PopBox Owners' Thread: Impressions, Reviews & Tips - Page 6

I'm sure luck had nothing to do with it.

Wow, someone's really paying attention...lol.

CD

I seriously doubt the AVSForum thread will get locked, the whole point of this thread is for new owners to discuss their impressions, reviews, etc.... Looking through the thread as much of a horror show as it is it sure sounds like this is what you guys are doing...

Can't say I am not glad that my popbox won't be here until Monday!

oK, PB apparently just sent over another FW update and I inserted the card and reconfigured all my wired settings (HINT: PB- AN owners manual sure would be nice). Anyway, just getting started exploring everything but so far I can report:

1) Apps work fine

2) USB thumb drive works fine (although a PITA to get to) with the power adapter in the way. (major design flaw)

3) The power adapter just isn't snug. Its prob only @ 75% inserted....

4) I am now begining to navigate my music/ movies./ video files with some success (again, A freaking owners manual would be nice).

Can we fix this on our own with a short USB extension cable? If so I might dig out an old one, or buy one, might be nice to have it affixed to either the left or right side of the box for front access.

Met, is this your first Syabas? An owner's manual is a pipe dream.

CD

Dude, I have said some strong things on this forum about manufacturers practices and ineptness and never was asked to tone it down. This is a great place to speak the truth and your mind.

Two and 3/4 hours and no return call. I was the first tech call for sure. I called @ 9:01 PST and "Johnny" picked up right up.. He was dumber than wood but nice and pleasant in a useless kind of way.

I think that may be an insult to wood.

Preordered PB and cancelled after the Netflix fiasco. Xtreamer authorized reseller on ebay is almost the same price range as popbox, waiting for the popbox saga to unfold before deciding on the second Mediaplayer purchase.

Maybe time to wait and see what XTreamer does with the next FW that has the jukebox (for all models ) and HD Audio (for Pro and Sidewinder).

Mine is at home on my desk. So as of now I think the consensus is insert the SD card before powering the unit on, then leave it alone while it downloads the firmware updates. About how long are the updates taking to download and install?

This is almost a dealbreaker for me on its own. Has anyone else observed this?

Yes, it is... But, good grief.... a manual would be nice. They did include a quick start but only connections and such. Had I not been reading these forums and someone mentioned the SD card I never would have thought to install the thing.

So, who is going to be the first to review this thing on Amazon and how long will it take to be removed?

BTW-My PCH B1xx mobo came with a users manual in the box-if that little 1 page card (getting to know) counts.

Can someone post videos on youtube of the interface?

Yes I did, But not a deal breaker for me... I would just like a bios file so that I can get the thing working.


Update:

I called Tech support again. I was told that Bios updates will be available on the website in the near future. I can send unit back to them ( 4- 5 weeks) if I want or I can wait a few days and see if I can recover the bios. "They are working really hard" to get a "stable bios in the hands of users as soon as possible". You think a stable bios would have been a priority before getting units in the hands of users.... Wow ... thank god this thing is cheap and Amazon is a stand up company.

Wow, so according to the post on NMT, Syabas doesn't do "reliable" QA testing until they actually receive completed boxes in their own offices on the SAME DAY their "mass-market" product is released to the general populace? What a comedy of errors.

It said to install the SD card in the quick start guide.

Hi, you misunderstand the post. When, we heard there were issues with the firmware, we opened some of the boxes that we requested from our factory and arrived today (Versus using a box we were already using in our office) to verify that there were no issues.

I am with you Wagabond, I just cancelled my PB but am going to try out the Viewsonic before deciding whether to jusmp back in. Hope it works out for all of the current PB owners, I just don't have the stomach for the early adoption with this one. I am just kicking myself for letting Syabas string me along since the beginning of the year.

sorta works. I can play some media from the network now. Try an update and check it out.

I am going to play with it now.

Has anyone on this forum have a Popbox up and running and willing to share their thoughts?

I keep seeing negatives and not sure if there are any positive experiences (short of the post earlier stating the weather app works).

Obviously I would assume that you plugged one of these in a turned it on before shipping them out.

The larger point I'm making is that it's a tad ridiculous to say "well, we tested the box and OURS was fine." Whether it's five people or five-thousand, your customers are telling you there IS an issue.

When a customer uses discernment in spending income, they don't expect to have a non-functioning paperweight as soon as it arrives.

Do you realize that calling 5+ times in the same day will do nothing but annoy the tech support agent?

They're working on it, what else can the poor guy tell you?

I'm not saying Syabase didn't push a beta product, I'm just having a thought for the tech guy... use some common sense.

Just remember, Syabas=retail user beta program. We are all guinea pigs.

Syabas boxes are ALL forum supported; networkmediatank.com is their owner's manual. It's pro and con; a forum of users will give you more, and more specific information than any manual ever could. But you're right; they should at least put the basics on paper somehow.

Not to sound like a broken record, but the Pop was supposed to kind of break the mold of the traditional Syabas business model. If they had hoped to attract a more mainstream customer...or first-time user like Met here...a manual is a necessary step in the right direction.

But like I said; they don't even have the dedicated support forum up and running yet, so a manual seems light years away by comparison.

CD

Yea. You are beta testers for sure. I have a C-200 since it came out and there are still major issues with it a year later. A new SDK is finally being worked on that hopefully will fix simple issues like allowing my c-200 to work on my onkyo receiver without having to completely hard shut it down with the power switch in the back in order to use other hdmi devices plugged into my receiver.

Was hoping the PopBox would have this new SDK and newer chipset to resolve these issues in tradeoff of some of the more advanced features of the C-200, so i'm watching this launch closely and it doesn't look good.

With their history of follies, I wouldnt be surprised if their "QA Team" had to order theirs from Amazon as well!

I am no longer upset that my preorder won't be arriving until Tuesday...

My c-200 works without issues with my onkyo 607.

Something else to keep in mind PopBoxTeam; I would say the users in here, for the most part, are experienced users. Either they have owned previous Syabas products, or maybe other streamers and NMTs and are trying the PB as their first Syabas product.

My point is, you can't minimize and say that the "few" bad experiences in here so far aren't exemplary of the overall release. In other words...if the geeks in here can't get it to work, what chance do you think the "average" user has?

CD

What a relief. I'm glad to hear there are no issues.