HD Networked Media Tank (NMT)

Marantz Cinema Series AV Receivers
moserw said:
I don't even have MKV rips, instead all my DVDs are ripped in AVI because I don't even have h/w that plays MKV forget Full HD. I am choosing to wait for DVDPs with Divx 7 profile and then will progress to H.264/MKV rips. I tried the HTPC route but had a lot of issues from packets dropping to plain ground loop noise and just gave it up. Instead I have a HT system with a PV8 and a Panasonic 29" CRT TV that work just great for my Divx rips and DVDs.
Click to expand...

Come on its high time to join the MKV/h.264 bandwagon. If you are still talking about divx then most probably you have not seen what MKV 720/1080p clarity can look like. And they all have dd or dts 5.1 audio. .
I guess PV8 is plasma TV which can support HD.

HTPC route is not difficult if you have the hardware & software installed. That's where WDTV comes in. For this price you CANNOT build or even upgrade a PC for MKV playback.

I know you have a slow internet. But then you can try to source them from your friends. Otherwise come & meet me;)
 
illusion said:
One more link to add to mine as well as suprateek's confusion here :) :-


EGreat USA Networked Media Tanks (NMT) & Digital Multimedia Players
Click to expand...

I checked out the network media tank website and mpcclub - both suggest that egreat has some good models. Basically all are the same - except one of the media tanks (can't recollect the name) is made in Europe unlike the Popcorn hour, dragontech, elektron which as all made in CHina (perhaps in the same factory too).

Dough!!!! If life were any easier !!!!:rolleyes:
 
suprateep said:
The popcorn A110 is made in China and ships from China - same locality as dragontech, elektron hour etc. All are made in the same factory. The problem is Popcorn supports google checkout - which has problems. The net is full of horror stories about google checkout - not that paypal has not but lesser.
Click to expand...

The thing is Popcorn Hour will have more stringent quality checks and I am sure the product will be better even if it comes from the same factory. Moser Baer used to make CDs for HP and make their own CDs too, but the quality of CDs they manufactured for HP was way better than the quality of CDs they turned out in their own brand name. I am sure this applies to Popcorn Hour too. The people in U.S. are so "sue happy" they will sue for just about anything. I'm sure if a Popcorn Hour goes bad and takes any other electronic equipment with it, the company would get sued for everything and end up paying damages as well as replacing the Popcorn Hour for free. Such things don't exist in India much less in China. Don't even take risk with Chinese stuff no matter if they cost half the price, come from the same factory or even the same conveyor belt. Customer service is a different ballgame as many other threads on this very forum will attest to and we Indians and our neighbors the Chinese are not very good with customer service or support. Just try calling Tata Indicom or Airtel to lodge a complaint. You'll be speaking to the AVR for 10-15 min even before getting to a person and most times will be just cut off and have to start all over again. That's the level of customer service/support we get in India and China. No way will such things be tolerated in the U.S. The company will be deluged with a litany of lawsuits for such bad customer service.
 
reju said:
HTPC route is not difficult if you have the hardware & software installed. That's where WDTV comes in. For this price you CANNOT build or even upgrade a PC for MKV playback.

I know you have a slow internet. But then you can try to source them from your friends. Otherwise come & meet me;)
Click to expand...

Reju sir, I am undecided on the HTPC vs NMT but I put together both within the same price:

Asus 780 mobo + AMDX2(5600)+ 2 GB RAM+1TB HDD+ 1OD(DVDRW) + cabinet (zenbronics procube/ibal 306) + wireless KYB n mouse for <20k.

NMT Popcorn A110 + 1TB HDD = 22k

Problem is the unlike the NMT the HTPC still cannot pass true HD aduio to a capable receiver to decode. So even we can add a Asus Xonar Dx for 3.5 k and have a price similar to the NMT + hdd. For normal people without a HD capable receiver(and no plans to upgrade) the HTPC route should be the way forward.
 
reju said:
Come on its high time to join the MKV/h.264 bandwagon. If you are still talking about divx then most probably you have not seen what MKV 720/1080p clarity can look like. And they all have dd or dts 5.1 audio. .
I guess PV8 is plasma TV which can support HD.

