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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Player Setup: Not Much Of Use Here

Lots of setup options? Don't be fooled by its looks.

While the player's preference list contains all the absolutely critical functions, it dispenses completely with any instructions or explanations. Users are left scratching their heads over mysterious acronyms and jargon in both English and Chinese. The manual also lacks clear answers regarding what kinds of effects a modification might produce.

Selecting the TV standard

Two language versions are available

The on-screen text can be deactivated

Resetting the screen

File sorting

(De-)activating the screensaver

Source:- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hard-disk-drive-video-players-hit-mainstream,1107-8.html

Setup Menu: Audio And Video

Not needed, since the remote has buttons that do the same things

Setup Menu: Slideshow

Image display settings

 

Source:- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hard-disk-drive-video-players-hit-mainstream,1107-7.html

Not Many Setting Options Either

The main menu on the setup page

To get to the setup menu you have to push a button on the remote control. You'll search in vain for many menu options to configure, though. The menus are superfluously large, making it seem as if you have a lot of options to set, but you really don't.

Setup Menus: Photo Settings

Slideshow setting options

Source:- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hard-disk-drive-video-players-hit-mainstream,1107-6.html

Spartan User Menu

The main menu is frugal and dispenses with all manner of frills

The player can be unpacked and hooked up in a jiffy. Besides plugging in the small power supply, all you have to do is connect the box to a TV. The unit only functions without the PSU when it's plugged into a USB port on a computer, where it functions just as an external file storage device. The HP-25OTG likewise requires an electrical socket somewhere within a cable's reach of the power supply to work on the road.

A piece of protective plastic inside the remote prevents the battery from running down before purchase, and is easy to remove. Once you've done so, the remote control is good to go. The LED starts blinking when you turn the power switch on; the unit boots within seconds, and then a very lean main menu appears on the screen. Its four buttons take you to the respective submenus. Note that with this player, "File" describes a kind of directory structure in which you can navigate to directly select the individual files you want.

Nine images are viewable in the preview

Long names are a good thing for MP3 files

The sound equalizer during MP3 playback

Located video files are played back in a preview window under the file menu

Minimalist display for video and audio files

Source:- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hard-disk-drive-video-players-hit-mainstream,1107-5.html

Here's How The Multimedia Player Looks Inside

The actual hardware is mounted inside the unit with four tiny screws. A small board is visible containing the 2.5" hard drive; all other components, including the decoder chip and flash memory, are located next to the drive. The back of the board is nearly devoid of components, as the player doesn't need much hardware for its decoding work.

Compact board with pre-mounted 2.5" drive

The back of the player board

Source:- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hard-disk-drive-video-players-hit-mainstream,1107-4.html