Popcorn Hour A-200 Networked Media Tank (Black)

by Popcorn Hour

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 5.9 x 2 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0036U7WJI
• Item model number: A-200
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,207 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

It's Time to Unleash Your TV
The Popcorn Hour A-200 is the world's original Networked Media Tank. It allows you to stream digital video, audio and
photos from your PC, storage device, home network or the Internet to your HDTV or home theater setup. The A-200 gives you total control over your digital media experience. 
 
Expand Your Possibilities
Add an optional hard drive to the Popcorn Hour's standard expansion slot to open up a host of additional features and options:
• Create a central library of all your movies and video files, ready to play on your TV at any time. 
• Easily share media with friends and family; utilizing the hard drive the Popcorn Hour can act as a file server to share files over your home network. 
 
Digital Entertainment Your Way
Popcorn Hour's interface utilizes intuitive navigation prompts, so first-time users can quickly get up to speed on even the most advanced features. The standard remote control supports playback modes such as play/pause and trickmodes, as well as simultaneous display of images and playback of audio tracks. 
 
Features
• Play virtually any digital media file on your TV.
• Supports the most advanced high-def video and audio standards, including Blu-ray and Dolby.
• Newer and faster processor for increased performance in all areas

Product Description

It's Time to Unleash Your TV The Popcorn Hour is the world's original Networked Media Tank. It allows you to stream digital video, audio and photos from your PC, storage device, home network or the Internet to your HDTV or home theater setup. The A-200 gives you total control over your digital media experience. Expand Your Possibilities Add an optional hard drive to the Popcorn Hour's standard expansion slot to open up a host of additional features and options: • Create a central library of all your movies and video files, ready to play on your TV at any time. • Easily share media with friends and family; utilizing the hard drive the Popcorn Hour can act as a file server to share files over your home network. Digital Entertainment Your Way Popcorn Hour's interface utilizes intuitive navigation prompts, so first-time users can quickly get up to speed on even the most advanced features. The standard remote control supports playback modes such as play/pause and trickmodes, as well as simultaneous display of images and playback of audio tracks. Features • Play virtually any digital media file on your TV. • Supports the most advanced high-def video and audio standards, including Blu-ray and Dolby. • Newer and faster processor for increased performance in all areas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, July 17, 2010

By 

DenisR - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Popcorn Hour A-200 Networked Media Tank (Black) (Electronics)

Pros:
I've had the A-200 for 4 days now and so far it works great. It was very easy to setup on my 10/100 wired network and have it access a Buffalo 4TB Linkstation hosting all my backed up DVDs stored as ISO images. The Popcorn Hour has no problems in playing any one of these images. I've tried .VOB and .AVI formats also with success. Navigation to the videos is folder based and is as easy as using Windows Explorer to get to the video you wish to play. The main reason I bought this unit is because of all the different video formats it can play and the rave reviews it has received. My TV is a 55" Samsung 8000 series that has DNLA built into it but its very lame. You can't FF or REV the movie and depending on the video container you can't even pause the movie. The Popcorn Hour A-200 performs all these functions without flaw including "jump to chapter". It also automaticaly sets a bookmark on the movie you are watching when you push the Stop Button. When you select that movie again, it resumes at the bookmark. It will set bookmarks for 10 different movies. The unit does contain a cooling fan but you can't hear it unless you put your ear next to it. At first glance, the remote control looked like a universal remote because of all the buttons on it but its not. All those buttons control different features of the A-200.

The reason I gave it a 4 star rating is because it doesn't come with a manual, just a quick start guide and the font is very small. Also if you have any questions, there is no phone # to call but there is support online and also a forum to post your questions.

If you are not a techy then this unit is for you, it works right out of the box.
If you are techy then you can have lots of fun with this, applying different skins, writing your own skins...

I am not disappointed at all with this purchase.

Cons:
I don't have anything serious to complain about it except:
It does get a little warm.
It can use some weight. With the amount of cables attached to it, it tends to not lay flat unless you arrange the cables just right.
A manual would be good.

Update
I've had the PCH for 3 months now and the "New Toy Feeling" has worn off. I have loaded 400 movies onto my NAS and every one of them plays beautifully through the Popcorn Hour (PCH). There is one thing that bugs me about it, the IR sensor that picks up signals from the remote is very narrow. If you don't point the remote directly at the unit then it won't pickup the signal. I use a Logitech Harmony 7 remote and all of the devices that it controls responds well even when I point the remote to a white wall behind me but the PCH will not respond unless the remote is pointed directly at it and parallel with it's sensor. A small inconvience considering all of its other features that work very well.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good product with some flaws, August 5, 2010

By 

N. Schiltz (South Dakota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Popcorn Hour A-200 Networked Media Tank (Black) (Electronics)

I believe the a-200 is a very good product. It will pretty much play any file format you throw at it. It will play back both dvd and bluray isos as well as the popular mkv or m2ts format which products like the playstation 3 and xbox 360 will not do. Regarding cons I would first like to point out that I DID NOT notice the loud fan noise everyone here is pointing out. But I did notice that the product does get very hot. The trick is to shut down the system by holding down the power button. Otherwise, by simply hitting the power button once the unit stays in stand by while continually powering the unit which is somewhat of an annoyance. To avoid the heat issue I avoid using an internal hard drive and stick to an external hard drive. I initially installed an internal hard drive but found the device to get very hot. This may be a problem for some as it requires a internal hd to run certain applications. Personally I don't use them. Whether the heat caused by the internal hd would be a problem or not is a question but its not a risk I'm willing to take. I will say that the design of the case is a bit cheap. The biggest thing that concerns me is that the heat vents are on the bottom of the unit and as any average joe knows, heat rises! For anyone wondering there are custom metal cases out there that are of much better quality. The interface is clunking but has an awesome streamlined alternative known as Yet Another Movie Jukebox (YAMJ). YAMJ is very good and is makes browsing collections a snap. As far as the big kicker that got be to purchase the a-200 over products like the wd-live plus is the audio passthrough. The a-200 will bitstream high def audio formats to a receiver such as DTS MA HD audio and Dolby TruHD through backup files. Last I read the WD Live was able to bitstream TruHD but not sure on that. Western Digitial says it will never bitstream DTS MA. Other complaints I have is that the documentation is lousy. When you buy this expect to do a lot of internet searching for usuage. But after a little reading the device is very easy to use. I will say that a plus is that firmware updates are a huge step forward but not always the quickest to come out. But no product is perfect. Overall it has been a great purchase for my families needs.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good unit for the price!!, August 30, 2010

By 

Wookie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Popcorn Hour A-200 Networked Media Tank (Black) (Electronics)

I got 2 of the A-200 for the bedrooms in my home. They play all my videos great and I have no problems at all.
The people that complain about the fan noise must have sonic ears as I can barly hear it it I put it next to my head. I would recomend this player to anyone who wants a great media player. Stay away from the WDTV Live units as I replaced 2 of them with this and will buy another later on.
Great unit for the price!!!!