Author Topic: New Popcorn Hour A300 #1 NMT, 3D MKV, Full BD Menu, NMJ v2, 100+ Apps Market (Read 68748 times)

My_einjels · « **Reply #30 on:** Oct 11, 2011 at 11:36 PM »

Quote from: scifi-fan on Oct 11, 2011 at 07:54 PM

The 8657 is 20% faster + it has a L2 cache so there will be some increase in performance.

Internal testing reveals the Gigabit USB port can transfer data at around 24~30MB(ytes) sec which is like a PC's transfer rates when copying from internal SATA to a external USB drive.

NMJ version 2 is already installed and boasts of better performance in terms of scraping capability as well as allowing flash based list views using coverart (like Realtek players).

The biggest change is the totally new firmware front end (UI) that has dropped HTML and uses Adobe Flashlite.

It's actually a big deal because dropping HTML (called Gaya browser) that was in use since the A-100, YAMJ HTML and pretty much a lot of the existing CSI user developed apps will not work anymore.

There's actually a poll going on in the main forum for the PCH asking owners if they want to move to the same UI as the A-300. If Syabas pushes forward with this, expect the 200 series to be a bit faster but not as fast as the A300.

great info sir scifi

Clondalkin · « **Reply #31 on:** Oct 12, 2011 at 09:09 AM »

Anything specific about playback or image quality?

For instance, how much faster will the boot-up be compared to the 1.5 mins that we have to bear with at the moment?

Currently, playback under Full BD Navigation mode takes about 20-30 secs (I guess) of looking at that circular light that goes around and around in the middle of the screen. Playback stoppage is around 5 to 10 secs. Will there be any improvement or at least will it be as fast as File Mode?

Image quality - so what's improved in the video processing side? Richer colors? Deeper than Deep Colors like what plasma makers claim every year? Better Codecs? Better video engine? Improved PGS in MKV performance? Support for 10-bit H264 encoding? The A210/A200 does not stutter at all ever since Full BD Navigation was enabled in May, and unlike 3D gaming where hardware is normally lagging relative to the requirements of new games, I don't expect the current BD standard would be that much more demanding than its current specs.

Audio quality - any improvements? For instance, just wondering if the low level AAC, WMA output has been rectified somehow. Nothing wrong with DTS, AC3, DTS-HDHR, HDMA, TrueHD with the current gen players - but perhaps there were audio circuits or functions tweaked?

I was hoping to see full 3D BD support or at least, full-SBS support. Well? Not really critical but why not if the hardware is capable.

Why the heck won't they replace that cheap looking remote? Hehe. Ok save on cost is fine, but it looks cheap compared to those of branded consumer electronic makers. Fully functional though, so its ok.

Clondalkin · « **Reply #32 on:** Oct 12, 2011 at 09:19 AM »

Regarding pricing, I hope they would follow that of Apple and PC makers' strategy, i.e., maintain the price for new models and reduce the price of previous gen. Puidi diba pero baka asa pa? Hehehe. At 6K pesos, the A210 would kill the Realteks. Hehehe - but that kind of pricing might kill the A300 too.

scifi-fan · « **Reply #33 on:** Oct 12, 2011 at 07:34 PM »

Quote from: Clondalkin on Oct 12, 2011 at 09:09 AM

Anything specific about playback or image quality?

For instance, how much faster will the boot-up be compared to the 1.5 mins that we have to bear with at the moment?

Currently, playback under Full BD Navigation mode takes about 20-30 secs (I guess) of looking at that circular light that goes around and around in the middle of the screen. Playback stoppage is around 5 to 10 secs. Will there be any improvement or at least will it be as fast as File Mode?

Image quality - so what's improved in the video processing side? Richer colors? Deeper than Deep Colors like what plasma makers claim every year? Better Codecs? Better video engine? Improved PGS in MKV performance? Support for 10-bit H264 encoding? The A210/A200 does not stutter at all ever since Full BD Navigation was enabled in May, and unlike 3D gaming where hardware is normally lagging relative to the requirements of new games, I don't expect the current BD standard would be that much more demanding than its current specs.

