entrancePlay MINI - for those who are easier. ASUS O! Play MINI media player - for those who are more comfortable Multimedia player asus o play mini
The previous ASUS miniature player - O! Play Mini, was a fairly successful model (see the review in), however, the lack of network functions was a serious drawback, which even a very low cost could not outweigh. therefore new model - ASUS O! Play Mini Plus is of particular interest.
ASUS O! Play Mini Plus
Media player
Small size; built-in Wi-Fi module; Gigabit Ethernet low price
Lack of a torrent client
Compact and functional media player
Externally, the player is very similar to its predecessor, with the exception of the texture of the case - to look as a result, it has become more interesting and a little stricter. There are no changes in the front in terms of connectors - there are an infrared receiver, a multi-format card reader, uSB port 2.0 and activity indicator. But the back of the O! Play Mini Plus looks already more interesting - the Gigabit Ethernet connector and another USB 2.0 port combined with eSATA were added to the HDMI and S / PDIF ports of the first model. As a result, the full-size composite video output, as well as analog audio, had to be eliminated, replacing them with a combined A / V mini-jack connector.
(front view)
(back view)
The O! Play Mini Plus remote control is completely new - unexpectedly large (almost 2 times longer than the O! Play Mini remote), it lies comfortably in your hand, the buttons are quite large and logically arranged. However, due to the size of the upper block of playback control keys, it is not very convenient to use, you have to intercept the remote control every now and again to reach these or those buttons. Fans of social networks, by the way, can appreciate the availability of individual Facebook and Like keys. It is not entirely clear why it was necessary to make the entire front panel glossy - fingerprints on it remain instantly.
Like the Viewrocket HD Agent, ASUS O! Play Mini Plus is based on the new Realtek RTD1185 chip, which is characterized by higher performance compared to its predecessor, as well as a number of new features - for example, support for downmix in stereo audio tracks DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. The player uses passive cooling, so it is absolutely silent in operation.
The menu at O! Play Mini Plus is simple and intuitive, responsiveness to control from the remote control is also on the level. Media content can be accessed both through the Movies, Photo, Music items, where all found files of their type will be collected on all available media, and using the file manager.
The player can connect to the network not only via Ethernet, but also via Wi-Fi - like the Dune HD TV-101W, the O! Play Mini Plus has a built-in wireless module.
Of the Internet services (a list of them, by the way, can be quickly called up using a separate button on the remote control) there are Facebook (only viewing photos / videos is supported), YouTube, Flickr, online radio, RSS feeds and several others. Full browser and the torrent client is not here.
The player's turn-on time is 25 seconds, which is a pretty good result. Playback started in 6-8 seconds, depending on the video file, stop time - a little more than 2 seconds. The performance test showed interesting results: if, when connected via eSATA, the player could easily manage the bitrate of 90 Mbit / s, then USB slowdowns started already in the region of 50 Mbit / s - this means that if you plan to view heavy rips, it’s better to take care of purchasing the appropriate drive . When playing a video by local area network the built-in speed measurement system showed values \u200b\u200bjust above 40 Mbps for a 100-megabit connection, and problems with playing test files started around 35 Mbps.
DVD and Blu-ray images are supported both in ISO files and in the form of a folder structure (in the second case, you need to start the movie for playback using the Play button, because by pressing the OK button the player opens it as a regular folder). Of the two different images, the DVD menu could be called up only in one - in the second, selecting the appropriate item led to a return to the beginning of the disc playback. In Blu-ray, the menu is not supported, switching audio tracks and subtitles is done using the player’s own menu.
In the test for displaying subtitles, O! Play Mini Plus handled the SRT, SSA, and SUB / IDX formats, both built-in to the MKV file and external, and correctly displayed the Cyrillic alphabet. Unfortunately, SSA styles are not supported, such subtitles are shown as plain text.
Technical specifications ASUS O! Play Mini Plus
Chipset Realtek RTD1185
Video outputs HDMI 1.3 composite
Audio outputs Analog (stereo), digital optical
Ports USB 2.0, USB 2.0 + eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet, SD / MMC / MS / xD card reader
Installation internal storage Not
Wifi Built-in 802.11n
Dimensions 152 × 107 × 29 mm
Estimated price $125
Recently, in connection with the increasing popularization of digital media content, such as films and music, the demand for various multimedia players has significantly increased, both with the ability to play discs (DVD or BD / BD-3D), and without it. And this is quite justified, because devices, which in most cases are very compact, have wide functionality. For example, they can play various media files without problems, read data from external sources, connect to a local network via both wired and wireless channels, and connect to various Internet services. However, most of these players have a relatively low cost.
And one of such multimedia players we will consider in this material. We present to your attention a stylish and very compact HD-media player, which recently went on sale in Ukraine.
