and Iron Man 1080p without any issues.

DVD ISO’s are played the same way as DVD’s on DVD players – with full menus working. Tested this with Bee Gees One Night Only DVD ISO.

Cons:

The unit does not play full Blu-ray rips the way a Blu-ray should play however. Instead of opening the Blu-ray menu when selected, it displays the folders and files – the individual m2ts files may be opened, but there’s no way to distinguish which scene you would want to select as there are no descriptions. The full blu-ray rips that I tested were Sharkwater and Sony Demo Disc

Zoom function is quite basic – only magnifies the viewing size and no smart zoom mode that allows zoom to fill-up the 16:9 screen (both TVIX and PCH have this function). I would recommend using the zoom function of the TV in this case.

Here's sample pic with Xtreamer playing Godfather EUREKA rip, Pacquiao-Cotto, and Up (1080p) -

Picture below shows what the Xtreamer displays when blu-ray movie is selected ("BDMV" is the Sony Bravia Demo full Blu-ray rip)

Overall video quality and support for different video formats is very impressive, sans the Blu-ray rips.[/list]

raptor · « **Reply #4 on:** Dec 02, 2009 at 08:47 PM »

Picture below shows how blu-ray movies work with TVIX M6500 for comparison –

raptor · « **Reply #5 on:** Dec 02, 2009 at 08:54 PM »

Audio

I did not have the chance to test DTS HD or TrueHD audio due to limited time as this requires connecting an HDMI cable to my AVR. At the time of the test, only a fiber optic cable was connected to my AVR. Following are the results -

Audio quality is at par with the TVIX.

DTS Downmix is not an issue with Xtreamer. All the files tested worked without an issue.

DTS and other formats are recognized by the AVR

I did not have the chance to check if playlist in music playing is available, but this unit can definitely do shuffle play.

Photo Viewing

It features slideshow with varying fade effects, and you can have a slideshow while music is playing.

I’ve noted however that there are no controls in the remote to rotate the photos – this is for confirmation however

Network Features

I tested the following – NAS function, media center function, and Youtube. All test performed yielded positive results. Easily connects to the network (wired only as the Wi-Fi module was not available on the demo unit). It was immediately recognized by PC’s in the home network – practically no need to use ftp to transfer files to the unit, just copy and paste the files you want to transfer on the storage device attached to the unit (even USB storage).

This one has no torrent downloading functionality though.

raptor · « **Reply #6 on:** Dec 02, 2009 at 08:58 PM »

GUI

GUI is in low resolution, as jagged edges are noticeable on the large “X” mark on the main menu screen and on text. Other players such as TVIX use 720p resolution on the GUI. Menus are quite easy to navigate however

Other Cool Features

Preview function on movies is really something cool that is not available on my old PCH and on TVIX.

This is also available on photos.

Other Observations and Recommendations

Fast boot-up, less than 20 seconds (with 1.5TB USB drive and 2GB USB thumb drive attached – this is quite impressive.

Fast access to files, but I’ve noted that it takes a few seconds to go back to the file list after stopping playing of media files

With fan speed set to middle, the unit was quite warm to hot after around 6 hours of use. Plastic does not dissipate heat that well. I would suggest to have the fan setting to high (fan is still silent anyway) especially if planning to use the unit on extended hours.

The unit was very stable during the test phases.

CONCLUSION

This unit is highly recommended for your first NMT or second unit (It’s good for the other rooms in the house and quite handy when travelling).

To add to this, there are very positive feedback on the responsiveness and quality support of Bitstream.

Cheers & Happy Viewing

ESi · « **Reply #7 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 01:01 AM »

raptor,

I have been given the same oppurtunity by Bitstream after our semi riot at Leon Guinto. I have just arrived from our annual convention and what really makes me think of not giving this back is the FLAWLESS playback of all the most difficult files I throw to it. These files ( ie: GODFATHER TRILOGY by eureka ) were a toughie for my egreat and PCH after the latest firmware upgrade. I have yet to test it further. Incidentally, I am currently downloading the DEC. 1, 2009 firmware update of my EG-31B. I'll post my observations in the coming days! A great read before I hit the sheets. Thanks!

Bitstream · « **Reply #8 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 06:12 AM »

raptor, that review was very professional. Your writing style is world class! Thank you for your efforts in creating that review. I encourage you to post your review in the Xtreamer Official Forum at forum.xtreamer.net

A couple of minor comments:

1. The side panels of the Xtreamer are metal (not plastic), for improved heat dissipation.
2. 640GB is currently the largest internal 2.5" hard drive that can be installed. 500GB drives however, are the most attractive as far as cost-per-gigabyte is concerned. The current 750GB and 1TB 2.5" drives are too 'thick' to go into the Xtreamer.

ditoy_eagle · « **Reply #9 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 06:37 AM »

Very good review!!! Just waiting for the day the Xtreamer can hanle bluray rips the way it's supposed to

Compaq · « **Reply #10 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 07:36 AM »

Comprehensive indeed... I really thought I was reading a magazine!!! How about a rating? 4.5 stars...

Thanks Raptor... and hey, thanks again Eric for bringing Xtreamer here

Cheers!!!
Compaq

Clondalkin · « **Reply #11 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 08:24 AM »

Very good job Bennet! A few questions and comments Bro.

1. What is your output setting on the Xtreamer? I dont know if this kind of setting is even available but with the 31B, it is possible to force the player output from 480i to 1080p regardless of resolution of content, as long as the monitor supports such resolution. As expected, it is relatively lighter to force 720p feed into a 1080p panel. If your output setting was 1080p and played Godfather Eureka at that on a 1080p panel, that's bloody awesome indeed. If you forced set the output at 720p, that's still OK because it still plays anyway. Like Esi wrote, my 31B is suffering "bitstream stroke" on that Godfather no matter what FW version or resolution I try. Hopefully the latest FW from Egreat would solve that. But as it is, the Xtreamer's playability level is proving to be enormously impressive indeed and I can confidently recommend it to my friends and relatives who dont need component video out.

2. Regarding m2ts stream (BDMV), first of all, Im totally impressed at how your TVIX plays that kind of file. What I have in mind all along is how you observed the Xtreamer to play them because that is exactly the same way Im playing those files using the PC (either via TMT3 or KMP). The "usual" trick is to select the largest m2ts file, and then the m2ts streams get "stitched" in the proper sequence. "Usual" solution because problema if the BDMV/STREAM folder contains the theatrical, unrated, uncut, extended, director's or whatever else cut. Medyo masalimuot hanapin yung tamang sequence.

3. I really hope you could find the time to test HD audio pass-through on those pure BD rips because most of those kinds of files contain that type of audio stream - so kung walang support, silent high def movie lalabas - or dubbed in European languages encoded in regular DTS or DD. What was the audio stream of your tested BD files? However, you mentioned that DTS downmix works. Does that include HD-Audio to regular DTS or DD downmix as TMT3 is capable of? If that is the case, naku OKs na yon because I noticed the quality of downmix from HD-Audio to regular DTS or DD is pretty darn good already.

4. What about pure DVD rip in VIDEO TS folder instead of DVD ISO? Im asking this for my relatives who love to rip their DVD collections to hard drives.

Thanks Bro!

cHess · « **Reply #12 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 08:34 AM »

Nice comparison.....

joeyrodil · « **Reply #13 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 08:36 AM »

i do agree with raptor's observation

All movies i played on network played flawlessly ok
even the 2 Baby Einstein DivX files work like a charmed (eventually this 2 files would not play in WDTV and eGreat, i dunno why)

Pros
Very portable and lightweight (with option for 2.5" HDD)
Quick boot-up and loading
Preview of movies/pictures
No issues for playing movies, HD, DivX, MP3, JPG, Flac etc
Easily detect network shares
Internet radio work like a charmed, my friend also tested it even without a wifi and network connection it can sense some internet radio, much better if you have a wifi antenna to get more channels.
Can read subtitle files like SUB and IDX
Option to control the unit using iPhone on home network (cool)
Fast Navigation
Has DTS downmixing, so if you don't have an audio/video receiver all HD files with DTS audio can be played like a charmed

Option for firmware upgrade, i will wait for 2.1 i believe this version has a movie jukebox software.
I need a decent movie jukebox Its quite hard for me to organize movies especially if you have more than 4000+ divx and 1000+ HD movies collection

Cons

No Component Video connection, although not an issue because i used the HDMI connection
The base is quite difficult to install or not stable (although not an issue for me), so for my setup i just remove the base and let the unit lie flat
No buttons in the unit itself (although not an issue because you can alternatively control the unit using iPhone)
The remote control is quite basic and i missed the glow in the dark remote of eGreat and the button for percentage of movies (10%, 20%..100%)

i also noticed that in some divX files only, there are some that are played that projected in 4:3 ratio that i didn't encountered in eGreat or WDTV, i still dunno why

Overall i recommend this player, i will definitely install one in our living room

Sir Eric will there be an issue if the unit has no base?
Anyone had changed the name of the WorkGroup in Xtreamer?

Will still evaluate the NAS, UPNP and internet functions when i installed the 2.5" HDD

DYC · « **Reply #14 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 09:22 AM »

Greta Review. This is my first NMT and I love it.

Bitstream · « **Reply #15 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 09:24 AM »

From "joeyrodil"
Sir Eric will there be an issue if the unit has no base?

No problem, as long as you have the "hot" side facing up.
If you have an internal hard drive, I don't think it should
be operated upside-down.

Personally, I prefer to have my Xtreamer upright. There
are simple means of preventing heavy cables from dragging
the Xtreamer out of your desired placement.

raptor · « **Reply #16 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 11:38 AM »

My response in blue fonts

1. What is your output setting on the Xtreamer? I dont know if this kind of setting is even available but with the 31B, it is possible to force the player output from 480i to 1080p regardless of resolution of content, as long as the monitor supports such resolution. As expected, it is relatively lighter to force 720p feed into a 1080p panel. If your output setting was 1080p and played Godfather Eureka at that on a 1080p panel, that's bloody awesome indeed. If you forced set the output at 720p, that's still OK because it still plays anyway. Like Esi wrote, my 31B is suffering "bitstream stroke" on that Godfather no matter what FW version or resolution I try. Hopefully the latest FW from Egreat would solve that. But as it is, the Xtreamer's playability level is proving to be enormously impressive indeed and I can confidently recommend it to my friends and relatives who dont need component video out. Output was set at 1080p - I always use this setting even on my TVIX, though my TV is only HD ready.

2. Regarding m2ts stream (BDMV), first of all, Im totally impressed at how your TVIX plays that kind of file. What I have in mind all along is how you observed the Xtreamer to play them because that is exactly the same way Im playing those files using the PC (either via TMT3 or KMP). The "usual" trick is to select the largest m2ts file, and then the m2ts streams get "stitched" in the proper sequence. "Usual" solution because problema if the BDMV/STREAM folder contains the theatrical, unrated, uncut, extended, director's or whatever else cut. Medyo masalimuot hanapin yung tamang sequence. The individual m2ts files are quite small so it won't really stress the sytem, but i'm able to play the files individually - this is were I love my TVIX, but i'm taking the Xtreamer for my second unit.

3. I really hope you could find the time to test HD audio pass-through on those pure BD rips because most of those kinds of files contain that type of audio stream - so kung walang support, silent high def movie lalabas - or dubbed in European languages encoded in regular DTS or DD. What was the audio stream of your tested BD files? However, you mentioned that DTS downmix works. Does that include HD-Audio to regular DTS or DD downmix as TMT3 is capable of? If that is the case, naku OKs na yon because I noticed the quality of downmix from HD-Audio to regular DTS or DD is pretty darn good already. Probably next weekend, its working on TVIX though

4. What about pure DVD rip in VIDEO TS folder instead of DVD ISO? Im asking this for my relatives who love to rip their DVD collections to hard drives. Next weeknd try ko, I forgot this ...but ISO formats are working with menus

Thanks Bro!

jetro · « **Reply #17 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 12:37 PM »

Quote from: raptor on Dec 03, 2009 at 11:38 AM

......

4. What about pure DVD rip in VIDEO TS folder instead of DVD ISO? Im asking this for my relatives who love to rip their DVD collections to hard drives. Next weeknd try ko, I forgot this ...but ISO formats are working with menus

Thanks Bro!

DVD rip in 'Video TS' folder works fine. Menus are intact.

I'm a bit disappointed that while Bluray ISO plays, the menus are not being shown. but it plays 'em just fine.

xcntrick · « **Reply #18 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 04:57 PM »

Great review indeed! On the torrent side there is a mod posted in the xtreamer forum to add a torrent client.

Bitstream, will modding the unit (adding the torrent) void the warranty?

blackie · « **Reply #19 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 06:29 PM »

Great review!

