This was posted 14 years 7 months 7 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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*Expired* Asus media player: $118 delivered / shoppingsquare (24hr sale)

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*Expired* Asus media player: $118 delivered / shoppingsquare (24hr sale)
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PYou and Me on 09/04/2010 - 14:25 shoppingsquare.com.au (796 clicks)
Last edited 10/04/2010 - 16:55

The Asus O!Play HDP-R1 is unsurpassed at this pricepoint.

For a comparison with WD TV Live see here.
For a review collation see here.

Many people choose the Asus over the WD as it plays ISO files of discs ripped to a hard drive (menu intact) and uses eSata in addition to USB2 and LAN. (see Amazon, New Egg.)

Credit to rep, danilochan, for posting this recently (with cheaper shipping — grrr). I thought I'd draw attention to this for anyone who missed the deal, as it's still the best non-import price ($140+del) and $50 less than its main rival, the WD TV.

Make sure you update the firmware: O!Play R1 update guide.

The WD TV may still suit some people for it's specific features (DTS movie audio) so see the comparison link.

There is a successor, Asus O!Play Air HDP-R3 ($173+del) and an O!Play HD2 also coming out.

Updated: All three versions feature eSata (still faster than USB3 in reality) and the HD2 will feature USB3. The R3 has wireless networking and a card reader. The firmware download pages detail the progress of each release:

Asus O!Play HDP-R1
Asus O!Play Air HDP-R3

Notably: "BD iso navigation and subtitle identification" and "BD/DVD direct play by folder" (both R1 + R3).

Updated: I’ve bought from ShoppingSquare a couple of times without any issues.

They’re a “rockbottom prices” driven shop, so you could expect that their service quality will be low, and older threads certainly indicate cases of dissatisfaction. Davo1111's OzBargain thread cover's this, and here is a recent gamer discussion. There are few scores on the PC Shops Guide from Whirlpool (3 good, 2 bad.)

There is no surcharge on credit cards. They offer 1.6% to 2% cashback. ABN history + company info + terms.

I think Asus is a brilliant company, I like their willingness to consider design and human values, and I find their products reliable and well thought-out. They appear to have a genuine interest in what they do.

Entertainment ASUS eSATA Flv Iso Media Player

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closed Comments

  • thefunkygibbon on 09/04/2010 - 14:49

    A (reasonably long) video review of each…

    http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2911/asus_o_play_hdp_r1_108…
    http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2976/western_digital_wd_tv_…

    While I wouldn't say this isn't a bargain, I would personally spend the extra on the WDLive… Seems to me the Asus is missing a few features. The interface is a little bit behind the the WDLive, not being able to play bluray rips (and some other formats) and the size are also negatives for me.

    • You and Me on 09/04/2010 - 17:22

      I understand that bluray rips can be played with current firmware. Several Amazon reviewers refer to this.

      Here is a post that may help. I'm unsure if there's been another update since the thread was posted since some people are playing them without hiccoughs.

      As stated, this device had firmware issues when it was released last year, yet, several updates have stabilised it.

      Update: Excerpts from firmware release notes: “BD iso navigation and subtitle identification” and “BD/DVD direct play by folder” (both R1 + R3).

  • thefunkygibbon on 09/04/2010 - 14:51
    +1

    Ohh and wtf is with all the bolding? can you remove it or a mod clean it up…

    • Mikinoz on 09/04/2010 - 14:52
      +1

      bloody oath !

    • You and Me on 09/04/2010 - 15:14
      +2

      Ok, point taken.

      I'm assuming people don't have much time and will just scan the page for what's salient to them. I'm still getting the hang of it, so I'll be more mindful of this.

      • [Deactivated] on 09/04/2010 - 21:36
        +3

        I like the bolding it draws attention to the important parts.

        In fact I like that you have taken so much time to make the post so informative.

        This is how everyone should post!

