Popcorn Hour A100 Review $179

Same software, same functionality, except possibly no DTS downmix. Design wise, remote has same button layout, different shape, external drives instead of internal, and both co-ax/optical audio. Also, small footprint, but fan would have to be disconnected to get it dead silent. I'd buy whichever one you could get for less $$.

Thanks for the info. Do you know if either of these players play all the songs in a particular folder? Or do you have to play each song one at a time? Also, do you know if there is a resume feature on these players where if you shut it down in the middle of a movie, is there a way to restart from that same point? Thank a lot.

With a firmware update, the NMT devices will now not only play all the songs in a folder (press the play button instead of the enter/select button), but they can start in the middle of an album instead of just on the first song.

Using the MyiHome server software on a connected PC, you can also shuffle and playback playlists.

As for the movie resume, the answer is currently no. You'll need to pay attention to the timestamp on where you left off, and then fast forward back to that point.

I think the popcorn hour will:

"Popcorn Hour, iStar HD Mini, and Tvix 4100/5100 can all play .mts / .m2ts AVCHD files from camcorders no problem. They support just raw single clip playback though- no fancy playlists etc. that I'm aware of. But you can join AVCHD clips using editing software on PC, then export back to AVCHD with smart rendering and play the results on one of these media players."

I haven't been able to get a test unit, but a quick glance on paper seems to indicate similar functionality, with the 7000A offering an HD tuner option and recording functionality.

Of course, the Popcorn hour costs a full 3rd less and seems to be more readily available.

If I can get a test unit in, I will certainly do a review. Thanks for watching.

After further research, an Oct 06 update allowed the Xbox 360 to play VC-1 in a WMV container.

I also have a review of the A110 and B110 up.

Support for Non-US sites you mean?

I've never tried to give them a call to get phone support, but firmware updates come about once a month, so I'm pretty happy with the support so far.

Also, folks should be downloading MediaMall's PlayOn software which adds support for Hulu and Netflix (through a server computer).

As for music and pictures, it plays and displays just fine, though the user interface is abysmal compared to Apple TV or other offerings. With videos, that's not so important, but searching thousands of music files is a pane, and the photo transitions are inelegant.

I consider this a 95% movies, 5% Music/pictures machine. If your actual usage rates are higher, you may want to look elsewhere.

And, as far as I can tell, no playlist support yet.

Thanks for the info; I'll check out those newer reviews.

I meant that if the sales are all from non-US sources, I wonder about support for purchases to use in US. Would repairs all be sent to ... elsewhere? Any US dealers or support? Their web site only lists other countries.

They have a California storefront.

I would say that the Syabas players, of which there are a few including iStar the the Popcorn Hour, are certainly the best on the market for video (music still leaves a lot to be desired.

But...to sweeten the deal, Popcorn Hour is very close to finalizing Wireless N support:

check out the story at realht.info/blog

That certainly puts them ahead of the pack in my book.

Thank you Collingwood.