Popcorn Hour A210 Networked Media Jukebox

First time I knew of networked media tanks (NMT) was a couple of years ago when the local distributor of Popcorn Hour in the Philippines visited my pad and demoed the player to me. The NMT has improved since then and we got the newer Popcorn Hour A210 to play with.

It’s been out in the US market since last year and only found its way into the Philippines early this year. The improved body construction comes in a black brushed-metal case gives it a bit of heft — more so that the internal space of the unit is allocated to a 3.5″ HDD (up to 2TB).

The design and form factor is just right for the TV cabinet or stand — the dark finish makes the device almost inconspicuously hidden out of sight along with all the other media devices in the living room. The metal casing also helps with heat dissipation coming out of the internal hard drive.

Aside from the wired connection at the back (10/100/1000Mbps LAN port), there’s an optional accessory that allows you to connect the A-210 to your wireless LAN at home (more like a small WiFi dongle that plugs into one of the USB ports).

The UI has also been significantly improved. It’s not the best UI we’ve seen in an NMT but its simple and easy to navigate and with a little bit of eyecandy to it (gone are the basic file listing). The interface is also more responsive to the remote control unlike before (probably because its got better specs).

Popcorn Hour A210 Networked Media Jukebox
Sigma Designs SMP8643, 667MHz CPU
512MB DDR2 DRAM
256MB NAND Flash
GigaBit LAN
HDMI v1.3a
3 x USB 2.0 ports
IR port
(optional) Popcorn Hour WN-150 WiFi 802.11n dongle

Full technical specs can be found here, including all imaginable video and audio formats supported by the PH A210 (there’s also BluRay ISO support in here as well as MKV3D so you can watch 3D movies on your TV).

Picture quality is superb with the PH A210 — it’s as if I’m watching Bluray movies (tried it both on my 32″ Samsung TV and 42″ Toshiba TV). The unit was pre-loaded with dozens of movies (most of which at 6GB size each while a few goes up to 14GB) and they load up pretty quick and play them very smoothly. The Popcorn Hour A210 retails for about Php11,500 in stores.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

8 Comments

tox says:

13 years ago

available na sya. you can also try tipidpc.com or sulit.com.ph.

mas mura kaysa 5th avenue. yun nga lang ang 5th avenue lang may installment plan.
- Reply
Jon says:

13 years ago

you may visit their dealers at http://www.popcornhour.com.ph for more info, i got it for 12mos installment at 5th ave. so sulit na :D
- Reply
marco says:

13 years ago

ask ko lang po kung san available ito dito sa pinas???
- Reply
Jon says:

13 years ago

the A200 and A210 has almost 100 free apps that you can download just like the itunes..you can use facebook, twitter, youtube and a lot more..

so far i’m a happy popcorn hour user too..it can play 3D Movies already..so hoping to get a 3D TV this Christmas :D
- Reply
qosmio says:

13 years ago

i like the samsung lcd tv that accepts external hdd to play movie, audio, photos,
- Reply
Popcorn User says:

13 years ago

The older model A200 has been available in the Philippines more than a year ago. I bought A200 at Vira Mall, Greenhills at that time. I had the shop insert a 1.5 TB Hard Drive.

It plays almost everything except realmedia and flash,which can be remedied in a few seconds using mkvmerge. I have stored every conceivable files from 1080p music videos to lossless audio to Blu-Ray movies to mutlipart 720p Korean TV series to HD NBA games to 1080p IMAX documentaries.

I transferred downloaded files from my PC to the A200 which is located in the sala via a wired LAN. I have software updated it thrice in a year.

A200 and A210 is almost the same, except for:

A200 – plastic case and fan
A210 – metal case no fan
- Reply
Andrew01riza says:

13 years ago

What are the preloaded movies? Are they all 1080p?
- Reply
friend.com.ph says:

13 years ago

available na po ito dito sa pinas?
- Reply

YugaGaming