Author Topic: MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews  (Read 13157 times)

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Offline iiinas

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MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews
« on: Feb 04, 2010 at 09:20 AM »
Since NMTs / Media Players are now really becoming a part of our home entertainment equipments, so many choices have now sprung up from different companies with different chips and designs. We rely on our co-members for feedbacks and hopefully come up with an intelligent decision whether which brand and model will get our hard earned money.

I visit the MPC Club site quite often to read their feedback regarding newly launched and even old model media players. Their reviews are quite comprehensive and insightful. So I will post links to their reviews here and add to it when a model that is prevalent here in our boards are reviewed by them.

The format is in pdf form, so you will have to download it to your pc to view them.

POPCORN HOUR A-100 REVIEW Download Link

POPCORN HOUR C-200 REVIEW Download Link

E-GREAT REVIEW Download Link

XTREAMER REVIEW Download Link

I included these two players from DVICO although they are not available locally because a lot of people consider them as one of the best media players out there.

TVIX M-6500A REVIEW Download Link

TVIX M-6600N REVIEW Download Link

« Last Edit: Feb 05, 2010 at 10:29 PM by iiinas »

Offline iiinas

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Re: MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews
« Reply #1 on: Feb 09, 2010 at 05:25 PM »
Latest review from MPC Club.

POPCORN HOUR A-200 REVIEW Download Link

Offline ert

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Re: MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews
« Reply #2 on: Feb 18, 2010 at 01:57 PM »
Additional Reviews for A-200

Mediasmartserver Popcorn Hour A-200 Review
« Last Edit: Feb 18, 2010 at 02:09 PM by iiinas »

Offline ert

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« Last Edit: Dec 02, 2010 at 02:39 PM by ert »

Offline iiinas

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Re: MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews
« Reply #4 on: Dec 13, 2010 at 09:25 AM »
new Dvico player reviews from MPC Club

DVICO TVIX N1

DVICO TVIX S1

Offline cianzepol

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Re: MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews
« Reply #5 on: Dec 13, 2010 at 10:00 AM »
link naman mga paps for mede8er 300x...
PSN: cianzepol

Offline ert

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Offline ert

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Re: MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews Popcorn Hour A-210
« Reply #7 on: Jun 16, 2011 at 07:22 AM »
Rolls Royce of Media Player  :o

MKV3D Support

Start to enjoy 3D movies on your Popcorn Hour A-210 today, with the industry first true MKV3D support in a media player! This support is built into the firmware so you do not need to reach for the TV remote and manual switch to 3D mode. In fact we busted the myth that to enjoy 3D movies you need HDMI 1.4 equipment, while our players are HDMI 1.3a, so no need to upgrade your Audio Video Receiver (AVR) afterall.
*firmware upgrade necessary and 3D enable TV needed
 
All new aluminum box

Enjoy fanless silent operation, while keeping your player cool and reliable. All thanks to our new aluminum chasis design, which is effective at dissipating heat from the CPU.
 
Video Quality

With better than blu-ray quality video playback and support for more than 100Mbps bitrate support, and 24P frame rate. Start to amaze your friends and family today, and unleash your TV.
 
BluRay ISO Support
Enjoy your blu-ray backup ISO files with no loss of movie quality and interactive menu support. You will never notice that you are actually watching a ISO file.
 
Multiple codec and file container support
One of the major benefit of a media player compared to HTPC is you never have to keep track of software or codec updates. Right now, the Popcorn Hour A-210 supports virtually every known file codec or container in the market. We are not resting on our laurels, our software engineers work tirelessly to keep the A-210 up to date.
Language and Subtitle Support
 
As we are a global company, we recognize the need for localization. The Popcorn Hour A-210 supports more than 20 language and subtitle support. This further enhance your experience with the A-210.
 
NMT Apps
Turn your Popcorn Hour A-210 to a SMB, NFS or UPNP Server with the NMT Apps. Share your harddrive content in the A-210 to other compatible devices. It work like a NAS and no complicated setup needed. Just hook up a HDD and install the NMT Apps.
 
