"We'd heard rumors Mvix USA would be rolling out an upgraded 1080p capable media box to rival the earlier MvixPVR and here it is. Dubbed the Ultio, it has a list of supported codecs and containers that rivals the new Popcorn Hour C-200 in its thoroughness -- DivX® (3/4/5/6), Xvid, AVC-HD, MPEG 1/2/4, WMV-9, ASF(WMV9), MKV, DVD(IFO, VOB), ISO, MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AC3 -- it's all here, with a slightly awkward Swiss Army knife-themed tagline to boot. The $169 price tag is sans-3.5-inch SATA HDD, though you can add one for $79 (500GB) $90 (1TB) or $139 (1.5TB). Of course network streaming is a part of the package, with Mvix's usual suite of Samba / UPnP / ********** (mentioning compatibility with PlayOn and Tversity specifically to get all your Netflix, YouTube and other streaming sources to TV) via Ethernet or optional Wireless-N dongle. It's up for pre-orders now, take a close look at the specs and pics then get in line before they start shipping July 6."

From Engadget.

I'm not currently in the market but thought it may be good fodder for discussion.

just got an Egreat M34A and have been very happy with it. What can the Mvix supposedly do that others cannot?

More info from http://mvixcommunity.com/index.php?

Here's what we can tell you right now. MvixUSA has not been working with prior partners on this product. This means that the new media center device will be using new chips and chipsets. This in turn means even more formats will be supported. As a teaser, the new unit, titled the Mvix Ultio (isn't that Latin for 'revenge'!?), will support FLAC, MKV and H.264! It is rumored to also have an embedded UPnP and a bittorent client.


Perhaps the best news will be that the majority of the Linux-based code will be provided for free and shipped with the device itself! Certainly, this is proof-positive that MvixUSA has been listening to the community and the clamors for opening up the code. Another benefit from MvixUSA producing this product themselves is that feedback will go directly to the manufacturer and they will be able to fix issues themselves.

Where is it listed for sale at? I don't see it at mvixusa.com

Information on Site:

http://www.mvixusa.com/ultio/1080p-high-definition-home-theater-pc.html

Ordering Link:

http://www.mvixusa.com/store/index.php?target=products&product_id=1592#main_description

This is the mail I sent to service @ mvixusa.com (Address given in the user manual)


Hi,

I saw the press release for the Mvix Ultio online, and am really excited about purchasing the gadget. Prior to purchase, I have a few questions and some sample files regarding which I would like to know the playback capability:

The files are as follows (all are sample clips only):

1. http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/Planet_Earth_From%20Pole_to_Pole_1080p_sample_16ref.mkv

2. http://rapidshare.com/files/172564222/CHD-Transformers-1080p-Sample.mkv

3. http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/basketball%2060fps%201080p%2010000kbps.mkv

Files 1 and 2 are 16 reference frame H264 streams, while File 3 is a 60fps H264 stream becoming common in today's camcorders. These are the streams that I have which do not play in my WDTV. I am looking to replace WDTV with a gadget with better functionality with respect to the percentage of files which can be played back successfully.

I am sure the Mvix Ultio will turn into a must-buy once the above files can be played back! I look forward to a hopefully positive response which will help me put down the cash to purchase this impressive gadget :)

Please let me know where and how I can follow up on this query and your response.

I'm definitely interested in this box. It's set at a great price point.

I'm definitely interested in this box. It's set at a great price point.

http://www.mvixusa.com/ultio/images/image_ultio.jpg

Man that thing is FUGLY! It looks like someone fitted components for a media player into a 1970s cable converter box as a hobbiest retro project. fail.

PDF (http://www.mvixusa.com/download/manuals/mvixultio/Mvix%20Ultio%201080p%20UPnP%20Media%20Player.pdf)

Full 1080p Media Decoding Technology
Supports popular 1080p HD video codecs, including
H.264, MKV, Dixv HD, MPEG 2-TS, VC-1, WMV9.
Enjoy playback from over a dozen video formats and
codecs on your HD LCD or Plasma via HDMI interface.
Flexibility, Scalability and Portability
For movies, TV shows, camcorder footage and more,
the Mvix Ultio is capable of playing dozens of digital
media files and formats including DivX® (3/4/5/6), Xvid,
MPEG 1/2/4, WMV-9, ASF(WMV9), MKV, DVD(IFO,
VOB), ISO, MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AC3. The
Media Center is completely Scalable – you decide what
HDD-size suits you!

Built-In Torrent Client
Built-in Torrent Client, combined with NAS features
provides an idea setup for digital media acquisition,
storage and sharing.
Home-theater PC Experience
Combined with spectacular picture quality of HD video
and crystal clear sound clarity of digital audio, the Ultio
provides a complete HTPC experience. Ability to install
an internal SATA hard drive allows versatile
applications.

Network Media Playback
Network media streaming from a shared, passwordprotected
folder of a PC or NAS or a server over
Ethernet (RJ45) connection or a wireless-N network
(optional). Complete Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)
support with embedded Samba Client. UPnP allows for
seamless integration with services like PlayOn (stream
video content from Netflix, Hulu, CBS, Youtube, CNN,
ESPN and much more)

File Management via Remote Control
Manage your entire media collection from the comfort
of your living room. The media center is equipped for
enabling complete file management features directly
from the remote control - no need of a PC for its
operations. Provides features like formatting hard-drive,
Copy, Delete, Rename of files and even physical transfer
of files between USB storage, Network shares, PC and
its internal HDD simply via the hand-held remote.)

Specifications
Model No: Mvix Ultio (MX-800HD ) HD UPnP Media Player
HDD Compatibility Supports 3.5 SATA hard disk (capacity up to 1.5TB), HDD not included
HDD Format FAT32, EXT3 or NTFS format
External Storage Via USB Host (for external CD ROM / DVD ROM / Portable HDD / USB storage)
Video Resolution H.264, MKV, WMV9, TS and HD Divx supports up to 1920 x 1080p
RM/RMVB supports up to 720p
TV System Compatibility PAL, NTSC, Auto
Networking LAN RJ45 10/100M or Wi-Fi 802.11N (via USB dongle, sold seperately)
Network Protocols Embedded uPnP Client, Samba Client
Video Playback
Codec: H.264, MKV, WMV9, MPEG 1/2/4, HD Divx , Xvid, FLV, RM/RMVB
Container: mkv, ts, m2ts, mts, tp, trp, wmv, Ifo, iso, vob, dat, avi, mpg, mp4, mov,
rm, rmvb, divx, xvid, flv
Audio Playback
Codec: MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, AAC, LPCM, FLAC, AC3
Container: WAV [.wav, .pcm], ADIF, ADTS [.aac], M4A [.m4a], OGG [.ogg],
ASF/WMA [.asf, .wma], FLAC [.flac]
Image Playback JPG, JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
Subtitle Playback sub, smi, ssa, srt, idx + sub
Audio Video Out HDMI1.3 (digital video and audio signals), Component (Y Pb Pr), Composite Video
output , Optical (5.1Ch Dolby Digital), Stereo double audio output (Audio R/L),
I / O Ports
USB2.0 Host (for connecting external CD ROM / DVD ROM / Portable HDD /
USB storage / USB WIFI), USB2.0 Slave to transfer Media from PC.
10/100Mbps Ethernet port (Media Transfer and Sharing across network
Torrent Client Embedded Bit torrent Client (Coming soon)
File Management HDD Format, Copy, Delete, Rename, File Transfer via hand-held Remote
Power Input Universal AC 100 ~230V 50Hz, DC
Power Consumption DC 12V 2A, 30-W
Language English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Hebrew

Man that thing is FUGLY! It looks like someone fitted a box in a 1970s converter as a hobbiest retro project. fail.

Well, it looks better than the front of the Dell PC that doubles up as my HTPC presently in my living room.. For me, what really matters is the internals.. Can it better the Xtreamer in playback capability?

Also, people in the US might prefer this to Xtreamer since it is shipped from within the country, and the exact cost to the pocket is known in advance (not like Xtreamer, where you have to wait for CC exchange rates / fees / customs taxes etc., and in all possibility will end up being costlier than the $169 quoted for this box).

All said, the industrial design for this product is nothing to write back home about. The Xtreamer scores in that respect definitely.

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/2372/fuglio.jpg

Also the remote is Fugly too. They should call this the Mvix Fulgio. Or the Mvix Grandpa. Because it looks like something I saw in his basement once.

Also could they make the MVIX logo a little bigger? Because I'm pretty sure once they suck $200 out of our wallet, we'll forget who made the player. :rolleyes: I wonder what chipset/memory is inside and if it's as good as (or the same as) the Xtreamer's RT128X.

This was to be expected.

They have made the source code public before Xtreamer.

http://www.mvixusa.com/support/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=viewdownload&downloaditemid=50

You can see the link to the RealTek_GPL.tar.gz in the above link

Kinda fugly. I already have the AC Ryan on a plane over the ocean right now. Hope I made a good choice. I probably would have gotten the Mvix if I had know it was going to launch this soon.

This was to be expected.

They have made the source code public before Xtreamer.

http://www.mvixusa.com/support/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=viewdownload&downloaditemid=50

You can see the link to the RealTek_GPL.tar.gz in the above link

This means that modders can even add more codec support instead of only more features?

How many reframes?

it says it support flac. How about multi-channel and high bit rate flac, e.g. 5.1 24/48 in an .mkv container, anyone knows?

it says it support flac. How about multi-channel and high bit rate flac, e.g. 5.1 24/48 in an .mkv container, anyone knows?

I have already opened a support ticket with MvixUSA (they were very prompt in replying) regarding this and also the reframe issue (Gave them 16 reframe sample clips to test out).

Hopefully, we will get to know the results soon!

I have already opened a support ticket with MvixUSA (they were very prompt in replying) regarding this and also the reframe issue (Gave them 16 reframe sample clips to test out).

Hopefully, we will get to know the results soon!

Great! Please let us know when you hear back.

This means that modders can even add more codec support instead of only more features?

From their site (http://www.mvixusa.com/ultio/mvix-ultio-challenge.html):
Dont believe it? how about we raise the stakes !

* Go ahead and Download the Sourcecode, and Cook up a New Feature or Application.
* Send it to our MvixGURU's for testing.
* We like, we adopt it, we release it as an Official Firmware.
* You get a $500 Check as our "thank you" gesture.

Simple enough? ... then lets get to work !"

Sounds like a novel approach to encourage the user community.

Now we wait to see the GUI.

Is the Mvix just a Syabas machine like NMT? Popcornhour, Egreat, Myka?

Is the Mvix just a Syabas machine like NMT? Popcornhour, Egreat, Myka?

No, it is not. Syabas machines are based on the Sigma chipset. This is based on a Realtek one.

This means that modders can even add more codec support instead of only more features?

I downloaded the source code for the Realtek chipset firmware, and took a cursory glance. I am no firmware developer (more of a chip design guy), but as far as I could see, there is no code which even gives out any of the Realtek API calls. I feel there is no scope to support more codecs by the user community.

Other learned members, please feel free to correct me if you find information to the contrary.

Anyone figure out what chipset is in this one? I emailed support and they didn't say.

They said the 'latest realtek chipset' but not the 128(x). Wouldn't the latest Realtek chipset BE the 1283? :confused:

check this out :

http://www.mvix.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1256&FID=8&PR=3

Was posted by Unicorn the manufacturer itslef on their official site.

It seems clearer now.

"Unfortunately MvixUSA - Unicorn partner in USA for the last few years has recently announced their new device - the so called "Mvix Ultio (MX-800HD)"

This announcement is to clarify to all that device is not a Unicorn product, nor it will be supported by Unicorn now or in the future in anyway.

According to initial Unicorn Investigations to the subject matter, the device is an independent unauthorized OEM initiative made by MVIXUSA and originated from other vendor.

The use of the mvix name brand on any product or publication without the advance explicit authorization or permission of Unicorn Korea was reported to the legal department of the company with a clear instructions to take all necessary steps to protect Unicorn rights without delay.

Please note : Any dealer or an e-tailer worldwide offering the sale or distribution of any Mvix devices without explicit authorization in advance from Unicorn Korea will be held liable for infringing Unicorn rights and will be prosecuted to the maximum extent allowed by the law.

Mvix Korea Official site is www.mvix.net

Can you say Injunction?

Can you say Injunction?

INJUNCTION!

Haha. Looks like they may have to change the name to the Mvix Uh-oh!

From that quote it seems MvixUSA is a Unicorn partner and has made this product under the Mvix brand without permission and without informing Unicorn. Mvix Uh-oh!

If i were an ebay seller or a dealer I would not dare to hold this ultio in stock, unless i am looking for trouble and probably plan to go bankrupt in the near future.

This kind of announcment made by Mvix practically killed the ultio before even it was born, as it has no commercial value in the retail market.

I dont realy see how any reasonable business will take the chance to be sued, and with the variety of devices emerging every day in the market i dont see why they should take the chance.

Amazon, ebay and most respectable businesses alike will not hold it in their stock.

It is reasonable to expect that unicorn next steps will be to hunt down any shipment, weblog, hosting company, distributor and custom authority to make this ultio obsolete.

Those here with good memory may recall a similar story in the past with the raphsody devices. The model is gone so its community.

If i were an ebay seller or a dealer I would not dare to hold this ultio in stock, unless i am looking for trouble and probably plan to go bankrupt in the near future.

This kind of announcment made by Mvix practically killed the ultio before even it was born, as it has no commercial value in the retail market.

I dont realy see how any reasonable business will take the chance to be sued, and with the variety of devices emerging every day in the market i dont see why they should take the chance.

...

It is reasonable to expect that unicorn next steps will be to hunt down any shipment, weblog, hosting company, distributor and custom authority to make this ultio obsolete.

Those here with good memory may recall a similar story in the past with the raphsody devices. The model is gone so its community.

+1

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/6694/tombstones.jpg

Anyone email MVIX USA about the Unicorn statement?

Anyone email MVIX USA about the Unicorn statement?

Yes. They sent me a link to the US Patent and Trademark office which appears to indicate MvixUSA holds trademark to the word 'Mvix' but no idea how the international partnership between MvixUSA and Unicorn is affected or not by that. There are still lots of sticks MvixKorea/Unicorn could use.

Mark Image
Word Mark MVIX
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: PORTABLE HARD DISK DRIVES, HOME THEATER PCs, AND PORTABLE AUDIO-VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA PLAYERS. FIRST USE: 20050913. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20050913
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77038184
Filing Date November 7, 2006
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition June 5, 2007
Registration Number 3282002
Registration Date August 21, 2007
Owner (REGISTRANT) MVIX (USA), INC. CORPORATION VIRGINIA 4652 BUCKHORN RIDGE FAIRFAX VIRGINIA 22030
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

I guess Unicorn could stop sending MVIX USA anymore product that Unicorn manufactures........

