Don’t you wish that there were an easier way to enjoy your HD digital content in your living room? I’ve had the opportunity to review other multimedia players bound for the home theatre environment in the past, so I didn’t exactly have the highest of expectations for the Asus O! Play HDP-R1. I thought that this digital media player would be much the same as its direct competitors, but Asus has come forward with some features that you won’t find anywhere else.
Will the Asus HDP-R1 really offer you the “hassle-free multimedia playback without file conversion” that the Taiwanese company promises? Is the O!Play everything it’s cracked up to be? Let’s have a look and find out.
Features at a Glance
At first glance, the Asus O!Play HD Media Player looks very similar to its counterparts from competing companies. The overall aesthetics are strikingly similar to the Western Digital WDTV, but the exact specs and features appear to be superior in nearly every way.
The supported formats for video, audio, and images is quite extensive and I’ll be discussing them in further depth in just a moment. While it does not have a direct slot for an external hard drive like the Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD, the Asus O!Play will gladly accept external storage media via USB or eSATA. Yes, it will take an eSATA drive!
If you prefer to run content over your home network, the Asus HDP-R1 is also equipped with a standard RJ-45 LAN port. There is no integrated Wi-Fi, however, so you’ll have to stick with a wired connection. This does help to ensure higher speeds for file transfer.
Looking in the Box
Cracking open the attractive box, you’ll find almost everything that you’ll need to get started. In addition to the O!Play HDP-R1 itself, there is the AC power adapter, remote with batteries, composite A/V cable, user manual on CD, and a Quick Start Guide.
You’ll need to provide some storage of your own and there’s a good chance that you’ll want to take advantage of the HDMI output using an appropriate cable too. The Quick Start Guide also reminds you that this media player “is for media materials legally owned or licensed by the user only.” We’ll all be sure to keep that in mind, right?
A Real Remote for a Real Media Player
Unlike nearly all the other HD multimedia players that we see in the marketplace, Asus did not opt for the credit card-style wireless remote. Instead, the provided remote control is a little more conventional both in look and form factor.
You’ll also notice the slightly larger “music note” button near the bottom. This provides one-touch access to a shuffled music player, grabbing tunes from any connected USB or eSATA drives. This is pretty handy. There are also dedicated buttons for controlling subtitles, audio tracks, and repeat.
Connectivity Options
Swinging around to the back of the Asus media player, we find almost everything that we would want. If you are still rocking an old boob tube or you don’t have the available HD ports on the back of your television, the O!Play lets you do your thing via analog stereo audio and a composite video connection. There is no component output.
Moving to the digital side, you’ll find digital audio via SPDIF, which means that if your multimedia content is coded up for 5.1 surround sound, the Asus O!Play will let you do that. Next to the SPDIF port is the HDMI port, which is probably the one that you should be using. The O!Play does do full 1080p HD. There’s also the LAN port for connecting to your network.
Along the left side (when viewed from the front), the Asus O!Play HDP-R1 gets two more ports. The one on the left is meant to be a combination port for eSATA or USB 2.0, though I believe you need an adapter to do the latter. On the right side is a standard USB 2.0 port. Through either of these, you can connect flash drives, portable hard drives, and other similar storage solutions. Alternatively, you can do the NAS thing through the aforementioned LAN port in the back.
To my knowledge, the inclusion of the eSATA port is unique to the Asus product. This is a huge plus for ensuring that your full 1080p is enjoyed as it should be enjoyed.
Impressive File Format Support
While the LAN and eSATA ports are certainly appreciated, the single biggest reason why I like the Asus product better than some of its competitors is the improved file format support list. The WDTV was already pretty good, but the O!Play is better.
In addition to the usual AVI thing, the Asus O!Play will also do MP4, MOV, Xvid, DivX, FLV, VOB, DAT, and more. It’s also very notable that this player will handle RMVB and MKV files. This is huge for people who like Taiwanese dramas, Japanese Anime, and other similar kinds of overseas content.
Even when it came to what I thought were standard old AVI files, I came across several video files that would not play on my Xbox 360 Media Center. They were perfectly fine with the Asus O!Play, however.
On-Screen Menu Interface
The user interface is relatively simple with the O!Play, but it is perfectly effective. The main menu takes on the appearance of a turntable, rotating you between movies, music, pictures, settings, and file transfer.
While deeper in the menus, you can switch between the different “modes” by hitting the mode button on the remote.
Unlike your iPod, the Asus O!Play does not appear to have the ability to read ID3 tags. Instead, it just shows the raw file name. You go through the hierarchal structure of your connected flash drive. The interface isn’t exactly robust, but it works. I also appreciate the ability to adjust the volume from the O!Play itself, instead of having to reach for my TV remote.
When you are browsing through videos and pictures, you actually get a preview in the upper-right window. The movie files will start to autoplay, just like on the Seagate FreeAgent Theater.
And the Extra Bonus Features
As I mentioned earlier in this review, I really like the improved file format support with the Asus O!Play. The great support of RMVB and MKV files is of particular note, but what if you don’t want to bother saving these videos onto an external hard drive or USB flash drive? That’s where the LAN port comes into play.
It’s unfortunate that there is no wireless streaming possibility with Wi-Fi, but the LAN port means that you can latch onto your home network and “see” your computer (or NAS) right from the O!Play. When you hop into any of the different modes, the first thing that it will ask is whether you want to access the network or the attached storage. From there, it’s completely seamless and the speed appears to be quite good.
Just like how you could with a regular DVD movie playing on a regular DVD player, you have the ability to select different audio tracks and subtitle tracks if your selected files support this functionality. I don’t know how useful this would be, but you can also zoom in on any scene that you’d like. The multi-stage zoom is standard with a lot of DVD players, but it is interesting how the O!Play can do this both with paused stills and with the video while it is still playing.
Final Thoughts
Taking on similar dimensions as compact 3.5″ portable hard drive enclosures, the Asus O!Play HDP-R1 HD Media Player is truly the best of its kind. It may not have any internal storage of its own, but most people are more than happy to provide their own flash drives for that purpose.
Even if they don’t want to take the USB route, the O!Play will also take on eSATA drives and even connect to your home network with its RJ-45 LAN port. That network connectivity is great, but it is a shame that you don’t get to this through a wireless Wi-Fi connection instead.
I said it earlier, but this is worth reiterating. The file format support in this product is very good. It’s better than the Seagate FreeAgent Theater, Western Digital WDTV, and the Xbox 360. This is the reason why you’d want something like this anyway. The quick access to a shuffled music player is a nice touch too.
Unless you want to take the route of a home theatre PC, the Asus O!Play HDP-R1 is probably your best option for bringing digitally downloaded HD content to your living room. If this is representative of how Asus plans on expanding its business into the consumer accessory market, we could be looking at an Eee PC-like revolution.
Pros
- Utterly stellar video format support
- Inclusion of LAN and eSATA ports
- Full 1080p HD output via HDMI
- Dedicated music player for quick song shuffle
- Built-in volume control
Cons
- No included storage
- Cannot stream content from Internet
- HDMI is only HD output option
- No integrated Wi-Fi for wireless connectivity
Overall Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
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