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POPCORN HOUR A-400 is coming soon - Page 14

post #391 of 1498
11/26/12 at 2:52pm
Just received mine. Did the firmware update. Testing now...
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post #392 of 1498
11/26/12 at 3:21pm
Here's what I found out so far (in no particular order):

At first glance, it seems the video quality is about the same as my NTV550 and not as good as the Oppo. I'll spend more time later tweaking settings, but out-of-the-box, it's definitely not as good.

I have an 8-bay HDD enclosure and only 4 drives show up when using USB.

Blu ray MKV: Subtitles won't play at all, regardless of PGS or SRT.

Blu ray MKV: Certain HD audio tracks cause very stuttery video playback. Once you switch to a different audio track, it plays fine.

DVD .iso's have full menu support

DVD .mkv's play fine.

Blu-ray (3D or regular) .iso's have no menu support at all.

It does NOT play 3D .mkv's.

Some blu ray .mkv's take a full minute to load. Others don't. Werid.

I've been streaming a blu ray mkv for about 20 minutes and so far there's no stuttering.

3D blu ray .iso's seem to play okay.

I'll try streaming a 3D blu ray next. I'll report back in a bit.


I really, REALLY wanted to love this thing, but unless I can get better mkv support and better video quality, it's going right back.

Anyone have any questions? Anything they want me to try? I'll be messing with it for the next two hours or so.
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post #393 of 1498
11/26/12 at 3:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robneal81 View Post

Here's what I found out so far (in no particular order):
At first glance, it seems the video quality is about the same as my NTV550 and not as good as the Oppo. I'll spend more time later tweaking settings, but out-of-the-box, it's definitely not as good.
I have an 8-bay HDD enclosure and only 4 drives show up when using USB.
Blu ray MKV: Subtitles won't play at all, regardless of PGS or SRT.
Blu ray MKV: Certain HD audio tracks cause very stuttery video playback. Once you switch to a different audio track, it plays fine.
DVD .iso's have full menu support
DVD .mkv's play fine.
Blu-ray (3D or regular) .iso's have no menu support at all.
It does NOT play 3D .mkv's.
Some blu ray .mkv's take a full minute to load. Others don't. Werid.
I've been streaming a blu ray mkv for about 20 minutes and so far there's no stuttering.
3D blu ray .iso's seem to play okay.
I'll try streaming a 3D blu ray next. I'll report back in a bit.
I really, REALLY wanted to love this thing, but unless I can get better mkv support and better video quality, it's going right back.
Anyone have any questions? Anything they want me to try? I'll be messing with it for the next two hours or so.

Please see my post #337 above...
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1427748/popcorn-hour-a-400-is-coming-soon/330#post_22615363
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post #394 of 1498
11/26/12 at 3:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robneal81 View Post

Here's what I found out so far (in no particular order):
At first glance, it seems the video quality is about the same as my NTV550 and not as good as the Oppo. I'll spend more time later tweaking settings, but out-of-the-box, it's definitely not as good.
I have an 8-bay HDD enclosure and only 4 drives show up when using USB.
Blu ray MKV: Subtitles won't play at all, regardless of PGS or SRT.
Blu ray MKV: Certain HD audio tracks cause very stuttery video playback. Once you switch to a different audio track, it plays fine.
DVD .iso's have full menu support
DVD .mkv's play fine.
Blu-ray (3D or regular) .iso's have no menu support at all.
It does NOT play 3D .mkv's.
Some blu ray .mkv's take a full minute to load. Others don't. Werid.
I've been streaming a blu ray mkv for about 20 minutes and so far there's no stuttering.
3D blu ray .iso's seem to play okay.
I'll try streaming a 3D blu ray next. I'll report back in a bit.
I really, REALLY wanted to love this thing, but unless I can get better mkv support and better video quality, it's going right back.
Anyone have any questions? Anything they want me to try? I'll be messing with it for the next two hours or so.