Specifications
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Manufacturer |
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O! Play Mini Plus |
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Media processor |
Realtek RTD1185DD (1 core, 500 MHz) |
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RAM |
128 MB DDR3-1600 (CL11) |
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Flash memory |
512 MB NAND Flash |
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Supported Standards (Formats) |
MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, RM, RMVB, VC-1, H.264 |
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MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AIFF, Dolby Digital AC3, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS 2.0 + Digital out, Dolby TrueHD (Passthrough), Dolby TrueHD (Decoding), Tag ID3 |
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Supported Extensions |
Mp4, .mov, .avi, .asf, .wmv, .flv, .mkv, .ts, m2ts, .dat, .mpg, .vob, .mts, .iso, .trp |
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Mp3, .wav, .wma, .aac, .aiff, .flac, .mka, .m4a, .ogg |
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Images |
Bmp, .tif, .tiff, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif |
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Subtitles |
Srt, .sub, .smi, .ssa, .txt |
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USB Drive / External HDD File System |
FAT16 / 32, NTFS, HFS / HFS +, EXT3 |
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Built-in (802.11b / g / n) |
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Wired network |
10/100/1000 BaseT |
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Internet Services |
Facebook, YouTube-XL, YouTube Leanback, Internet TV, Internet Radio, Acetrax Movies, Mediafly, Dailymotion, Picasa, Flickr, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Weather, RSS News, Podcast |
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Additional functions |
O! Direct, O! MediaShare, AutoPlay, Right TxT |
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I / O Interfaces |
1 x USB 2.0 |
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Card reader |
Secure Digital (SD, SD HC, SD XC), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick (MS, MS Pro), xD-Picture Card (xD) |
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Input parameters |
100 ~ 240 VAC e.g. at 50/60 Hz |
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Output parameters |
12 V post e.g. 2 A |
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Power consumption |
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Body color |
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Body material |
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Sizes, mm |
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Products webpage |
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Supply
The novelty comes in a relatively small cardboard package, which has a colorful and very informative printing, allowing you to get acquainted, not only with appearance player, but also with various technical aspects, for example, a list of the proposed functions / technologies and supported formats.
Equipment
The delivery set is quite extensive and everything you need to start and configure the player directly from the package is included, which is very nice. So, in the process of unpacking, we found:
ASUS O! Play Mini Plus HD media player;
remote control;
composite audio / video cable;
HDMI cable
aAA batteries (2 pcs.);
network cable with removable plug;
two forks (American and European);
cD with an electronic version of a multilingual instruction manual;
quick multilingual quick setup guide
warranty card.
The large remote control has a fairly large number of keys that allow not only navigating through the menu and controlling the viewing process, but also with one click go to the list of Internet services or immediately launch the client social network Facebook In general, the remote control is very convenient to use, it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and the location of the keys is not satisfactory. To power the remote control, two AAA batteries are used.
Appearance, arrangement of elements
Externally, the ASUS O! Play Mini Plus multimedia player is practically no different from its predecessor, the O! Play Mini. It still boasts a pleasant, modern-style design, and its compact size and very low weight make it possible to place the device in any accessible place.
Of particular note is the updated design of the upper part of the player, which gives the device a certain severity, but at the same time creates interesting highlights when light comes in, and thanks to partial transparency, you can see the activity indicator wireless networksoldered on a circuit board. Variations of this design can be found in many ASUS devices for working with networks. For example, in the latest generations of routers - ASUS RT-N56U, RT-N66U and USB-N53.
The body of the novelty is mainly made of durable black plastic with a rough matte surface that virtually eliminates the appearance of fingerprints. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about the upper part of the player, for which a glossy coating is used, which has a tendency to collect prints, as well as the appearance of scuffs when inaccurate handling.
On the front side, you can see the USB 2.0 port for connecting USB drives or external hard drives, a multi-format frame reader, a large enough IR receiver window, and a power indicator that glows blue when the player is turned on, or orange when in standby time.
The sides are devoid of any structural elements.
On the back there are: power connector, network port (RJ-45), USB 2.0 / eSATA combo port, HDMI port, composite audio / video output and digital optical audio output (S / PDIF). There is also a recessed emergency reset button for the player.
On the bottom side you can see a large information sticker, as well as four small rubber feet on which the device rests.
To get to the "inside" of the player, you only need to unscrew the four screws that are hidden under the rubber legs, and carefully remove the upper part of the case, fixed with small latches.
The motherboard is made of green PCB and has a fairly high density of the layout of elements, among which are the following:
media processor (Realtek RTD1185DD);
Wi-Fi adapter (AzureWave AW-NE139H);
128 MB RAM (Hynix H5TQ1G63DFR-11C);
512 MB NAND Flash Drive (Hynix HY27UF084G2B);
Network Controller (Realtek RLT8211CL);
USB 2.0 controller (Genesys Logic GL850G);
controller of the built-in card reader (ALCOR MICRO AU6433).
The main element responsible for the performance of the ASUS O! Play Mini Plus multimedia player is the Realtek RTD1185DD media processor, which is implemented on the principle of a system-on-chip (SoC) and operates at a frequency of 500 MHz (which by modern standards seems to be a very small value). The processor at the hardware level has decoding support for most modern media formats and allows you to play video in Full HD resolution with multi-channel high-quality audio stream (DTS HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD). In addition, the media processor supports such connectors as USB 2.0 and SATA, as well as PCI-Express buses and Gigabit Ethernet network interface. The presence of the latter in conjunction with the corresponding network controller provides the ability to transfer data over a wired network with a speed of up to 1 Gbit / s.
