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COTD: Astone AP-360T PVR Media Player + WD 808GB HDD: $279+ $6.95 Shipping

170

Astone Media Gear AP-360T 1080p Media Player with PVR & HDTV Tuner

Link: http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/smallfish_info.php?products_…

Western Digital WD8088AADS 808.8G 32M IntelliPower SATA2 Caviar Green Hard Drive inside

Model name: Astone Media Gear AP-360T
Disc format: FAT16/FAT32/NTFS/UDF
Subtitle: Chinese Traditional/Chinese Simplified/UTF8/Europe
Resolution: 1080p HD decoding & output, upscaling, CVBS & YPbPr & HDMI output simultaneously
Aspect ratio: Pan Scan 4:3 / Letterbox 4:3 /16:9
Video Interface: CVBS composite RCA Video, YPbPr RCA, HDMI 1.3
Analog Audio: Analog: AUDIO L/R RCA
Digital Audio: SPDIF, TOSLINK & Coaxial, HDMI
USB: USB 2.0, 5V-1000mA, For USB External HDD, USB Flash Disk, USB DVD-ROM¹
SATA II: For internal 3.5" SATA II HDD x 1
Ethernet: RJ-45 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port
Analog Video Record: NTSC/PAL
Record quality: HD, HQ, SP, LP, EP, SLP
DTV Support: DVB-T, DTV EPG
Record Function: DTV EPG / Timer Recording, Pause Live TV, one-touch recording
Movie Video: MPEG-1 (DAT / MPG / MPEG); MPEG-2 (MPG / MPEG / VOB / ISO / IFO / TS / TP) MPEG-4 (MP4 / AVI / MOV); DivX 3/4/5/6, Xvid (AVI / MKV) H.264 AVC (TS / AVI / MKV / MOV) VC-1 (TS / AVI / MKV / WMV); WMV 9 (WMV); Real Video HD 8/9/10 (RM / RMVB); FLV (FLV)
Movie Audio: Dolby Digital AC3/Plus/TrueHD, DTS/HD Master Audio/LBR, LPCM, MPEG-I Layer 1/2/3, MPEG-II Layer 1/2 multichannel, MPEG-4 HE AACv2, Real Audio
Movie Subtitle: srt, sub, smi, idx+sub², ssa, DVD subtitle, DivX subtitle
Music: MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, AAC, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, iTune, M4A(AAC), M3U(Playlist)
Photo: JPG(40-mega pixel without limitation of resolution, Baseline), BMP, PNG, GIF, TIF, TIFF
Power rating: +12V 2A
Power consumption: Operation: 7 W (USB device/HDD consumption not included)
Standby: 0.5 W
Size: 206 x 151.5 x 51 mm (L x W x H)
Operation temperature: 0-40 Celsius
Package Contents
AP-360T HD Media Player
Power adapter
Remote control unit
AAA batteries
Mini jack to RCA composite cable
RCA YPbPr cable
User's manual

12 Month Warranty

More info: http://www.astone.com.au/index.php?productID=27

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closed Comments

  • +1

    Its $20 cheaper then previous COTD offer

    Cheapest can be found currently from Citry Software: $298 + Shipping

    http://www.citysoftware.com.au/Astone_AP-360T_PVR_Media_Play…

  • +3

    http://www.astone.com.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=24

    forum for this player…..contains firmware upgrades, etc

  • What's the interface like on this one? I've been looking around for something to replace my rapidly degrading XBMC/Xbox, but everything so far I've seen has a very substandard interface and feature set..

    • +2

      find an old pc, stick a cheap graphics card in it with tv out if you need it, and install xbmc for windows or xbmc live (linux on it). Problem solved :-)

      • Not sure why you're being neg'd here — HTPCs are better than PVRs.

        • Agreed…gave ya a +ve muzzamo

      • It will be much more user friendlier and usable than AP-360T, however, power consumption and noise may be a problem

        • Run it on one of the new nvidia ion cards.. Then just get a low powered CPU (i.e. atom) and you're good to go.

    • The interface is no where near as nice as xbmc … but then again, nothing is! The interface is simple but perfectly usable and intuitive.

      I bought one from COTD last year to replace my xbox running XBMC. Note that this is also a PVR, so it does more than XBMC, but isn't as pretty.

      It's had some issues, but I've been happy with Astone's efforts to work through them and it's a very good product for the price. I'd certainly recommend for someone who doesn't want to spend the cash on, say, a WDTV, and then ALSO have to buy a PVR. This box will save you a heap of cash.

      Just my thoughts though.

      Also be aware that it's only got a single tuner inside. Some people don't like that. If you have a tuner built in to your tv, then it's not a problem for most.

    • Check out the Popcorn Hour C-200… its a cut above any of the other media players Ive owned… might suit you.
      Optionally install a SATA DVD or BluRay optical drive inside it and it could replace your DVD player too.

  • Why does the link show me the iphone battery?

  • There is no ROM disc slot - so can i play BR's ISO in this one?

    • You can use a DVD portable player like http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=4… to play material on DVD's. NOTE - the unit will NOT play a 'Protected' DVD which is most commercial DVDs.

