The Popcorn Hour

Basq

Yeah, am gonna go for the A-100 because of the fact I use my ATA drive, and that the improved over HDMI is not a concern of mine whatsoever. But think I might actually wait til December to order it.

Main reason is I'm in no rush for it.. and the import duty limit is increasing to €150 in December, so it shouldn't be liable (providing they don't include shipping on the shipping invoice - which they shouldn't).

MediaTank

Linoge wrote: »

Yes, you can use both the 100 and 110 with an external HD through USB. The only reaon why I went for the 110 over the 100 is the USB slave option, but running Vista and trying to write to a Linux formatted HD is proving a bit tricky. The main price difference is because of the DTS decoding that is in the 110. The license for this is ca $35 alone. If usb slave is not important to you I would recommend the 100.

You need a piece of freeware to allow you to mount the EXT3 filesystem available here www.fs-driver.org

Linoge

MediaTank wrote: »

You need a piece of freeware to allow you to mount the EXT3 filesystem available here www.fs-driver.org

Thanks for that Mediatank. I've tried this driver alrady and I can read from the drive no problem, but when I try to write to it I get an error saying that the disk is write protected!? I've been searching for ways around this but nobody else seems to have encountered this problem? Does it sound familiar to you?

MediaTank

Linoge wrote: »

Thanks for that Mediatank. I've tried this driver alrady and I can read from the drive no problem, but when I try to write to it I get an error saying that the disk is write protected!? I've been searching for ways around this but nobody else seems to have encountered this problem? Does it sound familiar to you?

Yes, very The EXT3 file system is journaled and so must be shut down cleanly i.e. you just can't power the box off. Instead you must must press Power followed by Eject on the remote. (It may take a few goes to time this right). This will cause the journal files to be commited and you can then mount the drive as read-write rather than read only. BTW, there is an applet that comes with the driver download that checks if the journal files must be commited.

MT

Linoge

Your a legend Mediatank! Thanks a mill. Will try to do this tonight. Thanks again!:D

MediaTank

Linoge wrote: »

Your a legend Mediatank! Thanks a mill. Will try to do this tonight. Thanks again!:D

Just got the A100 a few days ago (42 days delivery from ibood :rolleyes: ).
Its a nice piece of kit over all. Plays anything I throw at it and was very easy to hook up to the network.

One disappointment. I hooked up an external DVD drive but it would not play commercial DVDs due to CSS. Unfortunate, but a minor issue.

MediaTank

Deleted User wrote: »

Just got the A100 a few days ago (42 days delivery from ibood :rolleyes: ).
Its a nice piece of kit over all. Plays anything I throw at it and was very easy to hook up to the network.

One disappointment. I hooked up an external DVD drive but it would not play commercial DVDs due to CSS. Unfortunate, but a minor issue.

As with DTS to keep the unit affordable, Syabas declined to license this and also to avoid DVD region issues.

MT

Wolff

Also seems to be an issue with playing hi bitrate material over the USB link as well - 1080p stutters badly

doesnt happen when its written to the internal disk

MediaTank

Yes, it's fine up to about 800P. Apparently, it's fixed in the next firmware due real soon now.

branners69

I want one the Popcorn Hour A-110 asap!

Whats my quickest option to get one?? Would sooner an Irish or UK site ideally!

Thanks

MediaTank

If you want a PCH then online from the manufacturer is the cheapest. Also check eBay if you want one quick. Or you could go for another NMT box and that may be available quicker and cheaper.

MT

branners69

MediaTank wrote: »

If you want a PCH then online from the manufacturer is the cheapest. Also check eBay if you want one quick. Or you could go for another NMT box and that may be available quicker and cheaper.

MT

I checked the PCH website and it says I can pre-order, it doesnt give an estimated time of delivery.

Of the other NMT boxes which one would you recommend?

Many thanks for the reply!

This is the reason I came accross the PCH. I think it is a great deal as it is €449 on Pixmania!

MediaTank

branners69 wrote: »

I checked the PCH website and it says I can pre-order, it doesnt give an estimated time of delivery.

Of the other NMT boxes which one would you recommend?

Many thanks for the reply!

This is the reason I came across the PCH. I think it is a great deal as it is €449 on Pixmania!https://www.ibood.com/site/eu/ibood.php

I've an iSTAR, others worth considering are the eGreat, and HDX. The latter two support USB slave which is useful for moving media around. Then you need to decide if you want a HDMI 1.1 or 1.3 version.

The TViX boxes are highly regarded too.

MT

branners69

I took the chance and ordered the Tvix 5100SH from ibood, lets hope they deliver before Xmas!

Johnny Bitte

Was just about to buy a PH A110 and get a 1TB but then when ye guys mentioned EXT3 and linux format, I really need more information about this.

I use Windows period. How will I format a new hard drive to be used with this?
Will it plug an play with XP/Vista cause I really want to use it as an external HD for data too? I m guessing this the slave drive function?

Thanks

Linoge

The_Goose135 wrote: »

Was just about to buy a PH A110 and get a 1TB but then when ye guys mentioned EXT3 and linux format, I really need more information about this.

I use Windows period. How will I format a new hard drive to be used with this?
Will it plug an play with XP/Vista cause I really want to use it as an external HD for data too? I m guessing this the slave drive function?

Thanks

The PCH is a linux system so it formats the drive in EXT for you. You can choose ext2 or ext3. Vista writes fine to it with the driver that Mediatank mentioned above. Only needed for USB. WHen connected over the network it works just like a NAS and needs no drivers.

Johnny Bitte

Oh I dunno I dunno looking at the Egreat now, looks pretty good to and MediaTank recommended it

The main 2 things for me is that it can play video direct to tv and act as an external HD for my PC.