Also, data transmission can be carried out wirelessly. To do this, the player uses the AzureWave AW-NE139H Wi-Fi adapter of the 802.11b / g / n standard, made in the form factor of a half-size PCIE card.
128 MB RAM is typed by two H5TQ1G63DFR-11C chips manufactured by Hynix Semiconductor Inc. Each of them has a capacity of 64 MB and meets the specifications of the DDR3 standard with an operating frequency of 1600 MHz.
As an integrated drive on which the firmware is stored, acts memory chip Hynix HY27UF084G2B type NAND Flash with a capacity of 512 MB.
The role of the network controller is performed by the Realtek RLT8211CL chip, which supports the 1000 Base-T IEEE 802.3ab data transfer standard, which is necessary for processing connections with speeds up to 1 Gbit / s.
Genesys Logic GL850G and ALCOR MICRO AU6433 microcircuits provide USB 2.0 ports and an integrated multi-format card reader, respectively.
Player connection
The ASUS O! Play Mini Plus multimedia player, like many other players, has all the necessary interface connectors for connecting to both a TV and a monitor.
For example, to connect the player to modern tvs or monitors, you can use the HDMI cable, which is supplied with the device in our territory. And when connected to old TVs, it’s worth using a composite audio / video cable.
Connecting to the Internet, as usual, is done exclusively through a router.
Interface, work experience
The first inclusion of the ASUS O! Play Mini Plus multimedia player is accompanied by a proposal to configure the most important parameters, in particular, select a language and set the time, adjust the aspect ratio and TV resolution, as well as adjust the audio outputs.
At the end of the initial setup, the player’s main menu appears on the screen, which has a pleasant minimalistic design with nice animation. There are six items to choose from: “Settings”, “IMS (Internet Services)”, “File Manager”, “Photos”, “Music” and “Movies”.
The “Settings” item is always displayed first and offers an impressive set of options that allows you to configure all kinds of system functions, including sound, video and network connections. There are also tabs for managing your account (temporarily unavailable) and for starting the firmware update process.
In paragraph "IMS" is concentrated quite large set Internet services, the number of which is gradually increasing with each firmware update. In the latest version at the time of testing, there is the following set: Facebook, YouTube-XL, YouTube Leanback, InternetTV, InternetRadio, Acetrax Movies, Mediafly, Dailymotion, Picasa, Flickr, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Weather, RSS News, Podcast. But a full Internet browser or torrent client, unfortunately, is not.
The most interesting online service is the social network Facebook. To work with it, there are even two separate keys on the remote control, which allow you to start the service with one click and set “Likes”. However, the capabilities of the social network are significantly limited, as a result of which the user can only view photos and videos.
The YouTube Internet service, here called YouTube-XL, is quite conveniently organized and has almost full functionality, allowing you to not only view various videos and use the search, but also log in under your name. While watching, you can control playback, call up information about the video, as well as send videos to social networks and switch to watching videos in high quality.
A separate item is an alternative version of the YouTube service - YouTube Leanback. We take down the videos in sequence in the highest possible quality. Of the possibilities there is only a search.
Services from MUZEE allow you to turn the player into a TV or radio station. Both services have a simple interface that prompts the user to search for a channel or station in several categories: Top 100, Favorites, By genre, By region, etc. The disadvantages include the broadcast of a small number of domestic television channels, which also have low image quality.
The Internet service Acetrax Movies, which, according to the manufacturer, is first adapted for use in devices of this class, provides the ability to purchase or rent licensed copies of films on demand (Video On Demand).
The Mediafly and Dailymotion services are essentially analogs of YouTube and allow you to watch various videos uploaded by users.
Flickr and Picasa services are designed to view photos on various topics. One of the drawbacks is the low resolution of images in Picasa, which is why they become blurry when viewed in full screen.
Internet Services from Yahoo! provide an opportunity to monitor the financial situation of various companies, as well as the weather anywhere in the world.
In addition, there are services for reading news on RSS feeds and watching various podcasts.
“File Manager”, which literally translated as “File Director”, has a simple and understandable appearance. The display of files on the screen can be presented in the form of thumbnails, a list and with a preview. In the latter case, a thumbnail image of the photo or album cover and brief information about the selected file are displayed on the left side of the screen. There is also the ability to sort files by type and perform simple editing operations.
In the “Photos” item, a set of all available images is displayed as thumbnails, regardless of their location (viewing by folders is available only through the “File Manager”). Available files can be viewed in date mode, as well as carry out one of the provided sortings. To search for the necessary photo, you can use the corresponding function, however, so far only in English.
IN full screen viewing photos there is the ability to rotate the image, 16-fold zooming, start the slide show, including music. You can also display full information about the file being watched, adjust the color rendering and publish on the social network Facebook.
