Previous Miniature Player Asus - O! Play Mini, was a fairly successful model (see Overview B), but the lack of network functions was a serious disadvantage, which could not even have a very low cost. Therefore, the new model - ASUS O! Play Mini Plus, is of particular interest.

ASUS O! Play Mini Plus

Media player

Small size; Built-in Wi-Fi module; Gigabit Ethernet; low price

Lack of torrent client

Compact and functional media player

Externally, the player is very similar to its predecessor, with the exception of the body's texture - look as a result, it has become more interesting and slightly stricter. In front of the terms of the changes, there are no changes - there are an infrared receiver, a multi-format card reader, uSB port 2.0 and indicator of activity. But behind O! Play Mini Plus looks more interesting - to the former first model ports HDMI and S / PDIF added the Gigabit Ethernet connector and another USB 2.0 port, combined with ESATA. As a result, a full-size composite video output, as well as analog audio, had to abolish, replacing them with a combined A / V connector of a mini-jack format.

(front view)

(back view)

The remote control at O! Play Mini Plus is absolutely new - unexpectedly big (almost 2 times longer than the remote from O! Play Mini), it is comfortable in his hand, the buttons are quite large and logically arranged. True, due to the size of the upper block, the playback keys to use is not very convenient, the remote has something to intercept to reach one or other buttons. Amateurs social networksBy the way, can appreciate the presence of separate Facebook and Like keys. It is not entirely clear why it was necessary to do the entire front panel of glossy - fingerprints on it remain instantly.

Like the ViewRocket HD Agent, ASUS O! Play Mini Plus is based on the new Realtek RTD1185 chip, characterized by a higher performance, as well as a number of new features, such as downmix support in DTS Master Audio and Dolby Truehd stereo. The player is used passive coolingSo in the work he is absolutely silent.
Oh! Play Mini Plus menu is simple and visual, responsiveness for control from the remote control also at the level. The media content can be contacted both through Movies, Photo, Music, where all the found files of their type will be collected on all available media and using the file manager.

The player can be connected not only through Ethernet, but also on Wi-Fi - like Dune HD TV-101W, O! Play Mini Plus has a built-in wireless module.
From the Internet Services (their list, by the way, you can quickly call using a separate button on the remote control) Facebook (only photo / video viewer is supported), YouTube, Flickr, online radio, RSS tapes and a number of others. There is no full-fledged browser and torrent client.

Turning on the player - 25 seconds, which is quite a good result. Playback started for 6-8 seconds, depending on the video file, stop time - just over 2 sec. Performance test showed curious results: If when connected via an ESATA player, the player easily coped with a bit rate of 90 Mbps, then the USB slow-fixing began already in the area of \u200b\u200b50 Mbps - this means that if you plan to view heavy rips, it is better to take care of the acquisition of the appropriate drive . When playing video local network The built-in speed measurement system showed values \u200b\u200bjust above 40 Mbps for a 100 megabit connection, and the problems with playing test files began in the area of \u200b\u200b35 Mbps.

DVD and Blu-ray images are supported both in ISO files and in the form of folder structure (in the second case, you need to start the playback movie to play, because by pressing the OK key, the player opens it as a regular folder). Of the two different images of the DVD menu, it was possible to call only in one - in the second, the selection of the corresponding item led to return to the start of the disc playback. The Blu-Ray menu does not support, switching audio tracks and subtitles is carried out using the player's own menu.

In the test of subtitles O! Play Mini Plus coped with SRT, SSA and SUB / IDX formats - both embedded in the MKV file and external, and correctly displayed Cyrillic. Unfortunately, SSA styles are not supported, such subtitles are shown as ordinary text.

Specifications ASUS O! Play Mini Plus

Chipset REALTEK RTD1185.

Video outputs HDMI 1.3, composite

Audio outputs Analog (stereo), digital optical

Ports USB 2.0, USB 2.0 + ESATA, Gigabit Ethernet, Cardrider SD / MMC / MS / XD

Installing an internal storage Not

Wi-Fi Built-in module 802.11n.