Wow, that didn't last long.

This looks like a Syabas based machine due to the 4 colored buttons on the remote. I think Mvix USA is just rebadging the machine to theirs.

Here are links to the quick fact sheet from the MvixUSA store
http://www.mvixusa.com/download/manuals/mvixultio/Mvix%20Ultio%201080p%20UPnP%20Media%20Player.pdf
Format support PDF
http://www.mvixusa.com/download/manuals/mvixultio/Mvix%20Ultio%20Media%20Player%20Format%20Support.pdf
Widgets pack
http://www.mvixusa.com/download/firmware/MvixUltio/Mvix%20Ultio%20Widgets%20Pack.zip
firmware 1.1
http://www.mvixusa.com/download/firmware/MvixUltio/MvixUSA_Ultio_Firmware_v1.1.zip
User Manual
http://www.mvixusa.com/download/manuals/mvixultio/Mvix%20Ultio%20User%20Manual.pdf

Looks like this device will be able to play ISO with DVD Menu....
Directly from the Manual
If your ISO file contains the “Menu” structure of DVD, then the playback will start with that
DVD Menu and allow you to select Chapters, Scenes, Audio or Language types etc.

The playback of ISO files replicates a standard DVD playback in its entirety.

During playback, you can Fast Forward, Rewind, Pause or Mute your playback as you would
do on a standard DVD playback.

Skipuppy

looks like BH photo video is selling this thing

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/619573-REG/MvixUSA_MX_800HD_Ultio_HD_Media_Player.html#specifications

considering the legal threats from mvix korea, this should be interesting.....

If I had not ordered the AC Ryan, I would have ordered this.........I wonder how the Unicorn vs. MVIS USA will shake out.

I'm surprised BH photo is selling it!

from the BHphoto website:

"Your card will be charged upon placing the order."

why so much hate for this??? this seems like the best device out there for $170..

why so much hate for this??? this seems like the best device out there for $170..

I wouldn't say hate. More confusion as to wheter Mivx USA broke any corporate agreements with Mivx Korea/Unicorn. Will Unicorn take Mvix USA to court and stop either the new product or MVIX USA from selling any Unicorn products.

well it seems on par with the a110 but for far cheaper so i hope it survives... i dont care ab out looks i just want capability.

why so much hate for this??? this seems like the best device out there for $170..

I actually like the device a lot and would like to buy it. I just hope the legal issue doesn't become a huge mess that hinders the device.

I've had an mvix once before for 1 night, does it passthrough DTS? The one thing I didn't see.

Joe

Mvix USA is going full steam with the Ultio, just got an email from them advertising

Was checking the Specs and found that it supports external DVD drives...

"External Storage Via USB Host (for external DVD Drives / Portable HDD / USB storage)"

Can I plug an external usb dvd drive (laptop's) and play movies from that? Does it upscale the movie to 1080p?

It's still not on the MVIX USA front page or product menu.

It's still not on the MVIX USA front page or product menu.

http://www.mvixusa.com/store/index.php?target=products&product_id=1592#main_description

I've been using the mvix 760HD for a couple years now and love the thing. Been waiting a long time for this new player so I'm pretty disappointed to see the legal talk surrounding it. If the new one is anything like their old models it should be a pretty good little media player. And I like that they are releasing the sourcecode for it too. That's something I wished they would have done for the 760HD.

http://www.mvixusa.com/store/index.php?target=products&product_id=1592#main_description

Yeah, it's at the MVIX store but NOT on the non-store website. There is NO information or link from the main page.

Yeah, it's at the MVIX store but NOT on the non-store website. There is NO information or link from the main page.

Yeah, don't understand why, this is the only other "non store" link I can find:

http://www.mvixusa.com/ultio/1080p-high-definition-home-theater-pc.html

Some other blogs out there (like Hot Hardware) are picking up on this device, so they better hope they don't run into legal issues and can get it out.

You would think MVIX would have this on the front page of www.mvixusa.com

If this thing performs as advertised and picks up some power users willing to modifiy the source code I believe it would be just what I m looking for. Seems by their statement in the newsletter that they own the rights to Mvix brand name and Unicorn's so called legal memo is not worth the web space it takes up. Looking forward to first reviews of this thing.
Skipuppy
Check out these two post I found about the Ultio
http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/2009/06/25/mvix-ultio-1080p-upnp-home-theater-media-player/

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f31/mvix-ultio-mx-800-ready-launch-exclusive-32784/

Do we know if the Ultio will handle DTS downmix?

Do we know what chipset is inside? (Other than just 'Realtek'? What specific Realtek chipset, since it's NOT the 128(X))

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mvix-USA-Ultio-1080p-HD-Media-Player---MX-800HD-MVIXUSA_W0QQitemZ110407765004QQcmdZViewItem

WOW!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mvix-USA-Ultio-1080p-HD-Media-Player---MX-800HD-MVIXUSA_W0QQitemZ110407765004QQcmdZViewItem

WOW!

price: US $655.00 Buy It Now > :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Dirsect from the Mivx website:

SOLD OUT

Due to overwhelming demand, we have OUTSOLD our entire first lot inventory.
Next lot is expected in about 20-25 days.
Pre-Orders for 2nd Lot start on July 10th, 2009

BH Photo Video accepting order for this - $164.95 + $8.85 standard shipping

I find it somewhat strange that the type of video processing chip is not listed in the specs of this device. I wrote NvixUSA to find out which chip they are using and have yet to receive a reply after several days...

mike50

I find it somewhat strange that the type of video processing chip is not listed in the specs of this device. I wrote NvixUSA to find out which chip they are using and have yet to receive a reply after several days...

mike50

+1 Who are the people buying this player without having any idea what chipset is inside?? I also wrote to MvixUSA several times and they would not answer what chipset was inside. How can that be good?

+1 Who are the people buying this player without having any idea what chipset is inside?? I did. I don't particularly care what chipset is inside, as long as it actually does what it claims to do. I currently use a modded original Xbox as a media center, and I've been looking for an ideal upgrade (something that can handle h.264) for a while. I bought a WDTV a couple months ago for a friend, but without network support, that didn't quite cut it for me. I found out about the Ultio and the Xtreamer at about the same time, and went with the Ultio for the simple fact that my older LCD TV doesn't have HDMI, and the Xtreamer doesn't have component outputs.

I placed a pre-order for an Ultio last week and they charged my card yesterday, so it should be on its way now. I'll be glad to tear it apart and report on exactly which chip the Ultio is using when it arrives, unless somebody else beats me to it.

Multi Channel Flac in MKV supported?

I found some more details (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1231431&r=19792080#r19792080) on the Mvix USA vs. Unicorn squabble:

UPDATE From MvixUSA:

It has been brought to our attention that some Unicorn Networks (our previous supplier) has initiated rumors about our products to distract attention.

Pls. note that "Mvix" is a registered Trademark of MvixUSA and all our products are fully supported by MvixUSA worldwide.

Here is the listing of the registered trademark on US Patent and Trademark Office:
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77038184
(You will notice that MvixUSA is the rightful owner of the "Mvix" brand since 2006.

Sometime late-last year, MvixUSA had to cancel their manufacturing contract with Unicorn Networks due to the poor quality of products supplied to us last year, which cause significant financial and irreversible damage to MvixUSA's market reputation.

MvixUSA will be marketing, distributing and supporting the Mvix Ultio brand worldwide. We have a very comprehensive customer support platform via our Support Center (which our customers have used for over 5years): http://www.mvixusa.com/support

Mvix Ultio is expected to arrive at our warehouse (near Washington DC) by July 3rd. We expect to start shipping it to our customers as early as July 6th, 2009

So it looks like Unicorn is just trying to spread FUD about a rival product. It seems awfully petty, but there is probably a lot of money on the line for Unicorn, what with the Ultio being significantly better (at least on paper) than any of the products they offer.

Interesting then that it appears that Xtreamer is indeed an Mvix product (allbeit MVixBenelux) built and distributed by Unicorn.

I wonder why this is why both companies have done a stupidly quick release, no marketing, very little about what's inside and so on?

And they both purport to support just about every different HD format out!

Anyone like to join in a little conspiracy that they are in fact one and the same thing?

I found some more details on the Mvix USA vs. Unicorn squabble:

It appears there is some real bad blood between the two companies.

The name of the new MvixUSA product is the Mvix Ultio. One of the articles or blogs I bumped into pointed out ultio, ultionis is apparently a Latin word meaning avenging, punishment, or revenge.

(You'll have to google it yourself as I'm new to this group and thus not allowed to post anything with a URL in it. :o)

However it turns out, it looks like it will at least be interesting product to watch. :rolleyes:

-irrational john

By looking at the user manuals, the Mvix Ultio and AC Ryan PlayON!HD are twins. The interface looks exactly the same except for some of the graphics. The menu structure is the same. The manuals read the same.

What I am most curios about is the GUI...

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE!? I have yet to find any screenshots. Just specs on paper.
How does it's interface compare to that of the EGrate M34A?

Epox, check out the user manual and AC Ryan has youtube videos. Interface is the same except for minor differences.

http://playonhd.spaces.live.com/

Interesting then that it appears that Xtreamer is indeed an Mvix product (allbeit MVixBenelux) built and distributed by Unicorn.

If this is the case, then I think it's telling of the real trademark status that Unicorn chose not to use the Mvix name for the Xtreamer. I've seen a few mentions that Unicorn was somehow attached to the Xtreamer project, but you would think that they'd market it under the Mvix name if Unicorn actually did have any legal claim to it.

If this is the case, then I think it's telling of the real trademark status that Unicorn chose not to use the Mvix name for the Xtreamer. I've seen a few mentions that Unicorn was somehow attached to the Xtreamer project, but you would think that they'd market it under the Mvix name if Unicorn actually did have any legal claim to it.

Supposedly they have a device called the MvixMCE on http://www.mvix.net/
which looks like a clone of the Xtreamer. It has since been pulled from their web page. I think I read the difference is the Xtreamer is supposed to be open source and different UI from the MvixMCe (you can see side by side pics on this post - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16677510#post16677510)

you can see side by side pics on this post - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16677510#post16677510Very interesting. I hadn't seen that before. It certainly supports my theory that Unicorn has no real right to the Mvix name. Otherwise, why rebrand a product in mid development from a known name to something completely new?

By looking at the user manuals, the Mvix Ultio and AC Ryan PlayON!HD are twins. The interface looks exactly the same except for some of the graphics. The menu structure is the same. The manuals read the same.They may use the same software (it's all open source), but the hardware is definitely different. Look at the ports on the back. Nothing matches up. The PlayonHD has a fan while the Ultio doesn't, and the Ultio has buttons on the front while the PlayonHD doesn't. It's possible they're using the same chip, but you could hardly consider one a clone of the other.

It seems that the Ultio is the Noontec GV-3755.

Noontec is an OEM. Maybe MvixUSA made some sort of exclusive deal for the device where Noontec agreed to no longer offer in its own name or to anyone else.

http://i32.tinypic.com/2hehtly.jpg

Noontec is an OEM. Maybe MvixUSA made some sort of exclusive deal for the device where Noontec agreed to no longer offer in its own name or to anyone else.Makes sense from Noontec's point of view. The Mvix name is certainly more well known (at least in the US). I guess this answers the question of who Mvix USA's new manufacturer is.

Just got a shipping confirmation email and a FedEx tracking number. Shouldn't take more than 2 days to get here from VA. Anybody have any specific files they'd like me to test when it shows up?

Just got a shipping confirmation email and a FedEx tracking number. Shouldn't take more than 2 days to get here from VA. Anybody have any specific files they'd like me to test when it shows up?

MKV /1080p /4Gb min. Please :)

mike50

Just got a shipping confirmation email and a FedEx tracking number. Shouldn't take more than 2 days to get here from VA. Anybody have any specific files they'd like me to test when it shows up?

Thanks for the offer. Here are the list of files I would like to get playback status on (I had opened a ticket with MvixUSA with the links below on the very day that the press release came about, but they haven't moved beyond putting my issue 'on hold')

1. http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/Planet_Earth_From%20Pole_to_Pole_1080p_sample_16ref.mkv

2. http://rapidshare.com/files/172564222/CHD-Transformers-1080p-Sample.mkv

3. http://files.getdropbox.com/u/132004/basketball%2060fps%201080p%2010000kbps.mkv

4. http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/132004/test_hd_9refs_high_l5.1.mp4

5. http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/132004/Lia%20-%20Tori%20no%20Uta%20%28long%20version%29.mkv

Thanks in advance !

(I expect results to be very similar to the ACRyan one.. Just hoping against hope that it is a bit more positive)

The high reframe file in jakmal's post is what I am most intrigued with. 2/3 of my 1080p net-found files are way over the low WDTV reframe limit.

I'll give all those a shot once the Ultio arrives. At this point, nobody even knows for sure what processor it's using, so it really could go either way. Tearing the device apart to find out which processor it's got is one of my first priorities.

Regarding Mvix support, I got an equally vague response to my question about official development / support forums, but at least I got a prompt response. It seems strange that they don't yet have forums, since they are free and so easy to set up. They obviously care enough about homebrew development to issue their $500 "Ultio challenge", so why no dev forums?

The Noontec device likely doesn't exist. Pretty much all reference to it has been removed from the web, and the few pics that remain are renders. What most likely happened is that the Noontec factory came up with the design and tried to sell it to a distributor before building any. The practice is pretty common among Asian factories. Obviously Mvix bought the idea (with some minor changes) and, having found a distributor, Noontec dropped the idea of selling it on their own.

I'll give the files a try. I live 10 miles from their office. I will be getting my unit today.

I'll give the files a try. I live 10 miles from their office. I will be getting my unit today.

That's great :)

I'm considering this or the xtreamer. Interested to see how it is.

I'll give the files a try. I live 10 miles from their office. I will be getting my unit today.

Just got a shipping confirmation email and a FedEx tracking number. Shouldn't take more than 2 days to get here from VA. Anybody have any specific files they'd like me to test when it shows up?

Thanks for doing this. If you could, please specifically comment on the huge flock of birds flying in the planet earth clip. This part of the clip seems to be very demanding and causes quite a bit of stuttering on my htpc so I'd like to know how well the ultio can handle it.

Surprise surprise, it showed up early.