Audio files are played through the “Music” item, in which by default only playlists are displayed (you can create them using the player or in advance on a PC). To display audio files in the options, select the appropriate item. In any of the options on the left side of the screen displays information about the file being played, read from ID3 tags. In the options you can choose one of the types of playback, as well as publish this or that audio file on the social network Facebook.
The “Video” item provides the ability to run various video files, while most modern formats, including ISO, are supported, but the menu in this case is only available for DVD images. In addition to the list of available video files, a preview area is displayed on the screen, in which the selected file is played, and also brief information about it is indicated. For the list of files, you can change the view mode or apply one of the sort types.
In full-screen playback, there is the ability to control subtitles and audio streams, you can apply scaling and enable repetition, as well as upload to YouTube or publish to the social network Facebook. In addition, it is worth noting the possibility of changing the playback speed and the implementation of rewinding at speeds up to 32X.
Title: "Beginning"
File Format: MPEG-PS (DVD-Video)
Size: 6.12 GB
Bitrate: 6.02 Mbps
Video Format: MPEG-2
Resolution: 720 x 576 (PAL)
Audio track No. 1: 6-channel audio in DolbyAC-3 format, 384Mbps,48 kHz, Russian language
Dolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzukrainian language
Dolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzenglish language
Name:"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
File Format: Matroskav.2
Size: 14.2 GB
Bitrate: 19.4 Mbps
Video Format: AVC
Codec: H.264 / AVC
Resolution:1920x816
Audio track No. 1: 6-channel audio in DolbyAC-3 format, 448 Mbps,48 kHzrussian language
Audio track No. 2: 6-channel sound in DTS format, 1510 Mb / s,48 kHz Russian language (MVO-Omicron)
Audio track No. 3: 6-channel sound in DTS format, 1510 Mb / s,48 kHzenglish language
Name:"The Big Bang Theory"
File Format: AVI
Size: 220MB
Bitrate: 1.48 Mbps
Video Format: MPEG-4 Visual
Codec: XviD
Resolution:656x368
Audio track No. 1: 2-channel audio in MPEGAudio (Layer 3), 128Kbps,48 kHz Russian language
Audio track No. 2: 2-channel audio in MPEGAudio (Layer 3), 128Kbps,48 kHzenglish language
Name:Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon
File Format: M2TS (BDMV)
Size: 43.9 GB
Bitrate: ~ 27.6 Mbps
Video Format: AVC
Codec: H.264 / AVC
Resolution:1920x1080
Audio track No. 1: 8-channel sound in DolbyTrueHD format, ~ 4608 Mbit / s,48 kHzenglish (built-in 6-channel audio in the formatDolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHz)
Audio track No. 2: 6-channel audio in formatDolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzczech
Audio track No. 3: 6-channel audio in formatDolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzhungarian
Audio track No. 4: 6-channel audio in formatDolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzpolish language
Audio track No. 5: 6-channel audio in formatDolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzrussian language
Audio track No. 6: 6-channel audio in formatDolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzthai language
Audio track No. 7: 6-channel audio in formatDolby AC-3, 640 Mbps,48 kHzturkish language
Name:
“Emma Hewitt - Colors (Official Video Clip)”
Format
file: Flashvideo
The size:20,4
MB
Bit rate:710
Kbps/ c
Format
video: MPEG-4 Visual
Codec: Xvid
Resolution:854x480
Audio track: 2-channel audio in AVC format, 128 Kbps,48 kHz
The result of playing video files pleasantly surprised us. The player copes with various video formats as well as images without any problems dVDs and Blu-ray. With the latter, by the way, in the process of playing movies with audio tracks in the DTS format, short-term “sticking” can occur, which is most likely associated with insufficiently high data transfer speed via the USB 2.0 / eSATA port.
Additional functions
In addition to all of the above, in the multimedia player ASUS O! Play Mini Plus there is support for several additional functionsextending the capabilities of the device.
The ASUS O! Direct function, for the performance of which you need to download the utility from the manufacturer’s website, allows you to directly transfer any files stored on the computer to the player through a wired or wireless connection.
Using the ASUS O! Media Share function, you can stream videos from your smartphone or tablet to the player. To do this, download the free application from Android Market. However, while the application for devices on iOS is not provided.
The AutoPlay function offers the ability to automatically play back pre-prepared material. To do this, you need to create a folder named “AutoPlay” in the root of the USB drive or memory card, and then put all the necessary files into it.
Summary
The HD media player is an excellent multimedia device that has a stylish design and compact size. The player supports most modern media formats and allows you to easily play video files in Full HD resolution with multi-channel high-quality audio stream in DTS HD MasterAudio, Dolby Digital Plus and DolbyTrueHD formats. In addition, it is worth noting a good set of interface connectors that allows you to connect the player to both new and old TVs. And thanks to the presence of a gigabit network port and a built-in Wi-Fi standard of 802.11b / g / n standard, it is possible to configure an Internet connection to access a number of services, in particular YouTube, MUZEE, Acetrax Movies, Mediafly, Dailymotion, Flickr and Picasa. However, the player has several minor flaws, but they practically do not spoil the overall impression.
