Popcorn Hour's A-100 HD media streamer publicly available for pre-order

What do you know? Yet another outlet for you to happily blow $179. As of today, Popcorn Hour's heralded A-100 HD media streamer is finally available for the public at large to pre-order. Previously, folks had to actually sign a list just to be blessed with the privilege of placing an order, but now it seems supply is at long last flowing in nicely. The company has even set up a forum to keep customers informed of order status, but we wouldn't dillydally around -- these are still being sold on a first come, first served basis.

[Thanks, leland]

[Miami Diver @ May 2nd 2008 10:27AM]

I have one, love it. There is nothing it can't play. Interface is quick. Firmware updates keep adding features. Watching YouTube is a snap.

[Big Boy(30 incher) @ May 2nd 2008 10:34AM]

Nothing? How about iTunes d/l music (protected)?

[Logboy @ May 2nd 2008 10:52AM]

I'm in the market for a good media streamer...Is this the best one? Any other comparable?

[Jon @ May 2nd 2008 11:09AM]

IMO Not for this price .. there are other that are more fancy such as TVIX HD M-6500A or there newest HD M-7000A .. but they are far more pricey about $399 for the M-6500A .. and i am not sure they update the firmware as often

[Jonyah @ May 2nd 2008 1:48PM]

I've had one for about a month and another on order for about 2 weeks. I'll let you all know now expect it to take a while to get, but once you have it, you'll love it. I don't think we'll ever do hard media again. All my library is in process of being converted to h.264. All I have to worry about now is disk space. Eventually I'll have one on every tv in the house. Like others have said, there isn't anything it doesn't play, including the mkv container (good luck finding others that do that). I did use my PS3 for streaming but this is much better and at only 14watts of power usuage, I"m saving money not powering the ps3.

[Danny Lewis @ May 2nd 2008 10:28AM]

I have been seriously considering getting one of these, but I don't have the money. :(

[Jon @ May 2nd 2008 10:29AM]

I got mine about a month ago .. Its almost perfect .. Some issues connecting my HP Mediasmart server to it using NFS but maybe im a moron .. But i have had no issues using SMB .. Plays back dvd TS folders or ISO perfect With Menus Etc... .. Will even play back Backed up blurays perfect in M2TS form .. not quite ready for Bluray .ISO yet (or ever?) .. But you can use Anydvd to get the main M2TS file and play back Bluray .. They update the firmware about once a month to always update it .. Hey they should pay me for this damn advertisement .. Just buy the darn thing

[Adam @ May 2nd 2008 10:32AM]

Had one for a few weeks. Some bugs but new firmware comes out very frequently.

Very nice playback quality.

[Big John @ May 2nd 2008 10:44AM]

I'm glad to see a couple glowing reviews for this thing. I just moved into a new apartment yesterday, and I'm looking for a device just like this! I hope Engadget does a review of it, or even someone else of repute.

[kurt.tappe @ May 2nd 2008 10:48AM]

It's already been reviewed--all you had to do was follow the link to the earlier Engadget article and scroll down. Here is the link to the review:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1118284/popcorn_hour_a100_review/

[Dan_C @ May 2nd 2008 10:49AM]

How is the user interface on this thing? Is it nice and polished or does it look kinda crappy? Are there more pictures of the interface I can see somewhere?

[NONE @ May 2nd 2008 2:27PM]

>> How is the user interface on this thing?

It's a little spartan, but very functional and responsive. It's not XBMC or Itunes by any stretch... but it works.

[Vishnu Vadlamudi @ May 2nd 2008 11:02AM]

But does it play Divx? cuz i've got tons of movies in Divx. and can I plug in an external hard drive? I've got a 1Tb external drive that I would like to play from.

