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One of the highlights with the new Playon! HD Essential product is the new user interface, called Playon! GUI 2.0. This is based on the Realtek SDK 4.0 which allows for the in house A.C. Ryan team to modify the layout and graphic design.
The main interace is split into five sections. Movies. Music. Photo. Files Manager and Setup. The new operating system has an automatic index feature, so when you insert a USB drive, it scans all the contents and files the relevant files into the subsections. MKV's for instance will be logged into the Movies submenu, and jpgs will be logged into the Photos.
We used the 128 GB Kingston Hyperx Max 3.0 drive for our external drive testing today, this is a USB 3.0 drive, but will fall back to USB 2.0 speeds when used with the Essential product.
When the drive is connected, it takes a few minutes to scan all the contents. On the home page, a list of all the recently added files appears.
Drives can be accessed directly via the Files Manager menu, with vector based icons depicting the relevant drives.
The user interface is very well designed and files can be copied from the external drive to the internal unit. Transfer speeds seemed to be as fast as our USB 2.0 test systems – recording just under 2 minutes for a 1.1gb MKV video file.
Listing the files is a simple process and further information can be gained via the remote. Quick previews can be played and files can be deleted if so desired.
Video and audio settings are held within the Setup submenu and while not as indepth as the previous A.C. Ryan players, offer enough options to satisfy most users. The 1080p 24hz will be a much desired feature for HD movie fanatics. Night mode is also very useful as it flattens the dynamics of the audio content to present clearer vocals and dialogue, ideal for late evening viewing.
The only negative aspect to the interface would be the speed with which some of the menus come to life. After pressing actions on the remote, there can be delays of often up to 2 seconds between your finger leaving the remote and the Essential doing what you wanted. Initially I was unsure if the remote was at fault, but after slowing down my brain a little, it became acceptable. I do hope however they can speed this up via a software update and it isnt caused by a random hardware limitation on some level.
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 ?
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 ?
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.
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.
Very good, interesting read. When is it out?
Does it handle DVD folders on a drive?
Are they making a new one with networking and this new interface?
The delays are putting me off, where the other HD products like this or could it be a CPU issue?
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.
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.
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
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…
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.