Transform your HD TV viewing experience with the HD2, a network media player supporting countless video & audio formats and much more!
Product on Review : Play On!HD2
Manufacturer and Sponsor : AC Ryan
Street Price: £158 inc. VAT (GBP)
AC Ryan are a company with a strong vision – to be the number 1 manufacturer of Digital lifestyle enhancement products globally. Being a lifestyle brand isn’t always an easy task, it requires innovation and a strong constant customer satisfaction. Their current focus is on Full HD network ready media players and recorders hoping to captivate and transform the users viewing experience. Today is our first meeting with AC Ryan and we are to look at a product that is currently their flag-ship HD Network Media Player the PlayOn!HD2.
Boasting support for an broad range of video and audio formats and internet functionality the PlayOn!HD2 features the PlayOn!GUI2.0 capable of allowing users to interact and share with social media and much, much more.
The Playon!HD 2 is the next generation of network media player, taking home entertainment to the next level. Building on the success of the original world first, Playon!HD, the Playon!HD 2 is the first Full HD Network Media Player to feature Realtek’s latest processor. With the most media format support and the convenience of pre-assembled eco-friendly, low power consumption HDD, the Playon!HD 2 is the only device you need for home entertainment.
The unique and intuitive Playon! GUI2.0 allows users to navigate through all the exceptional features with ease. Enjoy more interaction with friends through Facebook, Twitter, MSN.
Experience the pure performance of Gigabit Wired Networking for the very best in media streaming. The Playon!HD2 includes a USB 3.0 port, supporting the fastest transfer speeds to load all your PC media into the Playon!HD 2.
The unique and intuitive Playon! GUI2.0 allows users to navigate through all the exceptional features with ease. Enjoy more interaction with friends through Facebook, Twitter, MSN.
Experience the pure performance of Gigabit Wired Networking for the very best in media streaming. The Playon!HD2 includes a USB 3.0 port, supporting the fastest transfer speeds to load all your PC media into the Playon!HD 2.
Specifications
A/V Out
• HDMI 1.3 interface up to 1080p
• Composite Audio / Video
• Y/ Pb / Pr Video
• SPDIF coaxial (digital audio)
• SPDIF Optical TOSLink (digital audio)
Storage Supported
• EZ-Drive slot – 3.5” SATA/SATA2 HDD up to 2TB
• 2.5” HDD support via adaptor frame
• HFS+ with Journaled
Media Cards Supported
• SD, SDHC (SD High Capacity),
• MMC, MS, MSPro
USB Supported
• USB 3.0 and 2.0 Interfaces
• Add ports with USB hubs, USB card readers
• 2x USB 2.0 (USB-A)
• 1x USB 3.0 Slave Port (USB-B)
External File System Supported
• FAT, FAT32, NTFS, EXT3, HFS+ w/out Journaling
Network – Wired
• Wired Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000Mbps (for high performance Full HD streaming)
• Wired Gigabit LAN 10/100Mbps(for data transfer)
Network – Wireless(Optional)
• Wireless WLAN 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps via USB WLAN adaptor (optional, not incl.)
• Supports WLAN security WEP, WPA
• Supports WLAN Peer-to-Peer (connects wireless without router)
Network – Wireless Built-In (selected models only)
• Wireless-N via a PCI-e port with dual antenna
Video Formats Supported
• AVI / MKV / TS / TP / TRP / M2TS / MPG /
• MP4 / MOV / M4V / VOB / ISO / DVD-ISO
• / IFO / DAT / WMV / ASF / RM / RMVB / / BD-ISO
• FLV resolution up to 720p / 1080i / 1080p
Video Codecs Supported
• MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 SP/ASP/AVC
• (H.264 | x264) / XviD / DivX / WMV9 (VC-1)
• / RealVideo 8/9/10 (up to 720P)
Video Output Supported
• PAL / NTSC / 480p / 576p / 720p / 1080i
• 50Hz / 1080i 60Hz / 1080p 50Hz / 1080p
• 60Hz / 1080p 24FPS
Audio Formats Supported
• MP3 / MP2 / WMA / AAC / FLAC / WAV /
• OGG Vorbis / PCM / LPCM / MS-ADPCM /
• LC-AAC / HE-AAC / COOK / RA-Lossless
Audio Output Supported
• Stereo
• Dolby Digital AC3 5.1
• (passthrough & downmix to stereo)
• Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
• (passthrough)
• Dolby TrueHD 7.1
• (passthrough & downmix to stereo)
• DTS Digital Surround 5.1
• (passthrough & downmix to stereo)
• AAC 7.1
• (passthrough & downmix to stereo)
• FLAC
Image Formats Supported
• JPEG, HD JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIF, PNG
Subtitles Format Supported
• SRT, SMI, SSA, IDX/SUB, SUB
Character Sets Supported (Needed for Subtitles)
• Unicode (UTF8), BIG5 (Traditional Chinese),
• Western, Turkish, Central European,
• Greek, Cyrillic, SE European, Russian,
• Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, Thai
Cooling
• 40mm Low-Noise Fan (for HDD Cooling)
Power
• Active: 12v/1.42A = 17W aprox.
