The Popcorn Hour

keith_d99

Hi all,

Did a search a week or so ago - and found no matches for the Popcorn Hour!
I am suprised that it hasn't being mentioned somewhere on Boards.ie (unless I'm mistaken).

There is a lot of hype about this device - plays all formats, HDMI output, upscales also, plenty of firmware updates - all for $179

There is a big queue to even order this device though!

http://www.popcornhour.com

iMax

Saw these before, seems almost too good to be true - be a nice scam though - 5000 orders at €179 each !

It looks suspiciously like an Icy box enclosure, I have two of these at home & there's *just* enough space for the hard drive !

I just bought a netgear HTA8000 & it's great kit, although is twice the price.

keith_d99

That Netgear is a nice piece of kit!!!!

Nah the Popcorn Hour is genuine alright - people are even selling their invitations to order on eBay

MPC Club - give it a very favourable review http://www.mpcclub.com/modules/Reviews/reviews/popcorn_hour_a100_review.pdf

Not supposed to be the best for MP3's though although future firmware is supposed to address this

iMax wrote: »

Saw these before, seems almost too good to be true - be a nice scam though - 5000 orders at €179 each !

It looks suspiciously like an Icy box enclosure, I have two of these at home & there's *just* enough space for the hard drive !

I just bought a netgear HTA8000 & it's great kit, although is twice the price.

dingdong1234567

iMax wrote: »

Saw these before, seems almost too good to be true - be a nice scam though - 5000 orders at €179 each !

It looks suspiciously like an Icy box enclosure, I have two of these at home & there's *just* enough space for the hard drive !

I just bought a netgear HTA8000 & it's great kit, although is twice the price.

Imax would you have a link for one of those?

keith_d99

I have got invite to order Popcorn Hour

Coming to $224 - about €140 ish

iMax

dingdong1234567 wrote: »

Imax would you have a link for one of those?

My bad, it's the EVA8000

Gegerty

You've to pay customs and excise duty on top of that as well as delivery. It's better to go through an EU distributor, it's €240 including delivery from Germany.....thats a more realistic price :-)

keith_d99

Dunno about that - I was only charged €17 customs bringing the total cost to about €157 ish, including delivery!

Gegerty wrote: »

You've to pay customs and excise duty on top of that as well as delivery. It's better to go through an EU distributor, it's €220 plus delivery.....thats a more realistic price :-)

Linoge

Anyone hear about the A110 out soon? €215 when released in States. This player can act as a usb slave driv. The lack of which put me off the 1st one. looking very good now. Stick a 1tb hd in there and you're sorted!

keith_d99

As in - it can be connected directly to a pc/laptop via usb port?
That's handy alright - as transfer times over network can be slow

Linoge wrote: »

Anyone hear about the A110 out soon? €215 when released in States. This player can act as a usb slave driv. The lack of which put me off the 1st one. looking very good now. Stick a 1tb hd in there and you're sorted!

MediaTank

The PCH is one of many players based on the Syabas firmware. Others include the IstarHD and the eGreat. I have an Istar, and have concluded that these are pretty much enthusiasts devices for now lacking maturity, as they as pretty buggy and require frequent firmware upgrades - and even sometimes downgrades.

If you are prepared to put up with the bugs and are comfortable flashing firmware etc. then go for it!

Linoge

MediaTank wrote: »

The PCH is one of many players based on the Syabas firmware. Others include the IstarHD and the eGreat. I have an Istar, and have concluded that these are pretty much enthusiasts devices for now lacking maturity, as they as pretty buggy and require frequent firmware upgrades - and even sometimes downgrades.

If you are prepared to put up with the bugs and are comfortable flashing firmware etc. then go for it!

According to some of the sites i've been reading, esp mpcclub, PCH are v good for updating firmware regularly. I had a look at the egreat and istar too but mpc club really have a hard on for PCH. The guy HiJack on there really knows his stuff.

keith_d99

Yeah it is true that the PCH does get regular updates - but don't the same firmware updates work on the other Sybas based products also?

Linoge wrote: »

According to some of the sites i've been reading, esp mpcclub, PCH are v good for updating firmware regularly. I had a look at the egreat and istar too but mpc club really have a hard on for PCH. The guy HiJack on there really knows his stuff.

MediaTank

keith_d99 wrote: »

Yeah it is true that the PCH does get regular updates - but don't the same firmware updates work on the other Sybas based products also?

No - each manufacturer's NMT device requires custom firmware based on the Syabas sources. The first to be updated is usually the PCH as they are owned by Syabas. My point earlier was that's it very annoying to have to update the firmware every month to two weeks, these products are not very mature and some FW upgrades have actually broken things which were working. The most recent FW upgrade broke MKV/H.264 playback for many users including me.

keith_d99

The PCH firware updates have gotten a lot more dependable - they seem to issue a fw update every couple of months now - and have no issues - Best to not install firmware updates on day of release - just give it a day or 2 and let other people try first!

MediaTank

Linoge wrote: »

According to some of the sites i've been reading, esp mpcclub, PCH are v good for updating firmware regularly. I had a look at the egreat and istar too but mpc club really have a hard on for PCH. The guy HiJack on there really knows his stuff.

Agreed MPC Club and networkedmediatank.com are my two main sources for information.

MediaTank

keith_d99 wrote: »

The PCH firware updates have gotten a lot more dependable - they seem to issue a fw update every couple of months now - and have no issues - Best to not install firmware updates on day of release - just give it a day or 2 and let other people try first!

Speaking of which new firmware was released over the weekend I hope it fixes my MKV playback problems.

Linoge

I've bought (as in pre-ordered - sigh) the A110, should be shipping from China on 21st hopefully. Anyone else getting one of them??

keith_d99

Not seeing it mentioned on the Forum sites - there was one released briefly and pulled back - I would wait until people are happy with any firmware release before going near it

MediaTank wrote: »

Speaking of which new firmware was released over the weekend I hope it fixes my MKV playback problems.

gar

Linoge wrote: »

I've bought (as in pre-ordered - sigh) the A110, should be shipping from China on 21st hopefully. Anyone else getting one of them??

Can you let us know how you get on with it? Im thinking of getting one

Gar

keith_d99

I have the A-100 and can't recommend it highly enough!

MediaTank

keith_d99 wrote: »

Not seeing it mentioned on the Forum sites - there was one released briefly and pulled back - I would wait until people are happy with any firmware release before going near it

Yip, this time ISTAR released a firmware update before Popcorn

Basq

Brother just bought this with a 1TB disk.. might get him to bring me one home from Portgual.

Looks fantastic..

keith_d99

They are available direct here www.popcornhour.com
And probably cheaper if your brother bought from a retailer

Basq

keith_d99 wrote: »

They are available direct here www.popcornhour.com
And probably cheaper if your brother bought from a retailer

He said he ordered one.. so presumed he ordered from the website. So he'd have paid €9 shipping - €208 total.

It's quoting me €234 (with shipping to Ireland) - are they only available from the official site? Anywhere online have them cheaper, or even with cheaper shipping?

keith_d99

That price is dollars - not Euros
Comes to about €180 - but you do have to pay some customs on top of that - I think I paid something like €15 customs

AFAIK - the website is the cheapest way of getting your hands on one.
You could also go for the A-100 which is $35 cheaper

basquille wrote: »

He said he ordered one.. so presumed he ordered from the website. So he'd have paid €9 shipping - €208 total.

It's quoting me €234 (with shipping to Ireland) - are they only available from the official site? Anywhere online have them cheaper, or even with cheaper shipping?

Basq

Sorry.. my brother linked me to this: http://www.popcornhour.es/en/ (he's in Portgual).

Might order the A110 alright.. do they support most hard disks? Would if I ripped the HDD outta my 320GB Argosys Media Drive, I could use that.

Linoge

keith_d99 wrote: »

I think I paid something like €15 customs

I paid €41 duty on my A110.

basquille wrote: »

Might order the A110 alright.. do they support most hard disks? Would if I ripped the HDD outta my 320GB Argosys Media Drive, I could use that.

The A110 is SATA only so you'd have to check if the drive is SATA or IDE. Also, I don't know what file system the Argosy uses, but the PCH uses EXT3 which is a Linux file system. If the Argosy drive is anything different (NTSC of FAT32) the player wont be able to read/play the files. You'll have to format the HD.

This is good value on komplett at the mo.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=343054

Basq

Cheers.. gonna open my Argosy HV355 later, but I think it's IDE.

Can you not hook up USB drives to the A110? Cos I could get a IDE-USB adapter and a case. I'd like to use the 320GB drive in my Argosy - it'll sit there unused otherwise.

Basq

After much thought and research, I've decided to go for the A100 simply because the one advantage I keep seeing quoted is the improved HDMI 1.3, allowing higher quality audio. But I'll be sending my video over HDMI, and my audio through a Creative DDTS-100 decoder to a 5.1 surround system so improved HDMI sound is not a priority.

And it means I can use my 320GB ATA drive from my Argosy (opened it earlier) in the A100.

Works about €155 (with shipping).. wondering should I wait til closer to Christmas (when the import limit is being increased to €150), or just bite the bullet and buy now. Customs and excise shouldn't be too much on it.. hopefully!

Linoge

basquille wrote: »

After much thought and research, I've decided to go for the A100 simply because the one advantage I keep seeing quoted is the improved HDMI 1.3, allowing higher quality audio. But I'll be sending my video over HDMI, and my audio through a Creative DDTS-100 decoder to a 5.1 surround system so improved HDMI sound is not a priority.

And it means I can use my 320GB ATA drive from my Argosy (opened it earlier) in the A100.

Works about €155 (with shipping).. wondering should I wait til closer to Christmas (when the import limit is being increased to €150), or just bite the bullet and buy now. Customs and excise shouldn't be too much on it.. hopefully!

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.

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!