Unboxing and internal pics. Click for full size:
http://thumbnails18.imagebam.com/4144/c737c941439568.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/c737c941439568) http://thumbnails15.imagebam.com/4144/2df26a41439569.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/2df26a41439569) http://thumbnails18.imagebam.com/4144/3a7a3f41439571.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/3a7a3f41439571) http://thumbnails14.imagebam.com/4144/39fae641439572.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/39fae641439572) http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4144/8ab01c41439574.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/8ab01c41439574) http://thumbnails18.imagebam.com/4144/b6605d41439575.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/b6605d41439575) http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4144/e7a97141439576.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/e7a97141439576) http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4144/554f9541439577.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/554f9541439577) http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4144/a7727441439579.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/a7727441439579) http://thumbnails14.imagebam.com/4144/e26fb541439580.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/e26fb541439580) http://thumbnails15.imagebam.com/4144/063c7641439581.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/063c7641439581) http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4144/28fb4441439583.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/28fb4441439583)


Some comments:
The unit came without the screws installed. They probably assume anybody who buys one without a hard drive would immediately install their own. Unfortunately, this means that when I pulled it out of the plastic bag, it fell apart. No damage, but if I had been standing up over a hard floor, there could have been.

The outer housing (everything but the front and back panel) is metal. This is surprising (in a good way), because nobody makes electronics out of metal anymore. It seems to be steel. Aluminum would have been better, but it should keep your internal drive cooler than if it had been plastic.

If you look at the PCB pic, you will notice the connector at the bottom of the pic is not fully inserted. I hope this isn't an indication of general quality control.

Included accessories consist of a 12v 3A AC adapter, 3ft USB (A to B) cable, 6ft RCA (composite + stereo) cable, 6ft HDMI cable, remote (batteries included!), instruction manual, screws, a tiny instruction manual, and a T-shirt.

More to come after I actually set it up and try it out.

Do me a favor and test MKV with multi channel FLAC? So far I have yet to find a unit that supports this format.

Surprise surprise, it showed up early.

Unboxing and internal pics. Click for full size:
http://thumbnails18.imagebam.com/4144/c737c941439568.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/c737c941439568) http://thumbnails15.imagebam.com/4144/2df26a41439569.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/2df26a41439569) http://thumbnails18.imagebam.com/4144/3a7a3f41439571.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/3a7a3f41439571) http://thumbnails14.imagebam.com/4144/39fae641439572.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/39fae641439572) http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4144/8ab01c41439574.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/8ab01c41439574) http://thumbnails18.imagebam.com/4144/b6605d41439575.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/b6605d41439575) http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4144/e7a97141439576.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/e7a97141439576) http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4144/554f9541439577.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/554f9541439577) http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/4144/a7727441439579.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/a7727441439579) http://thumbnails14.imagebam.com/4144/e26fb541439580.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/e26fb541439580) http://thumbnails15.imagebam.com/4144/063c7641439581.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/063c7641439581) http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/4144/28fb4441439583.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/28fb4441439583)


Some comments:
The unit came without the screws installed. They probably assume anybody who buys one without a hard drive would immediately install their own. Unfortunately, this means that when I pulled it out of the plastic bag, it fell apart. No damage, but if I had been standing up over a hard floor, there could have been.

The outer housing (everything but the front and back panel) is metal. This is surprising (in a good way), because nobody makes electronics out of metal anymore. It seems to be steel. Aluminum would have been better, but it should keep your internal drive cooler than if it had been plastic.

If you look at the PCB pic, you will notice the connector at the bottom of the pic is not fully inserted. I hope this isn't an indication of general quality control.

Included accessories consist of a 12v 3A AC adapter, 3ft USB (A to B) cable, 6ft RCA (composite + stereo) cable, 6ft HDMI cable, remote (batteries included!), instruction manual, screws, a tiny instruction manual, and a T-shirt.

More to come after I actually set it up and try it out.

Great news Candre23, definitely post your thoughts once you start running this thing through the ringer. Was it determined if it can dts downmix?

Great unboxing pics!

Uses Realtek 1073, same as Asus's O!Play... How will it compare with the Xtreamer's 1283X ? Looking forward to the test results.

By the way, multi-channel FLAC is in the video in link 5 of the links list I posted in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16779656#post16779656

Initial results are... not great.

Performance for test videos posted by jakmal above (in order)
1. Pixelation / color distortion in video. Audio fine.
2. Severe pixelation and distortion in video. No audio.
3. Invalid file. Note that on my PC with SMPlayer, this file plays without audio and eventually crashes the program, so it may be a bad encode.
4. Minor pixelation in video (still unacceptable, but not as bad as others), audio is fine.
5. Video is fine. No audio. Has the same .ASS subtitle issues as the WDTV.

Other complaints:
No "home" button. If you're 6 levels deep in a network share and want to switch to a USB device, you have to hit "back" six times (pausing half a second for the system to read the directory contents each time) to get to the main menu to switch to USB.

Browsing menu only shows 6 items per page, and there is no way that I can find to skip through faster than one-page-at-a-time. This means finding a specific file in a directory of 1200 could take over a hundred button presses.

Aspect ratio options are limited to 4:3, 4:3 letterbox, and 16:9. My TV is 16:9, but the monitor I'm testing it on at the moment is 16:10.

I can find no way to change the size, font, color or position of the subtitles. Granted I haven't actually read the manual yet, so it might just be really well hidden.

Thank you for your honest report.

I was so excited to hear about how well this unit did. I guess I was just hoping it would perform well.

AC Ryan has a HOME button.....

Ouch.... Im going to make snipit of a movie that I have rendered... All my movies are within the movie studio spec except with audio for flac that is rendered from the original movie TrueHD/DTS MA, etc.

I will post when I get home tonight.

Initial results are... not great.

Performance for test videos posted by jakmal above (in order)
1. Pixelation / color distortion in video. Audio fine.
2. Severe pixelation and distortion in video. No audio.
3. Invalid file. Note that on my PC with SMPlayer, this file plays without audio and eventually crashes the program, so it may be a bad encode.
4. Minor pixelation in video (still unacceptable, but not as bad as others), audio is fine.
5. Video is fine. No audio. Has the same .ASS subtitle issues as the WDTV.

Other complaints:
No "home" button. If you're 6 levels deep in a network share and want to switch to a USB device, you have to hit "back" six times (pausing half a second for the system to read the directory contents each time) to get to the main menu to switch to USB.

Browsing menu only shows 6 items per page, and there is no way that I can find to skip through faster than one-page-at-a-time. This means finding a specific file in a directory of 1200 could take over a hundred button presses.

Aspect ratio options are limited to 4:3, 4:3 letterbox, and 16:9. My TV is 16:9, but the monitor I'm testing it on at the moment is 16:10.

I can find no way to change the size, font, color or position of the subtitles. Granted I haven't actually read the manual yet, so it might just be really well hidden.

Some good news - it does play DVD ISOs with menus. Unfortunately, the remote lacks a "menu" button, so once you've started playing the movie there is no way to get back to the DVD menu without quitting back out to the browse menu and restarting the ISO.

To be fair, all the problems I've found so far could be fixed with a firmware update. Honestly though, they should have been fixed before it even shipped.

Some good news - it does play DVD ISOs with menus. Unfortunately, the remote lacks a "menu" button, so once you've started playing the movie there is no way to get back to the DVD menu without quitting back out to the browse menu and restarting the ISO.

That's not good. One of the few things I really like about my Mvix MX-780HD is the robust DVD menu support. It has both menu and title buttons which allow navigating 'one back' in the menu system, or straight to the main title screen.

Did you try all the buttons to see if any button functions like a menu button? I find it hard to believe that mvixusa could have overlooked such a thing.

Also, does it have 15sec skip using the arrow keys, like the MX-780HD?

Tried all the buttons. No "menu".

No 15 sec (or any other interval) skip either. It will do FF and RW up to 32x, chapter skip, and you can go to a specific time in the movie (it requires about 20 button presses to select a time, but it's doable), but no quick skip.

Infuriatingly, there is a "home" button (labeled menu) on the front panel of the unit itself, but no equivalently functional button on the remote.

The remote is not well designed at all. In addition to the missing home and menu buttons, the 5-way cursor buttons (what you use to do 95% of menu navigation) are too small and close together to be comfortable. The entire bottom row of buttons are basically useless. All they do is select what type of files are displayed in the menu. Only necessary if you throw all your different types of media into one folder, which nobody does.

Looking at the Xtreamer forums, they're having a lot of issues too. The rep claims they will have a new firmware out in the next day or so. I guess this is what happens when two companies are more concerned with one-upping each other on release dates than one-upping each other on quality.


EDIT: More bad news. Just tried this 1080p / DTS blu-ray rip sample (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7N8XTHYQ). Playback stuttered over 100mbit wired network. Tried a USB stick and the video played fine, but no audio. I guess this means no DTS downmix.

Some good news - it does play DVD ISOs with menus. Unfortunately, the remote lacks a "menu" button, so once you've started playing the movie there is no way to get back to the DVD menu without quitting back out to the browse menu and restarting the ISO.

Wow that (plus your other results) is a whole lot of fail. (By comparison, the Xtreamer remote has a nice big HOME button at the top, opposite the POWER button -- It also has a MENU button.)

http://shop.xtreamer.net/Support/images/Xtreamer%20remote%20control.jpg

EDIT: More bad news. Just tried this 1080p / DTS blu-ray rip sample (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7N8XTHYQ). Playback stuttered over 100mbit wired network. Tried a USB stick and the video played fine, but no audio. I guess this means no DTS downmix.

Ouch, not very impressed at all...

damn, I was really rooting for the ultio but now, I'm going to have to reconsider. DVD support is crucial and the fact that the remote doesn't have a menu button is not gonna cut if for me. Thanks a lot for your remarks on the device.

Well, this one's off the table as far as I'm concerned.

More quirks:

Boot time from a power cycle is about 35 sec. Not terrible, especially since you'll hardly ever cycle the power. The annoying thing is that resume time from standby is almost 10 sec. That's at least 8 sec longer than it has any right to be.

Although the Ultio does have network bookmarking, it does not work. I did read the manual on this, and the feature is just plain broken. This means it takes 18 button presses from the home screen to get to the "movies" folder on my server, and that's before I actually start scrolling through long lists of video files six at a time.

Ugh. The more I play with this thing the more obvious it becomes that it just isn't ready for retail. At this point, I cannot recommend the Ultio for any reason.

I'd be tempted to replace it with an Xtreamer from the next batch, but after reading their forums, it doesn't look like that much of an improvement. It's menus are no better designed, and it can't play the same test files that the Ultio can't play. The remote may be marginally better, but both players look like they could have used a couple months more development.

I received my MX-800HD today as well and must say I'm disappointed so far too. Having the same issues candre23 described. I'm using a wireless ethernet bridge because for some reason I thought this thing came with wifi built-in (my bad). Tomorrow I'll hit Best Buy and try to get a wifi USB dongle instead.

What is really driving me crazy is how slow and non-reactive the remote is. I sometimes have to push the button three or four times to get it to register with the device, and even then it takes a good second or two for anything to actually happen. With all the foldering and jumping around this device requires that will get old really quick. In fact it already has.

On the Mvix support site they have an Ultio 1.1 firmware upgrade, dated yesterday. There is no other information posted about it whatsoever, not even release notes. I just opened a support ticket with the company to find out that information, but it's not a good feeling that they wouldn't publish that along with the update. Also the MX-800HD isn't even a choice for asking for support on their website so I had to call it the MX-780HD instead.

So unless they respond with some great information about a new firmware update that at the very least improves the remote response, this thing's going back. I also have the same issue candre23 just wrote about with bookmarks not working.

I'm thinking I bought way too soon on this one!

Greg in NJ

Really sorry to hear you guys are having a less then positive experience. It was very tempting for me to jump on board either the Ultio or the Xtreamer. Two reasons why I held off is a) I have heard mixed reviews about Mvix products and probably more importantly b) these units should have been put in the hands of reviewers first. It just seemed like there was too much of a rush to get these units out, made me wonder why???

Definitely keep writing about your experience, I am sure more people will be getting their units over the next few days as well.

Really sorry to hear you guys are having a less then positive experience. It was very tempting for me to jump on board either the Ultio or the Xtreamer. Two reasons why I held off is a) I have heard mixed reviews about Mvix products and probably more importantly b) these units should have been put in the hands of reviewers first. It just seemed like there was too much of a rush to get these units out, made me wonder why???

Definitely keep writing about your experience, I am sure more people will be getting their units over the next few days as well.

Yea, it seems that products from these small and obscure companies are just not very reliable. But I guess what else can you expect from devices that claim to play laundry lists of codecs. They just won't play them very well. The name of the game here seems to be quantity over quality.

I'm not terribly happy with my VMC HTPC (won't turn on/off properly, crashes, and other various windows issues) which was why I was looking into a network streamer. So far it has been pretty dissapointing. Hopefully, the popcorn hour c-200 will be somewhat more dependable.

Candre,

Nice work on the review. The finding is not surprising. Personally, I think you and the early adopters of most electronic devices should receive the product for free. After all, manufacturers continue to use their customers as free beta testers, aka guinea pigs. Therefore they should compensate for your times and effort in finding these problems.

Here is my advise to anybody looking to purchase a newly released electronic device. That is to WAIT for at least 1-2 months after it is being shipped. Being in the high tech market for over fifteen years, I can tell you that most products are rushed to the market in order to get the sales before others.

Really sorry to hear you guys are having a less then positive experience. It was very tempting for me to jump on board either the Ultio or the Xtreamer. Two reasons why I held off is a) I have heard mixed reviews about Mvix products and probably more importantly b) these units should have been put in the hands of reviewers first. It just seemed like there was too much of a rush to get these units out, made me wonder why???

Definitely keep writing about your experience, I am sure more people will be getting their units over the next few days as well.

+1 I am sorry to hear that you guys aren't happy with the Ultio. Don't forget MvixUSA advertises a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, so if you think you are destined to be unhappy with your purchase you have the option of returning it and trying something else. Thanks for posting your experiences.

http://www.mvixusa.com/store/image.php?object_type=common&image_id=10

What is really driving me crazy is how slow and non-reactive the remote is. I sometimes have to push the button three or four times to get it to register with the device, and even then it takes a good second or two for anything to actually happen.
...
On the Mvix support site they have an Ultio 1.1 firmware upgrade, dated yesterday.
Odd, I have no issue at all with the remote responsiveness. There is a bit of a delay when moving up and down a directory tree over the network, but that is due to the device fetching the folder contents. Other than that, every time I press a button, it responds imediately.

I just installed the 1.1 firmware, and as far as I can tell, it only fixed one problem: the "option" button now acts as a "home" button. Other than that, all my previously stated problems still stand. I even re-checked the test videos and they all perform as poorly as before.

My AC Ryan PlayON has 30 second skip forward/back buttons. I have not tried any menus buttons with ISO files yet as my DVD ISO's are just the main movie.

I did not have problem with remote responsiveness.