• Standby: 0.65W
Packaging & First Look
The PlayOn!HD2 arrives with us in an attractively designed box. You are left in no doubt what this product does, what it includes and what technologies come integrated. Specifications can be found on the side and rear as well as a diagram of the ports to illustrate the PlayOn!HD2’s capabilities.
PlayOn!HD2 packaging captures the eye
Plenty of items within the bundle
Inside, the PlayOn!HD2 is well protected within two Styrofoam pieces and a protective sleeve. Within the accessories bundle we are given an abundance of items to take full advantage of the media player. The included items are:
• Quick Start Guide
• Power Adapter
• USB 3.0 cable
• Remote Control
• 2 x AA Batteries (for remote)
• Gold-plated Premium HDMI Cable
• Video/Audio cables
• PlayOn!HD2
You will notice I have left the Wireless N USB Adapter out of the list. This has to be purchased separately as an optional investment for wireless functionality.
All of the items within the bundle are very good quality. The HDML cable for example comes with a thick braiding that gives it that added durability. The connector also has gold-plating.
a Premium Gold-plated HDMI Cable is included
With the PlayOn!HD2 out of its protective sleeving we can see its styling is very refined. The unit would typically pair up with a HD TV, and so the styling is important. It would be foolish to style the HD2 in anything but black since most of the products found around the TV are traditionally black. The HD2 is chic, with the PlayOn!HD2 insignia engraved on the roof of the unit a shiny metallic A.C Ryan logo can be found on the front along with a circular power button that emits a red glow when in standby and aqua blue when turned on.
A professional, sleek appearance for the HD2
Closer Look
On either side of the HD2 we have various controls and functionality. First of all on its left side there is an SD slot for reading data, 2 x USB2.0 ports and a USB3.0 cable slot to connect the cable provided to and from a another device with your media on.
Variety of ports for reading movies, photos and music
On the bottom-side of the HD2 there are a series of AV out jacks, HDMI port, LAN port, optical and coaxial audio ports and a DC-IN for connecting the power pack to. As you can see from what we have covered so far, there are plenty of options in terms of how you can interact with the HD2.
Further functionality options at the bottom
On the right side of the HD2 there is a small door that opens out to reveal the 3.5” HDD. There are different versions of the HD2, one comes without a HDD so depending on what version you buy you may or may not see a drive here. It’s quite easy to remove or install a HDD inside the HD2 it simply needs to be slid into the compartment with the connectors facing the inside – these then marry up with the SATA connectors inside. In the next section we will take a closer look at the internals.
The side panel with door to remove/install 2.5/3.5” SATA drive
On the base of the HD2 there are 4 rubber feet to keep the unit from slipping around and 9 screws cross-head screws hold this back panel on. In the next section we will remove this back panel to take a closer look at the internals.
The underside or base of the HD2
Internals
As mentioned previously, 9 screws have to be removed in order to get the back panel off. With this removed we can take a look at the inner workings of the HD2. The size of the unit is governed by the size of the HDD – as you can see the PCB is in fact quite a small element of the entire product. If the HD2 was explicitly for 2.5” drives then the outer case could also be trimmed down. As it stands the unit isn’t that big anyway measuring in at: 230x165x60mm. The tray the HDD sits in is directly cabled to the PCB giving it that hot-swappable touch.
The inner workings of the HD2
AC Ryan have chosen to include a Samsung HD105SI 1000GB with 32MB Cache. This drive is 5400RPM and an average seek time of 8.9ms. This Samsung drive promises to remain at just 1W during sleep and standby and reaching just 5.7W during read/write operation. Inside the HD2 we can seat 3.5 or 2.5” drives – SATA 3Gbps is the restriction though.
AC Ryan’s HDD of choice – Samsung HD105SI 1TB
Having a look at the PCB at the very centre is a Realtek chip (RTD1185DD). This manages the HD2 media player. The other chips that can be found near the Realtek chip are Nanya NT5TU64M16GG-AC these provide onboard memory.
Next to the PCB is a small 40mm fan, this is to assist with cooling the HDD whilst under operation.
