AC Ryan PlayOn! HD Mini 2 Network Media Player Review

1. Introduction2. The PlayOn! HD Mini 2 Player3. Software and Performance (1)4. Software and Performance (2)5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

We were impressed with AC Ryan's original PlayOn! HD Mini network media player which offered good performance and numerous features even if the user interface was a little rough round the edges.  But with this second version, the user interface is vastly improved and the feature set has grown to include internet media access and a gigabit Ethernet connection.

The PlayOn! HD Mini 2 is very understated in design but is attractive nonetheless.  It feels very securely put together and all the materials seem to be of decent quality.  One of our favourite aspects of the HD Mini 2 is the passive cooling design which means it remains silent.  This isn't the case with the larger PlayOn! HD products as they require more cooling.

We think the latest version of the software is much improved over the previous versions, especially the internet media integration.  It is a little unfortunate that you need a keyboard and mouse to use Facebook and Twitter but we can't think of any way AC Ryan could have easily avoided this.  It would have been nice, though, if they had included more than two USB ports to make sure there is room for a keyboard, mouse and an external hard drive or flash drive.

Another positive point of the HD Mini 2 is AC Ryan's support.  The entire PlayOn! HD range is covered by a 2 year warranty and AC Ryan are continually releasing firmware updates to improve the user experience.

For many people the decision to buy will come down to price.  Well the AC Ryan PlayOn! HD Mini 2 can be yours for a shade over £90 at Scan.  At this price we think it offers great value for money and should be affordable to most users.  For an extra £18 at Scan, you can add wireless functionality to the HD Mini 2 for those who don't have an Ethernet connection available.

Pros:

• Sleek Design
• Silent Passive Cooling
• Gigabit Ethernet Connection
• Attractive, Intuitive User Interface
• Good Value

Cons:

• More than two USB ports would have been nice

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