HTPC route is not difficult if you have the hardware & software installed. That's where WDTV comes in. For this price you CANNOT build or even upgrade a PC for MKV playback.

I know you have a slow internet. But then you can try to source them from your friends. Otherwise come & meet me;)
Click to expand...

You're right. Do not have the h/w yet to play MKV rips that's why I've been hesitating.
 
Dushie said:
Well i called them, they said once you order they will procure the same, its costing Rs 8100.

For warranty the guy said for any issues you need to courier the product to the service center, he said they have a doorstep warranty on the product, where they will send the courier guy to collect the product for any issues.

Well 8k is very high, i think i will wait out and try to get the product directly from US, as i end up saving 3k on the price
Click to expand...

Lowest price in US is $100 or INR 5350.00 (as per prevailing ROE).
FYI your CC will be charged at additional 2.5-5% of the online ROE.
If you have some in US to bring it for you it is fine, but you lose your warranty.

For additional INR 2750.00 you will get it immediately and have one year warranty. Which I feel is a must in these products.
Personally, I will buy it here even if I have some coming from US.
 
suprateep said:
Reju sir, I am undecided on the HTPC vs NMT but I put together both within the same price:

Asus 780 mobo + AMDX2(5600)+ 2 GB RAM+1TB HDD+ 1OD(DVDRW) + cabinet (zenbronics procube/ibal 306) + wireless KYB n mouse for <20k.

NMT Popcorn A110 + 1TB HDD = 22k

Problem is the unlike the NMT the HTPC still cannot pass true HD aduio to a capable receiver to decode. So even we can add a Asus Xonar Dx for 3.5 k and have a price similar to the NMT + hdd. For normal people without a HD capable receiver(and no plans to upgrade) the HTPC route should be the way forward.
Click to expand...

Popcorn hour is expensive. That's why I am suggesting WD TV @ 8K
PCH costs USD 215 + 45 (shipping) + INR 3k (customs) = INR 17K
 
reju sir i can pay you a visit with my 1 TB internal drive..........am short of HD content you see.......:yahoo:
 
Whether NMT or WDTV or TViX, heating is a big issue. It shortens the life of the player. So don't expect the NMTs to last more that 1-2 years, specially if you are going to install a 3.5" HDD inside the box. The combined heat of HDD & sigma chipset can be fatal in long run. They all boast about heat sink/ fan etc. I don't think they are really effective for increasing life of player.

I feel TVix is best product with good design & heat elimination suitable for longer life. But it's too expensive & unwise to invest so much for a technology which is new & fast changing/ developing.

WDTV & other "no HDD inside" based NMT players are the best bet.
If you have PHC or other NMT, then don't install HDD inside, or go for 2.5" HDD as I have done for my Elektron NMT. It reduces heat considerably. I even went one step ahead by installing laptop coolers (upside down) above player to facilitate heat dissemination. Our climate does not help us in any way!
 
reju said:
Popcorn hour is expensive. That's why I am suggesting WD TV @ 8K
PCH costs USD 215 + 45 (shipping) + INR 3k (customs) = INR 17K
Click to expand...

Boy this thread is hot ! :cool:


And in case your PCH gets screwed add shipping costs to claim warranty ! :(
 
reju said:
Whether NMT or WDTV or TViX, heating is a big issue. It shortens the life of the player. So don't expect the NMTs to last more that 1-2 years, specially if you are going to install a 3.5" HDD inside the box. The combined heat of HDD & sigma chipset can be fatal in long run. They all boast about heat sink/ fan etc. I don't think they are really effective for increasing life of player.

I feel TVix is best product with good design & heat elimination suitable for longer life. But it's too expensive & unwise to invest so much for a technology which is new & fast changing/ developing.