Likes at this point:
None

Dislikes at this point:

Included HDMI cable defective.

No apparent DTS downmix - I misread the specs; I blew that one

Read the specs fully regarding Netflix ability.

"UPnP allows for seamless integration with services like PlayOn (stream video content from Netflix, Hulu, CBS, Youtube, CNN, ESPN and much more)"

It says allows for. One has to use a pc for connection to those services. Thumbs down on this device.

Since the Ryan has skip and menu, it should be relatively easy for mvixusa to add it to the firmware since they both use the 1073. The video issues may require more complex firmware revisions, but they still need to act fast.

I would expect that at least someone from mvixusa reads this forum. They need to act really fast with a firmware update for the ultio or else it is more or lese over for this product. They say the first lot sold out with 72hrs. Ordering for the second lot starts on Friday, and the people who would be ordering are the people who read forums like these.

I'm glad I bought the AC Ryan instead of the Mvix. AC Ryan staff is listening to user input for next firmware updates. IF I could have fit it in the budget I think the Myka TV would have been my first choice with it's really nice looking GUI.

I'm glad I bought the AC Ryan instead of the Mvix. AC Ryan staff is listening to user input for next firmware updates. IF I could have fit it in the budget I think the Myka TV would have been my first choice with it's really nice looking GUI.

Has anybody seen both the Mvix and the Myka or AC to compare? I'm trying to decide if I should return this thing and get one of those instead but don't know what's different. I'll do the searching to find out but if anybody has a quick answer I'd appreciate it!

Thanks

Has anybody seen both the Mvix and the Myka or AC to compare? I'm trying to decide if I should return this thing and get one of those instead but don't know what's different.
The Playon HD runs the exact same software as the Mvix Ultio. They use a slightly different theme, but all of the limitations the Ultio demonstrates are also present in the Playon.

The Myka appears to have a completely different interface, though it (like the Xtreamer) is still based on the same Linux underpinnings.

I'm in a similar situation where I have already decided that the Ultio is not acceptable to me. I am exploring the other options, but nothing I have seen so far indicates that they are "better enough" to warrant the expense. The Myka might make the cut, but I'm still looking into it.

The Playon HD runs the exact same software as the Mvix Ultio. They use a slightly different theme, but all of the limitations the Ultio demonstrates are also present in the Playon.

The Myka appears to have a completely different interface, though it (like the Xtreamer) is still based on the same Linux underpinnings.

I'm in a similar situation where I have already decided that the Ultio is not acceptable to me. I am exploring the other options, but nothing I have seen so far indicates that they are "better enough" to warrant the expense. The Myka might make the cut, but I'm still looking into it.

My PCH A-110 appears to have crapped out so I am looking for a replacement. Ultio is definitely off the list. I haven't ruled out the Xtreamer (although they have engaged in some questionable practices which have soured me a little towards them), but I will hold off until we start seeing some quality reviews. The PCH C-200 is on my list as well. DTS Downmix is a must for me, so that eliminates a whole bunch of players. I already have 2 HTPCs as my main players in my house, looking for a player to add on (I thought I had that with the SageTV HD200 but no DTS downmix).

The AC Ryan has a more feature rich remote than the mvix. Company support so far seems really good.

My PCH A-110 appears to have crapped out so I am looking for a replacement.If you liked the PCH software, you may want to consider the Egreat EG-M34A. It's based on the same NMT platform as the PCH, and acording to their website, the latest firmware version does DTS downmixing. I'm considering this as a possibility myself along with the Myka.

I am also very wary of the Xtreamer, more for their behavior (and the behavior of their "representatives") than for any fault of the hardware itself. That, and an Xtreamer will cost ~$200 with customs fees and shipping to the US. A Myka costs the same but includes a 250GB HD. The M34A costs $50 less.


The AC Ryan has a more feature rich remote than the mvix. Company support so far seems really good.The AC Ryan is essentially the same device as the Ultio. It may have a couple buttons on the remote that the Ultio lacks, but the basic failings of the hardware and software remain. Nothing the AC has now couldn't be added to the Ultio with a simple firmware update. My problem is that I don't believe any amount of firmware updates could make either unit acceptable for my purposes.

If you liked the PCH software, you may want to consider the Egreat EG-M34A. It's based on the same NMT platform as the PCH, and acording to their website, the latest firmware version does DTS downmixing. I'm considering this as a possibility myself along with the Myka.

I am also very wary of the Xtreamer, more for their behavior (and the behavior of their "representatives") than for any fault of the hardware itself. That, and an Xtreamer will cost ~$200 with customs fees and shipping to the US. A Myka costs the same but includes a 250GB HD. The M34A costs $50 less.


The AC Ryan is essentially the same device as the Ultio. It may have a couple buttons on the remote that the Ultio lacks, but the basic failings of the hardware and software remain. Nothing the AC has now couldn't be added to the Ultio with a simple firmware update. My problem is that I don't believe any amount of firmware updates could make either unit acceptable for my purposes.

Personally hated the PCH UI, but ultimately since this is meant to be a spare player (for my son's playroom and to bring along when traveling) the UI isn't as important as if it was my main player (reason why I went the HTPC route). I will probably hold off a couple more months, see if any other players are in the works based off the new Sigma/Realtek chips.

I have used the Neuros Audio players in the past. Before the unit got phased out (2+ years) the support was good and the tech support was responsive. They have the Neuros link in "Gamma" testing. Wonder if it is worth considering. Any ideas? Check neuros- link out at neurostechnology dot com

I have used the Neuros Audio players in the past. Before the unit got phased out (2+ years) the support was good and the tech support was responsive. They have the Neuros link in "Gamma" testing. Wonder if it is worth considering. Any ideas? Check neuros- link out at neurostechnology dot com

It looks like it is nothing more then a mini-ITX pc running Linux?

All - please post in this thread what you decide on as replacements for the Mvix if you decide to replace it. I'm in the same boat where I'm not thrilled with the box I got and would like to replace it unless I quickly see a magical firmware upgrade that will resolve the issues, but I don't know what else to get as a replacement.

Thanks Much

The AC Ryan has a more feature rich remote than the mvix. Company support so far seems really good.

telemike, are there any inside-and-out photos of the AC Ryan posted anywhere? Does the internal physical hardware of the AC Ryan look anything like the Ultio pics posted in this thread? I'm wondering who the OEM manufacturer is for the AC Ryan. I'm guessing it is not noontec?

The myko looks interesting, although I hate the white color and the fact that you can't get it without a HDD (the price bumps up $100 just to go from a 250Gb drive to a 1TB drive, where are they getting their drives from, best buy :D). The PCH C-200 will be a good test to see how much improvement there is with the new Sigma chip. Some of the media players scare me simply because they don't quite have a robust community like I am used to dealing with for the PCH or the SageTV HD200. I guess though make a player that works right out of the box and doesn't need continual firmwire updates to fix problems, community becomes a lot less important!!!

It looks like it is nothing more then a mini-ITX pc running Linux?

aren't all these boxes little pcs running Linux. Neuros seems to expose the linux to the user a bit more than the other boxes. Maybe I am a noobe so I am not seeing the difference, Neuros seems to do all the things as these boxes like playon , myka and mvix. What more except for netflix it seems to do other internet services like hulu etc. without needing a pc to push content to it ('cos as you point out it is a pc).

But is that bad? am I missing the point?

telemike, are there any inside-and-out photos of the AC Ryan posted anywhere? Does the internal physical hardware of the AC Ryan look anything like the Ultio pics posted in this thread? I'm wondering who the OEM manufacturer is for the AC Ryan. I'm guessing it is not noontec?The devices are not exact clones of each other, but they do use the same processor and run the same software. The machines are functionally (if not actually) identical.

The OEM factory isn't really important. Weather it's Noontec or somebody else, AC Ryan is the company that will (or won't) supply firmware updates and bug fixes.

The devices are not exact clones of each other, but they do use the same processor and run the same software. The machines are functionally (if not actually) identical.

The OEM factory isn't really important. Weather it's Noontec or somebody else, AC Ryan is the company that will (or won't) supply firmware updates and bug fixes.

Well I just wanted to know. For example, if the AC Ryan motherboard is noontec derived perhaps the firmware and/or remotes might be interchangeable.

I want to know if I'd be buying any different physical hardware if I purchased the AC Ryan over the Ultio. So, the OEM is important, or at least interesting, to me. I want to know if the AC Ryan is anything like an Ultio from the ground up, not just 'functionally' or 'close to' or 'similar'.

Since the AC Ryan has 30sec skip, a menu button, and a better remote, it is still in the running for me. I don't think it is a bad idea to want to see internal photos before I go to the trouble of importing the thing.

Concerning the AC Ryan, I did not take any pics when I installed the HDD. The realtek chip has a heat sink on top is all I remember.

Here's the manual: http://www.acryan.com/downloads/manuals/ACR-PV73100/English_PV73100_Manual.pdf

I am really happy with it for playing videos stored on internal HDD.

BT client works well except for private trackers

Well I just wanted to know. For example, if the AC Ryan motherboard is noontec derived perhaps the firmware and/or remotes might be interchangeable.

As I said, the devices are not clones of each other. Having the same processor and running the same software makes them like two desktop PCs from different manufacturers. The user experience is the same, but you wouldn't want to flash the BIOS of one machine onto the other. ;)

In other words, it is extremely unlikely that the firmwares are interchangeable.

As I said, the devices are not clones of each other. Having the same processor and running the same software makes them like two desktop PCs from different manufacturers. The user experience is the same, but you wouldn't want to flash the BIOS of one machine onto the other. ;)

In other words, it is extremely unlikely that the firmwares are interchangeable.

Ok, I will stop wanting to know anything about the physical nature of the hardware that I buy. I now just care about its function. I'm a functionalist now.

I've blown a lot of cash on media players over the past five years, so I research them thoroughly. I have a klegg media share here that is running cibox firmware, and there are others. But maybe I should just think of them all as mysterious black boxes.

Ok, I will stop wanting to know anything about the physical nature of the hardware that I buy. I now just care about its function. I'm a functionalist now.

I've blown a lot of cash on media players over the past five years, so I research them thoroughly. I have a klegg media share here that is running cibox firmware, and there are others. But maybe I should just think of them all as mysterious black boxes.
There's no reason to get bent out of shape. I'm merely trying to point out that if you're expecting the Playon HD to be significantly better than the Ultio (other than having a couple extra buttons on the remote), it won't be. Furthermore, just by looking at the connectors on the box you can tell that the underlying PCB is not the same. Even if they are made in the same factory, the chances that the firmware is interchangeable between devices is virtually nil.

If you just want to know what the PCB looks like for the sake of knowing, that's fine. But any information that might persuade your buying decision can be deduced from what we already know.

But any information that might persuade your buying decision can be deduced from what we already know.

Historically, Mvixusa has a poor record of releasing firmware updates. I suspect this wasn't entirely their fault, as they were dependent on the manufacturer/OEM; Unicorn.

I suspect that things will largely be the same for the Ultio. While the open-source/OS portions may be readily modified by almost anyone, the low-level firmware is likely to be in the realm of the the manufacturer/OEM; in this case noontec.

Well, it doesn't seem that noontec releases firmware for their own products so much. So I expect that Mvixusa might be in the same boat this time around.

So, I was wondering who AC Ryan might be dependent on for the low-level firmware. I think this is an important buying decision. So, that is why I think that knowing the manufacturer/OEM of the AC Ryan might be worthwhile. Mvixusa and AC Ryan might have a SDK for the high-level OS, but may still be dependent on the manufacturer for the low-level firmware.

I'm still considering the AC Ryan, because the 30sec skip and menu features are important to me - much more so than all the high end audio codec stuff.

So at this point, mid-2009, we basically still don't have a budget (or even expensive) box that plays most files, and has a good GUI. Are we waiting for WDTV2?

Would it then make more sense to go say for a Mac Mini and have everything we want (all codecs, DVD player, network streaming, internal HD, remote control, wired or wireless, internet, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/etc in the box)?

So at this point, mid-2009, we basically still don't have a budget (or even expensive) box that plays most files, and has a good GUI. Are we waiting for WDTV2?

Would it then make more sense to go say for a Mac Mini and have everything we want (all codecs, DVD player, network streaming, internal HD, remote control, wired or wireless, internet, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/etc in the box)?

This is the reason why I use 2 HTPCs as my primary players and just look for an nmt type device as a secondary/portable player

So at this point, mid-2009, we basically still don't have a budget (or even expensive) box that plays most files, and has a good GUI. Are we waiting for WDTV2?

Would it then make more sense to go say for a Mac Mini and have everything we want (all codecs, DVD player, network streaming, internal HD, remote control, wired or wireless, internet, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/etc in the box)?

Yea, that's pretty much the situation. But, in all fairness, it is quite difficult to have a box play all of these formats and codecs perfectly without any glitches. It is a tall order even for a large company let alone the small, obscure companies that seem to be the only ones producing these boxes. Why don't you see Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc, getting into this market? Cause it's difficult to make a successful product and would end up being a customer support nightmare. Instead you have smaller companies who are trying to cater but end up with glitchy and unreliable products.

Mac mini sounds like a good idea, in fact I'm considering getting one. However, Plex is still a bit unstable especially when using network streaming so I'm still waiting for it to get better.

Yea, that's pretty much the situation. But, in all fairness, it is quite difficult to have a box play all of these formats and codecs perfectly without any glitches. It is a tall order even for a large company let alone the small, obscure companies that seem to be the only ones producing these boxes. Why don't you see Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc, getting into this market? Cause it's difficult to make a successful product and would end up being a customer support nightmare. Instead you have smaller companies who are trying to cater but end up with glitchy and unreliable products.

Mac mini sounds like a good idea, in fact I'm considering getting one. However, Plex is still a bit unstable especially when using network streaming so I'm still waiting for it to get better.

I'm in the same boat, would go with the Mac Mini if plex was more stable and i was 100% sure the mini could play 1080p MKV with no problem.

Mac mini sounds like a good idea, in fact I'm considering getting one. However, Plex is still a bit unstable especially when using network streaming so I'm still waiting for it to get better.


I was really tempted by the $499 refurb Mini's the other day on the Apple Store... but it's still $499. And, they went OOS super quick. Ah well.

I was really tempted by the $499 refurb Mini's the other day on the Apple Store... but it's still $499. And, they went OOS super quick. Ah well.