Gabarits. 152 × 107 × 29 mm

Approximate price $125

In early 2011, we tested the player, which provides excellent video and audio formats thanks to the RealTek 1055 chipset with the SDK4 reference firmware, finalized by ASUS engineers. The MINI player has become a very popular product, which has been promoted and low price (from 2400 rubles). ASUS has sent a new MINI Plus model to the Chekanova Laboratory, which is very similar to Mini, but with an important addition: the Gigabit Network Port LAN and WiFi Support. Thus, this little box boldly declares competition with "adults" players, although it does not allow to install a rigid disk. But we have the right to expect some set of network functions, including the support of Internet services. The retail price is about a couple of thousand rubles above the ASUS Mini model - from 4400 rubles.

The top panel of the player is rifled with a patterned pattern of diamonds. In front, we get the same USB 2.0 port and "Cartorate" 4-B-1 SD / MS / XD / MMC as the MINI model. Honestly, we would prefer uSB interface 3.0, which provides a higher data transfer rate, especially since the corresponding snaps in the market is already enough. On the other hand, the real bandwidth up to 35 MB / s in USB 2.0 is sufficient for smooth playback of videos of any format. Also on the front panel there is a blue power indicator and an IR receiver window.

Behind the interface set slightly changed (from left to right): power socket, LAN port 1 Gb / s, USB 2.0 / ESATA combo port, window with a reset button, HDMI output 1.3, jack for connecting "pigtails" with analog audio / video outputs, optical Sound output. That is, in addition to the mini ports, you will receive another USB 2.0 port and ESATA port, the alignment of which allows you to connect ESATA-drives with power supply.

Outside it is not visible, but the player supports both the wireless network, and the modern 802.11n standard, which is also pleased with it. The player is compatible with previous 802.11b / g standards.

The player allows you to connect modern flat-panel TVs through the HDMI interface, and only a composite output is available for old analog televisions. That is, the full picture of the picture you will only get on a modern LCD TV. And if you have a decent analog model, you will have to be content with composite output - the least quality. It is a pity that the manufacturer has not provided the ability to connect through a component output or, at least, through SCART or S-Video, since the RealTek chipset has such capabilities. However, OT. compact player Mini Plus is unlikely to expect similar functions

Characteristics ASUS O! Play Mini Plus (manufacturer information)
Formats and codecs video	Formats: MPEG1 / 2/4, H.264, VC-1, RM / RMVB. Extensions: .mp4, .mov, .avi, .asf, .wmv, .flv, .mkv, .ts, m2ts, .dat, .mpg, .vob, .mts, .iso, .trp
Audio formats and codecs	MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG, FLAC, AIFF, Dolby Digital AC3M, DTS Digital Surround, Dolby Digital Plus., PCM / LPCM, Dolby Truehd, ID3 Tag
Images	JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
Subtitles	SRT, SUB, SMI, SSA, TXT
Audio and video outputs	HDMI (digital video and audio signals), composite video output, optical digital output SPDIF, stereo audio output

The package includes: player and remote control, cable and power supply, composite cable + analog stereo sound, documentation.

Asus has changed the design of the remote control, extending it and changing the layout. In our opinion, ergonomics in the previous console was better. But now we have received a completely decent set of buttons that allow you to directly get to all necessary functions.

Installation and Setup

We started tests from updating the player firmware. At the time of publication, version 2.01 was available on the ASUS website, which we downloaded and installed via a USB keychain.

After the player, the player offered to choose initial parameters: Menu language, time zone, local time and configuration of the LAN wired network.

The player successfully connected to our local network and received the IP address from the DHCP server.

Player settings are located in the appropriate "Settings" menu. There are six items in the Setup menu: "System", "Sound", "Video", "Network", "Account", "Other.". Item Account in our version of the firmware did not work - perhaps the manufacturer activates this feature later.

Item "Other." Allows you to find out the current firmware version, perform an update via the Internet or from USB keychain. It's nice to see that the player has learned to update the firmware directly from the Internet - we encounter such a function at ASUS for the first time.

The "System" menu allows you to exhibit basic system settings. You can change the menu language, specify the coding of the subtitle text, set the time, set the automatic playback of the disks when connected optical drive. You can configure the grip on the screensaver after the inactivity period (there is a function of outputting arbitrary photos from the Internet - "Flash" mode) and adjust the power saving mode. The "Renewal Renewal" item allows you to continue watching the film from the interrupted place.