[feffrey @ May 2nd 2008 11:12AM]

from dvix to mkv, and flac, it will play pretty much every video and music file out there. It also has 2 usb ports so you can hook up a external hard drive to play stuff.
The only problem with it is that if your have a dts audio and you are not going to an external receiver for the dts, it will not downmix the dts to stero. The licensing is way too expensive for them to do that. However there is a great free ware app on their forums that a user created to take mkv videos with dts audio to extract the dts audio, covert it to ac3 audio and put the dts and the ac3 audio back in.
I absolutely love mine, It is even compatible with the logiitech harmony remote.
This is the best media streamer on the market right not and it is also one of the cheapest.

[Vishnu Vadlamudi @ May 2nd 2008 11:25AM]

feffery, how sure are you about divx compatibility? the site only mentions xvid in the supported codecs..

[feffrey @ May 2nd 2008 12:32PM]

I have played divx encoded file fine no problems.

[Dave @ May 2nd 2008 11:04AM]

I'd give the interface a A on graphics but a C for janky linux feel. You instantly know this thing is underpowered on the Menu side. It's functional and pretty but slow and kinda clunky. Movie playback and what counts is A rating. It plays my blueray 8gig mkv's perfect though. YOU WILL NEED A COOLING FAN IF YOU INSTALL A HD. I put a 250gb in there and it over heats. A small 1" fan like off the back of a CD burner works fine. Just needs airflow. The firmware updates have kept this thing current with almost any anime/new scene codec/and anything that the internet dishes out. Had one for about 6 months now and love it. Wish it had wifi but for streaming you really need the cable. Functions as a great NAS as well.

[timmaughan @ May 2nd 2008 11:15AM]

Had my eye on this...does it handle subtitles in MKVs nicely (i'm a big anime fan)?

I've heard it won't decode DTS...is that true?

[Redmist @ May 2nd 2008 7:19PM]

@timmaughan

this is perfect for any anime fan.
the subtitles work perfectly, I shared my anime directory (all 200gigs of it) and the popcorn hour saw it and streams it perfectly.

watching code geass on my HDTV is amazing.

[leland @ May 2nd 2008 12:12PM]

It does not decode DTS, but it will pass it thru DTS to your A/V receiver. Thus they avoid paying dolby $$. If you care enough about DTS the odds are you have an A/V receiver anyway.

Subs work ok but they look pretty ugly.

[feffrey @ May 2nd 2008 12:52PM]

There is also a user made app on their forums that will automatically convert the dts to ac3 sound.
http://networkedmediatank.com/viewtopic.php?t=3071&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Jonyah @ May 2nd 2008 1:50PM]

The software is open source and there is also another use made app that converts the subs to hd.

[me @ May 2nd 2008 11:15AM]

i alll ready have one it is my htcp computer i just built it does
all this same stuff plus i ripped my all dvds to my network hard drive
now i can just going in to media center and watch all of my movies
I am even adding a bluray player to it so ill be able to play hd
movies as well and yes becuz it is on my network i can stream any thing from it to any other computer in my house but not really need as i save every thing to my network hard drive so i can get to it from any computer in the house any how


to be honest and htcp computer can be built or bought if u prefer
for around the same price as some the media streamer and provided
more function

my htcp computer work as my dvr so it records all my shows plays
all my dvd plus i can order down load movies online i really don't
see y people r so hyped up about the things

[Mike @ May 2nd 2008 12:06PM]

This is the almost exact same thing as Apple TV, but just doesn't look as good. Although I'm sure this supports way more file formats I just don't think its worth it. What's customer support going to be like from this company are they reliable? Windows Media and an Xbox can do this same thing too and a lot better.

[Keith Lard @ May 2nd 2008 1:08PM]

@Mike - It's like the apple tv, except it's cheaper, can handle loads of codecs and containers and can play full HD H264 content.

The Xbox is better at most things, yes - but not if you want to play full HD H264 video.

Their customer service isn't too bad - they have responded to me twice in a couple of hours, sorting my problems out.

