# Playon!HD Media Streamer Discussion Thread



## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

The other week I was contacted by Playon!HD and asked if I wanted to do a review of their streaming devices... my response was a resounding "Boy do I ever!"

I just got the package today, so there is not going to be a review up just yet but I wanted to let people know there will be a full review coming soon. It will be in a seperate thread and this thread will be for people to discuss the unit and ask questions. I know I won't be able to answer every question, and my information will be coming from a user's perspective, but I am pretty sure we can get someone from Playon!HD to stop by here from time to time and answer some questions.

First, there are two companies named Playon, one is a software company that has a program that accesses Internet based content, and then there is Playon!HD which is ACRyan. They are not the same company.

Okay right away I was a bit taken back when I picked up the package. It had some real heft to it, not some box filled with packing peanuts and some lightweight wimpy construction unit. When I opened it there were two boxes and a bubble pack inside. One box was the main player which can take an internal hard drive and the other box was a mini unit... perfect for a bedroom or if you have a media server and don't need an internal drive.

The packaging is top notch and very professional looking. The first box I pulled out was the mini. Now keep in mind I just got these so I didn't have time to open them yet... The mini may be small but it definitely isn't mini when it comes to features! It is roughly the size of a WDTV player, however that's where any similarities end. The 'mini' comes with a pretty big arsenal of connections on the back:

HDMI
LAN
Composite Video
Component Video (yes you read that right!)
L/R Audio
Two USB ports
Digital Optical out

... and that's the mini! 

I opened the case of the main player and I must say Playon!HD did it up right. Right away I was impressed to see an HDMI cable sitting there. Far too often do I see companies market something and hype it's HD capability and then they don't even include an HDMI cable! (I'm thinking Sony and the PS3  )

The remotes are also nice looking at my initial glance. They are full size and not the dinky keychain size remote that the WDTV has. I will know more about functionality later when I give these a test drive.

One thing that really grabbed my attention about these units is they support DVD ISO playback with menus. They will play BD ISOs too from what I understand but without menu support. I'll soon find out though.

As far as file formats, it lists the usual suspects and pretty much every player out there now plays every format and container, not all support ISO menu playback though. That's something people need to be aware of because lots of players can play an ISO (it searches and finds the biggest file and plays that) but they all don't support full menu playback. I'd say in six months though all players will support that, but for now it's still hit or miss.

Okay... that's all I really have for now. Pictures and a full review will be coming in another thread and I'll try to get a few images up in this thread as well since the review thread won't be for a bit because, well... I need to sit down and use the players and put them through their paces.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Price for the US?

Looks similar to the Popcorn Hour: 




Is it a syabas OS?


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

$169 for the full size unit that will accept an internal 3.5 drive and $139 for the Playon!HD Mini.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Price is inline with the A-200 and popbox. Does it have Netflix support? With the WDTV Live Plus shipping, and the popbox claiming they're around the corner with Netflix following soon, it's looking like Netflix is the must have feature for these devices.


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

I know there is a lot of hoopla for Netflix, and it is a cool feature. I don't know right now if it does or will.

I do know that it will run with the Playon software (that's the other company I mentioned that is completely unrelated) which accesses a lot of web content. The web stuff is neat, but to me the resolution just isn't there yet to make it more than a novelty. It may look okay on a 32" LCD TV but blow it up to a 110" diagonal projected image and let's just say I'll pass on it for now as being a major feature that grabs my attention.

The bigger features that do get my attention are ISO playback with full menu support. Not all streamers can do this yet. Those that can't are scrambling to add it. Bluray ISO with menu is currently the Holy Grail of streamers, as is True HD audio passthrough. A lot of players say they can do it, but actually can't yet. I have to check that out, or maybe someone from Playon!HD can answer that. From the site and specs it states it can do:

Stereo 
Dolby Digital AC3 5.1 (passthrough & downmix to stereo)
Dolby Digital Plus (passthrough)
DTS (passthrough & downmix to stereo)
DTS-HD Master Audio (passthrough core stream & downmix to stereo)
FLAC 7.1 (passthrough & downmix to stereo)

Then the other big factors that I see people wanting is an easy to use interface, as well as cover art. 

I will go on record again and state what I have always said in the PS3 media server thread, and that is there is not one unit that does everything, but we are starting to get close.

I think these units could be contenders and very real competition to the PCH and PopBox and the price is definitely right.


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## McACRYAN (May 17, 2010)

True HD audio passthrough is certainly something we want to see implemented...work in progress;-)


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## gizmoxp (Aug 1, 2010)

Hi,

I am planning to buy PlayOn mini. Apart from, it's ability to play major formats, I am also attracted to its feature of streaming videos/ music from Internet and desktop PC to TV wirelessly. 

And I need help in this feature of the player. I have desktop PC with windows XP (sp2), Samsung 29" flatron TV and broadband connection .

1) Will I be able to watch movies/ TV series from internet on my TV using this player. Is there limitation on the sites I can view, if so, from which all sites I can stream video from?

2) Will I be able to stream movies/ music/ photos from my desktop PC in first floor to TV in ground floor wirelessly. What other accessory I will need?


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

Sounds like a cool device for not much money!:T


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## McACRYAN (May 17, 2010)

gizmoxp said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am planning to buy PlayOn mini. Apart from, it's ability to play major formats, I am also attracted to its feature of streaming videos/ music from Internet and desktop PC to TV wirelessly.
> 
> ...


Hi,

It is not possible to stream TV shows and movies directly from the internet at the moment on the Playon! series.
You can stream downloaded content such as music, movies and photos, and RSS Feeds can be streamed wirelessly.

Thanks


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

McACRYAN said:


> You can stream downloaded content such as music, movies and photos, and RSS Feeds can be streamed wirelessly.
> 
> Thanks


Is it possible to stream music or video linked in an RSS feed?


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## McACRYAN (May 17, 2010)

eugovector said:


> Is it possible to stream music or video linked in an RSS feed?


No, this is not possible. Some are using the external Metafeeds service for RSS Video Feeds, but this can be tricky to install and is not supported by AC Ryan under warranty.


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

I've had some time to play around with the PlayOn!HD and I am very pleased. Right now I am watching Netflix and it is a pleasant experience. It's not DVD quality and it also depends on the title, some are pretty grainy and bad, but others look pretty good.

I am also feeding the PlayOn!HD from my 20TB WHS media server and everything plays fine over a 100bT network, even HD. 

My full and formal review is being finalized and should be up in a few days.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

Just wanted to say there are several other devices the C-200 included that do bitstream all the HD audio formats. I used to have a Popcorn Hour A110 and sold it a while back when I built my HTPC. But just started researching new media streamer boxes as it seems many of them have features that I just can't get on my HTPC right now. That coupled with the sleek interface and no need for programming tons of software. Also the low power consumption and the price I really think I'll be replacing my HTPC very soon.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

What feature are you looking for that you're not getting from your HTPC other than power savings.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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