The media player component works well and played all the video formats I threw at it. During testing comparing with my PC for some movies the background music & sounds were louder than speech and for one large 5Gb blueray mkv rip I tested the background video was flashing . Possibly due to how the videos was encoded but otherwise I am happy with the media player.
As with all of the popular media players the device supports Yet Another Movie Jukebox software which allows you to scan your media collections for information like: year, language, fps, audio & video codecs and fetches information and photos from sites like imdb and generates the indexes in HTML format that you can view while using the jukebox mode in the media player.
Connectivity options are a strong point with USB, ESata, Cat5 and WiFi (optional) supported. Connection to television is through RCA or HDMI.
What make the PlayOn DVR different compared to the PlayOn HD is that it can also play and record digital television signals and comes with a basic antenna with a magnetic foot if you don't have one for input.
South Africa has only analog TV but there is a Sentech test digital transmission for the SABC channels in my area using DVB-T the standard the device supports.
During testing I was surprised how good the quality was when I used the little antenna indoors. Huge difference compared to analog TV with bunny ears.
Basic recording and scheduling works as expected. However that is only for digital channels where you can watch one channel and record another.
Satellite/DSTV device can be recorded but you have to use the PlayonDVR AV-IN for this purpose meaning you can't watch another channel while recording.
The drive wanted a separate partition for timeshifting on first use and you can only select between the range of 1 Gb and 4Gb depending how many minutes you want the time shift period to support.
Unfortunately only very specific internet features are supported.
These are :
- Add and view your own RSS feed
- View Picasa and Flickr RSS.
- Add & listen to internet radio channels
- Bittorent
From the PlayOnDVR website you can download the source code all models including the 76120 but as of yet haven't found a active community modifying the source code.
The support forum for the device is very quiet and firmware updates only fix bugs so in does not compare that well in this regards to media player only devices like the Medi8or.
After updating the firmware to v8.3.2.r3582 I saw no no extra functionality or visual changes.
So in summation if you are looking for a media player and recorder combo the PlayonDVR is decent and probably the only the device on the market that combines a media player,TV,DVR & basic internet functionality making it a cool gadget.
However keep in mind in future the first manufacturer that combines a media player, DVR and an opensource product that allows you to make full use of the internet will shake up this market. Embedding the open source operating system Android or ChromeOS with media player/DVR devices is definitely the future and will happen. The question is just when. Up until then I need a media player v1 so I am happy with my PlayOn DVR.
Hi;May I ask what hard drive you are using with the media player/recorder? Do you think a 5400rpm drive would suffice for all the players functions? (time shift, etc)
ReplyDeleteHi Naz, according to the box the drive supports up to 2Tb drives. I have a 1Tb 7200RPM drive in mine. It will support 5400RPM as lower speed uses even less power. The speed of the drive could possible make a slight difference when recording one channel to disk and watching another avi at the same time but I doubt it since a PC can handle it and the PlayOn doesn't have to worry about an OS like Windows reading and writing randomly all the time.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind unlike other media players it will ask you to format your drive when you put it in the first time because it has been designed to create a separate partition for the time shift storage and another one for your files and TV recordings.
So on first use make sure to copy your data to avoid losing it with the initial format.
Hi zaozzie;
ReplyDeleteI got mines :)
With a 1.5TB 5400RPM hard drive.
It is super quiet with no problems so far.
Other issues:
1. Some AVI files do not play.
2. The music with picture slide show does not seem to work - slide show works with no music.
3. Sometimes after fiddling and going back to normal live AV in, the sound jitters (using AV, not HDMI).
4. I'm assuming v3582 has the folder password lock feature?
5. Any idea if it's possible to get this box to play 3gpp video files?
6. Any ideas on copying DVD's onto HDD, ie. in what format? I'm assuming it's best just to copy the entire 4.7GB DVD (VOB) as is. You mentioned ripping to mkv - thought you might have some insight into this.
7. Is there a third party app that you're aware of that one can use to browse the internet?
8. I could also pick up the DVB-T signals, but not clear at all (sandton). Which area are you in and did you have to fiddle with antenna position to get good signal?
