POPCORN HOUR A300-Any first impression?

[Audio_Freek]

Hi All,

Still now i got used with CD's, DVD and even USB to play the music and movies via DVD Player.I got really bored of finding the cd's and also unable to PLAY AT ONE TOUCH of all files which are stores in my HD.Hence After a long "saving mode" now i have planned to purchase a Media player for my music and Movies.

I am looking for a Player with inbuilt 2\3TB hdd Support and with options HDMI, USB3.0,RCA out,composite video,Optical out and not much bother about the WIFI connectivity as my purpose would be "Playing the files from internal hard disk"

When i checked for online i found Popcorn Hour A300 matches my requirement. Like to know whether any of our Fm's have experience with the same and the cost of the same in India.

Your suggestions are welcome also please suggest other MP's which are near to Popcorn A300.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[baijuxavior]

If your primary use is to store your music and movie collection and to access them easily then build an htpc rather than investing in media players. Nothing comes close to htpc in terms of ease of use. I had himedia media player before going the htpc route, but I found the music library not intuitive and very hard to find a particular song.

 

[Audio_Freek]

baijuxavior,

Thanks for suggestion, Could you share me some "Ready to use Box" HTPC, am not a technical guy so better not to try

If am not wrong are you talking something like below

Dell Inspiron Zino HD HTPC - Home Theater Media Center PC | Dell

Sorry am very new to this terminology


Thanks

 

[baijuxavior]

An HTPC is nothing but an ordinary PC used for HT purpose. Any desktop PC bought in the last two three years can be converted to HTPC easily. Ready made HTPCs are not easily available. I think Zotac has some models called zbox which are available here, but they are costlier compared to assembled one. A good HTPC can be assembled for around 15-16K including a 1TB HDD.

 

[GeorgeO]

I'm using a Popcorn Hour on a network with a NAS and find it my best solution.You need to do some homework to decide what works best for you. Send me a PM, perhaps we can talk a bit.

 

[Audio_Freek]

Thanks both,

Building a new HTPC or building new custom should be my ultimate solution,when i get settled in a place. But for now i feel so getting a media player with Big storage(Internal) and just plug and play wherever i go.

More over i would prefer to play the files via remote in relaxed way. Hence much towards Media Players.

Any views on Popcorn hour A110 and price in india?

 

[anilva]

My experience with a Popcorn Hour C300 is terrible. Very flimsy build quality and the Bluray drive does not play blurays! Have been talking to their customer support for the last 4 months, no avail. If it was US, I would have asked for refund.

I love my HTPC.

Regards

 

[Audio_Freek]

Anilva,George,

Thanks for the feedback, I got a call from George and his suggested some Media player and Popcorn corn hour seems to be fine but it varies according to the Models.Though we say BRANDED loyalty,there are failure models even in world best brands.

So thinking on three options

1. Popcorn hour A210,C200,A300 etc
2. Blueray player with Internal HDD slot
3. Xtreamer HD Media Player

xtreamer HD seems good option for me,with just browsing knowedge

 

[baijuxavior]

There are some media players like from Kiaboer which have built-in blu-ray drive and bay for internal HDD. But Popcorn Hour is a much better brand.

 

[Audio_Freek]

There are some media players like from Kiaboer which have built-in blu-ray drive and bay for internal HDD. But Popcorn Hour is a much better brand.

Baij,

Could you share the popcorn hour MP available in India via Online or shops with the price tag, SO that i can make a perfect decision. hyeah:

 

[baijuxavior]

^^ Sorry, I don't know from where to get Popcorn hour.

 

[manny9]

As for as I know you can purchase popcorn hour only from their web site , don't think anyone sells it in India. I purchased A-210 directly from their web site, yeah it costed more because of the shipping charges but it came early and well packed.

I have been using A-210 for almost 2 yrs and I would say its a great media player. Pretty much plays everything you throw at it. PCH was one of the first players to play blu rays iso and HD audio. What really sucks is the UI, so if you really don't care for the UI you can go for PCH.