8 bay only 4 show is a confirmed report already should be fixed next release,
Strange subtitles are not working as confirmed reports they are as everyone was complaining about the spacing in it on the first firmware,
Same with 3d mkv as that is what the subtitles were on.

Make sure you update to the forum release firmware posted at networkmediatank.com see post here about subitles http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showthread.php?tid=64005

So something strange going on.
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post #395 of 1498
11/26/12 at 3:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mlknez View Post

Please see my post #337 above...
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1427748/popcorn-hour-a-400-is-coming-soon/330#post_22615363

I'm sorry, but I don't have any of those audio files handy. Also, I am just using a basic 2.1 stereo, so I can't really test multi channel audio quality.
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post #396 of 1498
11/26/12 at 3:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by halfelite View Post

Make sure you update to the forum release firmware posted at networkmediatank.com see post here about subitles http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showthread.php?tid=64005
So something strange going on.

The player updated to the latest firmware when I turned it on, but I'll double check in a bit. Is this the latest firmware?

http://www.popcornhour.com/download/A400/firmware-A400.html
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post #397 of 1498
11/26/12 at 3:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robneal81 View Post

The player updated to the latest firmware when I turned it on, but I'll double check in a bit. Is this the latest firmware?
http://www.popcornhour.com/download/A400/firmware-A400.html

As far as I know the firmware release was on the NMT forums only dont think it was released to the system yet. No that is not the latest this is the forum release http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showthread.php?tid=63951
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post #398 of 1498
11/26/12 at 3:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by halfelite View Post

As far as I know the firmware release was on the NMT forums only dont think it was released to the system yet. No that is not the latest this is the forum release http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showthread.php?tid=63951

Thank you. I'll update now and then watch a 3D .iso streamed from my server. I'll use the same cable, HDMI input, etc as my Oppo, so that it's a good test environment. I'll also re-check the file compatibility.
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post #399 of 1498
11/26/12 at 4:09pm
For those who got their A-400 today, can you test the following?

I've done several 3D trailer remuxes out of thier respective 3D Blurays.
These are Full 1080P 3D trailers remuxed out from their respective Bluray ISOs using DVDFab 8.2.0.8 QT Final Windows on my iMac using Crossover.
I'd like to see some A-400 test results. Does it play properly and in 3D?
TIA!
Sorry folks, 4shared.com requires a sign up.

How to Train Your Dragon Trailer 2 3D.iso (712mb)
Remuxed out from my Monsters vs Aliens (Samsung Exclusive) 3D Bluray.

http://www.4shared.com/file/7f7u39dX/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_Trail.html

Rapidshare: https://rapidshare.com/files/3747131092/How%20to%20Train%20Your%20Dragon%20Trailer%202%203D.iso
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post #400 of 1498
11/26/12 at 4:40pm
The UPS man dropped mine off at 5:15 PM.

Did a quick setup and watched the first 30 minutes of a full 3D MKV of Prometheus.

Played, looked and sounded great under NFS.

Right now it is setting up the NMJ database so no more testing.

Was a lot easier than setting up my two C200's.
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post #401 of 1498
11/26/12 at 4:55pm
Amazing how there was so many bad reports in the last week, Now that people are actually getting units its starting to change to pretty decent reports, Makes you wonder how many of the other posts were people trolling.
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post #402 of 1498
11/26/12 at 5:04pm
Huh? It's not trolling when there's such a bad track record.
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post #403 of 1498
11/26/12 at 5:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom DiGiacomo View Post

The UPS man dropped mine off at 5:15 PM.
Did a quick setup and watched the first 30 minutes of a full 3D MKV of Prometheus.
Played, looked and sounded great under NFS.
Right now it is setting up the NMJ database so no more testing.
Was a lot easier than setting up my two C200's.

That's the 3D .mkv I'm testing. It barely played at first and now that I updated the firmware, it doesn't play at all.

Also, after the firmware update, instead of only reading 4 of the 8 USB drives, now it only reads one.
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post #404 of 1498
11/26/12 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary J View Post

Huh? It's not trolling when there's such a bad track record.

