HOT: NCIX Popcornhour A-110 + WD 1TB Green HD $365 [Archive]

originalnutta

Mar 27th, 2009, 05:46 PM

Very good deal. I just don't know what to do with the hard drive since I stream everything off a RAID box. :(

I think you need a HDD to utilize some of the PCH's apps. I have only two HDD externally hooked up. But if i wanted to use some of the features, i'd need to install a hdd inside the unit itself.

Sidenote: Has anyone got the DTS sound to work yet?

I installed the latest firmware and some of my DLC has only DTS sound, but i'm not getting any audio.

airodus

Mar 27th, 2009, 05:52 PM

What kind of apps? I was only looking at it for video playing. Anything else it can do?

Meingarten

Mar 27th, 2009, 05:54 PM

It's really only a great deal if you have a use for the drive.

NCIX sells the PCH A-110 for $270, so you're paying $95 for the 1TB drive.

What kind of apps? I was only looking at it for video playing. Anything else it can do?
If you slap a hard drive in it, you can use the built-in torrent client and file server capabilities.

Sidenote: Has anyone got the DTS sound to work yet?
The A-100 doesn't support DTS, the A-110 does. If you have the A-100, use the software and instructions here (http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki/index.php/Convert_DTS_to_AC3) to convert the DTS audio to AC3.

_Iz-

Mar 27th, 2009, 05:56 PM

What kind of apps? I was only looking at it for video playing. Anything else it can do?

I think it can download torrents and .nzb's...

Loomy

Mar 27th, 2009, 05:59 PM

popcorn hour for a good price from a canadian store is a hot deal because you used to have to pay your arm and leg for it in usd

for anyone who doesnt know what this is, this is basically the best digital video player

if you're thinking about making an htpc or using a game console for digital video, think about saving yourself from hassle and failure, and get a popcornhour

also you don't really need the hard drive if you're streaming video from your computer or nas... though there are some people who don't do that, and just want to store files the video on the device

just remember every hard drive breaks, and if you don't have a backup, you're ****ed

HeavyDutyKronos

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:02 PM

if you're thinking about making an htpc or using a game console for digital video, think about saving yourself from hassle and failure, and get a popcornhour

...or WDTV for 1/3 the price.

Icelight

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:09 PM

if you're thinking about making an htpc or using a game console for digital video, think about saving yourself from hassle and failure, and get a popcornhour\

Can't say I haven't been tempted to...but since none of these will play 1080p video with extremely high reference frame counts (in the case of H264) or very high bitrates I'm still left waiting to build an HTPC.

originalnutta

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:10 PM

The A-100 doesn't support DTS, the A-110 does. If you have the A-100, use the software and instructions here (http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki/index.php/Convert_DTS_to_AC3) to convert the DTS audio to AC3.
Oh forgot to mention that i have the A110.

HeavyDutyKronos

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:11 PM

Can't say I haven't been tempted to...but since none of these will play 1080p video with extremely high reference frame counts (in the case of H264) or very high bitrates I'm still left waiting to build an HTPC.

Do you mean VC-1/H264 full uncompressed REMUX.ts backups of BD discs? WDTV plays those just fine, I'm guessing the A110 does too.

Icelight

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:16 PM

Do you mean VC-1/H264 full uncompressed REMUX.ts backups of BD discs? WDTV plays those just fine, I'm guessing the A110 does too.

I'm more or less just talking about H264 video with a fairly high reference frame count.

The WDTV was tested and could not keep up with 1080p, H264 video with a reference frame count of greater than 5:

http://wdtv.wetpaint.com/page/H.264+reference+frames+specs

I'd assume this is close to the same.

-Edit- In any case, something like this is perfect for anyone who doesn't need to be assured that absolutely every single video will play.

Jon Lai

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:20 PM

...or WDTV for 1/3 the price.

No ethernet.. no bittorrent client...

raskal

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:24 PM

I HATE RFD... I hate rfd

in for one... now to explain to the wife why we need it.

originalnutta

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:27 PM

I HATE RFD... I hate rfd

in for one... now to explain to the wife why we need it.

Tell her it's environmentally friendly.

I haven't used a blank dvdr in ages.

USB everything or stream. Watching DL'ed movies over a stream is priceless.

Its the way of the future, man.

Ask your wife why she would hold you back in the 21st century, when the future is NOW!!!

HeavyDutyKronos

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:29 PM

I'm more or less just talking about H264 video with a fairly high reference frame count.

The WDTV was tested and could not keep up with 1080p, H264 video with a reference frame count of greater than 5:

http://wdtv.wetpaint.com/page/H.264+reference+frames+specs

I'd assume this is close to the same.

-Edit- In any case, something like this is perfect for anyone who doesn't need to be assured that absolutely every single video will play.

(This review's last available data was from FW 1.01.01) They are up to 1.01.02 firmware now with another due in the next few weeks. Not sure whether reference frame count will matter to the average consumer, but the full bluray remux plays fine without a skip or stutter so how can you complain?

No ethernet.. no bittorrent client...

LOL. Explain how those two things are worth $200-250?

In any event, modified firmwares for WDTV are available which will enable DVD and Ethernet access if that really floats your boat. Networked access is nice, but ultimately I guess ppl will have to consider with themselves what features and value they are looking for.

The main thing about the WDTV is that it's small, it's light, a girl could fit it in her purse. You can't say that about Popcorn, and once you stick a hard drive in it, I'm not sure how much carrying around you'd want to do with it. Both are good and have their advantages.

When i planned on putting an HTPC in my living room or at my parents place, the last thing on my mind was how can I connect this to download and serve bittorent files. I bring the content to it, not the other way around.

raskal

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:30 PM

Its the way of the future, man.

Ask your wife why she would hold you back in the 21st century, when the future is NOW!!!

ahhh you appear to experienced in the way of wives grasshopper

so basically you're saying a song and dance routine.... I can do that! :D

kud0s69

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:34 PM

ahhh you appear to experienced in the way of wives grasshopper

so basically you're saying a song and dance routine.... I can do that! :D

Earthday is saturday 8:30-9:30. This is your celebration to the entire planet ("Green" Hard drive") No more dvd packaging waste.

akademiks

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:34 PM

They are up to 1.01.02 firmware now with another due in the next few weeks. Not sure whether reference frame count will matter to the average consumer, but the full bluray remux plays fine without a skip or stutter so how can you complain?

LOL. Explain how those two things are worth $200? In any event, modified firmwares are available which will enable DVD and Ethernet access if that really floats your boat. Networked access is nice, but ultimately I guess ppl will have to consider with themselves what features and value they are looking for.

When i planned on putting an HTPC in my living room / my parents place, the last thing on my mind was how can I connect this to download and serve bittorent files.

The main thing is that it's small, it's light, a girl could fit it in her purse. You can't say that about Popcorn, and once you stick a hard drive in it, I'm not sure how much carrying around you'd want to do with it. Both are good and have their advantages.
It's not.

raskal

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:36 PM

Earthday is saturday 8:30-9:30. This is your celebration to the entire planet ("Green" Hard drive") No more dvd packaging waste.

so this thing has nothing to do with the fact it's a geek toy... I'm just saving the earth!

rogue

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:39 PM

so this thing has nothing to do with the fact it's a geek toy... I'm just saving the earth!

lol...well if you use that angle in your "discussion" with her... it may save you as well :)

da_hool

Mar 27th, 2009, 06:46 PM

Cool product that I would consider if I didn't already build my HTPC a couple years ago. Dumb name with an eye sore of a logo though!

lotfi.bm

Mar 27th, 2009, 07:02 PM

For those who don't need the hard drive, you can buy the popcornhour alone for $269 (http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=36609)

DualSoul

Mar 27th, 2009, 07:09 PM

Sold out... damn, wish I had seen this earlier.

geestring

Mar 27th, 2009, 07:24 PM

uh ethernet for me is important.

I have 2 tb of movies on my dns-323.

RedFlagRobot

Mar 27th, 2009, 07:33 PM

Jon Lai

Mar 27th, 2009, 07:48 PM

LOL. Explain how those two things are worth $200-250?

In any event, modified firmwares for WDTV are available which will enable DVD and Ethernet access if that really floats your boat. Networked access is nice, but ultimately I guess ppl will have to consider with themselves what features and value they are looking for.

The main thing about the WDTV is that it's small, it's light, a girl could fit it in her purse. You can't say that about Popcorn, and once you stick a hard drive in it, I'm not sure how much carrying around you'd want to do with it. Both are good and have their advantages.

When i planned on putting an HTPC in my living room or at my parents place, the last thing on my mind was how can I connect this to download and serve bittorent files. I bring the content to it, not the other way around.

Why would you want to bring it around with you? A media device should stick to the TV and stay there. If anything it should be the external hard drive that you carry around with you, not the media player itself.

darren22

Mar 27th, 2009, 07:55 PM

Why would you want to bring it around with you? A media device should stick to the TV and stay there. If anything it should be the external hard drive that you carry around with you, not the media player itself.

Movie night at a friend's place? Grab the little WDTV w/ HDMI cable, stick the show on a usb key, off you go. Not sure I'd ever do that, but I've read about people really liking the convenience of doing that.

geestring

Mar 27th, 2009, 07:57 PM

so has anyone tried the upvn or whatever it's called?

Potentially can I have the popcorn hour seeking movies from my dns-323 over the network, internal hard drive, and external hard drives all in one consolidated library?

Wrocky

Mar 27th, 2009, 08:45 PM

PCH and WDTV serve different purposes, I don't know why people always need to fight about it. I have a WDTV and it serves my purposes, but if you want the PCH's extra features it's a great thing to get too.

Agreed.

There are lots of other media players in the market as well, with various features, so I'm not sure why some people always need to compare these two. Although it looks impressive, I would never buy a WDTV, as my house is wired with ethernet, and I keep all my media on one server on the network. A popcorn hour is exactly what I need, and I just ordered a 2nd one for the other TV.

Fishy007

Mar 27th, 2009, 08:51 PM

I picked up a PCH A-110 back in the fall and I've been fairly pleased with the performance.

Pros
- plays back MVK files beautifully. subtitles and all
- with my 1TB drive, has become a storage box for my data backups and media
- will hook up via HDMI to my receiver and put out 5.1/7.1 sound without an issue

Cons
- user interface is awful. laggy and downright annoying
- ethernet port is 10/100....no gigabit for you!
- pricey
- does not work well as a music server. have had major issues getting my Roku player to see it, but the Roku sees my iTunes server no problem

Either way, I'm happy I bought it simply for the MKV playback. The WD box is capable of this, but the fact that it has no hard drive and that it's buggy with some MKV files has led me to this box.

Just my 2c.

Oh and for those of you wanting to move it from place to place: If you go from 5.1 sound to just the stereo speakers on the tv, you HAVE to change the output settings of the PCH box. It won't do it automatically and you won't get any sound if it's set for 5.1. Found that out after 20 frustrating minutes at my friend's house. If only he had surround sound speakers....sigh.

duckdown

Mar 27th, 2009, 09:30 PM

I'd buy it if i didn't already have a WDTV

actng

Mar 27th, 2009, 10:10 PM

geestring

Mar 27th, 2009, 10:30 PM

i've seen a lot of custom user interfaces on youtube with cover images and information automatically fetched from imdb or something. Are these interfaces readily available?

zhewie

Mar 28th, 2009, 12:58 AM

I've had the PCH for almost 6 weeks streaming off my PC on my home network. I'm just pricing 1TB drives now, so congratulations on those who got in on this deal. Although, having used the PCH for the last 6 weeks, I don't think I could've waited to buy this combo to save $50 for a new system. For me it was just that convenient.

miss_swan

Mar 28th, 2009, 01:59 AM

That PCH looks pretty sweet ... but it's not for everyone of course.

Then again, people who consider PCH aren't everyone. :razz: They usually know what they want.

Having said all this ... I still have a WDTV sitting in it's box waiting for me to crack it open and put it to use. I can live without the Ethernet and built-in torrent client of the PCH. I'm not that sophisticated. :)

AlexV

Mar 28th, 2009, 08:39 AM

Why not get something much more powerful, and probably cheaper, like an xbmc?

geestring

Mar 28th, 2009, 08:52 AM

Why not get something much more powerful, and probably cheaper, like an xbmc?

isnt xbmc software?

I'd like to see someone make a htpc this small and quiet for $270.

Wrocky

Mar 28th, 2009, 09:31 AM

Why not get something much more powerful, and probably cheaper, like an xbmc?

If you are talking about XBMC on an Xbox, it can not run high definition. It just doesn't have the power. It can only play regular def DVDs. And it also can't be a front end for GBPVR. And there are lots of other reasons, such as USB ports, HDMI, no remote, etc. Sure, you can work around some of those, but not all. And the big one for me is that this unit is absolutely silent. No moving parts.

Jon Lai

Mar 28th, 2009, 09:46 AM

If you are talking about XBMC on an Xbox, it can not run high definition. It just doesn't have the power. It can only play regular def DVDs. And it also can't be a front end for GBPVR. And there are lots of other reasons, such as USB ports, HDMI, no remote, etc. Sure, you can work around some of those, but not all. And the big one for me is that this unit is absolutely silent. No moving parts.

Add in the hard drive and you've got the moving part.

geestring

Mar 28th, 2009, 11:29 AM

i think xbmc works as a media center on a pc or osx.

selfy

Mar 28th, 2009, 12:29 PM

The last time I tried XBMC on my PC (a few weeks ago) it could not play back 720p MKV files smoothly. No matter how I configure it, pans are jerky and the video stutters. The same PC can play them back smoothly in other media player apps (including Windows Media Player) with ffdshow and haali splitter installed. It's a shame as XBMC's interface is slick and fast.

Wrocky

Mar 28th, 2009, 01:05 PM

Add in the hard drive and you've got the moving part.

Sure, you could if you want to, but the point is that you don't have to. I've never had the need to add one, whereas the Xbox requires one.

zod

Mar 28th, 2009, 01:33 PM

Agreed.

There are lots of other media players in the market as well, with various features, so I'm not sure why some people always need to compare these two. Although it looks impressive, I would never buy a WDTV, as my house is wired with ethernet, and I keep all my media on one server on the network. A popcorn hour is exactly what I need, and I just ordered a 2nd one for the other TV.

Apparently theres modified firmware for WD TV that allows you to plug in an usb ethernet adapater. All I really need is something to access my network and play the files. I don't need torrenting on the box, or usenet, as the computer can handle that. I just don't like using up most of my cpu power to play videos on the tv.

I'm pretty tempted to try a WD TV at its price point. I think I'm computer savvy enough to figure out how to update the firmware so I can connect to a network.

spinbot

Mar 28th, 2009, 01:50 PM

This is really good price. I paid about the same for just my PCH.

As mentioned before, it really is hard to compare the PCH to the WDTV. I own both and both do well. The PCH has a lot more you can do with it, customer interfaces, etc. It's a luxury item. For those of us that have more disposible income and patience to play around with customizing, get the PCH and toss in a 1.5TB drive. For those strapped for cash, get the WDTV and a $30 16GB USB stick.

I have 300+ movies and dozens of TV episodes on my local drive in my PCH, with a great menu ( cool to show off to friends ).

My WDTV I have 3 or 4 items on, that I just toss on quickly to my USB stick and plug into it. Menu isn't impressive, but the WDTV works well for getting shows on my spare TV.

Topher

Mar 28th, 2009, 04:36 PM

isnt xbmc software?

Google "Boxee"

I'd like to see someone make a htpc this small and quiet for $270.

I'd settle for an Ion mobo (with Boxee) when they become available.

geestring

Mar 28th, 2009, 08:29 PM

what kind of enclosure etc. would one use for an Atom system? What would you use for the powersupply?

markj

Mar 28th, 2009, 09:03 PM

waiting on the ion mobos too...hope they will be in this price range

Amourek

Mar 28th, 2009, 09:25 PM

I built my mom a dual core Atom system with an Apex mini-ITX case. It is powerful enough to playback 1080p MKVs. Dead quiet and ended up costing about $220. No optical drive (+$25 for DVD+/-RW) and VGA out only though.

Popular

Mar 28th, 2009, 09:34 PM

LOL am i the only one who come in here expecting a popcorn machine and a 1TB HD for $365? :|

Jon Lai

Mar 28th, 2009, 09:54 PM

LOL am i the only one who come in here expecting a popcorn machine and a 1TB HD for $365? :|

Yes, but you came too late, all sold out.

Jon Lai

Mar 28th, 2009, 09:55 PM

Apparently theres modified firmware for WD TV that allows you to plug in an usb ethernet adapater. All I really need is something to access my network and play the files. I don't need torrenting on the box, or usenet, as the computer can handle that. I just don't like using up most of my cpu power to play videos on the tv.

I'm pretty tempted to try a WD TV at its price point. I think I'm computer savvy enough to figure out how to update the firmware so I can connect to a network.

A USB ethernet adapter would mean USB will become bottleneck for Gigabit ethernet, which implies streaming 1080p might be impossible.

akademiks

Mar 28th, 2009, 10:19 PM

McMaggot

Mar 28th, 2009, 10:36 PM

A USB ethernet adapter would mean USB will become bottleneck for Gigabit ethernet, which implies streaming 1080p might be impossible.