Cheap would be good 2 ha ha but the looking at the E great it excepts Fat32 and NTFS which just make me feel safe.

Can believe I ve never heard of any of these, bought this for 333 couple of weeks ago and sent it right back. MEMUP NRX

MediaTank

FAT32 and NTFS only apply to the USB external disk. As Linoge said the internal disk in an NMT is formatted as EXT2/3 because the NMT is based on Linux. If you are attaching an external disk via USB make sure it's formatted NTFS otherwise you'll run into the 2GB file size limit for your movie files. I recommended the eGreat beacause it has double the RAM of other players and has USB slave functionality.

MT

Basq

Bah..

Priced a A100 on the site a few weeks ago. Was €155 to ship over.. now it's up at €180.

Goddamn volatile exchange rate!

Johnny Bitte

MediaTank wrote: »

FAT32 and NTFS only apply to the USB external disk. As Linoge said the internal disk in an NMT is formatted as EXT2/3 because the NMT is based on Linux. If you are attaching an external disk via USB make sure it's formatted NTFS otherwise you'll run into the 2GB file size limit for your movie files. I recommended the eGreat beacause it has double the RAM of other players and has USB slave functionality.

MT

Thanks MediaTank, I have been reading threads about this through the board and you seem to really know your stuff. I ll be going with the EGreat. Now all I need to decide is where to buy and what size disc.:D

meob

I use 3 eva8000's - they are great!

full 1080p (up to 4 reference frames), got a batch tool that will transcode files down to 4 reference frames so the eva can handle it.

1080p looks superb along with the 5.1 / dts ect.

great companion to my ReadyNAS PRO 6B NAS ;-)

BernardMc

Hi all - long time reader, first time poster

I've been reading up a lot on PCH A-110 in recent days and (literally) dreaming about buying one - quite simply I am dying to get my hands on one but have a few niggling questions to ask - hope someone can help!

Where is the best place to buy the Popcorn Hour? I was thinking of buying it from the official US site as its cheapest (don't really care about the import duty).

Also, re: the power connection - would it work OK w/ Irish plugs if I ordered from the official US site? Just by using a standard converter?

Any help is appreciated,
cheers, B

BernardMc

Btw: The Popcorn Hour A-110 will shortly be going on sale at this UK website:
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=184

MediaTank

BernardMc wrote: »

Hi all - long time reader, first time poster

I've been reading up a lot on PCH A-110 in recent days and (literally) dreaming about buying one - quite simply I am dying to get my hands on one but have a few niggling questions to ask - hope someone can help!

Where is the best place to buy the Popcorn Hour? I was thinking of buying it from the official US site as its cheapest (don't really care about the import duty).

Also, re: the power connection - would it work OK w/ Irish plugs if I ordered from the official US site? Just by using a standard converter?

Any help is appreciated,
cheers, B

Buying from the official site can be slow as there is under supply. eBay can be good, as is mpcclub.com if you join up. Alternatively, you could opt for another manufacturers model e.g. iStar, eGreat etc. I own an iStar for example.

These devices are actually German because that's where Syabas are based.

All of the manufacturers ship the appropriate power cables based on the country of delivery.

BernardMc

I just bought the A-110 model with a 500bg SATA HD for €330 (incl delivery):
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?currency=EUR&cPath=23&products_id=3519&amp3sid=ahs3kc2ihkcqqhovq86eprmbs2

Delivery is immediate so no hanging around waiting for three weeks from the official site! Can't wait to get my hands on this!

vectra

The_Goose135 wrote: »

Thanks MediaTank, I have been reading threads about this through the board and you seem to really know your stuff. I ll be going with the EGreat. Now all I need to decide is where to buy and what size disc.:D

I bought the Egreat through MediaTank's reccomendations as well and am thrilled with it.
The one thing i will say is that I have my harddrive formatted to NTFS and get quite a bit of "Judder" on playback.
MediaTank explained to me that this is due to the fact of the HD being NTFS.. It needs to be EXT2 so as it can create a small partition for a swap file and thus would basically eliminate the Judder.
Waiting on another harddrive to arrive for this purpose .
Will post back when it arrives.
Even if it does not improve things.. i am already thinking of buying more Egreat's for the bedrooms :cool:
Highly reccomend them

eire2go

Hi all,


Long time boards.ie reader but this is my first post.

I want to but a multimedia storage device that can store my windows media audio, photos and movies and play them back on my AV AMP (ONKYO TX S805) using HDMI or component connectors which provides full 1080p upscalling to my panasonic AE1000 projector. My computer is running Windows XP also want to playback on my old standard def TV still holding pride of place in my sitting room through RGB or scart. I've been looking at at the popcorn hour a110, egreat, DVico and the like and I don't know which one to go for.

THe popcorn hour looks great but all that linux talk terrifies me, my Hard drive on the PC is an IDE drive, Can I connect a Sata drive through USB.


I also have a Sony HDD Rcorder (RDR HX950) and PS3 but have not yet been able to transfer any video to either using USB, the recorder can only show pictures or play audio from the UDB port and the PS£ always says no media found, can anyone help. I have been able to transfer movies from DVD to the HDD on th recorder but not through USB.

Thank you in anticipation guys

MediaTank

eire2go wrote: »

Hi all,
THe popcorn hour looks great but all that linux talk terrifies me, my Hard drive on the PC is an IDE drive, Can I connect a Sata drive through USB.

Don't worry about the Linux stuff - it's all hidden from the end user (you) if you go for an NMT with USB slave funtionality e.g. eGreat or HDX. Yes you can connect a SATA drive through USB and also install one in the unit.

MT

eoghand

Does anyone know when the popcorn hour a110 is available to get and where is the best place to get it perferably with a internal hard drive?