[me @ May 2nd 2008 11:17AM]

i alll ready have one it is my htcp computer i just built it does
all this same stuff plus i ripped all my dvds to my network hard drive
now i can just going in to media center and watch all of my movies
I am even adding a bluray player to it so ill be able to play hd
movies as well and yes becuz it is on my network i can stream any thing from it to any other computer in my house but in most cases i all ready have access to my media via my network hard drive were i save every thing to so i can get to it from any computer in the house


to be honest and htcp computer can be built or bought if u prefer
for around the same price as some the media streamer and provided
more function

my htcp computer work as my dvr so it records all my shows plays
all my dvd plus i can order down load movies online i really don't
see y people r so hyped up about the things

[Juanito @ May 2nd 2008 11:22AM]

There were similar positive comments and reviews for the Buffalo Linktheater a few years ago (also based on the last generation Sigma chipset) but found it to fall short of the promises. The frequent firmware updates (provided by Sigma) stopped well before the product reached even beta quality.

All of the products based on that chipset had problems and the chipset and Sigma firmwares were blamed so the Popcorn product may offer a similar experience. I'm very interested in the Popcorn product, but I think I'll wait and see on this one.

For anyone that has a Popcorn - is it playing the streaming files directly from NAS/sources or relying on some kind of decoder on a PC that you have to connect to?

[Jon @ May 2nd 2008 11:27AM]

Directly

[Jonyah @ May 2nd 2008 1:52PM]

I stream from both an nas and my home computer. Streaming HD in full 1080p with no stuttering issues. I have it wired up 100mb. I do wish it supported 1gb though and was able to fast foward faster than 8x, but I think they limited that due to the 100mb max.

[timmaughan @ May 2nd 2008 11:24AM]

dunno how long you've had your HTPC mate, but i've had mine for just over a year. i'm sick of it. its a bloody PC. under my tv - and with all the BS that goes with it. a loud fan. antivirus software. software updates. a looooong windoze start up time. that's why i'm in the market for something like this.

as for blu-ray, i'll wait for the prices to drop and the sub $200/£100 chinese players to hit the market around xmas. far less hassle.

[nVidiot @ May 2nd 2008 11:28AM]

This thing is cheap and awesome.

To the above poster, I also have an HTPC and of course prefer it for playback. But this thing is only $175. It also has an on-board OS that nearly instantly loads, has built in web services for firmware updates, and is 100% silent out of the box since it doesn't require an HD. No moving parts.

Not to mention HDMI out.

I use it in my bedroom; I have my main multi-terrabyte RAID array in my office, my HTPC in my living room, and the popcorn hour in my bedroom.

[byaah @ May 2nd 2008 11:47AM]

Seems pretty neat. I'm pretty sure I bought a external HD case that looked just like that though, haha.

[Rich @ May 2nd 2008 11:51AM]

I've just got one of these. My only complaint is that it takes IDE rather SATA hard-drives.

[Rich @ May 2nd 2008 11:52AM]

...rather THAN...

Urgh, Friday afternoons.

[Jon @ May 2nd 2008 12:06PM]

Don't you have better crap to do then correct grammar ? I Dislike you

[Jon @ May 2nd 2008 12:39PM]

Oh im a tool , you corrected your own mistake .. I like you again and dislike myself

[john @ May 2nd 2008 11:59AM]

I've got one of the beta units and while firmware upgrades are nice, the UI is still rendered in a web browser on the device which is slow and there is a VERY noticeable lag between clicking on a video to play and it launching the video player to play it.

MKV support is nice but seeking, even from a USB drive is EXTREMELY SLOW. Seeking in AVI is fast and what you would expect. The virtual chapter points in both modes are a welcome feature.

The unit has promise and would probably thrive with an OpenSource UI / Player code but the Sigma 8634 chip uses signed executables which prevent 3rd party binaries / kernels from being run.

[John @ May 2nd 2008 12:06PM]

I don't have a cooling fan for my PH with a WD Caviar 320GB drive and it runs fine, plenty cool and very quiet. I also don't leave it on all the time nor is it playing all the time.