Somoeone I know just got the Zotac Nvidia Ion platform. They are running W7 and have no problems so far playing their 1080p content in WMC (via Media Browser)

I just set up my mvix ultio and I'm very disappointed. The BT and samba drivers have to be downloaded from the mvix site, copied to a USB stick, and loaded via a setup menu. This would be fine, except it doesn't work. You can't get into the menu page that loads the drivers. The firmware update function doesn't seem to do anything but make the unit go catatonic requiring a power cycle (unplug/plug). The upnp client hangs on large libraries. It runs very, very warm which doesn't bode well for the lifespan of any HD that's installed. The UI is okay and video quality seems good, but it has too many out-of-box issues for me to have any confidence in it as a viable product.

Not recommended.

The firmware update function doesn't seem to do anything but make the unit go catatonic requiring a power cycle (unplug/plug).
...
It runs very, very warm which doesn't bode well for the lifespan of any HD that's installed.It sounds like you have a bum unit. I was by no means happy with the Ultio's overall performance, but I was able to update the firmware in one try with no problems. I didn't have any heat issues either. I copied about 300GB of data onto the HD over the course of a couple hours, and even with all that activity it was barely warm to the touch, top and bottom. I even left the device on over night and in the morning it was only slightly warm.

Been trying to keep track of this thread, has anyone been happy with the Ultio, has it lived up to expectations?

I've been following it too. It seems the thread strolled OT a few posts back. Maybe people can keep OT discussion about what player they'll be getting INSTEAD of the Ultio to other threads? But from the users reviews I've read in this thread, it sounds like the "It Plays All" slogan is simply cynical marketing attempt, as from what I've been reading "It Doesn't Play All". Any owners disagree?

Seems like the Ultio was finished before it got started. Have there been any users in this thread who ordered the Ultio, really liked it, and plan on keeping it as their primary use player?

Why don't you see Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc, getting into this market? Cause it's difficult to make a successful product and would end up being a customer support nightmare.

Haahaha...well you have WD who indeed are experiencing the customer support nighmare, primarilly from AVSForum members LOL...next we'll have ASUS' O! to fry...

I was actually surprised to find this forum and so many negatives on the unit. I am actually very happy with it now that I have everything setup and tweaked so I will give my pros and cons.

I was mainly looking for something that would play x264/h264 HD in a mkv container, so when Mvix sent me the pre-release I went with it.

First thing out of the box I was surprised at the assortment of cables that they gave me. I dont think I have ever purchased a device that came with the HDMI cable. I jumped right into hooking the device up. To my surprise when I went to push the HDMI cable in the back of it, the whole insides popped out! No screws installed. I was lucky it didn't drop to the floor.

After I had it hooked up, I immediately started testing streaming of video. At first everything worked really good on both 1080P and 720P video. But that wasn't to last. As I started going through my movies I came up on a Starship Troopers release I had and it started to stutter almost immediately. Of course I was like WTF! As I continued going through my movies I started to encounter the problem more often, so I started looking for the common aspect between the movies. What I found is that the streaming of video over 9000 bitrate isnt going to work. Unfortunately the Mvix still only has a 10/100 ethernet jack. The streaming probably wouldn't be a problem if it had a 1000.

On that note, I was able to confirm this by hooking the movies up via a external USB drive to the mvix and they played perfectly without a hitch.

Now onto something I found to be completely STUPID. Due to the fact that my high bitrate movies werent going to stream properly I figured I would take a 750 gb drive from my current media serving machine and put it directly into the mvix. This drive currently has about 500 gigs of movies on it. I put it in the mvix and it comes up perfectly with all videos working perfect so I am happy with that. I then go over to the BT/Samba tab so I can get that working so I will be able to transfer additional movies over via the network. A message pops up on the screen saying Invalid HDD Partition. There is only one partition on the drive and it is formatted NTFS. I send in a TT to Mvix and get a very fast response in about 30 minutes. In order to use any of the utilities the drive has to formatted inside the mvix due to the fact that the drive is made into 3 partitions for utils/swap/data. Im like oh great. Now I have to transfer 500 gigs of data off my drive to another location so I can format the drive and then transfer the data back. Finally I did this whole process and the samba worked.

Next, I was wondering if the mvix would stream the DTS to my onkyo because DTS is not on the supported audio list. It DOES work. So if you have a DTS capable receiver you are good to go. Just make sure the audio out on the mvix is set to raw.

On a bad note, I have several HD WMV files. I currently have not been able to figure out why the mvix wont stream the WMA audio in 5.1 to my receiver. It downsamples it to 2.0 pcm 48. I'll have to use my 360 for now on those.

[QUOTE=badness430;16807147]There is only one partition on the drive and it is formatted NTFS. I send in a TT to Mvix and get a very fast response in about 30 minutes. In order to use any of the utilities the drive has to formatted inside the mvix due to the fact that the drive is made into 3 partitions for utils/swap/data. Im like oh great. Now I have to transfer 500 gigs of data off my drive to another location so I can format the drive and then transfer the data back. Finally I did this whole process and the samba worked.
QUOTE]

Could you have connected the drive to your pc and created these partitions without deleting everything on it with something like partition magic? I have the same situaion, 2 Mvix players with WD 1tb drives and i would hate to have to copy all that to the Ultio over samba.

I looked at the remote but didn't see a sleep button. Does is have a sleep mode somewhere so you can program it to shut down?

Plus i thought i read somewhere that you can add a fan to the unit but i didn't see anywhere on the case that would accomodate one. Is there some popout or something?

Thanks.

. I currently have not been able to figure out why the mvix wont stream the WMA audio in 5.1 to my receiver. It downsamples it to 2.0 pcm 48. I'll have to use my 360 for now on those.

Haven't seen a receiver that would decode WMA 5.1 stream...hopefully it downsamples to Prologic so you may use that setting on your receiver to get some kind of surround...do you get dialog on the stereo downmix from WMA 5.1 anyway? that would at least mean that you get all 6 channels mixed into stereo and not just FL and FR...I don't think WMA can be re-coded to 5.1 DD or DTS...I wonder if any media player can do it for that matter (could be wrong though)...

Haven't seen a receiver that would decode WMA 5.1 stream...hopefully it downsamples to Prologic so you may use that setting on your receiver to get some kind of surround...do you get dialog on the stereo downmix from WMA 5.1 anyway? that would at least mean that you get all 6 channels mixed into stereo and not just FL and FR...I don't think WMA can be re-coded to 5.1 DD or DTS...I wonder if any media player can do it for that matter (could be wrong though)...

It does downsample to Prologic.

The difference is, I guess since its a Microsoft product, the Xbox360 plays the WMA in 5.1 to your receiver.

[QUOTE=badness430;16807147]There is only one partition on the drive and it is formatted NTFS. I send in a TT to Mvix and get a very fast response in about 30 minutes. In order to use any of the utilities the drive has to formatted inside the mvix due to the fact that the drive is made into 3 partitions for utils/swap/data. Im like oh great. Now I have to transfer 500 gigs of data off my drive to another location so I can format the drive and then transfer the data back. Finally I did this whole process and the samba worked.
QUOTE]

Could you have connected the drive to your pc and created these partitions without deleting everything on it with something like partition magic? I have the same situaion, 2 Mvix players with WD 1tb drives and i would hate to have to copy all that to the Ultio over samba.

I looked at the remote but didn't see a sleep button. Does is have a sleep mode somewhere so you can program it to shut down?

Plus i thought i read somewhere that you can add a fan to the unit but i didn't see anywhere on the case that would accomodate one. Is there some popout or something?

Thanks.

The problem with the partition is you would need to know the sizes for each. Mvix never gave me that information.

No sleep mode that I have found.

I see nowhere to add a fan. it does have a small fan of its own though.

It does downsample to Prologic.

The difference is, I guess since its a Microsoft product, the Xbox360 plays the WMA in 5.1 to your receiver.

then it MUST be re-coding it to 5.1 DD...I'm not that familiar with XBox, but will check, out of interest, what it does with WMA when outputting...:D

[QUOTE=Burnerbum;16807233]

The problem with the partition is you would need to know the sizes for each. Mvix never gave me that information.

No sleep mode that I have found.

I see nowhere to add a fan. it does have a small fan of its own though.

If i order one i will format a hard drive in the Mvix and check the partitions and then try and duplicate it using the pc. But after thinking about it I don't know if the Mvix would recognize partitions created by another program, ie, Partition Magic. Too bad about the sleep function, i use that a lot when watching it in the bedroom. About the fan, i think that was another player i was reading about.
Thanks for the reply

I have noticed a side effect. My HDMI Control functions dont work anymore when the Mvix is plugged in.

I have a Sony Bravia 46" LCD, Onkyo SR605, Sony BSP301 Bluray, DirecTV HR20.

Before no matter what I did, all the HDMI devices worked in sync. If I picked up the TV remote and used the volume the tv would send a volume control via the HDMI to the Onkyo and turn up the volume. I could turn of the power on the TV and the Onkyo power would go off. With all devices off if I hit the play button on the Bluray, everything would turn on and the Onkyo would automatically select the blueray input.

Now with the mvix plugged in (even powered off) none of the HDMI control functions work anymore. I can immediately disconnect the HDMI cable from the mvix and everything functions normally.

I have noticed a side effect. My HDMI Control functions dont work anymore when the Mvix is plugged in.
.
.
Now with the mvix plugged in (even powered off) none of the HDMI control functions work anymore. I can immediately disconnect the HDMI cable from the mvix and everything functions normally.

How do you have the video setup on your ultio configured? Is it set to 'HDMI auto', as opposed to a specific resolution? It sounds like the mvix has constant HDMI com chatter going on.

How do you have the video setup on your ultio configured? Is it set to 'HDMI auto', as opposed to a specific resolution? It sounds like the mvix has constant HDMI com chatter going on.

I have mine locked at 1080P. No auto.

I can live with it. It's just a pain in the butt to have use multiple remotes for things.

Somoeone I know just got the Zotac Nvidia Ion platform. They are running W7 and have no problems so far playing their 1080p content in WMC (via Media Browser)

I got the impression from comments over at Tom's (link www\.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-ion-htpc,2329.html ... still can't post links "properly" here :mad:) that it all depends on how much whatever you are doing happens to stress the CPU. The Atom, while no doubt a true engineering feat at this time, just ain't all that when compared to your average Core 2 Duo.

Or to quote the article ...Any time you’re not taking advantage of the GeForce 9300’s GPU acceleration, you’re at the mercy of Intel’s Atom CPU. On the desktop, that’s really a recipe for frustration.

I was really tempted by the $499 refurb Mini's the other day on the Apple Store... but it's still $499. And, they went OOS super quick. Ah well.

I would caution against anything other than the early 2009 Mac Mini which uses the Nvidia 9400 chipset/video. While the earlier versions of the Mac Mini using the Intel integrated graphics may well work, I don't think you'd be as happy with them as you would with the Nvidea.

FWIW,

-irrational john

Yea, that's pretty much the situation. But, in all fairness, it is quite difficult to have a box play all of these formats and codecs perfectly without any glitches. It is a tall order even for a large company let alone the small, obscure companies that seem to be the only ones producing these boxes. Why don't you see Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc, getting into this market? Cause it's difficult to make a successful product and would end up being a customer support nightmare. Instead you have smaller companies who are trying to cater but end up with glitchy and unreliable products.

Mac mini sounds like a good idea, in fact I'm considering getting one. However, Plex is still a bit unstable especially when using network streaming so I'm still waiting for it to get better.

I have a new Mini and an Apple TV hooked up to an HDTV ( the Apple TV is supposed to move to another TV but it's actually quite a lot of fun and I am resisting the pressure :) ). Anyway, Plex works great for me, including streaming from a D-Link DNS-323.

I had been hoping to replace the Apple TV with the Ultio as a new toy but the thread here is rather disturbing. I can live with 720p/1080i and stereo audio, but I want idx/sub support out of the box (Plex is weak there though a 20 second muxing will deal with that...still.

The ability to manage network file systems is important and the Ultio sounds a bit weak there. Too bad as it sounds great on paper. Might still get one anyway.

pmcd

I got the impression from comments over at Tom's (link www\.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-ion-htpc,2329.html ... still can't post links "properly" here :mad:) that it all depends on how much whatever you are doing happens to stress the CPU. The Atom, while no doubt a true engineering feat at this time, just ain't all that when compared to your average Core 2 Duo.

Or to quote the article ...Any time you’re not taking advantage of the GeForce 9300’s GPU acceleration, you’re at the mercy of Intel’s Atom CPU. On the desktop, that’s really a recipe for frustration.


Yes, the Ion platform is not good for playing back content that does not use the GPU such as Flash content and would not recommend it as a desktop pc, but for playback of HD content utilizing the GPU (which is probably where most of the interest is) it does very well. I would give it at least another 6+ months to see the platform mature a little.

Anyone knows why mvixusa does not want to show this device on their website ? I know that there is an hidden link, but why is it not accessible from their main page ?

Despite all the negative comments here I went out and bought one. All I can say is I am not as picky as most here. It's actually pretty darned nice. Plays subtitles idx/sub just great, plays mkv files for me just fine, streams great, etc... I am used to my Mac Mini (09) and an Apple TV and it's a bit hard to get used to the lack of attention to small details. The unit feels a bit cheap but then again so do all the other media players for the most part ( obviously not the xbox, PS3, Apple TV, etc...). But it's really not bad at all. Putting in a hard drive is trivial. Setting it up is easy.

I haven't had it long enough to be really critical, but so far I really like it.

philip

I just bought an Ultio and I completed all the setting up and configurations, etc. No SWEAT!.. And what I do love about it is I can still play my favorite movies with large segment because it can support HD Divx up to 1920 x 1080p that enable the device to compress in much smaller segment but still has clear visual quality. I'm enjoying it and hope to discover more amazing features..ayt?!..

I too want to buy the MX-800HD media player but lack of good UI and other problems mentioned in the earlier posts is holding me back. I just want it for Netflix, Hulu & UTUBE and some SD content anyways..

few of the posts all over different forums giving excellent reviews have come from newly registered members. ;)

I wonder what it means:rolleyes:

few of the posts all over different forums giving excellent reviews have come from newly registered members. ;)

I wonder what it means:rolleyes:

Probably that they are newbies in the world of media streaming and as such aren't as critical or demanding. Give some people a device that can play their ISOs and they're happy.

Actually, dont take a low post count to mean much. Because it has no bearing on a persons knowledge.

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but since this device claims to play all, can it play streamed BD-ISO files, and bitstream out DTS-MA, Dolby TruHD and 24 bit 192khz pcm files? Can it play MLP encoded audio files?
What is the highest bitrate that it supports under SMB? Under NFS?
Thanks in advance and please excuse my ignorance.

Forgive me if this has already been answered, but since this device claims to play all, can it play streamed BD-ISO files, and bitstream out DTS-MA, Dolby TruHD and 24 bit 192khz pcm files? Can it play MLP encoded audio files?
What is the highest bitrate that it supports under SMB? Under NFS?
Thanks in advance and please excuse my ignorance.