Audio quality - any improvements? For instance, just wondering if the low level AAC, WMA output has been rectified somehow. Nothing wrong with DTS, AC3, DTS-HDHR, HDMA, TrueHD with the current gen players - but perhaps there were audio circuits or functions tweaked?

I was hoping to see full 3D BD support or at least, full-SBS support. Well? Not really critical but why not if the hardware is capable.

Why the heck won't they replace that cheap looking remote? Hehe. Ok save on cost is fine, but it looks cheap compared to those of branded consumer electronic makers. Fully functional though, so its ok.

IQ will be similar the 8647 is still part of the 864x family after all.

If the Gaya (HTML) file browser is dropped in favor of all Flash, the bootup and responsiveness will be faster.

BD playback engine will stay the same so it will slightly improve because of the L2 cache of the 8647.

What we're working on the next release is native resolution output so those with external scalers can opt to have those devices do it instead of the PCH.

This isn't the 8910 chip (it's still vaporware) so no native 3D ISO playback for sure.

10bit compression for H264 has been ruled out by Sigma themselves (not Syabas). The chip isn't powerful enough. Anime fans will have to look for 8bit compression or jump to a HTPC as there is no media player capable of playing these back.

Knightro · « **Reply #34 on:** Oct 18, 2011 at 03:11 PM »

http://files.syabas.com/popcornhour/download/Introduces_the_new_PopcornHour_A-300.pdf

Ok, price is $219 and will be available by November 2011.
I'm waiting for this model.

Clondalkin · « **Reply #35 on:** Oct 18, 2011 at 03:15 PM »

Quote from: Knightro on Oct 18, 2011 at 03:11 PM

http://files.syabas.com/popcornhour/download/Introduces_the_new_PopcornHour_A-300.pdf

Ok, price is $219 and will be available by November 2011.
I'm waiting for this model.

$20 higher than the list price of the A210? Tama ba? That's not so bad I think.

toys4geeks · « **Reply #36 on:** Oct 18, 2011 at 07:24 PM »

Uy tempting-- 20$(+1k lang) add on sa A210.

Given this hits the market soon, are there also chip upgrade plan for the C200 line ? I still like C200's removable drive bay which can be replaced with a bluray drive.

oReOsHaKe · « **Reply #37 on:** Oct 20, 2011 at 06:06 PM »

Just ordered this.. Sana may bumili na ng A-110 ko..

leomarley · « **Reply #38 on:** Oct 20, 2011 at 07:05 PM »

^ san ka naka-order bro?

oReOsHaKe · « **Reply #39 on:** Oct 20, 2011 at 09:31 PM »

Quote from: leomarley on Oct 20, 2011 at 07:05 PM

^ san ka naka-order bro?

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/

[joms] · « **Reply #40 on:** Oct 23, 2011 at 11:26 PM »

Can someone tell me what is the difference between this and the xtreamer prodigy ? I'd really like to get the A300 but the only thing that's stopping me from getting PCH is its boot time.

I think yung xtreamer prodigy may "airplay" so pwede mong i play yung iphone/ipad audio and video mo wirelessly to the prodigy.

Can this be done by the A300?

I've been waiting for so long na lumabas yung prodigy but until now wala pa. Then i see this... hmmmm.

If the bootup speed is greatly improved, i might go for the A300 kasi mas ok support neto imo.

btw, the link of the prodigy is: http://www.xtreamer.net/xtreamer-prodigy-upgraded/

toys4geeks · « **Reply #41 on:** Oct 24, 2011 at 02:31 AM »

Quote from: [joms] on Oct 23, 2011 at 11:26 PM

Can someone tell me what is the difference between this and the xtreamer prodigy ? I'd really like to get the A300 but the only thing that's stopping me from getting PCH is its boot time.

I think yung xtreamer prodigy may "airplay" so pwede mong i play yung iphone/ipad audio and video mo wirelessly to the prodigy.

Can this be done by the A300?

I've been waiting for so long na lumabas yung prodigy but until now wala pa. Then i see this... hmmmm.

