Nixeus Fusion HD Review
by Ganesh T S on March 4, 2011 3:26 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Media Streamer
- Gadgets
In order to install an internal hard disk, it is necessary to remove the top cover of the Fusion HD. For our review, we used a 2 TB Barracuda XT 7200 rpm provided to us by Seagate.
The top can be taken off by removing 4 screws from the two sides of the Fusion HD, and slightly tugging at one of the sides.
The screws to hold the hard disk in place are provided in the Fusion HD package. The SATA data and power cables make an appearance on the top, and have to be connected to the hard disk properly before being screwed in. Compared to the easy slide in process used by other manufacturers like TViX and A.C.Ryan, this method of installation is a bit clunky, and not really user friendly (Well, it may be OK for the average AnandTech reader). If you are planning to gift this to someone with a hard disk already installed, it shouldn't be much of an issue.
To get to the system board, the rubber bushes at the base of the unit had to be prised off, as shown in the gallery above. The board is placed in the chassis in an interesting manner. With the hard disk on top, the main components of the board are on the underside. You can see the SATA data and the power cables making its way to the top in the flipped board below.
Click to Enlarge
The main components on the board are as below. There are two sets of DRAM modules for a total of 384 MB of DDR2 DRAM.
- Sigma Designs SMP8655AD Media Processor
- 2 x Hynix HY5PS1G1631C x16 DDR2 DRAM Modules (Total : 2 x 1Gb = 256 MB)
- 2 x Deutron MIRA P3R12ErJFF x16 DDR2 DRAM Modules (Total : 2 x 512Mb = 128 MB)
- Hynix HY27UF081G2A 1Gb (128 MB) NAND Flash
- JMicron JM20336 SATA / USB 2.0 to SATA Bridge
The JMicron chip lies between the SATA data and power cable connectors on the board.
The JM20336 is responsible for the eSATA client / USB 2.0 slave interface on the Fusion HD. It acts as a bridge with SATA at one end and another SATA and USB 2.0 port at the other end. The SMP8655 has 2 SATA II ports. One of them is connected to the internal hard disk, and the other end is connected to the JM20336. When the Fusion HD is connected to a USB 2.0 host or eSATA port, it goes into 'eSATA or USB Client Mode'. No media playback is possible in this mode, as the SMP 8655 is busy routing traffic from the JM20336 through its first SATA port onto the second SATA port.
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Trefugl - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
Even support for something like SiliconDust's HDHomeRun would be great. I have one of those that streams to my network, but I haven't decided what to do about recording (using my desktop for testing it out now). I'd love to have something like the Boxee Box that would be able to browse the TV guide and record shows to my NAS... one day maybe.Suntan - Saturday, March 5, 2011 - link
Have you looked into SageTV?HD300 hardware extender at the TV, computer running the tuners at the backend.
It's another option.
-Suntan
TrevorH - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
Why no reviews of the market leaders in this segment? Where is Popcornhour? TVIX?ganeshts - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
TViX Slim S1 is up next :)Popcorn Hour... No review units with AnandTech right now.. Once they put something new out, we will try to get hold of one :) Right now, our review queue is pretty full.
DigitalFreak - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
As soon as one of these streamers gets the ability to properly play back WTV files, I might just pick one up.mgl888 - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
off topic, but is Anandtech located in Sunnyvale?ganeshts - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
AnandTech has a set of freelance reporters spread all over the world. It is just that I happen to reside in Sunnyvale :)mgl888 - Sunday, March 6, 2011 - link
Awesome, we could be neighbors!We have the same postcode. :)
SlyNine - Friday, March 4, 2011 - link
"One of our MKVs with DTS-HD audio exhibited random dropouts when bitstreaming. However, a couple of other movies with DTS-HD MA in MKV bitstreamed for the full duration without any issue. But, some points were docked because our test stream didn't play perfectly"Could this be because of Ciniava DRM?? I only skimmed the artical so I don't know if Ciniava is present or not, But please look in to it and tell us if future players use this protection, or any others like it I'm not aware of.
ganeshts - Saturday, March 5, 2011 - link
No, that particular stream doesn't have Cinavia. It plays perfectly OK on the NTV 550 and the Boxee Box.Cinavia is only applicable to streamers which have AACS license, and even then, it doesn't appear mandatory right now. So, none of the media streamers support it.
I am keeping a close watch on Cinavia developments, so if there is anything new I find not reported elsewhere, rest assured, AnandTech readers will be the first to know about it :)