ASUS O!Play AIR reviewed, deemed 'capable'
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 25th 2010 2:07PM
posted March 25th 2010 2:07PM
When we first saw the ASUS O!Play Air set-top box the latter part of last year, we were interested -- when looking for a networked media player, it's definitely good to have options. Now that the kids at Bit-Tech have got their hands on a review unit, however, are enthusiasm has dampened quite a bit. Sure, it looks good in print: HDMI 1.3, composite video and audio output (for lovers of antiques), eSATA and USB ports, CF, SD+MMC, MS+MS Duo card readers, and 802.11n -- none too shabby, eh? Once you got past the "greasy plastic outer surface," however, things were not so awesome. The interface felt "sluggish" as the reviewer "repeatedly watching the timer... waiting for menus to load," and the device itself eschews support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS MasterHD in lieu of multichannel HD LPCM audio over HDMI -- a tongue twister for sure, but also a deal-breaker for some. On the other hand, the kids did find the UI intuitive, and an automatic media preview especially helpful for wonky filenames. The question remains -- is it worth it for $130?
Still a shame the original xbox doesnt have the horsepower to decode HD. Still love using mine+xbmc 8 or so years later. Nothing can beat its interface, speed, reliability etc.. plus the ability to use emulators to have a huge game station. Its a shame these companies dont offer a huge amount of skins and such for their interfaces, one thing that always puts me off on them is what if you get it and just hate the interface. At least with xbmc there are 100s of skins and styles to choose from
@ezelkow1
We can hope for some Tegra 2 love from Asus/Pegatron like in a previous post. Then we can get XMBC/Boxee with HD no problem.
@ezelkow1
I know what you mean about using your console. I use PS3 Media Server and my PS3 to stream to my TV and it works great. I have access to my complete folder tree instead of the system searching my PC for media and listing everything. It also plays every single file type in my library with no problem. If my computer can read it, this program can transcode it for my PS3. If anyone wants the program:
http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/
Boxee would own this.
@techlord we will see soon enough. I own this Asus O! Play and love the abilities but hate the interface. I will be getting a Boxee when it comes out and will know soon enough who reigns superior. I have a feeling you are right.
Poor review they compare unfavorably at the end to the AC Ryan PlayOn HD not realizing they are the exact same hardware the Realtek 1073 chipset.
Seriously there are dozens of players with the exact same features and the stock Realtek GUI.
This website catalogs all of them.
http://www.iboum.com/net-media-players.php
I have an ASROCK ION, which has all these capabilities and many more as its also a full PC (Speedball 2 rocks on an emulator + 52" screen)... why buy this?
@bigsofty: I hate dedicated media streamers.
That's why I have an ION 330 as well. Of course, the ION 330 is pricy now compared to the Acer REVO (same thing, no optical drive but includes Windows 7 Home Premium). All for about $300, and like you said, WAY more flexible.
At least the O!Play supports OS X HSF formatted discs...
http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=2759
A friend of mine likes his O!Play well enough, but since he saw my ION setup, is planning on switching to ION as well.
I think this is an error in your grammar, unless I'm reading this wrong.
'Now that the kids at Bit-Tech have got their hands on a review unit, however, are enthusiasm has dampened quite a bit. "
Shouldn't that be "our" enthusiasm? Am I missing something?
@Godnah Only confidence in your post.
@Godnah It's Engadget. They don't be needin' no grammar.
It's a tough market now that Nettops have come down in price so much. You have got to be near this price point...and what can you do there?
I had a Popcorn Hour for sometime and really liked it...but playing DRM content (e.g., Netflix) required Playon. That interface was quite precarious...as was the PCH at times. Other such streamers have arrangements with netflix and other DRM-ed content providers...but for how long...and what is the new DRM content coming down the road? Hulu wasn't significant when I bought my first PCH...but became so during that streamer's lifetime.
I was an early adopter but have since stepped away from this market. I now use nettops running Win 7 for media players...and frankly, they rock. Anything that I can watch on my PC, I can watch on the nettop - MLB.com, netflix, Hulu, whatever...and that includes things coming down the road. $300 gets you an Atom 330 Ion-based nettop with 2GB of RAM, a hard drive, Gig-E (and perhaps wireless), and a wireless keyboard and mouse. $20 more and you have an WMC remote control.
Perhaps the real test was my family. They were always frustrated with the media players and *love* the nettop. Having the same UI that they know and love on their computer helps. Some may say that Win 7 is not an OS for the living room, but frankly, the computer and TV have pretty much converged at this point...and a nettop in the living room acknowledges this. Also, Win 7 WMC is a pretty decent living room interface.
$0.02
There are lots of streamers out and I'd love to have a selection since I'm buying one soon but Xtreamer still wins automatically for supporting the one thing I cant find proof the others do. Folder Locking.
are feelings or our feelings?
Sorry, try that one more time -
are enthusiasm or our enthusiasm** -
@Slick Repost, see above
now waiting to see how Boxee Box and Popbox do...
If it doesn't do HD audio, it isn't competitive enough. Do yourself a favor and get a Dune Base 3.0. It actually does HD audio