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ASUS O!Play AIR reviewed, deemed 'capable'
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?
ASUS O!Play AIR HDP-R3 arrives with WiFi and card reader
We had a sneak peek at ASUS' BR-HD3 just a week few back, and rather than holding out on us any longer, it looks as if the company has come forward to make things official. The O!Play Air HDP-R3 isn't a tremendous update from the previous edition, though the addition of 802.11n WiFi and a multimedia card reader are certainly appreciated. Reportedly, the media player packs an HDMI 1.3 socket, support for just about every file format known to man and a respectable price tag of around €90 ($133). Too bad the Yanks in attendance are left in the lurch. [Via Engadget Spanish]
ASUS working up BR-HD3 wireless HDMI streamer
ASUS has been toying around with wireless transmissions to displays for a hot minute now, and it sure looks as if the outfit is fixing to pick up where the Belkin FlyWire left off by introducing the BR-HD3. Currently in testing, the wireless HDMI streamer is said to pass along 1080p content "with no lag," though there's currently no official range to speak of. The real kicker, however, is the price. The aforesaid FlyWire -- which worked amazingly in the trade show demos that we saw -- was priced at $1,499, which is obviously far too much for most consumers. This box? £399 ($654), and it could be out as early as next month. Unfortunately, the device only supports a single HDMI input (so you can forget about connecting your Blu-ray player and Xbox 360 at the same time), but ASUS is planning to introduce a three-port version in June 2010 as well as a niche spinoff in Q1 that'll wirelessly stream one source to three HDTVs.[Thanks, Anonymous]