BD-ISO - No
DTS-MA - Not sure, dont have any
True-HD - No
24 bit 192 pcm - Not sure, dont have any.
MLP audio - Not sure, dont have any.
Streaming - Anything over 9000 x264 gives me stutering problems. But ok through USB or Hard Drive.

Here's my experience with the Mvix Ultio so far - I received my unit last week. I ordered it with a 1TB harddrive. Well, I was busy with work so I didn't get a chance to open it up until last night. All I can say is that my experience has been appalling. I removed the unit from the box and it literally fell apart in my hands. This is how I discovered that there was no HD installed at all (even though they put a sticker on the box indicating the HD was pre-installed). After looking over the parts, I realized that someone had just snapped the unit together without putting the screws in. Needless to say, I fired off an angry email to their customer support and am waiting for their reply...

Here's my experience with the Mvix Ultio so far - I received my unit last week. I ordered it with a 1TB harddrive. Well, I was busy with work so I didn't get a chance to open it up until last night. All I can say is that my experience has been appalling. I removed the unit from the box and it literally fell apart in my hands. This is how I discovered that there was no HD installed at all (even though they put a sticker on the box indicating the HD was pre-installed). After looking over the parts, I realized that someone had just snapped the unit together without putting the screws in. Needless to say, I fired off an angry email to their customer support and am waiting for their reply...

This thread has noted numerous times that the unit does not come screwed together.

As far as the missing hard drive, thats a bummer.

I couldn't resist a gamble and received my Utilo a few days ago. While it's far from the end all, it's working ok for me. Guess I'm not all that demanding. Plays most everything I have, less a few files I probably didn't do the greatest transcode job on. That I can fix. When it does play, it's smooth as silk and looks darn good to me. I was used to an older mac mini that tended to choke and stutter on anything approaching HD.

Anybody know of anyone attempting to hack into this thing yet, other than myself? Possibly a forum or something? You can get a Linux prompt simply by telenetting into it and logging in as root.

The only intolerable issue I had with the Utilo was its dog slow samba file transfers. I wanted to move some HD files and it would barely utilize 25% of a 100mb lan. I did manage to double file xfer performance by reconfiguring the Utilo samba server, so it's now much easier to live with.

Anyway, for $167 I'm not complaining. Should be fun to hack around with as well - as long as I don't turn it into a brick :cool:

I couldn't resist a gamble and received my Utilo a few days ago. While it's far from the end all, it's working ok for me. Guess I'm not all that demanding. Plays most everything I have, less a few files I probably didn't do the greatest transcode job on. That I can fix. When it does play, it's smooth as silk and looks darn good to me. I was used to an older mac mini that tended to choke and stutter on anything approaching HD.

Anybody know of anyone attempting to hack into this thing yet, other than myself? Possibly a forum or something? You can get a Linux prompt simply by telenetting into it and logging in as root.

The only intolerable issue I had with the Utilo was its dog slow samba file transfers. I wanted to move some HD files and it would barely utilize 25% of a 100mb lan. I did manage to double file xfer performance by reconfiguring the Utilo samba server, so it's now much easier to live with.

Anyway, for $167 I'm not complaining. Should be fun to hack around with as well - as long as I don't turn it into a brick :cool:

How did you reconfigure the samba server? I am getting about 40-44% so not as bad as your 25%

Hmmm, with access to telnet that adds a lot of options. I was hoping to power of the unit remotely but when I try the poweroff command it just seems to power of the OS, the unit stays powered on.

People asked me earlier about the filesystem. Now that Rozz has pointed out that the you can telnet into the Mvix, this opens up a whole lot of options. Here is the filesystem setup.

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 2 91141 732082050 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 91142 91161 160650 82 Linux swap
/dev/sda3 91162 91181 160650 83 Linux

How did you reconfigure the samba server? I am getting about 40-44% so not as bad as your 25%

My primary 1tb drive) 931.0G 48.5G 882.5G 5% /tmp/usbmounts/sda1
(system partition ) 151.9M 10.2M 133.8M 7% /tmp/hdd/root
(My 500gig usb drive ) 465.8G 147.3G 318.5G 32% /tmp/usbmounts/sdb1

Samba config is on the 1tb drive in the system partition: /tmp/hdd/root/samba/lib
Filename:smb.conf

If your Linux skills are decent, I suppose you could edit smb.conf with "vi".
After a little reading up on samba, I simply changed the following line:
socket options = TCP_NODELAY IPTOS_LOWDELAY SO_SNDBUF=8192 SO_RCVBUF=8192
to this:
socket options =

That's it. I removed all the socket options. Restarted samba from the utilo. Now I'm getting around 50% network utilization so I'm curious as to what your config was and if you had upgraded the firmware. I've been a bit hesitant to do the firmware upgrade.

I am running the upgraded firmware from the mvix site.

I looked in my config and it was the same as yours.

Enable FTP:

/bin/mount -o remount -w /
mkdir ftp
mkdir /ftp/tmp
cp /usr/local/etc/hdd/volumes/HDD1/FTP/* /ftp/tmp/
cd /ftp/tmp
chmod +x bftpd
vi /ftp/tmp/bftpd.conf and replace :
PATH_BFTPDUTMP="/var/tmp/bftpdutmp" to PATH_BFTPDUTMP="/ftp/tmp/bftpdutmp"
MOTD_GLOBAL="/var/tmp/ftpmotd" to MOTD_GLOBAL="/ftp/tmp/ftpmotd"
PATH_FTPUSERS="/var/tmp/ftpusers" to PATH_FTPUSERS="/ftp/tmp/ftpusers"
./bftpd -d -c /ftp/tmp/bftpd.conf

I take no credit for this as I found the steps on another web site. Seems the mymoviecube uses the same OS.

Grab the attached zip and transfer the extracted files over to the mvix and follow the above instructions. I have tested this already and the ftp works great.

As the hacking progresses, enabling ftp will make things a lot easier. I tested a file transfer via the ftp in hopes that it would be faster than the samba, but it was slower. I might have to do some tweaking if I want to use it for movie transfers.

I happen to have a good amount of linux usage under my belt, but if you don't be carefull with what you do. Read a doc on the vi commands before going into vi and editing things. The commands in no way relate to windows.

Interesting find on the ftp. Crossed my fingers and did the software upgrade. Worked ok. Not so sure about my samba changes as network performance dropped back to 25-30% but seemingly "fixed" itself and went back up to 50% with no intervention. If you get fpt working faster, that would be great.

Haven't found any way to power off the unit. "reboot" works. "halt" also works but the unit remains powered and dead to the world.

So, since the source code for the MX-800HD is open source, is there any possibility that a firmware update will solve the major gripes with this device? I haven't pulled the trigger yet and may not after reading this thread, but was wondering what some opinions here are on the subject.

From what I've seen in the released source code it's basically the linux opensource GPL part and not the whole enchilada. I seriously doubt that it would allow for any dramatic improvements from a normal end user perspective. Things like some added utility for file transfer, etc. may be possible but only if enough people that are very familiar with the development environment get involved.

If someone has evaluated the released source code and has a different take on this, I'd like to hear it.

Hi,

Has anyone tested the photo and music capabilities of the Ultio?
I currently use the Xbox 360 and Tversity for these and motion video functions but am looking for a replacement due the noise it makes.

BTW, how's the fan noise level with the Ultio?

Thanks,

MikeM

Hi,

Has anyone tested the photo and music capabilities of the Ultio?
I currently use the Xbox 360 and Tversity for these and motion video functions but am looking for a replacement due the noise it makes.

BTW, how's the fan noise level with the Ultio?

Thanks,

MikeM

Fan noise is not noticeable. I havent tested any of the music or photo stuff.

Fan noise is not noticeable. I havent tested any of the music or photo stuff.
I heard the default navigation is not good.
is there any search or alternate way of navigation through browser?
I have 1000+ videos/ audios in a drive.

I heard the default navigation is not good.
is there any search or alternate way of navigation through browser?
I have 1000+ videos/ audios in a drive.

If your videos / audio are in the same folder you are out of luck. Dont buy this.

What I tend to do to over come this is use multiple folders for my files. Example I have all of the 007 movies in HD. I make a folder called 007 and put them in it.

Its up to you, but the browsing is definitely not the best and if you plan on having that many files in one folder, you are better off looking at a different product.

Its up to you, but the browsing is definitely not the best and if you plan on having that many files in one folder, you are better off looking at a different product.That's correct. The only way to navigate through a folder with a lot of files is six-at-a-time. In my case, I would have to hit the page-down button over a hundred times to get to some of my movies. It it completely useless for large collections.

how do we play netflix on this?
do we need a windows machine in addition to this to host some media streamer like playon or tversity?

I am looking for one device to play the files from collection hosted on a linkstation nas server and also play content from hulu, netflix and utube.

I am inclining to a Windows 7 based HTPC :(

how do we play netflix on this?
do we need a windows machine in addition to this to host some media streamer like playon or tversity?

I am looking for one device to play the files from collection hosted on a linkstation nas server and also play content from hulu, netflix and utube.

I am inclining to a Windows 7 based HTPC :(

My understanding is tversity is required to play netflix.

Does anyone know whether the Ultio can be upgraded via firmware to use a Western Digital RE4-GP WD2002FYPS 2TB hard drive? If not, does anyone know of any other media streaming device that can handle a 2TB hard drive? Thanks.

I have an Ultio connected directly to my TV via HDMI w/o any separate audio equipment. In other words, I use my TV for sound. I find that the sound via HDMI is a little weak compared to my previous player and compared to my other HDMI connected devices. This is especially the case with DVD sources on the Ultio. I've set the Ultio to the max volume (31), but I still must crank my TV volume to 40+. With my previous player I set my TV volume to around 18-20. Has anyone else noticed weak audio via HDMI -> TV using the Ultio?

Been trying to keep track of this thread, has anyone been happy with the Ultio, has it lived up to expectations?
I have an MVIX Ultio (one week now), a new Mac Mini and an Apple TV hooked up to an HDTV. Obviously they won't all stay on that TV. I mainly stream stuff. I can say that I really like the Ultio. It does everything I wanted it for The only small quibble I have is that the fan is a bit loud (I am a bit of a noise fiend) so I just didn't put a hard drive in and disabled the fan. I hooked up a fanless USB hard drive to it, but streaming 720p stuff works great so I mainly do that from a d-link nas. I really don't understand the negative comments here. I've tried a lot of these media players and am basically an Apple type but the Ultio is really very good for the price. The firmware upgrade was easy, the remote works well, subtitle support is excellent (my main concern). I don't see anything out there that does what it does for the price.

It would be nice to have gigabit ethernet but it's no big deal at this point. I would like ftp access though.

philip

The audio level for my Ultio is fine (via HDMI). Maybe the cable?

philip

I have an Ultio connected directly to my TV via HDMI w/o any separate audio equipment. In other words, I use my TV for sound. I find that the sound via HDMI is a little weak compared to my previous player and compared to my other HDMI connected devices. This is especially the case with DVD sources on the Ultio. I've set the Ultio to the max volume (31), but I still must crank my TV volume to 40+. With my previous player I set my TV volume to around 18-20. Has anyone else noticed weak audio via HDMI -> TV using the Ultio?

I had the same problem until I messed around with the audio options. Maybe it was just me, but I set the Night Mode on "Comfort" and it greatly increased the audio level.

-WZ

My observations so far (after a week):

Clunky Menu system - This is something that could easily be fixed by someone in the fw.
Home - The option button works perfect for going back to "Home"
FTP - Don't need it since you can just use the built in samba server to xfer files to the internal hdd.
BT - This works, but I'm not sure how practical it is. You have to load the torrent files via the internal web server. The whole point of this would be to download torrents without a PC. Why not just use the PC to download the torrent & then xfer the files to the unit? There is a good chance you'll have to unrar or unzip whatever you download anyway.
BT Install - Putting the files on a USB flash drive isn't a big deal, so the install was easy.
Local HDD - Works great!
USB HDD - Works great! I have a USB dock hooked up so I can quickly swap HDD's in and out.
Network - Works ok. The "My Shortcuts" feature needs some additional features added.
UPNP - Works ok. I was having problems with some Play On, Netflix, etc. video feeds.
Playlist - Not very functional right now.
Codec support - It won't play the audio stream off of my canon AVI's. Also, it doesn't seem to like WMV7 or WMV8 files. The lack of 5.1 WMA is a bit annoying, but I can either live with it or use my 360.

I set up my Logitech remote for my unit. I had to tweak the timing a bit. The interface is a bit slow to respond. After customizing the buttons, I don't even think of using the remote that came with the unit.

All in All I am happy with my purchase. It does exactly what I want it to do and it wasn't crazy expensive either.

Hope this helps someone. I look forward to seeing some updated & custom firmware for the unit!

-WZ

WZ,

How did you get the Harmony to work with it?

philip

Regarding setting up ftp, do you need an internal hard rive to do that? The instructions posted here assume that. I'd like to be able to ftp and transfer stuff to my usb connected drive.

philip

WZ,

How did you get the Harmony to work with it?

philip

Set it up as a Media Center device. It will find the 800HD, but it didn't work right, so I remapped all of the buttons using the original remote & the learning feature. Works GREAT!

-WZ

Regarding setting up ftp, do you need an internal hard rive to do that? The instructions posted here assume that. I'd like to be able to ftp and transfer stuff to my usb connected drive.

philip

I'm not sure you can send files remotely to your USB hdd, but the internal one is the hdd1 shared samba drive.

With a firmware tweak, you should be able to share the USB hdd also. You'll just have to wait to see if someone comes along with some custom firmware though.

-WZ

Well, I'm getting a slight stiffy reading through this thread.

Can someone confirm this outputs 1080i over component okay? What's the reframe support on MKV's? I have a ton of avi files and blu-ray rips in mkv that I would love to get over to the tv easily.

I was stoked for the WDTV but they went and cornholed me with molten hot lead by leaving out component support for legacy HDTVS. It's all about supporting the johnny-come-lately whores without so much as a reach-around for us early adopters.

Whew, think I got that bitching off my chest now, lol.

Also, it doesn't seem to like WMV7 or WMV8 files. The lack of 5.1 WMA is a bit annoying, but I can either live with it or use my 360.

Did you test WMV VC-1 (WVC-1) with WMA2 audio? I have more than 100 unbox files that are in this format.

I almost pulled the trigger today on a mvix purchase, but I can't seem to get a consensus on these players by reading these threads. The mvix-xtreamer-ryan choice could be made with a coin flip, if I had a three-sided coin. I'm thinking I will go with whichever has the best software by the end of the summer. Honestly though I'm not too hopeful for any substantive improvements.