It is if they dont actually own a box, First week users with less then 10 posts have a box saying bad things, Second week users with decent track records posting up some decent findings not 100% great but better then its terrible im mailing it back posts that were seen the week before makes you wonder.
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post #405 of 1498
11/26/12 at 5:26pm
Has anyone gotten NFS shares to work? 3D blu ray .iso's aren't working well over SMB, so I wanted to try NFS...but the A-400 won't see my share in the NFS browser. It keeps saying "An error occurred, cannot proceed your request. (ERR4)"
Edited by robneal81 - 11/26/12 at 5:32pm
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post #406 of 1498
11/26/12 at 5:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robneal81 View Post

Has anyone gotten NFS shares to work? 3D blu ray .iso's aren't working well over SMB, so I wanted to try NFS...but the A-400 won't see my share in the NFS browser. It keeps saying "An error occurred, cannot proceed your request. (ERR4)"

I am running an unraid server using NFS shares.
I don't know if this will help, but these are my settings:
NETWORK SHARE
192.168.1.104:mnt:user:Movies
NFS
192.168.1.104
mnt/user/Movies
192.168.1.104:mnt:user:Movies
It shows up on the A400, under Networked Media, as 192.168.1.104_mnt_user_Movies
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post #407 of 1498
11/26/12 at 5:56pm
I bet my NFS share is set up wrong. I'll try playing with it.

Thanks for the reply!
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post #408 of 1498
11/26/12 at 5:58pm
Just got mine - setting up the jukebox to scan my network folders. I have no idea if it's accessing meta data already in the folders (I use MyMovies with the YAMJ option turned on), or if it's downloading it's own metadata (so in fact, does anyone know how to correctly use MyMovies meta data option with Popcorn Hour if what I'm doing is incorrect?)
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post #409 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:08pm
One last question for the evening: I installed a hard drive in it. Am I supposed to be able to access it from my computer? I see PCH-400 show up in my network page, but when I double click on it nothing happens.


I've been messing with this thing for hours. It definitely has the potential to be really awesome. There's just a ton of bugs that need to be ironed out. At the moment, there's no way it's a replacement for my Oppo BDP-93. I'm trying to convince myself to keep it in hopes everything will get fixed quick.
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post #410 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robneal81 View Post

One last question for the evening: I installed a hard drive in it. Am I supposed to be able to access it from my computer? I see PCH-400 show up in my network page, but when I double click on it nothing happens.
I've been messing with this thing for hours. It definitely has the potential to be really awesome. There's just a ton of bugs that need to be ironed out. At the moment, there's no way it's a replacement for my Oppo BDP-93. I'm trying to convince myself to keep it in hopes everything will get fixed quick.

When I had my A-300 I had to download an app. to make it accessible from other computer, but I can't remember what it is called.
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post #411 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:19pm
Thing is nobody posted that video on A400 is better than on A300 (not a high bar to be honest), nobody is saying that it is better than Dune... With dedicated video processor they cannot get video advantage? Trust me I owned every unit of Popcorn since Day 1, happy to prove it with my receipts from Popcornhour.com (first time buying through Diamong this time for A400). I was hoping for video improvements and nobody is reporting it? How sad is that? In fact a couple reports are saying not even close to Oppo.

I want to keep A400 but right now I decided not to open and in fact return it. Convince me with screen shots that A400 is more capable on video quality than Dune with (old chipset)?
mad.gif
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post #412 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvzzz View Post

Thing is nobody posted that video on A400 is better than on A300 (not a high bar to be honest), nobody is saying that it is better than Dune... With dedicated video processor they cannot get video advantage? Trust me I owned every unit of Popcorn since Day 1, happy to prove it with my receipts from Popcornhour.com (first time buying through Diamong this time for A400). I was hoping for video improvements and nobody is reporting it? How sad is that? In fact a couple reports are saying not even close to Oppo.
I want to keep A400 but right now I decided not to open and in fact return it. Convince me with screen shots that A400 is more capable on video quality than Dune with (old chipset)?
mad.gif