If the bootup speed is greatly improved, i might go for the A300 kasi mas ok support neto imo.

btw, the link of the prodigy is: http://www.xtreamer.net/xtreamer-prodigy-upgraded/

if prodigy is what's on your radar, pa amazon mo if its readily available.

Pero you cant go wrong naman with A300.

bootup is just a onetime thing when you power up and my C200 is just 10 seconds longer than my S900 (55 secs0 so its not a big deal, considering its sigma 86xx family. I would always pick sigma anyday over any processor out there if PQ/SQ NMT functionality ang hanap mo,
The apps, after sometime, you'll get tired of the installs and updates that you'll go back to the player's main purpose --- movies, music and photo playback.

if you can afford an A300, i think you'd be more comfortable, IMO, getting an ipad to for your internet needs, and do away with the apps unless there's really something there you need.

Pero, to each his own. you have to just jump the itch and grab one, so you can join the fun.

Cheers!

toughthrone · « **Reply #42 on:** Oct 29, 2011 at 10:52 AM »

kaya ba nito kabitan ng external dvd drive?

toys4geeks · « **Reply #43 on:** Oct 29, 2011 at 11:57 AM »

Quote from: toughthrone on Oct 29, 2011 at 10:52 AM

kaya ba nito kabitan ng external dvd drive?

external via USB, yes, Region free DVD ? dunno.
external via USB na BDROM, not sure for this model. My C200 unit works with Liteon BDROM, not region free, but you can select your region up to 5 times daw, I no longer use the BDROM coz i used a BDROM region free player in the other Sigma 8643 NMT(it-which-should-not-be-named)

scifi-fan · « **Reply #44 on:** Oct 29, 2011 at 05:52 PM »

Quote from: toughthrone on Oct 29, 2011 at 10:52 AM

kaya ba nito kabitan ng external dvd drive?

Yes pero it won't play encrypted DVDs.

When I mean encrypted it means retail original DVDs pero Dibidi's pwede.

toys4geeks · « **Reply #45 on:** Oct 29, 2011 at 08:48 PM »

Quote

Dibidi's

hehehe

[joms] · « **Reply #46 on:** Oct 30, 2011 at 06:04 AM »

Quote from: toys4geeks on Oct 24, 2011 at 02:31 AM

if prodigy is what's on your radar, pa amazon mo if its readily available.

Pero you cant go wrong naman with A300.

bootup is just a onetime thing when you power up and my C200 is just 10 seconds longer than my S900 (55 secs0 so its not a big deal, considering its sigma 86xx family. I would always pick sigma anyday over any processor out there if PQ/SQ NMT functionality ......

Wait, you mean 10secs lang yung binilis ng Prodigy as against the PCH in terms of bootup? Akala ko mga 20secs lang ang bootup ng prodigy vs popcornhour's 1minute bootup, parang ganun kalaki ang difference. I know bootup is a one time thing only pero nakaka inis kasi pag hindi binabasa yung external drive mo, you need to turn the unit off then on again and wait for another minute. Then ayaw nanaman. LOL. Sometimes it takes 5x tries so that's a whole 5+ minutes while naiinip na yung mga ibang viewers ko hehe.

scifi-fan · « **Reply #47 on:** Oct 30, 2011 at 07:24 AM »

Kapag hindi binabasa yung external drive mo at kailangan i-reboot, that means you have a problem with drive to begin with.

For me I plug-in external USB drives every day to copy content to/from the internal HD and I've never had to reboot because the drive isn't recognized.

toys4geeks · « **Reply #48 on:** Oct 30, 2011 at 08:01 AM »

Quote from: [joms] on Oct 30, 2011 at 06:04 AM

Wait, you mean 10secs lang yung binilis ng Prodigy as against the PCH in terms of bootup? Akala ko mga 20secs lang ang bootup ng prodigy vs popcornhour's 1minute bootup, parang ganun kalaki ang difference. I know bootup is a one time thing only pero nakaka inis kasi pag hindi binabasa yung external drive mo, you need to turn the unit off then on again and wait for another minute. Then ayaw nanaman. LOL. Sometimes it takes 5x tries so that's a whole 5+ minutes while naiinip na yung mga ibang viewers ko hehe.

oh no, not what i mean. I am not comparing Prodigy (1186 Realtek Chip) with PCH C200 (864x). I am comparing amongst 8643--- PCH C200 with Egreat S900 which i both have. I pointing out that bootup of PCH is just 20 seconds longer (likely due to the add-on layer to handle its apps).