I wanted to throw that out right off the bat because the Popcorn Hour NMJ (Net Media Jukebox) represents an entirely different level of hardware.   The cost is identical to the Boxee ($199) but the way it performs is as different as night and day.


The Popcorn Hour starts off with a bang.  Professional looking menu system and a professional looking box.  Contained in brushed black aluminum, the Popcorn Hour starts out very differently then it's counterparts.   A few notes right off the bat:
 
Because of the larger box, it supports a single 3.5" (standard desktop) SATA HDD.   This is a great benefit because it's far cheaper to get a large size HDD for a desktop then a laptop; 2TB was easily found locally for under $70, which would be more then enough for most.   The Popcorn Hour is also the only box I have so far reviewed that supports Component Output, which allows for connection with older non-HDMI HDTVs, giving those 720P projection sets something to do.   The Popcorn Hour also gives you composite and S-Video connectors.   There is no connection type you're likely to use that isn't an option on the Popcorn Hour, giving it the broadest support of any of the storage to network devices.
 
The Popcorn Hour has it's own inbuilt SAMBA server (along with quite a bit of server software) allowing you to easily connect to it over your local network, add and titles.   Running it's own Net Media Tank software, it will index the items on your network and give you a video wall experience that is very, very good.    I had complained about the slow response times of the Boxee?    While the Popcorn Hour took a few hours to index my network, once it was done it moves around as fast as I want, and it sorts through media quickly.
 
The Popcorn Hour doesn't provide some of the "signature" apps - Netflix or Vudu.    But the Popcorn Hour does provide a creative and deep Linux software library that can all be operated from your remote control.




Apps like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and even games, the White House, and a large series of video streams are available.   The nice bit for me is that you can pick and chose which applications you actually want installed.
 
How's playback?
 
Like the Patriot Box Office, the Popcorn Hour responded quickly to the connection of an external DVDROM drive via USB, and it functioned flawlessly.   Discs were readable and easy to use.  The Popcorn Hour also prompted me when an audio CD was input, asking me to rip it to different fromats and bit depths.   I was able to quickly chose using the remote and away it went.
 
Support for video formats is fantastic- playback looks great, really great, and the remote interface is easy to use.  No matter what video format I through at it, no matter how heavy the content streamed or local, the popcorn hour managed to get through it.  A step ahead of the Patriot Box Office and far ahead of Boxee in this regard.
 
The Popcorn Hour also offers full HD bitstreaming; so it supports DTS-HD/TrueHD and LPCM output.   The Popcorn Hour is one of the first units certified for MKV3D container; I have just connected a 3D TV in my office, and I gave it a go, using only sample media, and I can confirm it does work, exactly as promised.
 
But the part that will get the attention of archivers is the ISO mount utility.   For many, storing favorite titles is easiest in MKV.  As a container format, it's a good way to "just get to the good stuff" that being the main movie with the audio we want and that's it.   But there are some titles that storing an ISO comes in handy.  In Media Center, this often means turning to Arcsoft TMT5 inside of the Media Center Shell.   But the Popcorn Hour mounted, played, and functioned right off the bat with ISOs, from Bluray to DVD, and it moves through them quickly - very quickly.   The menus load super fast, the performance is solid.

To give you an idea, loading the Bluray "Back to the Future" disc one on my Oppo BD-83 took three times longer to get to the menu then the Popcorn Hour was able to get there using a mounted ISO.  Menus functioned flawlessly.  Popups, branching, and other functions worked within discs I tried.

To put it frankly, the Popcorn Hour A210 could best be summed up as : a WHOLE lot of polish.