We express our gratitude to the Ukrainian representative office of the companyASUSTeK Computer Inc. for providing for testing the ASUS O! Play Mini Plus HD media player.
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7 ago I purchased Asus O! Play mini (1.14) and an external Transcend 750Gb 2.5 "USB3.0 HDD. I couldn’t get enough of it at first, everything was cool. Last night I wanted to watch a movie, turn on the player, the hard drive is not detected. The media player writes" New connected device ", then the hard drive blinks, then the words" A new device is connected "appears again. All the" Films "icons" Photos "" Music "are gray, in the file manager too 0. I tried the following: - turned on, turned off the media player - wires several times I inserted and removed both the hard drive and the Asus. I checked that it seems that nothing is hanging out. - I pressed the Reset button on the media player - I tried to insert a 8GB flash drive - it detects. - I changed the firmware to 1.16 - I tried to connect the hard drive to the computer, everything works and at the same time deleted the .theater folder, I thought the indices went astray. What else can I do? Carry back to the store? I don’t feel like it. I really liked this player, I don’t want anything else. Please help me resolve this issue. For thankful earlier!
The media player does not see an external USB HDD - a relatively common problem. There may be several reasons:
1. Available initially and progressing, not a complete failure, but only deviations in the technical parameters of both the player and the USB HDD, which do not allow the player to fully detect the HDD. At the same time, the computer can see a suspicious USB HDD, and a suspicious player can see a USB flash drive - this does not mean that the player and the USB HDD are fully functional. Here there is a manifestation of some kind of difficult to prove and explainable, as it were, incompatibility of two specific products due to the partial malfunction of one of them.
2. Unreliable contact in USB connector. There are factory violations of the geometry of the contacts in the USB hardware connector of the player. (Contact strips should have springy bends-protrusions at the ends). Here's a tip: In the service you need to declare only a claim - “the player does not detect the USB HDD” and not a word about the USB connector. (Otherwise they will tell you: “external connectors are not a warranty case”!).
3. Actions: According to claim 1 - a visit to the SC with the player and its USB HDD. If everything is OK with another USB HDD, then another problematic visit to another SC with a USB HDD. According to p. 2 - in any case, carefully inspect and clean (not the skin!) The contacts of the USB connector of the player and USB HDD.
In my (including unsuccessful) experience with the ASUS O! PLAY Mini media player, I can say that this is the best option out of the entire package of such devices. (Low price, complete omnivorousness, small dimensions, the lack of expensive and unnecessary network bells and whistles for built-in SATA HDD). Disadvantages: Sometimes there are marriages of the manufacturer. This is not a problem, but a replacement for an analogue under warranty.
Media player did not see an external USB HDD
Addition to the previous answer.
Most likely reason: External USB HDD lacks 5 volt power via USB circuits from the player.
1. Make sure that each device (player, USB HDD) is intact in principle, by interchanging with something similar.
2. If you are sure that each product by itself is working properly, we can most likely assume that the problem arises due to the lack of an external USB HDD supplying 5 volts via USB circuits from the player. (The voltage drop in the supply circuits is large, or the 5v source does not provide the required power).
Actions:
-clean the contacts of the USB connector of the player and USB HDD;
-Replace the USB cable with a short one (0.3-0.5 m);
-when buying an external USB HDD, give preference to the option with the USB-2 interface, if USB-3 does not give anything for your other equipment;
- when buying an external USB HDD, give preference to the option that comes with the thicker uSB cable with an additional USB connector;
-find out (if possible!) measure the change in the supply voltage 5v when you turn on the external HDD.
Unlike manufacturers specializing exclusively in the production of media devices, ASUS does not pay much attention to media players. It is not surprising - the company's product line includes many computer components and finished products: from network solutions or video cards to high-end laptops and popular tablets. But the more valuable is every newly appearing product - not in vain because it has undergone such a long preparation for its appearance on the shelves.
Completeness, design
The device is delivered in a sturdy cardboard box, on its sides there is a polygraphy listing the main functions of the player.
The completeness of the device is quite self-sufficient, it is enough for immediate and full-fledged operation of the player: a power adapter with adapters for two types of sockets, a remote control with batteries, a composite audio / video cable (four-pin mini-jack 3.5 mm at one end and “tulips” at the other), 1.7-meter Mini-HDMI↔HDMI cable, short adapter for connecting antenna cableremote telescopic mini-antenna for receiving terrestrial dVB-T signal, a paper manual and a CD with O! Direct and full versions of the operating instructions in many languages.
On the front side of the case are a two-color orange-blue operation indicator, a USB 2.0 port for connecting devices and a slot for an SD / MMC memory card. There is a hole to the right of the slot - a Reset button is hidden under it, which reboots the device if necessary (for the entire testing period this button has never been needed). Here, on the front side, there is a round dark porthole - this is the window of an infrared sensor that picks up the signals of the remote control.