PCH (or any players) should not have problems sensing any 2.5" USB bus powered, so if prodigy has this issue with your HDD USB, try changing disks if that helps.

bootups do not indicate chips are faster,IMO it just makes us think it is. I dare not say 20 seconds realtek bootup (user perception when they see the menu, that is ready to play) but often it still excludes mounting of the filesystems which, in most cases, are deferred in most realteks i have. in egeat R200, it boot the OS first, then later senses the LAN/WLAN, then senses the disks (i.e. they show HDD01 plugged in). Baka that might help explain that your external drives miss the window of sensing it.

While Realteks boot faster ( under 30 seconds), the difference is worth the wait in PQ/SQ/IQ favoring Sigma 86xx. my 2 mamera worth. Prodigy looks promising with an HDMI 1.4, 3D, USB 3.0 and doesnt use Realtek SDK, which they claim is a good thing .

Clondalkin · « **Reply #49 on:** Oct 31, 2011 at 02:24 PM »

Adding (and removing) a 2nd...10th HDD inline to a booted-up PCH is pretty fast. Hot swapping of HDDs has so far been very safe, straightforward and fast in my experience. Only the initial boot-up will take about 1.5 mins or so.

I dont know what the Prodigy is capable of but full BD navigation is certainly worth the extra minute - my daughter normally does not care about full BD and likes to watch avi on her laptop pero laglag panga nya when we watched HPDH2 in full BD complete with Special Features...hehehe

toughthrone · « **Reply #50 on:** Nov 02, 2011 at 02:59 PM »

reason i ask is that all my tv series are burned in a dvd, if so, will resume play etc. work with this media player? e.g. dvd has 12 xvids, i played 6th file, and after 20 minutes of playing i have to do something. i turn off media player. next time i turn on media player, will it resume exactly where i last played it?

toys4geeks · « **Reply #51 on:** Nov 02, 2011 at 03:15 PM »

Quote from: toughthrone on Nov 02, 2011 at 02:59 PM

reason i ask is that all my tv series are burned in a dvd, if so, will resume play etc. work with this media player? e.g. dvd has 12 xvids, i played 6th file, and after 20 minutes of playing i have to do something. i turn off media player. next time i turn on media player, will it resume exactly where i last played it?

Hmm,the resume on last played is tricky, coz DVD are non writable

scifi-fan · « **Reply #52 on:** Nov 02, 2011 at 05:28 PM »

Resume bookmarks are stored on the "Media Drive" you set. As long as you have a internal HD or even a USB flash drive attached to the PCH, it will store bookmarks for resume.

Wildfire™ · « **Reply #53 on:** Nov 02, 2011 at 07:50 PM »

available na ba locally?

leomarley · « **Reply #54 on:** Nov 02, 2011 at 10:28 PM »

according sa PCH website sa Nov 11 pa release date.

scifi-fan · « **Reply #55 on:** Nov 02, 2011 at 11:41 PM »

Which means you wait 30-45 days before sir ert can offer it locally if you want local warranty support.

toys4geeks · « **Reply #56 on:** Nov 03, 2011 at 04:49 AM »

unless its an old firmware they are using on the A300, normally i'd wait 1-2 months if its a new player release, just to give time for the quirks to be ironed out.

But PCH has such good devt team and beta testers that I'd say no waiting time needed

Wildfire™ · « **Reply #57 on:** Nov 03, 2011 at 08:17 AM »

sana before xmas available na

ert · « **Reply #58 on:** Nov 03, 2011 at 02:19 PM »

Quote from: Wildfire™ on Nov 03, 2011 at 08:17 AM

sana before xmas available na

yes probably before christmas available na

Wildfire™ · « **Reply #59 on:** Nov 03, 2011 at 08:40 PM »

Quote from: ert on Nov 03, 2011 at 02:19 PM

yes probably before christmas available na

abangan ko yan