I just noticed that Popcorn Hour has release a new version of firmware.

Release Date : 20 Dec 2007

Firmware Version : 01-15-071218-14-POP-402

Release Note :
1. Requires NMT apps 00-15-071213-14-POP-402

2. Setup page
- Use "on-click" navigation instead of auto-load
- translation fixes
- timezone fixes
- modify photo interval values

3. Browser navigation
- focus on last item when Return pressed
- auto load Media source page when USB device unplugged
- fix refresh of POST HTML pages

4. DVD/ISO
- Vol +/- jerkiness issue fixed in SD/ED mode
- added FF 2x, 4x

5. MKV
- fixed audio track switch with codec changes, no audio issue
- fixed audio track no audio (user reported DVD-9 MKV)

6. MP4
- allows MP4 with H.264 HP@L5.1 to play

7. NFS server
- NFS server working now
- changed NFS server security/sharing settings

8. Reduced extremely long timeout when router does'nt support port forwarding.

9. Changed UPnP UI to match fileplayer

10. Torrent
- fixed epoll erro
- setup default seeding level to 0

11. Show disk space and disk size, when Info key pressed on HDD, USB drive

12. FTP fixes
- remove write optimisation causing occasiona file corrupt
- remove FTP username change, stick with ftpuser

13. NFS server share path changed from "/shares" to "/share" to be consistent

14. Samba client fixes
- redirect page number from 8 to 5
- back/forward history implemented
- unable to resolve IP for SMB server name issue

15. Web services, back/forward history implemented

16. TV mode fixes
- save on-the-fly mode changes to flash
- auto EDID reduce on-the-fly switching time

17. Change Setup navigation behaviour; "Return" direct to Media Source page

18. VOD merge (eliminates HDMI reinit issue)

19. JPEG decode
- Enabled hardware decode for JPEG. JPEG444 still decode in software.
- temporarily back to software JPEG decode, due to issues with video scaler

20. File Manager fixes
- focus item after refresh from Copy or Delete
- implement new partition free space checking

21. File player fixes
- Edit PageUp/PageDown tag
- support HARD_DISK and USB drive usage info
- added NFS tag check

22. Subtitle support for various European languages

23. Ethernet ACT LED off and FIP display cleared when soft shutdown

24. Fixed when HDMI cable plugged in, DVD/ISO playback in Composite PAL black screen issue

25. Further fix for DVD/ISO playback in component PAL

26. Fix BT status in Setup not in-sync

27. Browser fix key Up/Down in MSP pages

28. NFS server start/stop

29. Enable DVD options in Setup

30. Network share
- Auto add default prefix (smb://) if it is not entered
- checking for duplicate entries
- Samba client username/password entry prompt support

31. HTML title added for Web Services and Samba client modules
- UPnP UI and Start page will have title shown on the VFD (where applicable)

32. early MKV subtitle support (known issues with extended characters and others, fix in progress)

33. Fixes player hang when MKV subtitle is toggled during playback

34. Fixes player stuck at second bootup screen which happens occasionally

35. Fixes unable to access Media Source page when LAN cable unplugged while SMB share is last accessed.



NMT Apps Version : 00-15-071213-14-POP-402

Release Note : 1. Minimum firmware version to use this NMT App 01-15-071213-14-POP-402-000

2. Marquee listing on upnp servers

3. UTF8 added

4. Browser pgup and pgdn key link changed

5. All "/shares" path change to "/share"

6. Fixed data corrupt on FTP

7. Removed ftp username support.

8. Bit torrent seeding timeout set to 0

9. Set upnpnat run at background

10. Support NFS server start and stop service


Note : Unzip into the root of your USB thumbdrive. Browse to usbupdate.html to update.
Please DO NOT power off the unit during firmware update, as it will render your unit inoperational.

Impressive update, very cool!

Sounds awesome, now if i could only buy one....

Any news on HD DVD play back of EVO files?

So,
I need to hear from the actual users of Popcorn player, what are you able to play and what are not, what still have some kinks... I know the FW claims for fix many items (very impressive) but PH is living up to your expectations? How about picture quality (PQ)? DVD Navigation? Playing .m2t, .m2v, mp4, dvix, H.264 w/ 5.1...

Thanks,
Perry

So,
I need to hear from the actual users of Popcorn player, what are you able to play and what are not, what still have some kinks... I know the FW claims for fix many items (very impressive) but PH is living up to your expectations? How about picture quality (PQ)? DVD Navigation? Playing .m2t, .m2v, mp4, dvix, H.264 w/ 5.1...

Thanks,
Perry


I own a popcorn. It plays m2ts from bluray almost perfect. I say almost because currently it couldn't recognize DTS-Master sound track. No passthru for advance audio either due to HDMI 1.1 and software limitation.

Limited Divx/xvid I own (only 5-6) plays fine. 95% of H.264/MPEG2 in ts or MKV container with AC3/AAC (all from US or UK broadcast) also plays fine.

nice nice nice
:D

You could make a deal with pixmania in europe :)
They sell to many european countries, including Portugal :P

So,
I need to hear from the actual users of Popcorn player, what are you able to play and what are not, what still have some kinks... I know the FW claims for fix many items (very impressive) but PH is living up to your expectations? How about picture quality (PQ)? DVD Navigation? Playing .m2t, .m2v, mp4, dvix, H.264 w/ 5.1...