A little surprising is the complete absence of any hints of the existence of a cooling system. There are no ventilation openings in the case, except for the “natural” interfaces. Despite this fact, during operation, the player’s case only heats up to 42 ° C (measurement was made after one hour of playing the Blu-ray disc image).
The back panel of the device is traditionally given to the input-output ports listed below:
- power adapter input
- lAN connector
- composite audio / video output (four-pin mini-jack 3.5 mm)
- optical digital audio output
- mini HDMI output
- uSB 2.0 port for connecting devices
- dVB-T antenna connector (adapter for connecting a standard plug included)
The bottom of the case is also solid, without holes and cracks, rubber feet with a height of less than a millimeter require the player to be installed on a perfectly flat surface. These legs are also plugs, since the screws securing the entire structure are hidden under them.
The only printed circuit board occupies almost the entire internal space of the case. The main chip, as we see, is covered by a radiator.
By carefully unscrewing and removing the heat sink, we were able to read the markings of the processor hidden under it with great difficulty. You can see it only by turning the board a certain angle to a source of bright light. Without a doubt - this is Realtek RTD1185DD.
This processor, operating at a frequency of 500 MHz, has built-in HD H.264, VC1, RM / RMVB, AVS, HD MPEG 1/2/4 and HD JPEG decoders, supports audio / video transmission over wired and wireless networks. It also features HDMI v1.3 with a bi-directional CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) serial bus using the industry standard AV.Link protocol and providing remote control electronic devices (This technology may have different names depending on the brand that uses it: Anynet at Samsung Bravia sync Sony, etc.). In addition to the above, this processor also has support for the following standards and interfaces: S / PDIF Out, USB2.0 Host and Device, SATA, Gigabit Ethernet (more precisely, only a gigabit connection with a real speed of 10/100 Mbit / s), card reader and support Recording / Timeshifting DTV.
The remote control is made with a combination of glossy and matte plastic, its body is strong, and there are no backlashes or creaks in the mountings. The front side is slightly concave inside the case, the rubber buttons have a small stroke with clearly felt clicks. There is no illumination in the remote control, just as there are no indicators of pressing - and they are not needed: the player responds to each pressing of the remote control buttons with a characteristic sound, the volume of which is regulated in the menu.
Attached tV antenna in the extended state, it is 40 cm long from the base to the tip, and the cord is 115 cm long. The screw-on suction cup holds steady only on perfectly smooth surfaces such as glass or polished.
The main specifications apparatus are shown in the following table:
| CPU | Realtek RTD1185DD 500 MHz |
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| TV tuner | DVB-T with Electronic Program Guide (EPG) Support |
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| Play | ||
| Video | Containers | TRP, MP4, MOV, AVI, ASF, WMV, MKV, FLV, TS, MTS, M2TS, DAT, MPG, VOB, ISO |
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| Codecs | MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, RM, RMVB, VC-1, H.264 |
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| Audio | MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AIFF, Dolby Digital AC3, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS 2.0 + Digital out, Dolby True HD (Passthrough), Dolby True HD (Decoding), DTS HD Master, Tag ID3 |
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| Graphic arts | JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF |
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| Subtitles | SRT, SUB, SMI, SSA, TXT |
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| Interfaces | ||
| Video outputs |
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| Audio outputs |
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| USB | USB 2.0 (2 pcs.) |
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| Net | RJ45 10/100/1000 Mbps (Gigabit Ethernet), 802.11n Wireless Networking |
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| Data sources |
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| Other characteristics | ||
| Display | No, only indication |
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| Power Supply | External, 10 W consumption |
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| Support |
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| Internet Services |
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| Supported file systems | FAT16 / 32, NTFS, HFS / HFS +, EXT3 |
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| Dimensions (L × W × H), weight | 151.85 × 106.7 × 29.03 mm, 175 g |
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Settings
The first time you connect the player to the capture device (you need to somehow take screenshots, record the interface), it turned out that its digital signal has HDCP protection. Game consoles manufactured by one of the well-known brands are “equipped” with the same protection. This protection makes it impossible to record or take screenshots via a digital (HDMI) connection. Only viewing, and nothing more.
This fact should be borne in mind by those who wish to record a digital signal from this unit.
The player meets the settings menu, where the user is asked to select the language, time zone, set the current date and time, deal with the wired network connection, and also find the DVB-T channels broadcast in the region.
With factory firmware, loading the player lasts approximately 40 seconds. With the new firmware (it will be described below), the download will be faster, about 30 seconds. At the same speed, the player turns on after automatically turning off the power in the absence of activity (the automatic shutdown interval is selected in the settings, values \u200b\u200bfrom 5 to 120 minutes are available).
Traditionally, first of all, let's look at the settings. In the vast majority of cases, you can find out almost all the features of the device, only by studying the items of custom parameters.
