This could probably be the last media player you’ll ever need in your living room.The Popcorn Hour is an integrated video processor tucked inside a small portable casing that plays almost all of the popular media files out there, plus some more. It’s like the open source version of the Apple TV.
The guys at HD Media World came over to demo the Popcorn Hour at home. The player can decode various media types from DivX, Xvid, mkv, mpeg1/2/4, WMV9-HD, MOV as well as stream content directly from the internet such as YouTube, MetaCafe and Google Video.
It also supports peer-to-peer TV (SayaTV) and internet radio (Shoutcast) as well as several of your favorite tech podcasts/vidcasts like Twit, Cranky Geeks and DL.TV. It has some sort of built-in browser to view photos from Flickr and Picasa as well as an RSS feed reader.
Best of all, the Popcorn Hour can actually download your torrents directly into the optional HDD. Storage can be an external HHD, a built-in HDD or a USB drive. To download torrents, just transfer the tracker into the internal drive and start the downloads. You can set how much bandwidth (upstream/downstream) to allocate so you don’t choke the entire network.
People with HDTVs at home will get the most of these types of media players. The Popcorn Hour can HD movies up to 1080p. It also uses just 36 watts of power so you can leave it on 24/7 when downloading torrents and save up on electricity as against running it on your PC.
Check out their Multiply site and if you’re interested, just mention you found about it from here and maybe they’ll give you a discount.
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
How to transfer, withdraw money from PayPal to GCash
Prices of Starlink satellite in the Philippines
Install Google GBox to Huawei smartphones
Pag-IBIG MP2 online application
How to check PhilHealth contributions online
How to find your SIM card serial number
Globe, PLDT, Converge, Sky: Unli fiber internet plans compared
10 biggest games in the Google Play Store
LTO periodic medical exam for 10-year licenses
Netflix codes to unlock hidden TV shows, movies
Apple, Asus, Cherry Mobile, Huawei, LG, Nokia, Oppo, Samsung, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Infinix Mobile, Pocophone, Honor, iPhone, OnePlus, Tecno, Realme, HTC, Gionee, Kata, IQ00, Redmi, Razer, CloudFone, Motorola, Panasonic, TCL, Wiko
Best Android smartphones between PHP 20,000 - 25,000
Smartphones under PHP 10,000 in the Philippines
Smartphones under PHP 12K Philippines
Best smartphones for kids under PHP 7,000
Smartphones under PHP 15,000 in the Philippines
Best Android smartphones between PHP 15,000 - 20,000
Smartphones under PHP 20,000 in the Philippines
Most affordable 5G phones in the Philippines under PHP 20K
5G smartphones in the Philippines under PHP 16K
Smartphone pricelist Philippines 2024
Smartphone pricelist Philippines 2023
Smartphone pricelist Philippines 2022
Smartphone pricelist Philippines 2021
Smartphone pricelist Philippines 2020
Animohosting.com says:
pretty cool
pinoy web surfer says:
it’s huge!! ok sana if it’s the same size or smaller than your WD Book.
ert says:
@pinoy web surfer
hi! its not huge..siguro yung length lang niya is a basic remote control and yung thickness niya is like a typical hard drive :)
kelvin john says:
di nman sya bulky maxado maam… ganyan lang siya kc pwede ka ding maginstall ng blueray player pag gusto mo…
sylv3rblade says:
wow 36 watts! I like the support for multiple media types.
koji says:
available na sya dito?!? my cuz has one in the states and i had grown to loved that nifty gadget last summer when i visited. was suppose to bring one back kaso stock out for two months during that time!
kelvin john says:
opo maam available na siya d2 sa pilipinas and try to contact at popcornhour.com.ph
tnx and godbless
vance says:
popcorn got reviewed by revision 3’s show tekzilla. Its good but it’s sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
Jan Alvin says:
Its kinda bulky.
vance says:
popcorn isn’t bulky.. compared to other media extender… I just don’t know what’s the biggest HDD size you can put on it. I’ve said awhile ago the interface is sloooooow, needs improvement.. maybe the upcoming firmware update will fix that.. hehe.
Lyle, RN says:
Interesting. I might get one of these if the price is right. :)
ziGGy says:
For me, it’s not slow and bulky. You can update the firmware regularly. It’s very handy. it only measures (length)10.5″ by (width) 5.4″ w/ thickness of about 1.3″ only. so far, i had no problems using it. very user friendly & the best value for money. all thumbs up!
Neocrep says:
Is it really slow? Hmmm… I/O issue on harddrive? Probably when downloading and watching movie at the same time on a 1TB drive?
Abe Olandres says:
I think what they meant about it being slow is when navigation between menus. The video playback is superb and clear, IMO.
vance says:
Yup, that is I meant.. When they “demoed” the thing its sluggish.. it will give a headache.. that is the only down part of popcorn. Hopefully they release a new firmware to make it faster. Sayang eh.
Ryan says:
I think this gadget is a must for anyone with an HDTV and a broadband internet connection! Especially with the high costs of those HD/BlueRay Players and Discs. More importantly, it can play the MKV container format used by most HD videos today.
I don’t think size is really an issue since it is meant as a dedicated media center/NAS connected to a LAN rather than a portable player. But compared to the dvd players today it’s only about half the size. I haven’t really had problems speed-wise with the menus… maybe it’s just me but in my opinion it isn’t turtle-slow or lighting-fast smooth either.
jon says:
any experiences with regards to heat? compared to a portable hdd player (MG something yung brand), based on my experience, goes really really hot after watching 1 to 3 movies. any feedback from those who already got this gadget? thanks
Abe Olandres says:
@jon, if you looks at the pics, the innards of the Popcorn Hour are basically the dedicated video decoder and a slot of an IDE drive. I reckon it will be the HDD that will contribute to heat coming out of the device.
J says:
where’s the popcorn? :D
pdvd says:
checkout this list of MKV’s at
http://forums.trendmotion.com/forums.asp?ForumId=11&TopicId=158
beeps says:
CooL Gadget!
geljean says:
Caveat: popcornHour won’t read 2.5″ USB HDDs. I strongly recommend EEE box instead. EEE box being a full-blown PC (with sleek small-form factor), you’ll be more than assured of all digital media playability with undeniably better performance and not much difference price-wise.
Disappointment says:
I’d be wary of purchasing the Popcorn Hour. Mine arrived today and it’s apparently D.O.A. It really seems to be a Mickey Mouse outfit running the show.
Judging from posts on the NMT forum, I don’t think I’m the only one stuck with a piece of junk. Once I pay for all the shipping and the restocking fee, I’ll be out over $100.
You’ve been warned.
Datafeilen says:
If you think EEE box can do the same job as popcorn hour you’re wrong. Popcorn hour is a mediastreamer not a low powered pc with low specs. I’ll say they can be used together. Buy both and use Swisscenter or any other good frontend on the EEE box and stream it to the popcorn hour. In that way you use the best of two worlds. EEE box can’t show HD video, popcorn hour can..With popcorn hour you can’t surf the web from your TV, with EEE box you can.
Popcorn Hour says:
You can surf the web using your popcorn hour using the remote control or USB keyboard