Hit the INFO button and all the details pop up.   Media type.  Frame rate, bit rate, how you it's being displayed, format, options.  (The "Actual Clip" is not from the Popcorn Hour, that's me so I could mark the frames that come out to make sure I'm looking at a clip with none of the enhancements turned on)
 
The Popcorn Hour's functionality real success is how it looks.   None of the other units can hold a candle to the Popcorn Hour in visual Display.   ISO's looked as good as it gets.   DVD presentation is phenomenal.  ISOs, folder levels, MKVs.. no matter how you have your DVDs stored, they run exactly as you expect them.   The Popcorn Hour's remote DVD navigation is great.   I tested a few DVDs with known "Easter Eggs" and getting to them worked just fine, so the way that the Popcorn Hour handles them is fantastic.
 
MKV management?   Controlling chapter stops in MKV is a snap:


The setup menu structure is simple, intuitive and functional


(Please note:  I have it set to 720P here just because my HDMI Video Capture Card locks in, and I don't want to capture huge pictures for a review, 1080P is of course supported and native on my screen :)
 
It's hard to say anything really negative about hte Popcorn Hour.   I can just comment on what it won't do.  It won't do Netflix.   It won't do Hulu.   It's not doing video from iTunes.   But what it does do, it does fantastically well.   Even the Facebook and Twitter interfaces were easy to navigate and use from 10'.   But the playback from the Popcorn Hour really stands out.  
 
I was very impressed with the Patriot Box Office at about $90, because for what it was, it was great.   The Boxee, while offering Hulu, Vudu, Netflix felt somewhat clunky and didn't offer enough file support.    The Popcorn Hour is at the same price level as a Boxee, but it's network support and performance just can't be matched.   It handles everything, and it does it fantastically well.  This is the only non-HTPC unit I know of that handles MKV3D.   It's one of the only that mounts BD ISOs without blinking an eye and gets menu structures correct.   Inbuilt SAMBA?  You know it.  

There are other features on this unit that I won't review, but you can bet they work with the same level of polish as the rest of this unit.
 
The Popcorn Hour is not an HTPC.   It won't do live TV or many of the streaming types.   But it is a HIGH QUALITY network streamer.  Out of everything I have tested, nothing looks as good as the Popcorn Hour.   From the moment you open the box to actually using it, the Popcorn Hour is the kind of unit that screams: "I was BUILT with quality in mind".
 
Worth a Look
 
I have a real mixed feeling about many of the network tank devices.   Because they don't do live TV, and many don't do Hulu, Vudu, or Netflix, they fall into their own category.  At $199, and you'll want to add an optional HDD, you're likely looking at about $250 in a Popcorn Hour.   That's more expensive then a Media Center Extender like an XBOX, but then again, you get some nice functtionality too.   HD Audio that works, MKV3D, a nice interface, a better then average remote, and a Jukebox Platform that is very functional.  
 
At this price point, it isn't the kind of item you'd blind buy.   But there is no denying that this unit is full of flat out polish.   It is a great performer, fast, with a fantastically well built interface, great output options and incredible format compatibility.   Stand Alone Multi-Channel FLAC?  No problem.  High Bitrate MKV?  No problem.   ISOs?   Video_TS folder structure?   MPG?  XVID?  FLV?  Nothing I could throw at it even caused the Popcorn Hour to blink.   Performance was fast.  Some performance was far beyond expectations.   Subtitle Support?  Perfect.   Angle options?  Fine.  BD Popup Menus?  Work.  Multiple Audio tracks in MKV?  No problem.   MKV chapters?  Not an issue.  
 
This isn't the kind of product that gets a major media push and happens at all the distributors.   But it reminds me of some of the best audiophile devices of the past, a core concept that is refined, polished, refined again, more polish, tweaked here, tweaked there and upgraded to the point where you can't think of what might be missing.  
 
If you just want a network media tank, I definitely haven't seen anything even in the same league as Popcorn Hour.  4.5/5
« Last Edit: Jun 16, 2011 at 07:23 AM by ert »

Offline ert

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Re: MPC Club NMT / Media Player Reviews Popcorn Hour A-210
« Reply #8 on: Jun 16, 2011 at 03:13 PM »
A few more clips just so I can show some of what this looks like in action.. the CD Ripping Application:


Sudoku?


Twitter


1080p/60fps


Music View