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AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential Review

The Essential ships with a removable protective cover on the front fascia. This helps to ensure it won't scuff during shipping. Like all other A.C. Ryan products we have reviewed, the front is extremely glossy and is a finger print and dust magnet.

A very simplistic front panel, with only a power button in the center. Along the top, the name of the product is embossed into the chassis design.

The rear offers connectivity for both 1080p HDMI (1.3) and composite audio/video with SPDIF Optical TOSlink and SPDIF Coaxial. There is also a power connector here and fan vents on the right.

On the side is a media card reader, 2 x USB 2.0 (USB-A) ports and a single USB 2.0 Slave Port (USB-B).

Underneath, the bottom is sealed by four screws, this are removed to get access to the hard drive inside for upgrading or removal. There are four rubber feet on each corner to ensure a solid grip on the majority of surfaces.

The A.C. Ryan Essential (top unit) compared physically to the older HD and DVR HD models. It is significantly smaller.

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13 comments

  1. A pretty much needed idea from them to be honest. always wondered why they didnt make one without networking capabilities.

    GOod review, covered all the bases. Shame about the interface speed, wonder if its a CPU issue ?

  2. Wow I was waiting for one of theirs to have 1gb lan and now they remove it totally 🙁

    seems really good, but I want a luxury high end model with everything. 2TB drive, gigabit lan, the works. and hopefully this interface. on the cards AC Ryan or not ?

  3. Cant believe how small they have made it compared to the older ones. is this totally new hardware inside? I was wanted this interface on a new system. i almost bought the HD model, but am waiting for the next gen, as id like to use it as a NAS drive too. 100mbit isnt fast enough.

  4. Very good, price cant be faulted. but I might look around for other options. I think I would want network capabilities and probably not slow wireless.

  5. Very good, interesting read. When is it out?

  6. Does it handle DVD folders on a drive?

  7. Are they making a new one with networking and this new interface?

  8. The delays are putting me off, where the other HD products like this or could it be a CPU issue?

  9. Its out soon.
    Yes it can play DVD folders.
    I have no info on upcoming products.
    The slow responses I would hope can be fixed with updates.

  10. I think the OS issues are probably initial code which they will patch soon. im confident in their team, I bought the HD a few months ago after reading the review here, and the last update fixed issues for me. really good company with a keen eye on the community.

  11. Really tempted to make a purchase of this media player after looked over the quite a few of late, could you tell me though does it play achvd with the menus from iso’s or do I have to strip them out so they are back to mts

  12. Do not Buy This unit!!!

    There are many bugs found which are not yet fix until now.

    I’ve waited for 8 months for firmware update without any clue or hint when it will be released and which bugs are fixed.

    Waste of money…

  13. Bought the Veolo 4K but I was hugely disappointed with the JukeBox function that it could not scrub for poster art for my movies. Interface is difficult to use and the supplied remote is a farce. Support was a joke. Told me its not a good JukeBox player and asked me to use Kodi, what a terrible product for such a premium price. AC Ryan needs to focus on customer experience in product design, navigation, and support. Will not buy anything from this company. Lost my trust.