WDTV & other "no HDD inside" based NMT players are the best bet.
If you have PHC or other NMT, then don't install HDD inside, or go for 2.5" HDD as I have done for my Elektron NMT. It reduces heat considerably. I even went one step ahead by installing laptop coolers (upside down) above player to facilitate heat dissemination. Our climate does not help us in any way!
Click to expand...

u r spot on there.

Even I wanted to try a cooling fan. When I do encoding in my laptop, I keep a Table Fan at full speed to ensure the lappy doesnt heat up :)

Can you tell if that laptop cooler was effective? How did u connect? what was the cost?

was also thinking of using a USB fan connected to my WD TV :lol: dont know if that will work
 
Last edited:
reju said:
Whether NMT or WDTV or TViX, heating is a big issue. It shortens the life of the player. So don't expect the NMTs to last more that 1-2 years, specially if you are going to install a 3.5" HDD inside the box. The combined heat of HDD & sigma chipset can be fatal in long run. They all boast about heat sink/ fan etc. I don't think they are really effective for increasing life of player.

I feel TVix is best product with good design & heat elimination suitable for longer life. But it's too expensive & unwise to invest so much for a technology which is new & fast changing/ developing.

WDTV & other "no HDD inside" based NMT players are the best bet.
If you have PHC or other NMT, then don't install HDD inside, or go for 2.5" HDD as I have done for my Elektron NMT. It reduces heat considerably. I even went one step ahead by installing laptop coolers (upside down) above player to facilitate heat dissemination. Our climate does not help us in any way!
Click to expand...

For WD there is provision to mount fan on heatsink,the power pins are present on MB. MaddHat.com Blog Archive New WD Media Player Reviewed, Stripped Naked
 
madbullram said:
u r spot on there.

Even I wanted to try a cooling fan. When I do encoding in my laptop, I keep a Table Fan at full speed to ensure the lappy doesnt heat up :)

Can you tell if that laptop cooler was effective? How did u connect? what was the cost?

was also thinking of using a USB fan connected to my WD TV :lol: dont know if that will work
Click to expand...



Currently I am using this :-


Amazon.com: Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler: Electronics


It works miracles for my Dell XPS which gets really hot when playing COD 5 !
 
reju said:
How about getting yourself a media player in the first place? ;)
Click to expand...

you hit me right between.........

I know - am in mumbai this weekend for a fashin show my cousin sister is participating - intend to take a audition for the MS 906/908 and in between save some time for lamington road for the HTPC cabinet (i saw the Zebronics pro cube yesterday for 2.2k - its good but its huge)
 
madbullram said:
u r spot on there.

Even I wanted to try a cooling fan. When I do encoding in my laptop, I keep a Table Fan at full speed to ensure the lappy doesnt heat up :)

Can you tell if that laptop cooler was effective? How did u connect? what was the cost?

was also thinking of using a USB fan connected to my WD TV :lol: dont know if that will work
Click to expand...

Yeah it is effective. It stays just cool-warm now. Never hot anymore. 2.5" HDD inside has also helped. My AVR also used to really get boiling hot with high levels of rock music. Now it stays just warmer than "warm".

You can have look at the picture/ installation here:
http://www.hifivision.com/diy/3629-diy-cooling-system-amp-2.html#post36626

Now I have added one more fan to the right of AVR. So total 4 coolers.

I bought these Chinese Titan laptop coolers:
TITAN fan pad
@ Rs. 450/ piece.
Purchased a 4 port USB "blues" Chinese hub for Rs. 250.00 added a Sony 5V 2A adapter @ Rs. 250.00 and connected to mains to supply power to these fans.
 
suprateep said:
you hit me right between.........

I know - am in mumbai this weekend for a fashin show my cousin sister is participating - intend to take a audition for the MS 906/908 and in between save some time for lamington road for the HTPC cabinet (i saw the Zebronics pro cube yesterday for 2.2k - its good but its huge)
Click to expand...

Here is a deal: get me free pass for fashion show and I will fill your HDD ;)
 
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