A300 has improved UI but nowhere near to xbmc(htpc). Again with all popcorn hour products it takes at least a year to get a stable version, meaning users are the beta testers but PCH guys keep releasing firmware. So if you are patient enough to follow the firmware updates and do not mind in the inital issues go for A300. Its got the first sigma processor and plays 3D iso. But people are complaining about lot of issues but they will be fixed...

If you want a stable version go for other models, pls note that A200, 210, C200 are all on end of life meaning there may not be any firmware updates coming. One good thing in these older models is that they can play full blu ray menus, thanks to cinavia the new models will not support full BD menu option.

Let me know if you need any more information.

 

[Audio_Freek]

Manny,

Thanks for your view and please let me know the total landing cost of PCH 210, i have one of my friends returning form U.S next month and can request him to carry the same in case the shipping is too costly.

 

[baijuxavior]

You can get a quote from ishopinternational. Give them the product URL and a brief description and they will inform you the quote which includes shippin and customs duty.

 

[AshD]

Does a media player have its own HDD? Or do I need to buy one separately?

What if I also intend to have a BD player? Is there any model available which has both inbuilt?

Ash

 

[manny9]

I checked my old invoice, the shipping costed $70 and it came via DHL. As i said it was nicely packed and delivered in 3 days, it came from hong kong. I don't remember how much customs duty I paid.

Yeah if someone can pick from US that would be great, you will save on shipping and may be on customs.

But beware popcorn hour sells their products in batches and ship in batches. Its not like you order today and they do a over night delivery in US. I checked their website A210 is out of stock and A300 estimated ship date is 08-Mar. (www.http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=catalog&mainItemId=45)

Also you can check the shipping status on http://www.networkedmediatank.com/ -> this is their official forum.

 

[manny9]

@AshD , most of the media players don't come with internal HDD but they have provision to add one and you can use a simple SATA internal desktop HDD.

If you want a media player with blu ray player you can look at popcorn hour C-300. Of course you need to pay for the slim blu ray drive. These type of player may become rare in future due cinavia but for now popcorn hour is selling them.

But as folks mentioned before you can always look at a HTPC...

 

[GeorgeO]

I've been using a Popcorn Hour A 200 for the past few years and I can say it works very well for me. It has a 2TB internal, and the only features that I feel is lacking is GbE and the ability to read a 3TB external, despite a firmware upgrade, since my network is GbE, as is my NAS. It can read stuff of my NAS, which uses 3TB HDDs, though.

 

[AshD]

@Manny & @George,

Thanks a lot for educating me..now its all making sense...

@George,
I just read the Specs of the A-200 I don't see any mention of the 2TB internal, or is this the HDD you put inside it?

I dropped the idea of NAS, cos I thought I wouldnt need such a setup.. now that you mention...

What would be the cost of making this setup?
NAS + 4TB HDDs

What brand of NAS?
Are the HDDs the standard SATA Internal drives we use in Desktop PCs?
What connectivity does one need between the NAS and the Media Player?
Can I then use my WiFi at home and access the NAS from anywhere?

Appreciate your help and thanks in advance for answering my queries..

Ash

 

[GeorgeO]

Ash:

1. Yes I have inserted a 2TB-the player itself comes diskless.
2. I have a ReadyNas NV+ V2, 4 Bay, check the current price on Amazon-prices generally drop.It has both USB 3.0 and Gbe.
3. Yes ordinary HDDs do the trick-I use 3TB drives.
4.My media player and my NAS are on a GbE ethernet network in my HT room, but connected to my desktop, which has USB 3.0 and other stuff on another floor(also on GbE).
5. Yes any media player which has wireless can connect to the NAS. I have two Squeezeboxes that access my music in my NAS over wifi.

Hope this helps-if you have ny more questions just ask.