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Review on MNP-101 1080p Media Player
作者:黄敏 日期:2009-09-14
It has been a while since I started looking for a network media player. The purpose is for the kids and grandparents to watch the movies stored on the home network server in the living room.
A while ago, WDTV player has been quite popular, but it was off the table immediately due to the lack of network capability. The lately, the most talked-about player is PPopcorn Hour C-200
This particular model looks a perfect one on the paper. Additional features include wmv support, internal hard drive, gigabit-network, and Bluray support. Do note the bluray drive is optional and can be added by the user themselves though. Of course the price tag is high as well ($449 advertised). To me, I don't see I will need most of the advanced features in any near future, hence I think it a overkill for my requirements here.
After looking around for a while, I bought a MNP-101 1080p Media Player last week.
Specification
# Main Chipset: Realtek 1073
# Supported Video containers:
* MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V)
* MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG)
* MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS)
* VOB
* AVI, ASF, WMV
* Matroska (MKV)
* AVC HD
* MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4
* FLV - Flash Video
* RMVB (Not listed in the official spec but tested and confirmed)
# Video codecs:
* XVID SD/HD
* MPEG-1
* MPEG-2
o MP@HL
* MPEG-4.2
o ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC
* WMV9
o MP@HL
* H.264
o BP@L3
o MP@L4.0
o HP@L4.0
o HP@L4.1
* VC-1
o MP@HL
o AP@L3
# Audio containers:
* AAC, M4A
* MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA)
* WAV
* WMA
* FLAC
* OGG
# Audio codecs:
* Dolby Digital
* DTS (Passthrough Only)
* WMA, WMA Pro
* AAC
* MP1, MP2, MP3
* Itune
* FLAC
* Vorbis
#Photo & Subtitle
* JPG(40-mega pixel without limitation of resolution, Baseline), BMP, PNG, GIF, TIF, TIFF
* srt, sub, smi, *idx+sub, ssa, DVD subtitle, DivX subtitle
#Connections
* 2x USB 2.0
#AV In / Out
* HDMI v1.3 (up to 1080p)
* Composite Video
* Component Video
* Stereo Analog Audio
* S/PDIF Optical Digital Audio
# Network
* 10/100Mb Ethernet
* WIFI (optional)
* UPnP
* Samba
# Power Cinsumption
* Operation: 4.8W (USB device consumption not included)
* Standby: 1W
# Box contents MNP-101 Media Player
* 240V Power Adapter
* Composite and Component Video Cables
* Remote Control with 2 "AAA" batteries
Review
Looks:
Nowhere near any of the best looking gadgets I have ever seen. But I don't really care that much.
Installation and configuration:
simple and straightforward. Nothing fuzzy. I connected the power lead, hdmi cable, an ethernet cable and then powered it up. It automatically obtained IP address using DHCP from my dhcp server and connected to the network without any problem. It also automatically discovered the networked neighbours using SAMBA. And only asked for user name and password when the resource being accessed requires authorization. The resource can be saved as a shortcut along with the login info for future use.
User Interface:
Simple and intuitive. Wish it could remember last folder I played from but nothing serious to complain about so far.
[update] one of my mates bought a xtreamer player and I had a look at it, its UI is much much worse than this MNP player, although basic functionality are similar if not exactly same.
Issues found with regards to formats/codecs:
- The support of full HD (1080P) h.264 encoded in MOV container is poor. It can open the file, but become unwatchable after a few seconds due to serious glitches. This limitation is probably forgivable given the fact that even Apple QuickTime Player running on my Intel E8400 computer is suffering from glitches. Apprarently, you need a Q6600 or better to be able to play those file smoothly. BTW, the video files used for testing is produced from my Canon 5D MarkII camera.
- As stated in the spec, DTS audio in the video file can only be passed through, which means if you try to play a video file with DTS audio and are not connecting the S/PDIF output to a receiver capable of decoding DTS, there will be no sound.
Surprisingly, the player is unable to open the recording files produced from my HTPC using MediaPortal software. The screen just went black but can return to menu if you press Stop button. This issue only occurs if the file is streamed/shared from another computer in the network. If you copy the file to a USB hard drive and plug it on to one of the USB ports of the player, the file plays fine. [2010-03 update] the latest firmware upgrade has fixed this issue. Very happy now.
- Apart from the problem listed above, no other issues. Decoding full-hd rip in avi/mkv containers without any problem (as long as the audio is not DTS).
Stablibility:
A few crashes/reboots. A bit annoying but not to the point of extreme frustration.
Conclusion
The movies/tv dramas to be watched through this player are typically avi/mkv/rmvbs, in sd or 720p, and rarely have DTS audio. For this task, this player serves well, at a very reasonable price, despite of its moderate looking.
The biggest gripe is its incapability to play the mpeg file produced from my HTPC from network. Since I recorded quite a few tv shows for the kids, this issue is quite a disappointment. The tech support is blaming the switch used in my network but I tried different switches, different topology and they all failed so I personally believe it has something to do with the player itself. Note these files do play fine from USB portable hard drive plugged into the player.[2010-3 update] Latest firmware has fixed the recording playback issue.
Having said above, if I wants to get some serious full-hd movie fun, I'll go to the HT room, lock the kids and grandparents out, and power up the HTPC.
Overall I am giving it 8 out 10, it basically does the job that I expected it to do, at a very reasonable price (I paid AUD$169 for it and it came with a bonus HDMI cable).
[2010-3 update] The price has dropped to $89, and as the latest firmware fixed the recording playback issue, now I can seriously recommend it!