      Note that some portable DVD drives are incompatible with the Realtek chipset used in the 360T. The LG one works perfectly.

      Ozzie

  • +1

    I have one of these units.2 have already gone back for repair.
    Constant drop outs and network issues.
    Whilst watching a movie it stops and only way to start again is to reconnect to network or reboot.
    Have tried different routers etc and same problem.

    • +1

      have you tried the firmware updates on it?

      • Yep tried all of them.

  • +3

    I bought 1 of these for my Dad late last year. The amount of problems we had with it was just n ot acceptable.

    I do think it CAN be 1 of the best media players out there, but it will take quite a bit of better coding than they currently have done with the firmware.

    I think a bunch of uni grads could have done a better job!

    • I hope you have checked the Astone forum re returns and updates if you got it through COTD with the 808Gb disk - http://www.astone.com.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=24

      Ozzie

      • or this link even

        http://www.astone.com.au/forum/search.php?fid[]=24&sid=f3ad063ddd92ab4e2c91f40a7f124e47

  • +2

    The early batches of this unit had some troubles (especially the stock COTD were selling, from what I have read) but Astone have offered swaps for the updated units. The new units have overcome a lot of the earlier issues and with my unit it is doing everything that I can throw at it. It is a great little box.

    Before I bought one of these I would find out what firmware it is running, so you know if you are getting old or new stock. I had a 7.2 which had problems which I returned and it was replaced with a 7.5 which which overcome the issues (they are up to 7.6 at the moment). I wouldn't get anything less than a 7.5 as you will likely need to return it.

    • Note that froodo is referring to firmware versions which you can upgrade yourself. Astone mentioned a particular hardware batch (which can be verified via the serial number on the box) was prone to issues. These are the ones that they're replacing if you request it. It's all on their forums which was linked to above.

      • Agreed, I didn't make the point clearly but I was just trying to say the older the firmware the higher the likely hood that you are getting older stock (that may or may not have hardware issues).

      • Is there a way to for comsumers to find out whether a unit belongs to this particular defective batch from the serial number? Or, do we have to ask them?

        • Astone advised that units with serial number AP360944XXX were part of the troubled batch. they advised that if your serial number was in the above batch, and you are having problems recording, then you should take it in for replacement.

          I did exactly that and it was replaced with a AP360949XXX unit from memory. The 2 numbers before the XXX relate to the week of 2009 that it was made. Ie. Week 44 units from 2009 potentially have issues.

          Cheers.

          • @sloppy: Thanks sloppy. Mine is indeed AP360944xxxx (four digits instead of 3).

            Could you post the link to the announcement from Astone? Thanks

            • @surm: I'm having trouble finding the thread where Astone announced the actual replacement situation. It was a weird one, because it was like a sticky thread in the topics section, as opposed to the announcements section where they normally sit. Maybe it got deleted at some point … there's heaps of talk on the forum about it though.

              Here's another thread which is about the replacement and this is the one where Astone mentioned the serial numbers:

              http://www.astone.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=517&p=29…

              • @sloppy: sticky thread before, but announcement now, one level above the sticky thread

                • @kkk: I remember there being a different sticky thread to the announcement that is there now … not really that important … except Astone were accepting returns from units purchased from COTD, but that announcement says otherwise … meh!

                  • @sloppy: Thanks sloppy. I noticed the "sticky" thread that gave instructions on how to return AP-360T units that have this particular problem, however, that thread can't be seen anymore. There is an announcement, but it is generic and caters for all warranty claims.

    • Hei Froodo

      Where did you get the latest version?
      Is there a Astone Rep in OZ (where you have returned the old version)
      Don't think we need to return the unit to Korea :)

      BTW - Do you know if the latest version got any more updates (Hardware etc) except if the firmware?
      Cheers

      • They have offices in NSW, QLD, VIC and WA:
        http://www.astone.com.au/index.php?show_aux_page=2

        I'm sure that someone will correct me if I am wrong but from what I see I think Astone import bare bones systems from asia and rebadge them and are writing there own firmware. Just the impression that I get.

        I am not sure what component had the problems but the new unit I got was identical in terms of specs.

  • Latest firmware is downloaded from the Astone forums:

    http://www.astone.com.au/forum/viewforum.php?f=24

    First thread at the top is always the latest firmware download and instructions. It also contains a changelog, so you can see what has been done between the different firmware versions on this thread also.

    Astone service centers (where you can swap the unit if you need to):

    http://www.astone.com.au/index.php?location=yes

    They were doing a mail-in for people who couldn't get to a service center … unsure who wore the postage cost in the end …

  • Does anyone know if this unit has been submitted to Logitech for inclusion in their Harmony remote database?

    • Yes it has. Basic functions work fine. Alternatively, you can have your harmony 'learn' additional commands, e.g. skip forward.

  • just wondering does any movie media player e.g. this one can play in a lcd monitor rather than a lad tv?

    • +1

      Yes as long as the inputs of the monitor match the outputs of the device ie Most of these can do rgb some high end monitors have rgb inputs etc

      dvi to hdmi is pretty good

      Hdmi from this player to dvi in the monitor

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