Thanks,
Perry

Very happy with mine.

Has played every H264 and MPEG2 .ts I've thrown at it (and outputs AC3 raw via HDMI for my amp to decode), every Divx and XVid file I've tried, supports .srt subtitles fine, and some - but not all - windows media (don't think it supports old WMV codecs) MP4s have all been fine - though I don't have many.

Have a couple of DVD ISOs and VIDEO_TS folders - both work fine.

MP3 playback and navigation is very basic - not an Apple TV competitor - but it will stream MP3 radio over the net fine, though you have to create an HTML file with the right info in it for this.

Have had the occasional crash, and the UI is hardly beautiful - though neither is it as bad as many other devices - and it is pretty responsive.

One impressive thing is the AUTO format output setting for HDMI - which outputs 1080/60i stuff at 1080/60p and 1080/50i stuff at 1080/50p automatically with no need to switch formats manually. As I have a mix of both this is a really neat feature.

Haven't tried MKVs yet.

Few areas that could be improved - manual override of aspect ratio is not perfect, and subtitles on the old firmware were a bit hit and miss, haven't tried subs since the upgrade.

Main limitation for me is that the device has no USB slave connector, so you have to fill it up over the network, via an external hard drive (which is pretty slow due to a hardware limitation), or by removing the drive and connecting it to a PC with Ext2/3 drivers. At the moment I'm hardly using the internal drive, and instead playing stuff over the network or from an external NTFS drive (which it plays from fine)

Thanks for all the feedbacks... I am really tempted. But I have to probably get rid of my LimHD first. Pain...

Perry

Some thing that is missing is a connection to a external DVD/hddvd7bluray drive :(

I have a PH and it works well for playing back files. MVK, DVIX, XVID, H264, and DVD ISOs with menus all work well. When compared to my TVIX 4100 the PH plays roughly 90% of the MVK's that the TVIX can play. For other video files I would say the boxes are equal. The video quality is excellent. It is equal to the video output of a TVIX box.

If all you are doing is playing back files then it is a pretty good streamer. It has a much nicer setup screens and is easier to configure then a TVIX box. The interface is typical for this kind of device. I will also mention that it sells for half the cost of a TVIX box.

Unfortunately, when compared to other players it is currently lacking some key features others have. Currently, it has very limited zoom capabilities and the zoom features that are included are non-standard. The existing zoom modes stretch the video in different ways then the zoom options on a typical up scaling DVD player or TV resulting and a messed up aspect ratio. Features like GOTO are missing at this time. Book marking is also absent. So if you stop watching a video file in the middle you need to FF to where you left off. FF and RW are limited to 4x and 8x for most videos format with the exceptions of DVD's. This makes it a pain to move through MVK files when compared to a TVIX box.

Syabas and PH have already released several firmware updates and seem to be actively supporting the device so some of the issues I have mentioned may be fixed in future firmware updates.

Features like GOTO are missing at this time. Book marking is also absent. So if you stop watching a video file in the middle you need to FF to where you left off. FF and RW are limited to 4x and 8x for most videos format with the exceptions of DVD's. This makes it a pain to move through MVK files when compared to a TVIX box.


Goto is only missing on MKVs isn't it? There is a Time Seek / Time Search option where you can dial in the time you want to go to in non-MKVs ISTR.

Some thing that is missing is a connection to a external DVD/hddvd7bluray drive :(


External DVD Rom drives do connect - and allow file replay and non-CSS DVD replay ISTR. Because the PCH-A100 doesn't have Macrovision or CSS it can't replay commercial DVDs.

As for BluRay and HD-DVDs - the licensing costs for the various functions they require would be prohibitive. The PCH is a low cost device - not a high-end thing. It is remarkably cheap given its functionality.

My problem is that i have may avis/mkvs in DVDs, and if it is possible to connect a external DVD drive it would be nice :D

That is, the use of the dvd/bluray/hddvd simply as a storage media ;)

Thank you guys for all your sharing.

Perry

My problem is that i have may avis/mkvs in DVDs, and if it is possible to connect a external DVD drive it would be nice :D

That is, the use of the dvd/bluray/hddvd simply as a storage media ;)

DVD Roms with AVI, MKV etc. file on them should read fine according to the support board, as will unencrypted DVDs.

Have a look at :

www.networkedmediatank.com

Goto is only missing on MKVs isn't it? There is a Time Seek / Time Search option where you can dial in the time you want to go to in non-MKVs ISTR.

Actually, the goto function is missing for several different file types including MVK's. It's strange since they also implemented it differently for different file types. I have to admit that PH's implementation of goto for DVD's is excellent but its implementation for AVI's is poor in comparison. For several different HD file formats it is not implemented at all. Hopefully they will fix this and implement the same goto functionality currently available for DVD’s for all file formats.