How could Popcorn Hour's A-100 be improved upon?

by Darren Murph posted Jul 11th 2008 at 10:30PM

Popcorn Hour's A-100 just can't seem to stay out of the spotlight, but even with a product that's universally loved, there's always a few things it could be better at. Now that you've had a few months to toy around with this thing, what aspects would you like to see improved? Head on over to Engadget Classic to chime in.

Filed under: Media streamers, Others

Tags: a-100, hd media streamer, hd streaming, HdMediaStreamer, HdStreaming, media streamer, MediaStreamer, networked media tank, NetworkedMediaTank, popcorn hour, PopcornHour, stream, streaming

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Money Mike @ Jul 11th 2008 11:32PM

The interface could be a little nicer. I would love to be able to have some sort of cover view (album art, poster art) when looking at my files. It's pretty boring to just look at a list of movies.I think it would be cool if it was skinnable, so that you could download different themes, made by other users.

The biggest problem to me is that it really never turns off. I understand that most electronics just switch to a standby mode, but the Popcorn Hour does a pretty poor job. The video output turns off, but that's about it, since the power consumption stays about the same as when it's "on."

I'd also like to install a SATA drive internally, instead of just a PATA one.

Oh, and I also wish they had USB ports on the back. Having them located just in the front takes away from the aesthetics when using any type of external device.

Neutral

corncobb @ Jul 12th 2008 1:34AM

you can skin it with cover art, just check the pch community forums. (3 options that I have found)

http://www.treasure-cove.net/PCHrev3.htm (currently using this one)

http://code.google.com/p/moviejukebox/

http://www.alibri.it/NMTAddicted/Index.htm

Neutral

kcmurphy88 @ Jul 12th 2008 4:47AM

The remote sucks.

1) The IR signal is weak. If you point even a little off, it doesn't register.
2) There are too many keys, closely spaced, with very little thought in some of the organization.
3) It's luminescent, not backlit, so after a while there's no glow from the keys.

OTOH, adding a PATA drive was a snap (and PATA/SATA distinctions here are silly), and USB ports on the front make them usable in a rack.

The interface is marginally OK, but I'd rather the CPU power went to function rather than glitz, so I'll let them slide.

Neutral

kcmurphy88 @ Jul 12th 2008 4:49AM

Since I have wired ethernet it doesn't matter to me, but I know people who are buying the DLink 330 instead for the WiFi. 802.11b chips should be getting cheap about now....

Neutral

Bryan Koylass @ Jul 12th 2008 10:31AM

The only thing keeping me from buying one is iTunes/iPhoto integration.

Neutral

Guy Incognito @ Jul 12th 2008 11:36AM

1. The remote is god-awful. The documentation is god-awful.

2. I would like faster FF/Rewind speeds - 8x just isn't fast enough.

3. I don't know if this is possible but I would like to be able to play certain files in a folder. Currently, I can only choose either to play 1 file or all the files.

Neutral

kcmurphy88 @ Jul 12th 2008 4:06PM

Considering many other solutions (e.g. TVersity transcoding Xvid to Mpeg for a DirecTV box) where rewind isn't even available due to the datapath gyrations needed, I'll settle with 8x rewind.

Neutral

Guy Incognito @ Jul 13th 2008 9:53AM

"(e.g. TVersity transcoding Xvid to Mpeg for a DirecTV box) where rewind isn't even available due to the datapath gyrations needed"

Please speak English - I can't understand you.

Since most video files I have don't have chapters, fast forwarding to say the 40:00 mark takes 5 minutes at 8x speed - and it seems longer than that. That takes too long and is annoying. Even if they could bump it to 10x I would appreciate it.

Or if they had a button on the remote that could skip 5 minutes ahead it would be wonderful.

Neutral

kcmurphy88 @ Jul 13th 2008 2:25PM

Guy--

Most systems for moving stuff between a computer and a TV need to process the data while this happens. Almost always the data is stored in a format that is different than what the TV box needs.

For example, most downloaded video files are in either Xvid or DivX format. A very common set-top box is the DIrecTV DVR, which can play files over ethernet, BUT they have to be in another format, Mpeg for it to play them.