Why do you think I didn't pre-order the A400? I learned my lesson when I ordered and returned the A300. This time, I've decided to let others be the testing crew.
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post #413 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GusGus748s View Post

Why do you think I didn't pre-order the A400? I learned my lesson when I ordered and returned the A300. This time, I've decided to let others be the testing crew.
+1!
But Gusgus, you should have stuck with the a300 because with all the support it has had it is now a real solid...oh... wait a minute...
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post #414 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvzzz View Post

In fact a couple reports are saying not even close to Oppo.
I want to keep A400 but right now I decided not to open and in fact return it. Convince me with screen shots that A400 is more capable on video quality than Dune with (old chipset)?
mad.gif

I was one of those people. I was only half right: When I first tested it (basic functionality tests), I used an HDMI port that didn't have the settings calibrated. It was one of those "wow, this looks bad" moments.

Once I started video tests, I used the same cable and HDMI port as my Oppo. It still wasn't as good, but it was close...and it certainly wasn't bad.

If video was the only complaint, I'd be willing to work with it. The fact is, anyone who buys this player now is a beta tester, plain and simple. Honestly, I'm usually totally okay with that. I'm a geek, I like testing stuff out and I don't mind working through bugs. The biggest problem I have is that it's going into a living room, where non-geeks will be using it. After years of living with a Windows Media Center computer in my living room, I vowed to never do that again (when it worked right, media centers were amazing...when they didn't, it made everyone mad). I often complain about the limitations of my Oppo, but as long as I prepare my files correctly, it NEVER FAILS. I'll definitely stick with that until this or another player is as reliable.

Unless there's some miracle firmware in the next day or so...
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post #415 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary J View Post

Huh? It's not trolling when there's such a bad track record.
Don't take offense and remember halfelite is a moderator over on the nmt forum so probably feels obliged to support pch somewhat...
I feel he is a valuable member to our forum and specifically this part of the forum, but he does tend to support pch when he can. This is not a "slam", just my personal take after reading his posts...
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post #416 of 1498
11/26/12 at 6:44pm
So here's my brief - 45 minutes - of impressions.

The hardware looks and feels GREAT. It's solid and heavy.
Installed a spare SSD for the future location of YAMJ.
Booted - very fast boot.
Updated to the latest firmware from the NMT forum.
Rebooted.
Installed NMT apps.
Rebooted.
Connected to my NFS server. No problems there.
Played Avatar Bluray MKV rip, fast forwarded to minute 44:00. No forced subs. Turned subs on - ALL subs now work in the avatar script.
Played District 9 Bluray MKV rip - same thing with the subs.
Played Rango Bluray MKV rip - Audio stuttered at first, then caught up. I'll be posting mediainfo output on the NMT forums.
Family took over TV .... more testing later - Getting a test YAMJ jukebox setup.

While waiting I'm going to rip Star Wars to Bluray ISO to see if the forced Subs get picked up.
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post #417 of 1498
11/26/12 at 7:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robnix View Post

No forced subs. Turned subs on - ALL subs now work in the avatar script.

Before I updated the firmware, no subs would play. After, I had the same results as you: No forced subs, but if you manually turned them on, they'd work fine.
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post #418 of 1498
11/26/12 at 7:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robneal81 View Post

Before I updated the firmware, no subs would play. After, I had the same results as you: No forced subs, but if you manually turned them on, they'd work fine.

In about 2 hours I should be able to test a BR Iso with forced subs.
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post #419 of 1498
11/26/12 at 7:34pm
One quick thing I forgot - the player ships with all the image processing ON by default. Turning it off helps the BR image.
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post #420 of 1498
11/26/12 at 7:42pm
I cannot get 2D or 3D ISO's to play properly - streamed from my Synology NAS on a gigabit network. Bad stuttering/freezing of any title of tried so far...No similar issues playing the same files to a Micca EP 950 or to my Media Center PC/Total Media Theater 5.

2D BDMV playback seems fine so far. Image quality seems fine but need to do some more testing.
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