A.C.Ryan PlayOn!HD2 - First Realtek 1185 Media Streamer in the Wild!
by Ganesh T S on February 14, 2011 5:50 AM EST- Posted in
- Media Streamer
- Home Theater
- Media Player
- AC Ryan
The PlayOn!HD2 board design can be roughly divided into three main components:
- The Realtek 1185DD along with the associated DRAM and Flash memory
- The JMS551 USB3-SATA bridge
- GbE PHY frontend for the GbE MAC on the 1185DD
The PlayOn!HD2's primary function is to act as a media player. This is enabled by the Realtek 1185DD chip, whose internal MIPS core runs at 500 MHz. Compared to the 64 bit DRAM interface of the Sigma Designs chips used in media players, the 1185DD has only a 32 bit DRAM interface. This ensures that the BOM (Bill of Materials) cost for a product based on the 1185DD is lesser than the corresponding cost for a Sigma Designs based player. There are two x16 DRAM chips on board, namely, the Nanya NT5TU64M16GG-AC, giving a total of 2 Gb (256 MB of SDRAM). This DDR2 SDRAM is capable of running at upto 400 MHz.
512MB of Flash memory is provided by the Hynix HY27UF084G on the rear side of the board.
The USB3 slave port on the PlayOn!HD2 is enabled by the JMicron JMS551 USB3-SATA bridge.
The GbE MAC on the 1185DD is fed by the Realtek AFE (Analog Front End) / PHY, the RTL 8211D.
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conejo99 - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
Doesn't the Popcorn Hour A210 support a hard drive without needing a fan?Sharro - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
Yes it does, got 2 at home.:-)
I wish Anandtech would cover more or PCH products.
ganeshts - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
I should have mentioned -- amongst the streamers we have reviewed :)Btw, a 3.5" HD without fan is asking for trouble wrt component longevity unless there is quite a bit of airflow in the case.
AmdInside - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
What video streaming services will be supported? Netflix?ganeshts - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
A.C.Ryan is working on this, but you should never assume the feature is going to come in until it is announced. As of now, there is no Netflix, but it MIGHT change in the future.bertrandr - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
When doing the final review try to compare features with: the also new Netgear NeoTV-550, the Dune SMART (D1) and the current gold standard for HD streamers -the Popcorn A-210.The NeoTV-550 seems very promising, and the latest beta firmwares are quickly fixing any serious issues.
Cheers,
BR
ganeshts - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
Got the NTV-550 and it is a great streamer for the price to feature ratio. Still needs some firmware tweaks. Will definitely compare it against the PlayOn!HD2 though there are a lot of features in the 550 which are not in the POHD2, while there are some features in the POHD2 not in the 550 (this is reflected in the price of the base model.. the POHD2 is cheaper)Don't have the Dune D1 or the A210 for comparison, though :( (unless the manufacturers contact us for reviews, we don't want to take them up because we already have quite a number of streamers lined up for review)
hohowan - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
Can you please test for proper stylized-ASS subtitle support?ganeshts - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
Sure, I will do that.. Just wanted to mention that the Boxee Box is the only streamer I have tested so far to do flawless stylized-ASS.ckryan - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
I've got streaming devices falling out of my closet (and off my desk, and draped off my tv). I like what I have seen with the ACRyan devices. My hope is that interest will continue to climb and perhaps ACRyan will reconsider their decision to not offer their more interesting devices here in the US.I'll be looking for the update.