Put together with my Tivo's, the PH fills in holes and is also good for taking on the road to hotels, etc. loaded with, um, files and stuff. Right now it's loaded with older seasons of shows I might've missed or movies, etc. It's really perfect if you get your tv/movies from a "place" that isn't iTunes...

[hugoliva @ May 2nd 2008 12:37PM]

I've own one for over a month now, and I absolutely love it. It retired my XBMC after 3 years of use. Interface is great and everything works as advertised. My only complain is that the torrent client does not work with most private trackers, but that's more an issue of the trackers than PCH's. Other great feature is that it is very energy efficient, I've measured the cost of the energy consumption with my Killawatt and it comes down at 6 cents a day!!! playing videos and downloading torrents at the same time, compare that to my power hungry inspiron 530 that costs me $1.50 a day and you have a money saver that pays for itself in less than a year.

[AJ in the East Bay @ May 2nd 2008 1:08PM]

Hugo, I have three Xboxes running XBMC throughout my house. Does this beat it in every aspect? Not that I'm in a rush to get rid of my Xboxes as they are working fine right now...

[hugoliva @ May 2nd 2008 1:37PM]

Not in every aspect, i.e. it won't play directly out of rar's, the GUI is slower and not as pretty as XBOX's, music side is adequate at best, subtitles are not as customizable, it won't connect to the internet and automatically tag all your media, but in change it is completely silent and the biggest plus, it plays HD files without hiccups at all and YouTube and plenty of other video sites work like a charm.

[AJ in the East Bay @ May 2nd 2008 1:43PM]

Thanks, Hugo. Looks like I'm good to go with XBMC for the time being.

I got a Neuros OSD yesterday to convert my analog stuff to digital. It's funny because it's a streamer but I'll be using it just for conversion. I tried the interface last night and it's nice but not smooth. Played an MP3 okay but VOB was so-so. Anyway, that's what XBMC is for.

[met722 @ May 2nd 2008 6:04PM]

I also have been using XBMC. The only reason I bought a Popcorn Hour was because the XBMC maxes out at a resolution of 720p/1080i (I've read even that can be laggy) and I want to be able to stream 1080p.

If your not using it to stream HD content, I would stick with XBMC.

[Andrew @ May 2nd 2008 12:54PM]

very pleased with mine, plays everything i chuck at it

also you can purchase and use laptop hdd's if you want something quiet and less heat.

[TheCow5 @ May 2nd 2008 1:29PM]

I've had one of these for a couple months now and I must say it's worth every penny.
It handles almost all video file format without any problem that I've experienced. Currently have it connected to a switch which has a 500GB NAS and they all pull form the NAS with no problem at all.
I am now about to get my third one.
A must have for all

[Justin @ May 2nd 2008 1:31PM]

Had mine about 2 months. Works perfectly on video playback, absolutely no complaints at all. It plays my divx, mp4, and MKV files so far with no problms. I have a 320GB Full size drive in it with NO fan and NO heat problems. My only gripe is the "extras" that allow you to browse picasa and youtube are really slow to the point of which I have had to just turn it off and on to get back to where I can use it again.

[Chris @ May 2nd 2008 1:32PM]

Does it support os x?

[Denholm @ May 2nd 2008 1:34PM]

@ AJ

No, not even close in terms of usability, speed, GUI. The XBMC on the Xbox is better at.. pretty much everything. But, the PCH can play fullHD like butter, which for me is (almost) all that counts. I still have both hooked up to my TV, but since I almost only watch HD I'd say I use the PCH 95% of the times.

[AJ in the East Bay @ May 2nd 2008 1:39PM]

Thanks, Denholm. I still haven't jumped on the HD bandwagon completely (just watch OTA HD) so I guess I'm good for now.

[hugoliva @ May 2nd 2008 1:44PM]

Same happens to me. As of now the, the Xbox has been moved to the bedroom's TV and collects dust as days go by. The day XBMC gets integrated into a silent standallone machine capable of full HD, that's the day that all the PCHs an Tvixs of the world will be pwned.