The PCH is a great little device, and being able to add an internal hard drive makes it portable as well. There hasn't been a file I haven't been able to play on the PCH. Honestly though, the UI is pretty terrible, and the response time when using the remote to navigate can be slow. I think the UI is what is holding back the PCH from becoming more widely accepted. A solid alternative is the SageTV HD 200 extender.
Come on, the UI really isn't all that bad. It does the job and looks just fine. What do you expect from a device that isn't meant for and honestly isn't capable of a fancy UI with animation and stuff like that. I don't mind it at all. At least they tried to make it look nice. It has some nice glossy graphics with reflections and all that. Plus it's TOTALLY skinnable, so if you don't like it, change it.
That being said, I LOOOOVE my A-100. It plays EVERY file I throw at it. And yes, YAMJ is awesome!! i can't wait for excal's new skin to be released. It's looking great.
I'm sorry but the UI is THAT bad! This is coming from someone who has owned the PCH A-110 and replaced it with an Apple TV. Before you bash the Apple TV (I have my complaints about it too) I just want to mention that I have Boxee installed on it. Boxee allows me to play any format that the PCH can play. The only complaint is that Boxee can't take advantage of the GPU and so it can't play files with high bitrate.
The PCH is terrible for playing anything but movies. If your only trying to stream movies, then why not get the PCH, but the fact is your not paying much more for the ATV + Boxee... Anyway, I'm gonna get the Asus Eee Box 206 when it comes out, that should play my 1080p well
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
The PCH is a great little device, and being able to add an internal hard drive makes it portable as well. There hasn't been a file I haven't been able to play on the PCH. Honestly though, the UI is pretty terrible, and the response time when using the remote to navigate can be slow. I think the UI is what is holding back the PCH from becoming more widely accepted. A solid alternative is the SageTV HD 200 extender.
Come on, the UI really isn't all that bad. It does the job and looks just fine. What do you expect from a device that isn't meant for and honestly isn't capable of a fancy UI with animation and stuff like that. I don't mind it at all. At least they tried to make it look nice. It has some nice glossy graphics with reflections and all that. Plus it's TOTALLY skinnable, so if you don't like it, change it.
That being said, I LOOOOVE my A-100. It plays EVERY file I throw at it. And yes, YAMJ is awesome!! i can't wait for excal's new skin to be released. It's looking great.
I'm sorry but the UI is THAT bad! This is coming from someone who has owned the PCH A-110 and replaced it with an Apple TV. Before you bash the Apple TV (I have my complaints about it too) I just want to mention that I have Boxee installed on it. Boxee allows me to play any format that the PCH can play. The only complaint is that Boxee can't take advantage of the GPU and so it can't play files with high bitrate.
The PCH is terrible for playing anything but movies. If your only trying to stream movies, then why not get the PCH, but the fact is your not paying much more for the ATV + Boxee... Anyway, I'm gonna get the Asus Eee Box 206 when it comes out, that should play my 1080p well