Who said you need GigE to stream 1080p MKVs? Even 100Mbps ethernet is more than sufficient.

shawn99

Mar 28th, 2009, 10:56 PM

look like with the Ethernet adapter for wdtv, this deal just became very cold. I think i'm gona pick up the WDTV for $99USD

I dont know who in the right mind would d/l high def videos with high bitrate compression (files normally 9 to 20gb) over bitorrent. Usenet is the way to go. I'd have the computer take care of it.

Loomy

Mar 28th, 2009, 11:18 PM

look like with the Ethernet adapter for wdtv, this deal just became very cold. I think i'm gona pick up the WDTV for $99USD

only because you don't know what you're talking about. people who don't know what they're talking about will get whats coming to them.

Tennoh

Mar 28th, 2009, 11:39 PM

I just bought the PCH at $270 at NCIX which is decent price. Buying direct from popcornhour.com at $215US works out to be more expensive once shipping/conversion are involved.

For me I am returning my WDTV for the PCH. I have an older HTPC P4 which doesn't cut it for 1080p videos. 720p works fine. However I have decided for me I do not need a full blown HTPC after a couple years usage so I tried the WDTV first. Worked for majority of my videos. Did not accept some codecs and subtitles. Also I hated the fact that it was USB based only after using it for a while. Since my tv location is already wired with ethernet the PCH will be a better fit for me. More codec compatibility due to its great community support and streaming via network and local storage too.

geestring

Mar 29th, 2009, 12:05 AM

where can you get those nice custom interfaces?

spinbot

Mar 29th, 2009, 01:59 AM

where can you get those nice custom interfaces?

There are various skins you can download and use as technically anyone can design one for it. I am using Yet Another Movie Jukebox ( YAMJ ). It be can got from the designers main website: http://omertron.com/pch/node He's also made a GUI ( Graphical User Interface ) to make things easier.

If you are anal like me and want everything perfect ( or as close as you can get to it ), you will need to read posts in the forum and take a look at the Wiki http://code.google.com/p/moviejukebox/

For example, if the software doesn't find the proper movie information, you can open a text file in notepad and then paste the link from the IMDB.com of the movie it should be, then save the file with a .nfo extension instead of .txt. You can also load you own fan-art ( this is the background image you see when looking at the details of the movie.. example: http://www.thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=75978&lid=7 ( scroll down ).

You can put links to trailers also in this .nfo file , however I found it easier to download the trailer completely and store it in the movie folder, then you don't have to worry about buffering lags.

Jon Lai

Mar 29th, 2009, 09:56 AM

Who said you need GigE to stream 1080p MKVs? Even 100Mbps ethernet is more than sufficient.

I said "might", assuming your file server isn't only supporting the WDTV as it's only client.

geestring

Mar 29th, 2009, 10:36 AM

There are various skins you can download and use as technically anyone can design one for it. I am using Yet Another Movie Jukebox ( YAMJ ). It be can got from the designers main website: http://omertron.com/pch/node He's also made a GUI ( Graphical User Interface ) to make things easier.

If you are anal like me and want everything perfect ( or as close as you can get to it ), you will need to read posts in the forum and take a look at the Wiki http://code.google.com/p/moviejukebox/

For example, if the software doesn't find the proper movie information, you can open a text file in notepad and then paste the link from the IMDB.com of the movie it should be, then save the file with a .nfo extension instead of .txt. You can also load you own fan-art ( this is the background image you see when looking at the details of the movie.. example: http://www.thetvdb.com/?tab=series&id=75978&lid=7 ( scroll down ).

You can put links to trailers also in this .nfo file , however I found it easier to download the trailer completely and store it in the movie folder, then you don't have to worry about buffering lags.

I noticed in some youtube videos that you must navigate through popcorn hour's default interface to get to the moviejukebox. Is it possible to have it bootup to the moviejuke box? OR I guess I could have the unit running 24/7 already on the jukebox....

spinbot

Mar 29th, 2009, 12:58 PM

I noticed in some youtube videos that you must navigate through popcorn hour's default interface to get to the moviejukebox. Is it possible to have it bootup to the moviejuke box? OR I guess I could have the unit running 24/7 already on the jukebox....

I believe their is a way, just not sure how, nor do I want it to. One of the current shortcomings ,of the PCH, is its inability to mount multiple drives simultaneously. As far as I can tell,this means you have to create an index file on each hard drive. This isn't an issue for me right now as I have 90% of my stuff on the 1.5TB in my PCH. What I will do is load kids shows on one drive, create an index for it, porn on another drive, tv shows on the third and movies on the 4th :)