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| System settings consist of such items as changing the language, setting the current time, choosing the interval to automatically turn off the device in the absence of activity, autorun some types of drives, etc. | In audio settings, it is possible to switch the sound output method from LPCM to RAW, as well as adjust the volume of clicks emitted by the player when pressing the buttons on the remote control |
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| Video settings allow you to change the aspect ratio of the screen, select the TV standard and the method of cropping the edges of the frame, and also activate 24p mode if it is supported by a TV or other display device | In the digital TV settings, you can find the DVB-T TV channels broadcast in this region |
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| Network settings include the ability to view information about the status of the current network connection, activate and configure a wired or wireless connection, change the network name of the device | In other settings, you can view information about the current firmware version, check for updates, or upgrade from a USB drive |
We take advantage of the opportunity to update via the Internet. Despite the fact that at the time of writing the review on the official website of ASUS there were no firmware versions, the player found the possibility of updating the software to version 01.02.00.
After updating the firmware, all previous settings are saved, which cannot be noted as a serious plus. True, the menu items in casually translated into Russian in new firmware and remained so. For example, “file director”. We hope that in future firmware the developer will pay attention to existing mistakes and eliminate them.
The player is equipped with a DVB-T receiver, and the development of this standard in Russia has been discontinued, without really starting. Currently, there is a “transition” to the next, more “advanced” standard DVB-T2, but who will be able to name the exact date of appearance of the desired signals on the air? No, not for show in one or two cities, and not in test mode, but in most of the territory inhabited by people, and with constant broadcasting, even if only of the main channels. Given such a long "buildup", imagine the number of problems translating the entire existing relay structure of a huge country to a different type of equipment, then there is a suspicion that the need for such an "outdated" receiver, like DVB-T, can last much longer than the owners suggest pink glasses. It remains to cherish the hope of at least a temporary lack of progress in the field of TV standards - God forbid someone from the eggheads will develop a new, even more “advanced” DVB-T3, and they will decide to put it into operation immediately, forgetting about the “old” standard.
Exploitation
The player’s wired network connection speed is enough to play video files with a bitrate of up to 60 Mbit / s inclusive. At higher bitrates, the sound begins to "choke".
Perhaps the overwhelming majority of today's media players "suffer" such network behavior. However, it is unlikely that a normal representative of a reasonable person would dare to call this a disadvantage. The fact is that there are simply no such giant bitrates in everyday life - with the exception of some highly professional cases, which do not include the player in question, or the topic of the Digital Players site in general.
Wi-Fi connection also does not bring any surprises, showing 40 MHz bandwidth, which in theory allows you to connect at speeds up to 300 Mbps on a router that supports 802.11n technology. The current actual wireless speed allows you to play video files with a bit rate of up to 25 Mbps over a wireless network. If the bitrate is higher than the specified number, then the familiar symptoms of “inhibition” will appear in the form of stuttering sound, and with a further increase in bitrate, the picture will also freeze.
The player easily copes with playing almost any format and container, except for uncompressed video (which is not available at all to any device of this class). Seamlessly, without jerking, AVC-files are played even with the maximum characteristics for today: 1920 × 1080 50p (60p). But only those that are compressed with a High profile not higher than 4.2. Full HD video compressed with profiles [email protected] and [email protected], plays with sound delays, but the video sequence runs smoothly (such high profiles will remain unclaimed for a very long time, now you simply can’t find such a video). Supported playback of ISO-images of discs, it pleases. But the Blu-ray disc player menu is not able to display, although navigation through the scenes specified in the movie is done.
Ordinary DVD-menus, of course, are displayed without any difficulties - both in ISO-images of discs and when playing the VIDEO_TS folder (to do this, press the Play button on the remote control, and not OK, as for files).
Full communication with the player is not bad due to some special buttons available on the remote control. For example, the Menu button. This button displays at the bottom of the screen a queue of icons that lead to the corresponding functions of the player. Icons appear even while playing video or other content, while playback is temporarily paused.
You can not remain silent about one rare function for home players, which is equipped with this unit. Which of the consoles will be able to boast the ability to upload media to YouTube and even to Facebook? And ours can! This is done as follows: marking with the cursor desired file, the user must press the Option button on the remote control, and select a command from the pop-up menu.
Now it remains to enter the username and password to log into your YouTube account, and the selected video will be on your channel.
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Download is slower than on YouTube, with an average speed of 300 KB / s (however, perhaps this is the author’s provider again shows his eccentricities). Wait a bit - and you're done, the video is already on your Facebook page.
Subsequently, the user can at any time drop in on his Facebook page, just by clicking the button with the letter f on the remote control of the player.
The following functions are available to the user during video playback:
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| View file information, fast forward to desired position | Change the subtitle or sound stream by selecting the desired item in the corresponding menu |
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| Adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation and hue of the frame | Call the global menu of variable parameters, where all available operations are present. Including even uploading current media to YouTube and Facebook |
Pressing the arrow buttons ← or → on the remote control leads to an instantaneous transition to a specified period of time (the interval is configured in the pop-up menu using the Option button; values \u200b\u200bfrom 1 to 30 minutes are available). During playback, you can change the playback speed to the values \u200b\u200bx1.5, x2, x4, x8, x16 and x32 in both directions, forward and backward.