  • heathwithnoteeth on 09/04/2010 - 15:01
    -2

    i wish more people used BOLD…

    • stumo on 09/04/2010 - 18:18
      -1

      Yeah but there is a big difference between using bold and over-using bold.

      • KiwiRoo on 09/04/2010 - 21:52

        Yep.. a bit annoying…. Personally I would use the bold only on "Make sure you update the firmware" :)

  • POWERevolution on 09/04/2010 - 15:04

    Consider as dupe as it can be update from other post
    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/24050

    • thefunkygibbon on 09/04/2010 - 15:11

      Good point…

    • You and Me on 09/04/2010 - 15:21
      +1

      I did wonder about that, but decided to go ahead with it since interested people may have visited it while it was expired and missed out.

      Perhaps some kind of "refresh" feature could be implemented on OzBargain.

  • skysky on 09/04/2010 - 15:46

    hmmm.. interesting.. but my PS3 does the job perfectly for me.. Streams DVD ISOs, BluRays, Xvid, etc. from my server..

    But of course, for those without a home server.. this would probably come in handy.

  • dazza76 on 09/04/2010 - 19:30

    has anybody compared 1 of these to a astone ap-110d or ap-300

    Cheers

    D

    • You and Me on 09/04/2010 - 20:09

      Here's a page from TweakTown that makes comparisons between the Asus O!Play HDP-R1 and the Astone AP-100. It has an embedded video review (with an Australian voiceover) of the Asus O!Play HDP-R1, and a link to a video review of Astone AP-100. (Asus is favoured: "probably the best media player we've seen so far…silent and runs cool." — Sep 2009.)

  • You and Me on 09/04/2010 - 19:49

    Here's a video review from January that features "playing [a blu-ray rip] flawlessly."

  • shopbot on 09/04/2010 - 20:48

    Hey "you and me",

    It seems like your still unsure if the new firmware of the R1 is up to scratch. Is that what you are trying to say when you stated that the R3 has a more stable firmware then the updated R1 firmware?

    I would assume the updated firmware on the R1 wouldn't have any problems like the R3.
    I'm getting the R1 since I don't need the wireless function.
    Just wondering if there's other issues on the R1 I'm unaware of…

    • [Deactivated] on 09/04/2010 - 21:40

      I think he meant that the Wireless version has more stable firmware?

      • You and Me on 09/04/2010 - 22:08

        Actually, from what I can tell they're probably on a par now, so I'll delete that from the description.

        The firmware download pages detail the progress of each release:

        Asus O!Play HDP-R1
        Asus O!Play Air HDP-R3

        They look quite similar.

        • shopbot on 09/04/2010 - 22:19

          Thats good to hear. Thanks for the replies.

          I wonder what else needs improving with the R1 since the firmware is still ongoing.
          Looking forward to my R1. Hopefully all goes well. =)

    • You and Me on 09/04/2010 - 21:41

      Asus has been responsive with firmware for the R1, and I'm confident that R1's firmware is up to scratch. (So many people are very happy with it, saying: "this thing will play anything I throw at it" — even with the early firmware.)

      Keep in mind that I'm holding Asus to a high standard that I would not expect of a lesser known company: there's no question that the R1 will play anything that I'm going to ask it to, but it's also clear that the firmware development is ongoing - so something's improving.

      Upshot is: I've read enough to induce me to buy the R1 today, rather than the R3 which I had previously been tempted to buy on the assumption that it was newer and therefore better.

      As for the R3, I haven't delved into it since first hearing about it. (At the time I heard that the firmware was more stable.)

      Note: I scavenged much of the prose for the deal from some comments I'd made on the previous version of this deal - so it probably has a more prohibitive tone. My aim is to help people make decisions, not to sell anything, so if there's something bad or unclear I want to convey that, hence my hesitation with the firmware. I've scouted around some more since posting, and I'm confident enough to expect it to be completely hunkydory as soon as I update it and get it into action.

      Hope that helps. I'll update you once I've gotten it — it's likely to be on special more often now that the R3 is more available, so you could probably afford to wait until the next time.

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