Thanks for sharing and nice seeing you at EB Raptor!

keeper · « **Reply #20 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 09:50 PM »

Quote from: ditoy_eagle on Dec 03, 2009 at 06:37 AM

Very good review!!! Just waiting for the day the Xtreamer can hanle bluray rips the way it's supposed to

+1. hopefully in the coming Firmware upgrades. currently, Bluray rips are played by selecting the biggest file in the BDMV folder

keeper · « **Reply #21 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 09:57 PM »

Quote from: Clondalkin on Dec 03, 2009 at 08:24 AM

However, you mentioned that DTS downmix works. Does that include HD-Audio to regular DTS or DD downmix as TMT3 is capable of? If that is the case, naku OKs na yon because I noticed the quality of downmix from HD-Audio to regular DTS or DD is pretty darn good already.

sir, as of the moment, wala pa ung DTS-HD Master Audio passthrough. my test file is Transformers ROTF 42GB. DTS lang ung naka display sa Onkyo 606 AVR. and as u stated, the downmix from HD Audio to regular DTS is indeed PRETTY DARN GOOD.

sa forums ng Xtreamer.net, they are currently securing the license for DTS-HD. dont know about Dolby True HD, wala kasi ako test file.

gaol · « **Reply #22 on:** Dec 03, 2009 at 10:21 PM »

Great review, Raptor!

Clondalkin · « **Reply #23 on:** Dec 04, 2009 at 07:58 AM »

Quote from: keeper on Dec 03, 2009 at 09:57 PM

sir, as of the moment, wala pa ung DTS-HD Master Audio passthrough. my test file is Transformers ROTF 42GB. DTS lang ung naka display sa Onkyo 606 AVR. and as u stated, the downmix from HD Audio to regular DTS is indeed PRETTY DARN GOOD.
sa forums ng Xtreamer.net, they are currently securing the license for DTS-HD. dont know about Dolby True HD, wala kasi ako test file.

Time pers, so are you confirming that the Xtreamer DOES HD-Audio to regular DTS/DD downmix already? Is the original audio stream of your test BD file DTS-HD/MA? or dati nang regular DTS?

If that is indeed the case, AYOS! No need to wait for HD-audio pass-thru. Gives me reason to archive some huge files

Thanks!

keeper · « **Reply #24 on:** Dec 04, 2009 at 09:17 AM »

Quote from: Clondalkin on Dec 04, 2009 at 07:58 AM

Time pers, so are you confirming that the Xtreamer DOES HD-Audio to regular DTS/DD downmix already? Is the original audio stream of your test BD file DTS-HD/MA? or dati nang regular DTS?

If that is indeed the case, AYOS! No need to wait for HD-audio pass-thru. Gives me reason to archive some huge files

Thanks!

this is what the file description says..

DTS-HD Master Audio
bitrate: 4658 kbps
description: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4658 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Clondalkin · « **Reply #25 on:** Dec 04, 2009 at 10:23 AM »

Quote from: keeper on Dec 04, 2009 at 09:17 AM

this is what the file description says..

DTS-HD Master Audio
bitrate: 4658 kbps
description: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4658 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Those specs and numbers look quite good. How's your AVR connected? Via HDMI or optical out?

keeper · « **Reply #26 on:** Dec 04, 2009 at 12:30 PM »

Quote from: Clondalkin on Dec 04, 2009 at 10:23 AM

Those specs and numbers look quite good. How's your AVR connected? Via HDMI or optical out?

via HDMI.

Clondalkin · « **Reply #27 on:** Dec 04, 2009 at 01:52 PM »

Quote from: keeper on Dec 04, 2009 at 12:30 PM

via HDMI.

You may actually be hearing HD-audio already, but not properly ID'd due to licensing requirements.

I was actually hoping you were hearing internally downmixed HD-audio via optical which is similar to my PC set-up running the software called TMT3...because my 2005 model AVR is not HD-audio compliant.

Regardless, sound is being outputted. It's my AVR's fault not having HDMI connection.

Could you kindly try optical connection with that 42GB file? Thanks!

eksi · « **Reply #28 on:** Dec 04, 2009 at 06:23 PM »

clarification... if there's issue on licensing requirements on HD audio, should DTS-HD/MA or DD TrueHD not work in anyway either pass thru or down mix?

Clondalkin · « **Reply #29 on:** Dec 04, 2009 at 07:48 PM »

Quote from: eksi on Dec 04, 2009 at 06:23 PM

clarification... if there's issue on licensing requirements on HD audio, should DTS-HD/MA or DD TrueHD not work in anyway either pass thru or down mix?

They should not according to applicable regulations, but not necessarily unfeasible based on available technology...I dont think there is a hardware lock provided the relevant circuits are built into the sytem...me thinks.