Did you test WMV VC-1 (WVC-1) with WMA2 audio? I have more than 100 unbox files that are in this format.

I almost pulled the trigger today on a mvix purchase, but I can't seem to get a consensus on these players by reading these threads. The mvix-xtreamer-ryan choice could be made with a coin flip, if I had a three-sided coin. I'm thinking I will go with whichever has the best software by the end of the summer. Honestly though I'm not too hopeful for any substantive improvements.

It plays WMV VC-1 & WMV 9 just fine. I'm not sure about the 5.1 WMA Audio. I think it downsamples it to 2 channels, but I'm not 100% positive. I haven't had time to dig into it too much. I've been enjoying my MKV bluray rips too much.

-WZ

I just bought Mvix Ultio 1080 last month and I am surprised on how easy and convenient setting it up. I actually did it myself for just a few minutes. I have been very cautious in choosing the brands and model of appliances and gadgets that I am buying because I want my hard-earned money to be on the right track.

Now, I am very satisfied with this Mvix Ultio 1080. With all its functionality that allows me to view different kinds of file formats, and thus, allowing me to view streaming videos in the internet. It has a USB slave port giving me the convenience in connecting to my pc. All this and more in a very affordable price.

Being able to experienced this satisfaction, I am very confident to advise you to buy this product.:p

hahaha 1st post....

I just bought Mvix Ultio 1080 last month and I am surprised on how easy and convenient setting it up. I actually did it myself for just a few minutes. I have been very cautious in choosing the brands and model of appliances and gadgets that I am buying because I want my hard-earned money to be on the right track.

Now, I am very satisfied with this Mvix Ultio 1080. With all its functionality that allows me to view different kinds of file formats, and thus, allowing me to view streaming videos in the internet. It has a USB slave port giving me the convenience in connecting to my pc. All this and more in a very affordable price.

Being able to experienced this satisfaction, I am very confident to advise you to buy this product.:p

Not to be a judgmental prick, but you sure sound like a shill (or whore as the term may fit) and given your non-native English (Ultio with foreign company) makes me wonder if your boss is reading this over your shoulder as you post. You might ask him to help you get your prepositions correct :)

I'm not sure you can send files remotely to your USB hdd, but the internal one is the hdd1 shared samba drive.

With a firmware tweak, you should be able to share the USB hdd also. You'll just have to wait to see if someone comes along with some custom firmware though.

-WZ

I've been able to get samba to recognize external USB drives but the Ultio mounts all external USB storage as read only. Can't write to anything other than the interal HD. Currently, my rusty Linux can't figure out what would be needed to remount and external USB driver as writeable, if it's possible. If someone can accomplish that, I can get the samba part working.

I've been able to get samba to recognize external USB drives but the Ultio mounts all external USB storage as read only. Can't write to anything other than the interal HD. Currently, my rusty Linux can't figure out what would be needed to remount and external USB driver as writeable, if it's possible. If someone can accomplish that, I can get the samba part working.

I don't have an internal drive in the Ultio (for noise reasons I disabled the fan) and I use a fanless USB drive. The samba client will transfer stuff to that drive from the Ultio but I'd like to be able to install an ftp server so I can send files to the Ultio from elsewhere. As it stands, the Ultio forces you to have an internal drive in order to enable the samba server. That is what would be nice to get around (in a similar way to the D-Link 323 NAS).

pmcd

As it stands, the Ultio forces you to have an internal drive in order to enable the samba server. That is what would be nice to get around (in a similar way to the D-Link 323 NAS).


You could get an external drive (or external drive enclosure) that has an e-sata port, and then connect it to the ultio's internal sata port, or craft a hole on the ultio's backpanel for an e-sata port. I'm not sure which external drives (with e-sata) are fanless, but there must be at least one.

Or maybe get a small capacity ssd for inside the ultio, just big enough to hold the client programs.

Small capacity SSD sounds good. Can't get any more quiet than that plus it allows you to install samba and whatever else might come along. FYI, when I installed my 1tb internal drive, the ultio grabbed about 150meg for it's own use. I wouldn't expect ftp or samba to work with external usb drives any time soon. Certainly won't out of the box.

I just bought Mvix Ultio 1080 last month and I am surprised on how easy and convenient setting it up. I actually did it myself for just a few minutes. I have been very cautious in choosing the brands and model of appliances and gadgets that I am buying because I want my hard-earned money to be on the right track.

Now, I am very satisfied with this Mvix Ultio 1080. With all its functionality that allows me to view different kinds of file formats, and thus, allowing me to view streaming videos in the internet. It has a USB slave port giving me the convenience in connecting to my pc. All this and more in a very affordable price.

Being able to experienced this satisfaction, I am very confident to advise you to buy this product.:p

troll :cool:... how much are you paid to post this stuff?

You could get an external drive (or external drive enclosure) that has an e-sata port, and then connect it to the ultio's internal sata port, or craft a hole on the ultio's backpanel for an e-sata port. I'm not sure which external drives (with e-sata) are fanless, but there must be at least one.

Or maybe get a small capacity ssd for inside the ultio, just big enough to hold the client programs.

I have 3 external e-sata (fanless) cases that I could use. It's not clear where you'd connect the cable to. On a PC I can use a bracket and it goes to something on the motherboard. The actually place that a sata drive connects to in the Ultio wouldn't connect in an obvious way to any cable I know. Great idea. I don't mind cutting a hole to get a cable in there.

The ssd drive is intriguing. Aren't they 2.5" formats? I guess there's an adpater to put a 2.5" drive into a 3.5" place and have the holes in the Ultio line up? Would the ssd drive generate heat and require me to reconnect the fan?

pmcd

Small capacity SSD sounds good. Can't get any more quiet than that plus it allows you to install samba and whatever else might come along. FYI, when I installed my 1tb internal drive, the ultio grabbed about 150meg for it's own use. I wouldn't expect ftp or samba to work with external usb drives any time soon. Certainly won't out of the box.

Small ssd sounds good. Would i have to reconnect that fan? The ssd would have to be put on some kind of 2.5" to 3.5" drive bracket adapter to get the screws to fit (the two).

This would be great if I could get it to work. I don't know much about ssd's. Would they fit the sata data and power connecters? Are they all the same?

pmcd

Any one test with a largish FLAC collection with playlists?
I want a decide I can use to connect to a small LCD screen and my stereo, as a FLAC jukebox. Looking at the Ultio. (I don't want a computer, something small and simple that can be used with a remote and can have an internal HD!)

Cheers

i recieved my Ultio today and i have a couple of questions for anyone that has one.

1. When adding a new shortcut, it says to highlight "My Shortcuts" and press the option buttion to Add, Modify or Delete. But when i press the option button it takes me back to the home page.

2. Where do you find the FW revision. When i go into System Update it give me some information but doesn't even come close to saying whether it's version 1.0 or 1.1.

My first impressions after having it for about 2 hours are good so far. It's been able to play anything I've selected from my WHS. But like I said, I've only had it 2 hours to play with it so far.

I got one of these units about 2 weeks ago. It has played everything I have with no problems (xvid,divx, h.264). The video and audio quality is excellent. I don't have an internal drive for it yet, I'll pick one up next month. I use the samba client to read the files on my laptop and have a usb thumb drive. I have it connected using component video to a 42" TV and the video is the same quality as when watching HD satellite (assuming the input video is of good quality).

The only problem I have is I can't figure out how to setup a play list or any way to play all the mp3 files in a directory. The only thing I can do with mp3's now is play them one at a time selecting the song I want to hear, when it ends, I have to select the next song. Please someone explain to me how to play more than 1 mp3 at a time :)

The only problem I have is I can't figure out how to setup a play list or any way to play all the mp3 files in a directory. The only thing I can do with mp3's now is play them one at a time selecting the song I want to hear, when it ends, I have to select the next song. Please someone explain to me how to play more than 1 mp3 at a time :)

You can use a M3U playlist or you can add items to your playlist that are on your hard drive. The playlist feature isn't very functional unless you use the m3u playlists.

-WZ

After about 3 weeks of light usage, the Ultio I purchased is already starting to act up. In the middle of playing video files, it will occasionally stop and display a window with "IO error" in the middle. The box is not locked up - I can still go back to the main menu. However, the hard drive does not show up on the menu. A hard power cycle restores functionality, but it eventually happens again. Sometimes it's 10 minutes, sometimes it's a few hours.

I do not believe the hard drive is the issue. It is a new drive, it is not getting hot, and it is not making the usual "dying drive" noises.

Has anybody else had similar problems?

Yes, I had the file error for the first time just last night. This was after about 6 hours of continuous use playing dvd folders (battlestar galactica) from the internal hard drive. The video froze and then when I tried to restart it I got the file error. Also, for the first time the box was pretty hot. It had only gotten slightly warm during the previous two weeks. Another problem I've had in the past few days is that it won't go into standby (LED won't change from blue to red). I press the power button just once and give it plenty of time but it stays in active mode.

I've taken the hard drive out and will see if that makes any difference during extensive use.

Yes, I had the file error for the first time just last night. This was after about 6 hours of continuous use playing dvd folders (battlestar galactica) from the internal hard drive. The video froze and then when I tried to restart it I got the file error. Also, for the first time the box was pretty hot. It had only gotten slightly warm during the previous two weeks. Another problem I've had in the past few days is that it won't go into standby (LED won't change from blue to red). I press the power button just once and give it plenty of time but it stays in active mode.

I've taken the hard drive out and will see if that makes any difference during extensive use.

When I first got mine I put a Hitachi 500gig drive in it. The Ultio got really hot and the fan noise drove me crazy. When I removed the Hitachi it was blazing hot (never dealt with a drive that hot). I don't think you'd want a 7200rpm drive in there. A slower drive (like the Samsung 5400 rpm drive) or a laptop drive would be better, but then you'd need an adapter). I've since put a large drive in a fanless enclosure from Vantec and used an esata to sata cable which plugs into the motherboard of the Ultio (you have to remove the little sata adapter that is in there) and I have disabled that horrible fan. Everything runs great, samba works fine, unit is cool (well it got slightly warm after I moved 50gigs of stuff over my network to it). Obviously not an optimal solution for everyone but it works for me. I can't stand cheap fans and that is what you find in most of these devices. I have to hand it to Apple. Their stuff is quiet, like something in a home theatre setup is supposed to be. It will be interesting to see reviews of the new Popcorn as it relates to noise. The previous unit was unbearable from that perspective.

I have also noticed the lack of shutoff

philip

I've never had a problem with fan noise. I can't even hear it from more than 4 feet away.

Just for the hell of it I removed the outer case and tried playing some videos with the board "naked". It crapped out again after a couple hours. The hard drive was only barely warm, but the heat sink on the processor was too hot to touch. Interestingly, with the case on, the bottom of the unit where the processor is located is not hot. This means that the heat sink is just not rejecting enough heat.

I'm starting to think this is all an overheating issue. Since it happened with the case off and the heat sink exposed to the air, it looks like active cooling is the only option. That, or trying to return it for a refund.

Can the Ultio pass-through DTS-MA and Tru-HD to a compatible receiver?

I've never had a problem with fan noise. I can't even hear it from more than 4 feet away.

Just for the hell of it I removed the outer case and tried playing some videos with the board "naked". It crapped out again after a couple hours. The hard drive was only barely warm, but the heat sink on the processor was too hot to touch. Interestingly, with the case on, the bottom of the unit where the processor is located is not hot. This means that the heat sink is just not rejecting enough heat.

I'm starting to think this is all an overheating issue. Since it happened with the case off and the heat sink exposed to the air, it looks like active cooling is the only option. That, or trying to return it for a refund.

Maybe they are having the same issues as the Xtreamer product where some fans are louder than others? I can hear it from 6 or 7 feet and it drives me crazy.

Odd that the hard drives I tried internally all got pretty hot. When I run it without an internal hard drive both the top and bottom of the case are just slightly warm after hours of use. This is without the fan. This suggests that the heat sink is working. I assume you haven't disabled the fan? Basically I seem to be getting the same temperature on the bottom as you are with the fan (warm).

The support people at mvixusa made it clear that the fan was not required if you didn't have an internal drive. I don't know if using an external esata drive would increase the power drain enough to cause overheating. I doubt it.

I am a bit baffled that putting the case on cools off the cpu.

In any case this is somewhat worrisome. Is there software to measure temperature for Linux?

philip

I am a bit baffled that putting the case on cools off the cpu.
It doesn't. The heatsink is hot with or without the case. The fact that the case is only slightly warm while the heatsink itself is very hot means that the heat is not being transferred from inside to outside. This is the real problem. I'll have to dig through my parts boxes and see if I can't find a larger heatsink that will still fit. If it comes to it, I could always cut a hole in the bottom of the case and extend the feet to accommodate an active chipset cooler. Though the Ultio doesn't use them, there are two holes at opposite corners of the chip that I am hoping will line up with standard heatsink fasteners. While this will probably solve the problem, it is far from a desirable solution to a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place.

I have not disabled the fan. I know it's spinning because I can hear it if I am close enough and I can see it when the case is off. The problem is that the fan only cools the hard drive. No airflow reaches the processor heatsink. The drive I am using probably just runs cooler than some others, which is why the drive is only slightly warm and the fan doesn't spin fast.

I notice that the fan pulls air into the case. Since the case has quite a bit of vent holes, I would think that it would do a better job of cooling by blowing out, and thereby pulling air through the opposing vents and across the drive. Am I mistaken?

The fact that the case is only slightly warm while the heatsink itself is very hot means that the heat is not being transferred from inside to outside. This is the real problem. I'll have to dig through my parts boxes and see if I can't find a larger heatsink that will still fit. If it comes to it, I could always cut a hole in the bottom of the case and extend the feet to accommodate an active chipset cooler. Though the Ultio doesn't use them, there are two holes at opposite corners of the chip that I am hoping will line up with standard heatsink fasteners. While this will probably solve the problem, it is far from a desirable solution to a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place.


Hmm..this is disturbing. Could it be just an issue with your unit? Perhaps the heatsink is not on properly although your explanation that the heat is not being transferred out of the unit would seem to make that unlikely. My Apple TV gets very warm and I thought that was something to be concerned about, but I guess it's doing its job in moving the heat out. I've never had an issue with it (the ATV).

Did your Ultio act strange from the start? Mine has been working 5 or 6 hours a day (and transfers overnight) for almost 2 weeks and it still works great. By the sounds of it I should not get too attached if in fact there is a design issue. I really don't want to get into water cooling the unit :)

mvixusa has been very responsive to my questions so hopefully they stand behind their products. I really know very little about these smaller media player companies. It's beginning to have overtones of the days when there were a zillion different types of sound cards in PC's and then they just all went away...Hope that is not what is happening with all these various media boxes popping up.

philip

My fan is completely quiet. I cannot hear it even from 2 feet away. I have not noticed any pausing or overheating, but I have not used it for more than 3 hours a session. I'll try more.