You can also set the mini-keyboard language, automatic indexing (scanning) of the connected drives, turn off the blue light indicator (if it interferes with it), turn on the autorun of the content playback from the memory card.

The "Sound" menu allows you to set the night mode with a dynamic volume range restriction, select the sound mode for HDMI output. If you connect a regular TV with stereo speakers, the audio decoding should be performed on the player - HDMI LPCM mode. If you connect a multichannel sound, the player can perform a multichannel audio decoding - HDMI LPCM Multi CH mode. In the case of external audio decoding (if you connect a player via audio / video receiver), install HDMI RAW mode. Next in the "Sound" menu, the SPDIF output mode is displayed (external decoding or decoding on the player). The Surround Sound point includes a surround sound simulation on stereo speakers. The key "key volume" includes sound confirmation of keystrokes on the remote control.

The "Video" menu contains an item to change the image format (you can select a widescreen mode 16: 9 for modern flat-pastel TVs, as well as various stretch / trim modes when playing old content 4: 3). You can manually set the video output mode, enable the image reduction option (if the TV "tears" edge), as well as activate 1080p 24Hz mode, if it is supported by the TV.

Finally, the "Network" item allows you to configure wired and wireless connection. Wired connection We performed at the stage initial settingSo we decided to add a wireless connection to our WiFi network.

The player performed the search for wireless networks and successfully discovered our network. We entered the WPA protection key, then the player connected and received the IP address. WiFi Network Earned.

On this, the player setting is completed, go to the main functions.

Basic functions of player

The main menu of the player contains the following items: "Films", "Photos", "Music", "File Manager", "Setting", "IMS". We have already considered the player setting, we will turn to the "File Manager" (player, this item was called "Director of the File", but this is probably the firmware error).

Here you get access to the standard file structure, you can copy, delete, move and rename files. Built-in hard disk There is no dubious of the player, so the meaning of this feature is dubious. Is that it will be useful if you want to copy photos from a flash card or network to a USB drive.

Network resources are available. The player successfully connected to our computer under windows control 7 and got access to common resources. True, I had to specify the username of the PC and password.

If for some reason you are not satisfied with the function indexing function from the player, you can always use the "File Manager" for direct navigation through the file structure.

Watching films

In the Movies menu, the player displays all relevant files found on the connected drive. At the same time, it recognizes the structure of DVD images and Blu-Ray, so that the files of the files.vob i.m2ts you do not get.

The "Info" key allows you to display information about the film.

The "Option" key provides access to playback options. You can set the time interval ("skip the duration") to which the film arrows to the right / left movie will scroll.

In the Option menu, you can change the frame format (the same options are available as in the player settings menu), make brightness adjustments, contrast and saturation, although the same settings are best done on the TV.

You can choose the soundtrack.

And the path of subtitles. You can also set the location of subtitles on the screen, size, encoding, color and delay relative to the video.

And if necessary, you can go to the DVD menu using the first item in the Option menu. Note that the corresponding button on the remote control serves to call the DVD menu.

Also, using the "Option" and the "log in" key, you can go to any time of the movie in time, to any chapter or partition.

The "ZOOM" button on the remote control allows you to increase any fragment of the frame up to 8x.

Buttons quick rewind / back allow you to enable accelerated playback In the appropriate direction at speeds up to 32x.

Through the "Movies" menu, the player displays the DVD image in the form of a finished film, and through the "File Manager" you can go to the display of the image structure. To play a DVD movie in this case, select the video_ts.ifo file.

The same applies to both Blu-ray images. Through the "File Manager" you can play any container .M2TS optionally, and through the Movies menu - the main track.

The player remembers the place from which the film was interrupted. And when repeatedly selecting the film offers to resume viewing from the same place.

Separately, focus on the "Movies" menu, in which indexed movies are stored. The player recognizes images DVD. And Blu-ray, so the files of the files.vob i.m2ts you do not get. In addition, useful sorting options are available (by name, in size, according to popular, according to the newly added). You can display movies in the form of sketches or list.

There is an interesting option "Show DVD", which performs the appropriate function - only DVD / Blu-Ray films will be displayed.

View photos

Photos Player also index and displays in the appropriate menu.

By default, all the photos found are outlined, which is not very convenient. Therefore, it is reasonable to view photos of folders or albums (if the corresponding tag is set).

There is a fairly convenient viewing mode by the date of creation. The player creates virtual folders, and you can see photos taken on a specific vacation day.

Otherwise, the Options are ordinary: you can choose the slideshow interval and transition effects, specify the background music, select the slideshow mode. There is an effect of influxing Ken Burns. Also mention the appearance of a new option in the ASUS Plus Mini player: Publish a photo on Facebook.

Using the ZOOM key, you can enlarge the photo fragment.

Listening to music

In the "Music" menu, all indexed files are displayed. Therefore, it is reasonable to include any sorting options.

For example, enable album sorting. You can also sort according to the artist, by genre, by the year of exit. There are also all the familiar playback options: repeat, random order.

Internet functions

Internet functions of the player are collected in the appropriate "IMS" menu. In the screenshots you can see supported services.

Test results

The Russian edition of Tom's Hardware and Laboratory of Chekanov express Sony's gratitude for the STR-DH800 HDMI receiver, as well as Avermedia for the CaptureHD HDMI Capture Card (H727). The receiver we used to check the Bitstream audio decoding (standard resolution and HD), and the capture card is to obtain screenshots as 720p.

When testing the ASUS O! Play Mini Plus player, we used the Updated Test Method of 2011.

Standard resolution
Film / Roller	Notes	Test result
Borate / Brath - Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (XVID AVI)	MPEG4 Visual (XVID Advanced [Email Protected]) 1095 kbps / s 608 × 336 25 FPS, MP3 sound 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Indiana Jones and Kingdom of Crystal Skull / Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of Crystal Skull (XVID AVI)	MPEG4 Visual (XVID) 1135 kbps / from 704 × 288 23,976 fps, sound Dolby Digital (AC3) 6 channels, no subtitles	Success
Harry Potter Parody (DX50)	DivX 5 MPEG4, 998 Kbps 640 × 480 29,97 FPS, MP3 Sound 2 Channels, no subtitles	Success
Nuclear Explosion (DivX)	DivX 4 MPEG4 798 kbps / s 352 × 240 25 FPS, no sound, no subtitles	Success
TV Show About USSR / Transmission about the USSR (Div3)	DivX 3 Low Mpeg4, 137 Kbps 260 × 196 10 FPS, Sound MP3 1 Channel, Subtitles	Success
Donald Duck (FLV)	Flash Video, Video H.263 303 Kbps 29 FPS, Audio MPEG	Success
TV Show (television program) 20040506.rm	RealMedia, Video RealVideo 4 386 Kbps, 29 FPS, Audio 1 Channel 64.1 kbps COOKER	Success
CRASH.RMVB (Manga)	Realmedia Variable Bitrate, Video RealVideo 4 408 Kbps, 29 FPS, Audio 2 Channel 96,5 Kbps COOKER	Success
Roller Kharkov / Kharkiv Video (MPEG2)	MPEG Video (Version 1, BVOP) 2800 kbps 25 FPS, MPEG AUDIO Sound (Version 1), subtitles	Success
Roller "Masyany" / Masyanya Show (Flash / SWF)	Shockwave 360 \u200b\u200b× 288 (5: 4), 25 fps, MPEG-1L3 sound, no subtitles	Renouncement
Roller with Nikon D300S / Camera Video Nikon D300S camera (M-JPEG) AVI	M-JPEG 1280 × 720 (16: 9) 24 FPS, Sound Mono PCM, no subtitles	Success
Transfer "Golden VIP-Youth" / "VIP-Youth" Show (MP4S)	MPEG-4 Visual (MS MPEG-4 V3) 1078 Kbps, 320 × 240, WMA Sound (Version 2) 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Roller with television about love for candy / I Like Sweet Show (WMV3)	WMV3 / VC-1 350 kbps / s 360 × 288 23 FPS, sound WMA (Version 2) 1 channel, subtitles	Success
Nevzorov "Hell" / Nevzorov "Hell" (MP4V)	MPEG-4 Visual ( [Email Protected]) 352 × 288 25 FPS, AAC sound (Version 4) 2 channels, subtitles	Success
Justified Cruelty / History of Violence) (AVC)	AVC / H.264 720 × 408 1390 Kbps 25 FPS, AAC Sound (Version 4) 2 Channels, no subtitles	Success
Camera with Olympus / Camera Video Olympus (M-JPEG) MOV	M-JPEG 320 × 240 (4: 3), 12.5 FPS, Sound Mono PCM, no subtitles	Success
Budweiser Roller (MP43 / WMA2)	ASF, video S-MPEG 4 V3 66,4 Kbps 15 FPS, Audio WMA	Success
BBC: Invisible Plant Life / The Private Life of Plants (DVD)	MPEG-2, 720 × 576, Dolby Digital Sound 6 Channels, Subtitles ISO DVD Playback Check	Success
Sand and Fog House / House of Sand and Fog (DVD)	MPEG-2, 7.6 Mbps, 720 × 576, DTS Sound 6 Channels, Dolby Digital 6 Channels, Subtitles Check DVD playback from the disk folder. Check Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. Check the menu and navigation on the chapters. Check subtitles.	Success
High Resolution (HD)
Back to the Future 3 / Back to the Future 3 (Xvid, 720p, AVI)	XVID MPEG-4, 4495 Kbps / from 1280 × 720 23,976 FPS, Dolby Digital Sound (AC3) 6 channels, without subtitles	Success
Cruel Intensions / Brutal Games (WMV3, 720p, AVI)	VC-1 (WMV3), 5386 kbps / from 1280 × 720 23,976 FPS, Dolby Digital Sound (AC3) 6 channels, without subtitles	Success
Mamma Mia! (AVC1, 1080P, MKV)	AVC / H.264, 13 Mbps 1920 × 800 23,976 FPS, Sound 6 Dolby Digital Channels (AC3), DTS, Subtitles	Success
Inglourious Basterds / Inchlastic Bastard (AVC1, 1080P, MKV)	AVC / H.264, 9759 Kbps / since 1920 × 800 23,976 FPS, Sound 6 Dolby Digital Channels (AC3), DTS, Subtitles	Success
Book of Masters / Masters Book (Blu-ray AVC / H.264)	0005.m2ts, AVC / H.264 26.2 Mbps 23,976 FPS, DTS MA, Dolby Digital (AC3)	Success (without menu)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest / Flying over Cuckoo Nest (Blu-ray, VC1)	0000.M2TS, VC-1 15.1 Mbit / s, Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, Subtitles	Success (without menu)
Sky Captain / Heavenly Captain (Blu-ray, MPEG2)	00002.m2ts, MPEG2 18.9 Mbps, Dolby Digital, DTS, Subtitles	Success (without menu)

The player successfully coped with the playback of our test files in common formats, both in standard and high resolution.

The player successfully coped with playing Flash Video (.flv) files.

We were able to play the Real Media files with a fixed and variable stream.

Player successfully played Blu-ray movies from images on HDD in all three codecs (AVC / H.264, MPEG2, VC-1).

The only slip files with Flash animation (CWF) were the only slip. It's a shame, because the other player on the RealTek chipset with the firmware on SDK4 () coped with it. So we stayed without "Masyani".

HD Sound Tests

First we checked the decoding of the high resolution sound when it is displayed on the TV (stereo). We used SUPER HIVI Cast Blu-Ray and Dolby disc images - The Sound Of High Definition. Blu-ray.

High Resolution Sound (HD) - SUPER HIVI CAST Blu-ray
Caprichoso (Ken Morimura and Orchestra America), 00132.m2ts	Video: AVC / H.264 29,970 FPS 25 Mbps, audio 18.4 Mbps 96 kHz / 24 bits, 8 channels LPCM.
Caprichoso (Ken Morimura and Orchestra America), 00133.m2ts	Video: AVC / H.264 29,970 FPS, audio VARIABLE / 640 Kbps / s 96/48 kHz AC-3 (Stream Extrension) (Truehd / Core) 6/8 channels ( