Easyrider's Playon HD mini review thread.

[easyrider]

Ok I have just checked my emails and I have had a quite a few emails asking me about the Playon HD mini after just receiving it yesterday.

So I thought I would start a thread about it.

Below are a couple of pictures

The unit is tiny and totally silent.

Up to now after a play and 3 firmware updates I can honestly say for the money this unit rocks.

It plays MKV files with DTS audio flawlessly. Scanning and searching through the film is faster than the PS3 and I have had zero sync issues.

The IQ is no different from the PS3

The menu's are OK visually ( one of the weak areas) but this will be addressed with firmware updates. The latest BETA release has made the GUI look much nicer and perform smoother and quicker. The firmware it came with was horrible.

Setting it up was very easy...I connected it to the network my manually giving it an IP address although this get be set to auto via the menu using DHCP.

I paid 79 delivered and wouldn't hesitate to have them dotted around the house.

One great feature is the MKV and Subtitle playback one thing I missed when streaming from the PS3...You can resize the SUBS in realtime while watching the film which is a great little feature.

Now the JUKE BOX feature, one of the reasons for me buying this unit. I pointed the the JUKE BOX at the index file on the server and loaded it.

It took 8 mins 45 seconds to load. This is to be expected for the first time due to the scanning of the JUKE BOX folder containing the Film info.

But once this is done it loads nearly instantly after that. Navigation is fine for my needs and the thing just works.

I have done a HD video of the menus etc...and will upload that for you to check it out and make a decision on whether a unit like this is right for you.

EDIT:

Latest Downloads here

Beta Firmware Here


Videos of menus etc...in 1080p

 

[easyrider]

Sounds great, but i dont really get what it does ! do you connect an external Hdd to it or does it stream over your network from a pc ?

You can do either. You can plug USB drives into and play the files from there or stream them from a NAS or Server over the network.

I have all my movies stored on my Windows Home server.

 

[easyrider]

looks good easy,

what do you think of the interface? is it web based?

im looking at something like this for the folks as i want my atom/ion based system back from them

any stutter or problems at all with HD playback?

I have had no issues with Stutter either from the Network streaming or the HDD playback.

The interface is quite good a massive improvement over the one it came with.

Its still not in the league of the PS3 interface though..But for me the point is the Files it plays and the cost.

Lets face it 79 quid is nowt

 

[easyrider]

Great review thanks,

could we get some screenshots of the interface? I am especially interested in the jukebox view as well as the settings options

Will do.

I am uploading a short video to youtube of the menus in action.

 

[easyrider]

Thanks easyrider, nice thread.

I was lurking considering wether or not to buy this myself when I saw your posts in the other thread!

easyrider, can I ask how you've got your LAN rigged at home? are you using ethernet over the power supply or 1Gb cat-5 etc?

Its simple and cheap and works. A HTPC will have better looking menus and will be more tweakable but I bought it for movie playback and MKV and SUBS support.

I have a server with all my media on connected via GIGABIT Cat 6 going into a HP Gigabit switch.

 

[easyrider]

No Firewire or eSATA

Why does this matter?

 

[easyrider]

Hi mate im trying to setup YAMJ on my pc but i cant find the YAMJ GUI file anywhere can you email it me if you have it ?

Thanks

The AC ryan version is on those links in the OP

 

[easyrider]

Looks nice, any idea if it allows the use of PGS subs in MKVs?

Not sure

I have no read ant issues with any SUB playback

 

[easyrider]

This is also the key for me. HD audio and bluray iso's are a must for me. Also, have you got it working with your logitech remote?

Not tried with my logitech yet.

I know it works though as the playon HD is in the support list in network streamers.

People use the Logitech with the mini without issue


Not tried BD ISO with HD audio yet

 

[easyrider]

cheers for that, also is there any way in which to see what the layout will looklike before syncing it with the player?

 

[easyrider]

I think I'll have to invest in one of these. I've ordered a Sumvision Cyclone Micro Media Player but this seems to be more "finished".

Its no where near finished.

Which is good.

The tech team listen and are tweaking new firmwares all the time.

In time this unit could be a world class leader for the price.

 

[easyrider]

Fair play. OT: I know your using WHS, which I have 0 knowledge of, but what are you using to stream to PS3 ect.? Does it have built in media serving functionality?

Yes,

Windows media connect is built into WHS


TBH I can't believe I spent only 79 quid

Its throw away money but its hugely functional.

 

[easyrider]

I wish people wouldn't quote images posted DIRECTLY above it

How is the Playon scraping the movie/tv information? Would it understand the .nfo, trailer, cover, thumbnail convention that XBMC uses? I already have a server full of media with all the extras already downloaded. Wouldn't mind sticking one of these on every TV in the house.

Not sure,

But I know a few people use the .nfo info from Yanfoe and make it work.

I have yet to play with the functionality and apperance of YAMJ as I just wanted a simple JUKE BOX to display the films.

Something the PS3 cannot do along with MKV playback.

The PS3 would rock if it did these two things but I doubt we will ever see it.

 

[easyrider]

Does it support more advanced subtitles like for instance karaoke style subs where two lots of subs should be in different places on screen at once? Also can it adjust framerate automatically to suit the file?

Dunno


Yet

 

[easyrider]

Easyrider, allow me to ask a horrendously noobish question. I'm completely new to this type of thing.

How does this thing work? Do I plug it into my PC, transfer the movies to the Playon! hard drive, and then from there onto my TV? or is it a link between my PC and TV?

The Mini has no hardrive so you can either copy films to an USB external drive and plug it into the mini or stream them from another location on the network.

example, NAS BOX, PC. Server etc...

 

[easyrider]

Grand. From your experience, how would a movie (Full HD) run from an external USB hard drive connected to the Playon?

Fine

An uncompressed Bluray M2TS file streams perfectly also.

 

[easyrider]

It may not to you, but it matters to people that don't want to use network but rather just plug in a drive and away.

They can,

There are two USB inputs for external drives.

So in essence 4TB can be attached to it.

 

[easyrider]

My parents would love this, could move the media PC out of the way and make everything look a lot nicer in the living room.

How do you go about installing the new firmware?

You using their add on wireless dongle or LAN?

You unzip the firmware to the root of a drive or usb stick and click update firmware from the mini's menu.

After a couple of automated reboots its done.


I'm using lan

 

[easyrider]

Is that the latest firmware easy there forum showing beta firmware is a total mess no idea if that is the newest. Also something about latest beta on sdk2 and a diff version on sdk 3 giving different looks and guis.

right now its just stock what it came with from online. Using a wd passport with mine works perfectly

The latest beta is

http://www.acryan.com/downloads/PV73200/Beta/Firmware_PV73200_v7.0.21.r4312_European.zip

 

[easyrider]

Ok just ordered one of these, quick question, I believe the literature states that the Playon support UPNP? so is there any app on the iPhone I could use to control it (that you maybe aware of)?

Thanks

Not sure

I hate iphones and I hate apple