I've noticed that the power off takes a bit to cycle down. Also, if you push the power off on the remote and the mvix screen saver is on, then the unit won't turn off. You have to hit the power button twice. Hitting it once will just turn off the screen saver.

-WZ

My fan is completely quiet. I cannot hear it even from 2 feet away. I have not noticed any pausing or overheating, but I have not used it for more than 3 hours a session. I'll try more.

I've noticed that the power off takes a bit to cycle down. Also, if you push the power off on the remote and the mvix screen saver is on, then the unit won't turn off. You have to hit the power button twice. Hitting it once will just turn off the screen saver.

-WZ

Fan noise is a bit subjective and of course fans vary from unit to unit. It does appear as though it doesn't bother most users. I'm not saying it's really outrageous, just that I prefer silent computing, silent video environments, etc...I'd rather have a slower computer than a noisy one. There are many people who spend a lot of mind to get rid of noise. While I'm not quite there, I'm close! Keep in mind that the fan+ internal hard drive will drive up the noise, especially if it's a 3.5" fast drive. The idea someone had of using a SSD drive is nice, though pricey. Perhaps a 2.5" notebook drive could be cool enough to disable the fan.

I am really surprised you can't hear the fan from 2'. Are you sure it's on?

I haven't noticed the overheating and my Ultio is on a lot ( 6 hours+). It's a great little unit (except for the fan:) ).

Once I get my Harmony working with it it'll be really ideal. Picture quality is great and support for subtitles (especially idx/sub) is excellent.

I don't really see too many other units that can match it at this point (given the price and codec support).

philip

When adding a new shortcut, it says to highlight "My Shortcuts" and press the option buttion to Add, Modify or Delete. But when i press the option button it takes me back to the home page.

Can anyone tell me how to delete a shortcut?

Also how to tell the FW version installed.

When adding a new shortcut, it says to highlight "My Shortcuts" and press the option buttion to Add, Modify or Delete. But when i press the option button it takes me back to the home page.

Can anyone tell me how to delete a shortcut?

Also how to tell the FW version installed.

It sounds to me as though you are at 1.1 (the latest) as that upgrade made the option button return you to home (the main menu) which is great. In order to delete files/folders you need to press play to get the menu where you can delete them. Perhaps the play button will also delete a shortcut. I suspect play has become option.

philip

It doesn't. The heatsink is hot with or without the case. The fact that the case is only slightly warm while the heatsink itself is very hot means that the heat is not being transferred from inside to outside. This is the real problem.

Ok, I ran the Ultio for hours on end. Took it apart and touched the heatsink. It was warm but not overly hot. Perhaps it's your unit.

philip

It sounds to me as though you are at 1.1 (the latest) as that upgrade made the option button return you to home (the main menu) which is great. In order to delete files/folders you need to press play to get the menu where you can delete them. Perhaps the play button will also delete a shortcut. I suspect play has become option.

philip

That did it, I went through and tried pressing every button on the remote but i guess i didn't wait long enough for it to come up. I wish Mvix would publish the changes made in the FW updates. However, this unit came with the latest FW, I never did an update to it.

Thanks for the help
Al

Following up on the heat/file loading problems I was having; I removed the internal drive from the ultio and also removed the ultio from its case and positioned it so the heatsink is face-up (upside down from normal position). I connected a usb drive and ran 1080p content for two days. I haven't had any more problems, and the heatsink never got hot. I'm convinced that if the heat sink ever does get hot, it is either related to having a hot hard drive installed, or it is related to the cpu being on the underside of the board (in normal operating position).

Next I will try a "green" 2.5" hard drive installed internally. I may also try some sort of vertical stand with the ultio so that the cpu gets more airflow, or at least the heat from it can rise more easily.

As an aside, mvixusa is apparently now offering a low end htpc. I made a post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1167635) to the htpc forum with the details.

Next I will try a "green" 2.5" hard drive installed internally.

What kind of adapter (2.5" to 3.5") will work? The two holes at the bottom have to line up with the drive or adapter.

You could also use an external esata drive or an SSD. The SSD would require an adapter like your notebook approach.

I've gone the esata solution and no internal and the heat sink is fine.

pmcd

I thought about using esata. Does the ultio power down an esata drive that is independently powered? If it doesn't, I could tap the ultio's hdd power connector to power the external esata.

I was thinking of just using velcro or foam adhesive tape to mount a 2.5" drive inside the ultio, but I may hold off in doing so because I read a post on the mpcclub forums regarding mvixusa offering to exchange first-lot units for a new version that does dts downmix.

I removed the internal drive from the ultio and also removed the ultio from its case and positioned it so the heatsink is face-up (upside down from normal position).I tried the same thing, and it still crapped out after a couple hours with the heat sink very hot. It's starting to look like I have a bum unit.

I thought about using esata. Does the ultio power down an esata drive that is independently powered? If it doesn't, I could tap the ultio's hdd power connector to power the external esata.

I was thinking of just using velcro or foam adhesive tape to mount a 2.5" drive inside the ultio, but I may hold off in doing so because I read a post on the mpcclub forums regarding mvixusa offering to exchange first-lot units for a new version that does dts downmix.

It doesn't power down my esata drive.

philip

positioned it so the heatsink is face-up and the heatsink never got hot. I'm convinced that if the heat sink ever does get hot,.......


Can you please take a photo of the heatsink so that we can compare it with the Xtreamer which has overheating issues?

Can you please take a photo of the heatsink so that we can compare it with the Xtreamer which has overheating issues?You can see it here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16784510#post16784510).

The heatsink is so TINY!

And you guys are sure that that thing does not get hot at all?


This is the heatsink of the Xtreamer which uses the Realtek 1283 chip and the machine gets extremely hot:

http://picasaweb.google.hu/bitlisz/20090715Xtreamer_0km#5359107937654378418
http://picasaweb.google.hu/bitlisz/20090715Xtreamer_0km#5359107900063182450

The heatsink is so TINY!

And you guys are sure that that thing does not get hot at all?


This is the heatsink of the Xtreamer which uses the Realtek 1283 chip and the machine gets extremely hot:


Interesting. Does the Xtreamer have a lot of vent slits and/or a 25mm fan like the ultio? Does anybody have a pic of the Ryan's heatsink?

The heatsink is so TINY!

And you guys are sure that that thing does not get hot at all?

This is the heatsink of the Xtreamer which uses the Realtek 1283 chip and the machine gets extremely hot:


The heatsink on my Ultio gets warm, but not hot, after ages of use. I can easily touch it without any discomfort. I don't have an internal drive and I've disabled the fan which isn't going to affect the heatsink in any case (it's mainly for dealing with the heat generated by an internal hard drive).

The Xtreamer is a much smaller unit so it's not surprising it would get hotter. On the other hand the heatsink looks to be a lot larger than that on the Ultio which is fairly small.

My Apple TV gets hotter than my Ultio.

pmcd

I tried the same thing, and it still crapped out after a couple hours with the heat sink very hot. It's starting to look like I have a bum unit.

Why haven't you requested an exchange? You seem to have had nothing but bad experiences from the start. My experience with mvixusa support has been very positive. There is a year warranty on the unit.

philip

Why would they position the board so the heatsink is facing down. Doesn't heat rise in the Pacific Rim?

"I removed the internal drive from the ultio and also removed the ultio from its case and positioned it so the heatsink is face-up (upside down from normal position)."

Does the Xtreamer have a lot of vent slits and/or a 25mm fan like the ultio?

No vent slits, but a 25mm fan.
The fan is on the bottom though....


Inside the Xtreamer:
http://picasaweb.google.hu/bitlisz/20090715Xtreamer_0km#5359107916560669522

A lot more photos:
http://picasaweb.google.hu/bitlisz/20090715Xtreamer_0km#

Does anyone know if the Ultio will have support to be able to read the new 2TB drives, through a future firmware upgrade?

That did it, I went through and tried pressing every button on the remote but i guess i didn't wait long enough for it to come up. I wish Mvix would publish the changes made in the FW updates. However, this unit came with the latest FW, I never did an update to it.

Thanks for the help
Al

I also wish they would document the changes. Have you been able to play a DVD (say an ISO) and get to the DVD menu? Play won't take me there and option takes me to the main Ultio home.

philip

I also wish they would document the changes. Have you been able to play a DVD (say an ISO) and get to the DVD menu? Play won't take me there and option takes me to the main Ultio home.

philip

I was about to ask you the same question. If the DVD is designed to start with the menu I get the menu. But once I start playing the movie there is now way to get back to it without stopping the movie and starting over. I have tried every button on the remote.

One problem I'm having is if I'm using the Ultio and turn it off, and then I press a button on my remote for my cable box (Comcast Motorola) it turns the Ultio back on. And it's not just one button it's almost any button on the cable remote, even the numbers. I have to unplug the Ultio. This is getting frustrating. I have no idea how i'm going to get around this.

Note:
OK, this is getting weird. If i turn off the Ultio and wait about 20 minutes before pressing any buttons on the cable remote it "doesn't" turn it on. I'll have to experiment and see exactly how long i have to wait.

So far I really like the Ultio with a few exceptions:

1. When i turn it off i have to wait at least 8.5 minutes before pressing any buttons on my Comcast cable remote or it will turn the it back on. I did some testing and 8.5 minutes is the lowest i can go.

2. There is no way i can find to get back to the Menu on a DVD file once i start playing the movie.

3. The HD playback over my network is limited to a bit rate of 9 mbps. ANY thing over that makes it stutter. This is over a 1000 gigabit cat6 network. I don't know why they used a 100 network adapter in the unit. Even though my PH 100 has one and it plays my files that are over 9 mbps fine.

4. Another feature that some people may not use is the lack of a sleep function. I used this often when watching a movie in the bedroom on my 760 and 780.

I don't know if these problems can be corrected with a FW upgrade but other than that i am very happy with the A/V of the unit.

After a couple weeks of intermittent lockups, my Ultio has completely **** the bed. It now refuses to recognize the hard drive at all and has a constant loud crackling in the (analog) audio. I'm sending Mvix USA an email now to RMA my unit. I'll keep you updated with their responses. I really hope this doesn't take too long to resolve.

Hmmm, that doesn't sound very promising. I'm wondering whether packing a hard drive into the Ultio is even worth it, or if a WDTV is just as good (with the hacked firmware that allows networking). The WDTV is quieter (since it doesn't use a fan), but the Ultio does convert a few more formats...Still, the fan noise issue is keeping me from getting the Ultio...What to do, what to do?

Hmmm, that doesn't sound very promising. I'm wondering whether packing a hard drive into the Ultio is even worth it, or if a WDTV is just as good (with the hacked firmware that allows networking). The WDTV is quieter (since it doesn't use a fan), but the Ultio does convert a few more formats...Still, the fan noise issue is keeping me from getting the Ultio...What to do, what to do?

Disable the fan and use an external quiet drive. That's what I did with the Ultio and so far it's been great. On the other hand, some people don't notice the fan noise. You could put a 2.5" drive in there (with a suitable adapter) or even an SSD. I don't know if you could disable the fan with these though. Depends on how much money you want to play around with. For me, idx/sub subtitle support was important and the Ultio is great with that.

pmcd

I have an Ultio connected directly to my TV via HDMI w/o any separate audio equipment. In other words, I use my TV for sound. I find that the sound via HDMI is a little weak compared to my previous player and compared to my other HDMI connected devices. This is especially the case with DVD sources on the Ultio. I've set the Ultio to the max volume (31), but I still must crank my TV volume to 40+. With my previous player I set my TV volume to around 18-20. Has anyone else noticed weak audio via HDMI -> TV using the Ultio?

It's true. I am audiophile and I can say that sound is really bad and weak (through optical output). I am also very disappointed with include of only optical output which I found ridiculous.
Away from that, very happy :)

rgds,

Can someone tell me how Xvid files look when played on the Ultio? I have an Mvix 760-HD, and whenever it plays any color Xvid files, it has a flaw that will occassionally show the picture with the colors smeared until the video cuts to the next scene. Does anyone notice any similar problems with the Ultio?

My ultio has just bought the farm.

I had removed the internal drive and had just been using usb and the network. All was well for about ten days. Starting about two days ago, the screen would go black in the middle of a video (the same video that played fine many times before). Only removing power would fix it. This happened more and more often, sometimes the screen would turn all white instead of black. Then, starting last night, after resetting the power again, the screen would go black as soon as I selected any video. Playback would never start.

I tried another hard drive, some other cables, another power brick, and another tv - all with the same results. I will try it again tonight but I am going to start a warranty/rma ticket with mvix now.

Can someone tell me how Xvid files look when played on the Ultio? I have an Mvix 760-HD, and whenever it plays any color Xvid files, it has a flaw that will occassionally show the picture with the colors smeared until the video cuts to the next scene. Does anyone notice any similar problems with the Ultio?

They seem fine to me. I have had a couple of xvid files which the Ultio thought were 19 minutes long (there were 90). Must have been an encoding isssue but they played fine on my Apple TV (which I am liking more and more theses days :). 720p at main profile looks pretty nice. I realize that many mkv files on the net are encoded at really high profile levels. I think people may be getting carried away with themselves.

pmcd

I have a question to those here who also own an Mvix 760/780HD. Besides the fact that the 760/780 can NOT decode HD files and a few other files that the Ultio CAN decode, can someone tell me how the Ultio compares with the 760/780 as far as the user interface, remote response time, menu structure, etc, etc...We already know the Ultio doesn't have a sleep function, something that IS implemented in the 760/780...a big oversite IMO. What are some other pluses and minuses the Ultio has when compared with the MX-760/780HD?

What is the best place to order the Ultio from? Everywhere I have looked online, it says it's on back order.

Has anyone been able to create a Shortcut to a specific folder on NAS or Server. I can make a shortcut to my home server but then i have to scroll through all the folders to get to the Video folder. It even shows the system folders. According to the directions you should be able to by highlighting Shortcuts and pressing the Option button. But since the new FW it doesn't work and takes you back to the home page. Other than making the option button take you back to the home page, what did the new fw do. Is it possible to go back and does anyone know where i can get the initial FW.
Thanks.

Does anyone know if the Ultio will upconvert an avi/divx to HD?

It's true. I am audiophile and I can say that sound is really bad and weak (through optical output). I am also very disappointed with include of only optical output which I found ridiculous.
Away from that, very happy :)

rgds,

Hey xspale, can you give us a little more information on what you mean by bad and weak. I use my current media player (WD) as much for music as I do for movies, maybe more. What type files are you playing? Anybody else have any music related comments or experience.