There are several popular programs for streaming files between the computer and TV box. THey do two things -- they connect the two boxes together on the ethernet and they convert the file from one format to another.

Problem comes up when you want to alter the flow, with, say, rewind. The software has to stop the conversion it is doing, and go back through the computer file and start over. IF you want REWIND, and not just SKIP BACK, it would have to convert the file backwards, with is awfully hard to do if not impossible. So they don't do it, and some software doesn't even do the SKIP BACK thing.

Since Popcorn Hour accepts many video formats AND understands Windows File Sharing, it doesn't need any software on the computer and doesn't need any translations. So "rewind" is mostly just a matter of accessing the file backwards. To get speed rewind, frames are discarded. There are a few technical issues still, but not nearly so many.

My comment was that I was just happy to have rewind -- how well it works isn't nearly as important. Many "free" solutions don't offer it.

Neutral

Chuck Pettis @ Jul 12th 2008 12:42PM

It really needs a power switch that truly turns it off, not just the video outputs.

Neutral

Guy Incognito @ Jul 13th 2008 2:22AM

I don't have my PH hooked up to my Kill-A-Watt device so I can't tell how much power this thing uses in Standby mode or when it is powered off [but still plugged in]. It does seem that the PH powers down the Hard Drive quickly when not actively being used - I would say no more than 5 minutes.

I would agree that a power switch is welcomed.

Neutral

Sean T. @ Jul 13th 2008 3:52PM

A power switch would also be handy for when it crashes like a speeding garbage truck.

:-P

Neutral

Sean T. @ Jul 13th 2008 4:15PM

@Guy_Incognito

I happened to have my Kill-A-Watt nearby and this is what I found:

With the HD spinning: 180mA / 12Watts

With the HD idle and the PH in standby: 100mA / 6Watts

Add 1 watt to both those numbers above when active and streaming video through it. So, it only uses 7 watts to stream video if the HD stays off or is not installed.

Not bad, although I think that most of the additional 6 watts for the HD is turned into heat since this little thing gets HOT!

Neutral

cain @ Jul 18th 2008 2:18AM

Power + delete

I think that cuts it off 100%

Neutral

Joe @ Jul 12th 2008 3:14PM

Wi-Fi was added in the latest firmware update. All you need, if you've already bought one or plan on it, is a wi-fi USB dongle...so far as I can tell.

Number 7 on the list:
http://www.popcornhour.com/download/01-17-080612-15-POP-402.html

Neutral

Guy Incognito @ Jul 13th 2008 2:40AM

I'm also curious why the PH can only read NTFS and not write NTFS - licensing fees perhaps?

I would also like the ability to copy files from the USB slot to the Hard Drive.

I also agree they need to go with a SATA connector instead of a PATA connector.

Neutral

Keith @ Jul 13th 2008 2:33PM

@Guy Incognito: This is an issue for most (all?) operating systems other than Windows. I'm not sure what the actual reason is, but I would assume you are correct in guessing it's a licensing issue. It can more or less be gotten around (using Fuse/NTFS-3G), but I don't see the lack of NTFS writing being a major issue.

As for how to improve the PCH, give me a visual interface that doesn't require me to buy a separate software package and hack together my own html files to see cover art for my movies/music. Yes, it's a nitpicky thing, and it doesn't honestly bother me, but it would help with the WAF (wife acceptance factor).

Neutral

Sean T. @ Jul 13th 2008 3:03PM

The FIRST thing that they should improve should be their quality control before shipping new firmware. The latest update breaks many features.

For those that haven't bought one yet, you might want to read my mini-review. Overall I'm not very happy with it.

http://www.seantorbett.com/2008/07/13/will-the-popcorn-hour-nmt-replace-my-xbmc/

For my $200 I was expecting something better than what I wound up with.

Neutral

Stanislav @ Jul 14th 2008 4:03PM

I do not see anyone mention ability to use it as a USB slave to fill up the internal HDD. Or am I missing something and it's already been fixed?

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