It's a cool gadget otherwise. Happy, happy, ;)
With these media devices being made in China and software written by small companies like AcRyan (Holland) and Medi8tor (South Africa) software glitches are part of the package especially after a device had been released and has many functions like the AcRyan PlayOn DVR HD PV76120. Hopefully AcRyan will release regular firmware updates for the lifetime of the device.
ReplyDeleteI also found a glitch while navigating between applications but this was before I updated the firmware. Not sure if it was fixed.
That AV sound glitch you mention looks like it was fixed (r3420) if you read the latest firmware readme. (http://www.acryan.com/downloads/PV76120/Readme_v8.3.x_r3582.txt). Password folder protection is listed as being added in r3582.
If you find a codec/format that isn't supported you can request it in AcRyan's feature request forum (http://www.acryan.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=131) and maybe they will add it to a future firmware update.
Regarding which formats to use when ripping there are many ripping software on the internet that you can choose from.
mkv is just one file format that allows you to rip better dvd quality in a much smaller file so it is useful if you want to save space. The quality vs size ratio of mkv rips is much more favourable compared to avi rips.
The media device doesn't support 3rd party software and even if it did you would have to flash the whole device and AcRyan has only released the source code for their old generation devices and since the community is so small the open source attraction of the device is pointless.
The jukebox software is installed on MS Windows and merely generates image files that can get stored in your movie folders via USB that the device in turn can read and display on your TV screen.
The DVB-T test signal I tested was when I was in Johannesburg. Here is a coverage map I found http://www.netlife.co.za/images/stories/South%20africa%20dtt%20pilot%20coverage%20-%20dvb-t.jpg
I stuck the antenna horizontally against a metal background but the position of the antenna did not make a difference as digital signals aren't as sensitive as analog.
Keep in mind the department of Communications has the final say if South Africa goes ahead with the DVB-T standard so there is a risk we won't be able to use the digital TV turner of the device if they choose another digital transmission standard.
You can find the source code for the playonHD DVR 76120 here: http://www.playondvr.com/en/#support or http://www.acryan.com/downloads/RTD1283_GPL.zip.
ReplyDeleteHave a look at this for adding youtube functionality. I have not tried it as yet. http://videos.apnicommunity.com/Video,Item,66647022.html
I will try the antenna suggestion but can confirm there definitely is "weak" signal in my area. Yes, the government... hrrrmmmm...
It appears as if with r4090 and r3582 the dolby/DTS feature does not work. I was therefore reluctant to move to any of these firmware revisions.
r4040 link: http://www.acryan.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=132&t=8622
Lastly, were you able to keep the dolby sound when ripping from DVD to MKV?
Thanks, I see on the support page they now have added ACR-PV76120 to the list of devices for RTD1283 source code. Will update my original blog post. Previously it wasn't listed so that is why I thought they don't release the source code. This is good news so when I have some free time I might give modding it a whirl and see how difficult it is to change.
ReplyDeleteI am staying away from the beta firmware for now (>r3582) and leave it to users like yourself to test. :)
Thanks for the youtube link I will check it out.
All my rips were already in my collection (Avi's). The mkvs I have weren't ripped by me so can't help you out there.
Your knowledge on the device seem to now exceed mine. :)
I suggest you create your own blog/ forum thread and share your experiences.
MPC club is a good resource for media players that you might want to check out if you haven't already. http://www.mpcclub.com/forum/forum.php
Cheers
Hi;Just wanted to check whether you are still getting the dvb signal. If so wirh which firmware and country selection?Naz
ReplyDeleteMy AC Ryan Playon DVR HD shows Error "Unknown Hardware, Software can't work." I already try to firmware update in safe mode but not get success. Same error comes again n again.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, my friend, I have the same problem as yours. My ryan playon hd mini 73200, you can solve it.
DeleteGood morning, my friend, I have the same problem as yours. My ryan playon hd mini 73200, you can solve it.
ReplyDelete