DragonTech ioBox NMT reviewed

[Moogle Stiltzkin]

I just read the review posted here http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/30878/80/


This NMT is exactly the same as my old popcorn A100 ..... this is like last years product imho.

Popcornhour has developed much more recently in their new up coming release C200.

Their current product already available is the A110 which is a big refinement over the original A100. The A110 notably can passthrough dts, HD audio and all those other stuff to your own AV/Receiver.

If you want to review the best media player on the market, try and review the Popcornhour C200 as soon as it comes out :X

 

[Rob W]

This article comes at a great time for me because I'm considering buying a second networked media player. My first player is the DVICO TViX R-3310 and I'm very happy with it. The internal drive on the TViX unit uses NTFS while the internal drive in the ioBox 100HD uses EXT3. I'm interested to know the transfer speeds that I could expect for copying movie files between the ioBox and a Windows PC using either USB or LAN (via FTP).

To get some baseline data points for the TViX, I copied a VOB file (1,073,739,776 Bytes) between my PC (Win XP SP3) and the TViX over a 1Gbps LAN and over USB. The results were:

USB (direct connect):

TViX to PC
1,073,739,776 Bytes in 40 sec (26.8 MB/s)​

PC to TViX
1,073,739,776 Bytes in 44 sec (24.4 MB/s)​

Wired LAN (via FTP):

TViX to PC
1,073,739,776 Bytes in 4:14 or 254 sec (4.2 MB/s)​

PC to TViX
1,073,739,776 Bytes in 4:44 or 284 sec (3.8 MB/s)​

Can anyone tell me what transfer rates I could expect from the ioBox 100HD (or the Popcorn Hour A-110)?

Thanks,

-Rob

 

[GizmoDaddy]

Hi, guys...

The ioBox-100HD is in the same generation of NMTs as the Popcorn Hour A-110. The latest generation is the Popcorn Hour C-200, however, no firm date has been set for availability. If you haven't pre-ordered already, the wait is likely to be a month or more once they start to roll off the lines.

Although the ioBox-100HD is comparable to the A-110, there are a few key advantages to its design:

* The ioBox-100HD has both optical and coax S/PDIF outputs. The A-110 does not offer a coax output.

* Better heat dissipation.

* The ioBox-100HD has a 6-layer main board. The Popcorn Hour A-110 has a 4-layer board. The use of a 6-layer board enhances the stability of the player. It allows the ioBox-100HD to support a wider range of hard drives. For example, some Samsung and Hitachi drives which are not supported by the Popcorn Hour A-110 function perfectly with the ioBox-100HD.

* The USB slave port is located on the front of the player for increased convenience.

* Dragontech recently added the ability to completely power off the unit via remote. Other NMTs (including the A-110) will enter a "standby" mode via remote.

Regarding transfer speeds, I received this directly from Dragontech's tech support:

USB Slave (ver 2.0)

PC to ioBox-100HD
686,082,048 bytes in 24.94 seconds (26864.55Kbytes/sec) [26.2 MB/s]

ioBox-100HD to PC:
686,082,048 bytes in 22.49 seconds (29791.11Kbytes/sec) [29.1 MB/s]


FTP (Wired LAN)

PC to ioBox-100HD
686,082,048 bytes in 86.75 seconds (7908.73Kbytes/sec) [7.7 MB/s]

ioBox-100HD to PC
686,082,048 bytes in 113.09 seconds (6066.53Kbytes/sec) [5.92 MB/s]


Note: ioBox-100HD with firmware 090203 & NMT 090116, HDD is Seagate 250GB

 

[daskino]

the apple tv is a dated device, but it does have a great UI, but since it lack support for most video codecs of 720 and up it should not be a part of any comparison besides ui , but nice to see smallnetbuilder picking up on the media player arena.

 

[Unregistered]

Don't think you need to run a separate PC

Hi-
Very nice article.

One thing could be improved, though:

>> But as mentioned, the downside to this model is that the Movie Jukebox has to be on the server-side, which means running a separate computer just to serve content to the ioBox.

From what I've read, you can generate static files which are saved to the NMT's hard drive. See this guide for an example: http://www.amperordirect.com/pc/r-resources-audio-video/z-reference-hdx1000_YAMJ.html

So... no need to have a server PC running once this is done.

 

[Unregistered]

File formats and TV modes

At the risk of sounding ignorant, I have a bit of a simplistic question.

I have rear-projection 50" TV but looking to buy a 50" 1080p HD LCD TV. Most of my movies are .avi's converted via the plethora of codec soups that are available. For most I do not know the compression ratio or even the resolution used to derive the .avi from the original DVD source.

I can view the ripped .avi movie from my computer obviously. I can rip it back to DVD format using say ConvertXtoDVD and burn it on a DVD to play on my DVD player. I can also load the .avi on my USB key and plug it into the DVD player's USB port. This only works on some files and craps out on others. I do not know which codecs it does not like.

This brings me to my need for a nice media player made to handle a bit more comprehensive list of video files and supported codecs. The ioBox seems like a nice box to handle this, however I have one simple question.

I currently have NO hi-def content to play. Therefore am I wasting money on a system that supports 1080p? Would I be just as happy on a "lesser" system that only supports 720p or 1080i, given that my TV will up-convert of the fly? There are many systems that are 1/2 the price (w/o HDD) but do not support 1080p.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[thiggins]

If the "lesser" systems support the formats used by your standard-def content, then save your money and get the 720p / 1080i player. Just make sure it has an HDMI output.

 

[Unregistered]

HDD Media Player

Hey Thanks for the quick response. I'll let you know what HDTV and HDD player I go with. I'm sure there are many people out there wanting to do the same thing.

Media Players I'm looking at:

* Masscool MP-1369S, SATA 3.5" HDD, USB, 720p, 1080i

* Masscool MP-1370S, SATA 3.5" HDD, USB, 720p, 1080i, EN LAN, scheduled recording

* Dragon Tech ioBox-100, SATA 2.5"/3.5" HDD, USB, 1080p, EN LAN

* Mvix Ultio MX-800HD, SATA 3.5" HDD, USB, 1080p, EN LAN

Other players: Asus O!Play, Mediagate MG-700DVR and Viewsonic VMP70 do not make the cut due to not having internal 3.5" HDD capabilities. I do not want to clutter my living room entertainment center with a new player plus a USB-attached external hard drive. I want it all-in-one.

My USB pen drive gets cumbersome in deleting watched movies and adding new ones when the 8GBs get used up.

A bit of advice: watch out for Chinese-manufatured to-good-to-be-true priced hardware. Example: Google search on "HDD media player 1080p" gives links to unbranded devices that are really cheap. They handle 1080p, all formats of video and even karaoke with inputs for 2 mics. Sounds nice until you hear the horror stories of DOA and parts broke within a month.

With little or no recourse for reimbursement I say just stick to the well-known online distributors you normally use. But this is a totally different topic altogether.