Just wanted to share with you my non-professional review of the Egreat R180. This has been long over due.
Box ContentsNMT player, Manual, Wireless network antenna - 2 pcs, Power adapter and Remote control!
FrontFronting this sleek silver/black aluminum casing is an LCD panel which shows you the following information during playback:
Resolution setting: 1080p/720p light's up in RED in the upper left hand corner of the panel
Play symbol: lights up in RED during playback
Image of a Disc: cut like a pizza pie, which rotates clockwise - alternately changing from YELLOW and RED lights
Time: shown in YELLOW, has hours:minutes:seconds (00:00:00) in exactly the same order
Connection: shows how the NMT is connected - HDMIlit in RED
On Indicator: lights up in BLUE when the NMT player is "on" and turns to RED when the player is "off"
TopThe new and improved Egreat Logo, which has a lighter shade of silver for it to be visible from it's aluminum casing
BackAt the back:
*Power on/off switch
*12V DC IN port
*Optical audio output
*Coaxial audio output
*Component output
*Network port
*External bare SATA port
*USB slave port
*USB Host - 2 ports
*E-bus slot
*AV output
*HDMI 1.3 output
*Dual antenna for wifi
Internal StorageYou can manually "slide/load" an internal 3.5" HDD thru the side, upto 2TB capacity. Unlike the R200, this has a drive tray you "slide-in" with locks to secures the HD from slipping out.
External StorageSame as any other NMT player there is a slave USB port (for attaching the R180 to your PC for management and transfer of files in your internal HDD). Two USB ports and a unique Sata port for your external HDDs.
RemoteThe remote is pretty straight forward. Most commonly used buttons are very easy to access. But in my case, I use the back lit remote I purchased separately for this unit.
GUI
The Gui has really improved from the R200, better now, Red background with full color images.
Loading time is now even faster than the R200. Depending on the load of files on your internal HD and the number of connected external HD's, loading time will vary.
Internet
Capable of connecting to the internet via wifi to access several sites such as YouTube, flickr, Yahoo, Picasa and many more...
File Manager
Where you can access and manage your files from all sources - USB, HDD, Network and UPNP.
Movie Menu
List of movies can be accessed here, but they are all listed alphabetically. There are options to view the movie files as thumbnails and preview.
Music Menu
Same as the movie menu, music file can be accessed here.
Photo Menu
Access you photographs here
Set-up Menu
System Settings:
*Menu Language: Choose desired language
*Text Encoding
*R/RW Auto-Play
*Screen Saver
*DLNA DMR
*DLNA Device Name
*MiniKBD Language
*Scan Storage
*Resume Play
*Format
*BD Navigation
*Auto Standby
*Factory Default
Audio Settings:
*Night Mode
*HDMI Output
*SPDIF Output
*Lip Sync
*Key Tone
Video Settings:
*Aspect Ratio
*TV System
*Video Zoom
*1080p 24Hz Setting
*Deep Color
Network Settings:
*Wired Lan Set-up
*Wireless Set-up
*Network Info
*PPPoE Set-up
*Samba Process
*FTP Server
*Transmission PT Process
*BT Process
MISC Settings:
*Version Info
*USB Upgrade
Advanced Settings:
*Subtitle Encoding Detection
*Dolby TrueHD Output Setting
*DTS-HD Output Setting
*Default Audio Language
*Default Subtitle Language
*Start Up Auto Play
Image QualityIQ is superb. Is better, if not, equal to the R200 as far as I'm concerned.
PlayabilitySo far it played every single file I threw at it. It also plays ISO files whether they be Bluray or DVD rip.
I still have NOT tried playing files uploaded by "IMMERSE" which had issues on the R200.
During playback, there are several options for scanning a scene. You can scan a scene by jumping from chapter to chapter, scanning to a particular time frame and scanning using the scan bar. When scanning for a particular scene, as soon as you scan and find the scene you are looking for, movie resumes without pause.
Sub-title is easier to manage. You have the option to select the subtitle "on" or "off," Time Sync, change the Color, Outline Color and Font Size.
Zoom option is also available. You can zoom a particular scene during playback, upto 8x it's original size.
Resume playback is also available. When returning to a file which you have accessed at some point in time, the screen will prompt for you to confirm resume playback or cancel. Choosing the latter will restart the film from the beginning.
Just like the R200, it automatically detects the type of audio output of a given file. I have a file with DTS MA and another with DD TrueHD. During playback, the audio output reflected on the receiver is DTS core and Dolby Digital core respectively.
ConclusionJust like the R200, PQ and SQ of this player is superb and navigation to go from menu to menu, folder to folder is pretty easy. Even if you don't read the manual, you will know your way around the player. I still have yet to play around with the network capabilities of this player when time permits.
I noticed that the R180 boots up faster than the R200 and the distribution of sound per channel is more detailed. Also, there is more emphasis on the sound of "vocals" or "dialogue" coming from the center speakers. It's like the player enhanced the sound by making it stand out - clearer and much more easier to hear.
Overall, I am very happy with this upgrade from the R200. More features this time and superb