The PCB with 40mm fan
A closer look at the PCB
PlayOn! GUI2.0
Connecting the HD2 to the TV couldn’t be easier. You simply use the HDMI cable from the HD2 to the TV and connect/plug in the power adapter. Depending on the TV you have – you then need to navigate to the player. With the LG HD TV we were using, the MENU >> INPUT >> HDMI 1.
From here the HD2 boots to PlayOn! GUI2.0 and we are met with a welcome page listing various categories of media and the available disk space on the internal HDD.
The homes screen inside PlayOn! GUI2.0
Inside PlayOn! GUI2.0 we have a ‘Setup’ section. This allows us to tweak various settings within System, Audio, Video, Network and Misc. Below you can see the Video Settings available.
Video settings within ‘Setup’
There are many ways in which we can feed media to the player but one of the methods with the HD2 is that of wireless connectivity. To access this you need a Wireless USB stick. As soon as this is plugged into a USB port we can then pickup a wireless signal from a router. As you can see from the photograph below this has picked up the “Vortez” network. We then just need to select this network and input the WPA key and the HD2 is then connected to the router and ready to access the internet.
Connecting to the internet via WiFi
Once connected we can then load up ‘Internet Media’ from this page we have a multitude of applications available. Some of the more popular being YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. From here I then selected YouTube and a large keypad appeared allowing me to search YouTube for content. (All of these actions made possible via the HD2’s remote control). I then input ‘Transformers’ and the below items appeared.
Autobots…transform and roll out!
Playing content is then just a case of pressing enter on the remote for a specific video. From here we can then play any video on YouTube. The example below being Transformers Dark of the Moon trailer.
Transformers Dark of the Moon trailer streaming from YouTube
That isn’t all either, the HD2 can be used for so many different applications and uses. You can use it as a NAS, set it up as a Client for BitTorrent, show family and friends photo slideshows, and connect to social media and more!
Throughout the testing period one thing I did discover was that the menu response between the remote and GUI can appear to be sluggish at times. Another element that users may pickup on is the 40mm fan. Although AC Ryan classifies this as low-noise fan, it’s still quite noticeable since any devices around the TV are usually silent. Ideally this fan should be temperature controlled but it isn’t. It spins at the same rate through the time the unit is on.
Conclusion
We’ve seen plenty of publicity surrounding AC Ryan’s PlayOn! Range both at events and around the web but this is the first time we have come to consider one of their products for review – What impression has the HD2 left us with?
Well it’s definitely a great product to have sat beside your HD TV. You can access any of your favourite movies, music or pictures from a selection of methods – be it USB, SD card or even over the internet. The HD2 becomes extremely useful if your TV doesn’t have WiFi or struggles to handle certain video or audio codecs as the media player itself has a rather extensive list of compatible formats.
WiFi isn’t integrated but must be provided by a USB dongle – something you have to purchase as a separate product, but once you do have this attached, getting the player to interact with your wireless router is very easy. Having this media player attached to the TV with WiFi enabled really does appeal since you can share things with friends and family so much easier on the big screen. The HD2’s strong points are definitely its feature-set of being able to act as a NAS, Client for BitTorrent download, photo slideshow for friends/family and social media. (BitTorrent has been replaced with Transmission in the latest firmware)
It isn’t without some minor weak-points though. The menu system combined with the remote control can at times be tedious due to delayed response and the 40mm fan that AC Ryan have integrated within the media player case to keep the HDD cool can he heard spinning even though it has been classified as “low-noise”. Perhaps this is evident due to the fact that around the TV the neighbouring devices tend not to have a fan attached whereas in an office with a computer its fairly typical to hear a fan spinning.
Price at approximately £158 inc. VAT (GBP) the PlayOn!HD2 we have reviewed today comes with a more than adequate 1TB HDD. You can opt for a version without the drive which will of course be cheaper – this would also mean you can use a faster 7200RPM drive as opposed to the 5400RPM included or even slot in a SATAII SSD. Do bear in mind though the WiFi USB dongle does not come included with the HD2 this has to be purchased for a further £29.99.
The bottom line is: The PlayOn!HD2 is a brilliant media player that brings with it a wide selection of features that will keep most users entertained for a long time. In our experience it enhances your viewing pleasures – sit back, relax and share with friends and family!
Pros
+ Transforms viewing experience
+ Looks professional and sleek
+ Makes your HD TV internet ready (if it isn’t already)
+ Extensive list of supported video and audio formats
+ Excellent value for money
Cons
– Menu system in GUI can be slow
– HDD cooling fan should be temperature controlled
+ Transforms viewing experience
+ Looks professional and sleek
+ Makes your HD TV internet ready (if it isn’t already)
+ Extensive list of supported video and audio formats
+ Excellent value for money
Cons
– Menu system in GUI can be slow
– HDD cooling fan should be temperature controlled
