I cannot even imagine remembering a world without high definition media players, let alone live in such a world. The Western Digital TV created this new genre of devices which allows users to connect their hard drives to the TV and watch videos upscaled in high definition. Then Asus launched the O! Play range and Seagate came to the party with the FreeAgent Theatre+. Iomega and Amkette also launched their high definition media player offerings.
Some have been good, some have been disappointing. Despite the number of rivals swelling, Western Digital?s WD TV range still continues to be the best. When Apacer?s new AL670 media player arrived, it was a question of whether this will be in the category of ?Lots of potential, but not good enough??
Out of the box, the looks of the AL670 are a bit difficult to digest. The top has a silver metallic plate finish. Thankfully, it is not glossy! However, the rear panel has the input and output ports?HDMI, LAN, Optical audio as well as component and composite output using proprietary cables. The front panel has 2 USB input ports, which ruin the looks of the player. I fail to understand why Apacer could not install these ports on one of the side panels.
I connected the AL670 to a Samsung full high definition LCD television with a hard drive. The start up was as quick as the Western Digital Live and the Asus O! Play Air, but the moment the menu popped up, I was overcome with a sense of disappointment?huge icons, circular menu and looks complicated. Once you click on any of the icons, the next layer of menu which opens up is exactly similar to that of the Asus O! Play Air HD media player. Live thumbnails on the right side of the menu display the video as soon as you scroll on an item in the menu.
The playback begins almost instantly, and the video upscale quality is just fantastic. This was actually a surprise, considering the journey which began with the unboxing and then through the menu was filled with a sense of disappointment! Playback of AVI, MKV and even M2TS files was flawless. I did not face any problems with audio playback, since all containers are supported.
Another amazing feature is the ability to change the high definition resolution while watching a video?480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p. This is something I have seen in a media player for the first time. During playback, however, I noticed something very weird. The play/pause button can be used to pause the video but not play it again! For that, you need to press the ?select? button. It was quite annoying. The remote in general is just manageable. It is longer than those offered by the Western Digital TV or any of the other rivals, but is passable.
The AL670 offers LAN and wireless connectivity and allows users to download BitTorrent downloads on the media player itself. Overall, the Apacer AL670 is a decent media player which offers a lot of features at a price which is not too much. However, the looks are a bit annoying particularly when the media player is kept in the entertainment console. Also, the Western Digital Live has a better remote. I would suggest you check this out if the looks don?t bother you. Else, check out the WD TV Live which is available for about Rs 1k more.
? CyberMedia www.LD2.in
Mail:talkLD@cybermedia.co.in