A while ago, WDTV player has been quite popular, but it was off the table immediately due to the lack of network capability. The lately, the most talked-about player is PPopcorn Hour C-200
This particular model looks a perfect one on the paper. Additional features include wmv support, internal hard drive, gigabit-network, and Bluray support. Do note the bluray drive is optional and can be added by the user themselves though. Of course the price tag is high as well ($449 advertised). To me, I don't see I will need most of the advanced features in any near future, hence I think it a overkill for my requirements here.
After looking around for a while, I bought a MNP-101 1080p Media Player last week.
Specification
# Main Chipset: Realtek 1073
# Supported Video containers:
* MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V)
* MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG)
* MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS)
* VOB
* AVI, ASF, WMV
* Matroska (MKV)
* AVC HD
* MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4
* FLV - Flash Video
* RMVB (Not listed in the official spec but tested and confirmed)
# Video codecs:
* XVID SD/HD
* MPEG-1
* MPEG-2
o MP@HL
* MPEG-4.2
o ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC
* WMV9
o MP@HL
* H.264
o BP@L3
o MP@L4.0
o HP@L4.0
o HP@L4.1
* VC-1
o MP@HL
o AP@L3
# Audio containers:
* AAC, M4A
* MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA)
* WAV
* WMA
* FLAC
* OGG
# Audio codecs:
* Dolby Digital
* DTS (Passthrough Only)
* WMA, WMA Pro
* AAC
* MP1, MP2, MP3
* Itune
* FLAC
* Vorbis
#Photo & Subtitle
* JPG(40-mega pixel without limitation of resolution, Baseline), BMP, PNG, GIF, TIF, TIFF
* srt, sub, smi, *idx+sub, ssa, DVD subtitle, DivX subtitle
#Connections
* 2x USB 2.0
#AV In / Out
* HDMI v1.3 (up to 1080p)
* Composite Video
* Component Video
* Stereo Analog Audio
* S/PDIF Optical Digital Audio
# Network
* 10/100Mb Ethernet
* WIFI (optional)
* UPnP
* Samba
# Power Cinsumption
* Operation: 4.8W (USB device consumption not included)
* Standby: 1W
# Box contents MNP-101 Media Player
* 240V Power Adapter
* Composite and Component Video Cables
* Remote Control with 2 "AAA" batteries
Review
Looks:
Nowhere near any of the best looking gadgets I have ever seen. But I don't really care that much.
Installation and configuration:
simple and straightforward. Nothing fuzzy. I connected the power lead, hdmi cable, an ethernet cable and then powered it up. It automatically obtained IP address using DHCP from my dhcp server and connected to the network without any problem. It also automatically discovered the networked neighbours using SAMBA. And only asked for user name and password when the resource being accessed requires authorization. The resource can be saved as a shortcut along with the login info for future use.
User Interface:
Simple and intuitive. Wish it could remember last folder I played from but nothing serious to complain about so far.
[update] one of my mates bought a xtreamer player and I had a look at it, its UI is much much worse than this MNP player, although basic functionality are similar if not exactly same.
Issues found with regards to formats/codecs:
- The support of full HD (1080P) h.264 encoded in MOV container is poor. It can open the file, but become unwatchable after a few seconds due to serious glitches. This limitation is probably forgivable given the fact that even Apple QuickTime Player running on my Intel E8400 computer is suffering from glitches. Apprarently, you need a Q6600 or better to be able to play those file smoothly. BTW, the video files used for testing is produced from my Canon 5D MarkII camera.
- As stated in the spec, DTS audio in the video file can only be passed through, which means if you try to play a video file with DTS audio and are not connecting the S/PDIF output to a receiver capable of decoding DTS, there will be no sound.
- Apart from the problem listed above, no other issues. Decoding full-hd rip in avi/mkv containers without any problem (as long as the audio is not DTS).
Stablibility:
A few crashes/reboots. A bit annoying but not to the point of extreme frustration.
Conclusion
The movies/tv dramas to be watched through this player are typically avi/mkv/rmvbs, in sd or 720p, and rarely have DTS audio. For this task, this player serves well, at a very reasonable price, despite of its moderate looking.
Having said above, if I wants to get some serious full-hd movie fun, I'll go to the HT room, lock the kids and grandparents out, and power up the HTPC.
Overall I am giving it 8 out 10, it basically does the job that I expected it to do, at a very reasonable price (I paid AUD$169 for it and it came with a bonus HDMI cable).
[2010-3 update] The price has dropped to $89, and as the latest firmware fixed the recording playback issue, now I can seriously recommend it!
[本日志由 黄敏 于 2010-06-23 08:43 PM 编辑]
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Tags: MNP-101 mediaplayer rmvb H.264 full-hd
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黄敏[2009-10-14 05:00 PM | 
]Yes, I have the luck to try both players and can confirm both support RMVB files, despite of the fact it is not listed. I believe the reason of them not listing the format in the official spec is because of the licensing issue of RealMedia. AFAIK, RM licensing is always messy (pricey?).
If the player is on RTD1073 chip, it should support RMVB files, which is confirmed in the review, however it is not so listed in specs.
I am wondering if the same mistake happens on Xtremer player which says it used RTD128X chip yet also not listing RMVB in its specs?
I am wondering if the same mistake happens on Xtremer player which says it used RTD128X chip yet also not listing RMVB in its specs?
I am not very familiar with these chipsets, but I find this article very insightful.
What a price! How is this realtek chipset compared to Sigma?
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