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The Playon! HD Essential, like all other AC Ryan products has impressed us. The new graphic user interface means that AC Ryan have been able to customise and fine tune the software to ensure that the end user is purchasing something unique which has been given the full treatment by the Dutch media experts.
While there is no networking ‘out of the box' the fact you can add wireless over USB 2.0 later at a minimal cost is a smart idea. Many people don't want or need a constantly networked media player, so its nice that AC Ryan give the end user the option to keep some money in their pocket.
In regards to image quality, we have no compliants, 1080p playback is smooth and the option to toggle 24hz for HD movies is going to appeal to a wide audience of media fanatics. That said, it would be nice for AC Ryan to add some further controls for image enhancement.
GUI 2.0 is a great improvement over the old interface, the layout has been carefully pieced together and clearly they have spent some time behind the scenes removing a lot of features we don't really need, and tightening up the overall structure. The only area we found fault with was the overall speed of the system with it hanging several seconds behind inputted commands. AC Ryan do update their firmware on a regular basis however so we hope to see a new revision shortly to improve on this situation.
I really liked the auto scanning drive option and (being mean) I tried to confuse it regularly to document any limitations. It found Mp3s in folders 6 layers down and always located media files regardless of where I placed them. For people with messy PC file structures, im pretty sure if you copied raw to a USB drive, then the Essential will find everything then place them into the correct media sub sections.
The Playon! HD Essential is a great purchase with the 1TB version we reviewed today only costing £130 inc vat. Considering a decent 1TB drive (such as this Samsung) costs in the region of £40 this means you are only paying £90 for the player itself. We can therefore overlook the unfortunate omission of the HDMI cable at this price.
KitGuru says: A great media player at a very low price. Should be filling many stockings this Christmas.
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.