Product Showcase

AC Ryan PlayOn!HD Mini

Here we have the Playon!HD Mini, a very cute little (151 x 102 x 42mm) box. Once powered on or off it will show a red/blue colored logo. I honestly wish that companies stop doing that, we do not want to stare at LED lit brand logos while watching a movie.

Though the design itself is fine, that LED lit logo is a little screamy. At the foreside there is furthermore a power on button, and that's it.

The backside of the Playon!HD Mini is surprisingly well equipped with connectivity. This is a 80 EUR device yet you get a very decent feature set. From left to right we can see the power-connector, a 100 Mbit Ethernet jack that you can plug into your local network (that's how you access your content).

Then we see a HDMI 1.3 connector, ideally you hook it to an AV receiver that will decode the multi-channel audio and then pass through the TV/video signal towards your telly. There are four RCA connectors for component and composite video output, as well as two for left/right stereo channels should you require analog audio. Then we see two USB host ports -- you can plug in the wireless dongle here but also insert a USB stick with content or, and we do recommend this ... upgrade to the latest firmware over USB.

But let's take a look at that other unit, the Playon!HD with a 1TB HDD.