The ability to connect the player with a PC should be provided by the O! Direct Windows application. Unfortunately, in the current firmware of the player we were not able to find the O! Direct item, which should be in the wired connection settings. Perhaps this service will appear later. However, you can remotely start playing content on the player without this O! Direct.
In addition to the PC, the player can have close friendships with other devices, including mobile ones, located on your home network. This is done using the same DLNA technology. For example, on your Android phone or tablet there is some kind of content that needs to be played by the player. No need to copy files to a flash drive, just install and run the O! MediaShare application, available on the Google Play Store.
This application is a multifunctional and multi-tasking combine. What is there only! However, we need only those items that are located at the top of the window. Here you can select the file to be played, after which it remains to click on it and activate the corresponding item.
It is time to illuminate the performance of Internet services built into the player, of which there are thirteen in the player. In the first place here - of course, Facebook.
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| YouTube XL - version for watching videos on large monitors, it works confidently; the video is played without slowing down (of course, it depends on the channel width) | Muzee Internet TV is a resource with a large number of TV channels. There is a choice of categories and the possibility of adding to favorites. Russian-speaking channels only five |
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| Muzee Internet Radio, a lot of channels, there is a search and the ability to add your favorite stations to Favorites | YouTube LeanBack - familiar YouTube, but with a different interface, more convenient for "sofa" viewing |
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| Another highly specialized button on the remote control is Ace Trax. This button launches the corresponding client application of the Internet service, which provides video on demand. Of course, this service is paid. And I must say, not cheap :) | Daylymotion - this video service works on the player as confidently, without slowdowns, as YouTube XL. There is a wide selection of videos and gears, as well as text search |
The following familiar applications are available here:
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| Picasa - online photo album | flickr |
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| Yahoo! Finance | Yahoo! Weather |
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| RSS reader with the ability to add your addresses | Podcast - themed video podcast resource |
Until now, and quite often, one has to hear questions regarding the playback of HD-sound by players built on Realtek chips. Once again, we hasten to reassure lovers of unverified rumors: modern Realtek processors, starting with 1073DD, have support for HD-sound. By the way, the last two letters in the marking of the chip can indicate this. The main reason why some modern player is not able to transmit Dolby True HD or DTS HD Master Audio is the problem with the notorious licensing, which is why the manufacturer can programmatically disable support for such sound. In our case, the developer directly points to the possibility of playing Dolby True HD player (for some reason, forgetting to mention DTS HD Master Audio support - only a week after the publication of this review, it turned out that the reason for this non-mentioning was the real lack of support this format) Support for Dolby True HD is confirmed by the ability to select the appropriate item in the audio settings of the player.
But, as practice shows, you will not satisfy the critic with screenshots of settings. Therefore, we present the corresponding video, which shows the operation of the player in question with the desired HD sound (the HDMI signal of the player is passed through the audio receiver):
As for support for sound formats such as Monkey’s Audio (APE) or FLAC, the player plays them without difficulty. With one feature: CUE playlists are supported only for FLAC.
The player in question has a feature that can be both useful and harmful. The fact is that the turned off device automatically turns on when power is supplied, without having to press the button on the remote control. In this case, the network adapter must, of course, be connected to the mains and connected to the player. Why can this ability be harmful? Consider the situation: in your absence, the electricity was temporarily turned off (or “blinked”). After the power supply is restored, the player will turn on, boot up and continue to work until you return. It suits you? If not, then consider the option where such an ability may be useful: the player is equipped with a feature that is often used by owners who operate such a device in auto mode - Speech about Autoplay. To activate this function, just create a folder named Autoplay on a flash drive or memory card and fill it with video content. Now it will be enough to supply power to the player, it will turn on, scan the connected media and, having found the Autoplay folder, it will automatically start cyclic playback of the files located in it (for this function to work, the automatic scan should be turned on in the program settings).
By the way, the automatic playback of the contents of the Autoplay folder will also occur when a flash drive or memory card is connected directly during player operation. Perhaps this solution is ideal for equipping sales or showrooms, etc. I came to work, turned on the electricity, and everything started to play.
conclusions
Throughout the entire testing period, the player behaved extremely smoothly, never freezing and turning off for no reason. Anyone who has ever dealt with them knows firsthand the reliability of “branded” products. The general functionality of the player is by no means awe-inspiring; here there are all the services and capabilities quite familiar to any modern media set-top box, no less, but no more. Except, perhaps, the rare ability of an apparatus of this class to upload selected files to YouTube or Facebook - this feature of ASUS O! Play Media Pro compares favorably with many others.
Confident work with Internet services and the network in general, an absolutely silent design that does not allow serious heating, nevertheless, are undoubted advantages of this device. Of the minuses, you can only find the standard built-in TV tuner, DVB-T. Yes, it is not suitable for the role of a novelty, but, as already mentioned, it is too early to forget about this standard.
It is too early to talk about the exact cost of the player, however, according to reports, it will not exceed 5,000 rubles in retail.