The package comes with almost everything you need to setup including a standard HDMI cable. The design looks similar to the previous HD720 player. However, there are a few changes with the addition of micro-USB port in the back. The main feature about this media player is that it comes preloaded with Android and XBMC. It also has ability to load 3.5" hard drives (upto 4TB) so you can load a lot of offline content as well. The player comes preloaded with Android OS, which means whatever apps you can use on your android phone/tablet, you can use them on this player via the playstore app. While the interface is not as refined as apple TV or roku, it is not that bad either. I've used this mainly for streaming ESPN, Xfinitygo and Netflix, for which it did a great job. No buffering or lag issues. It comes with two remotes one is a standard IR remote which can be used for controlling the media. The other one is a QWERTY remote with motion control, which works with the supplied USB receiver. The standard IR remote is not that responsive as you have to point it at the player every time you have to use it. It is mainly good for the movie playback. However, the QWERTY remote is pretty responsive and does a good job for android as well as XBMC. The IR remote uses 2 AAA batteries and the QWERTY remote is rechargeable using a micro-USB cable which comes with the pack. Plus if you like you can also add a full size keyboard/mouse like Logitech K400 by hooking its receiver to the USB port. The other great thing about this player is you can attach any standard plug and play USB webcam and use it to video chat using skype or oovoo. When it comes to playing media files this player handles almost every format that I threw at including 1080p MKVs and BD ISOs. It does a great job at playing the 3D files if you are into that. The frame transition was silky smooth in 1080p videos as you would expect from such strong hardware profile with no lags whatsoever. You can save all your media on the HDD using the USB 3.0 cable or play your external HDD through USB port and even your SD cards with the provided slot. Overall, If you are looking for a player that does a good job in streaming media as well as playing local content, you have a very few options to choose from. This player is an excellent start for how such hybrid players should be. That being said, it does come with its flaws but none of them are major as far as I could experience.

• published: 06 Aug 2014
• views: 29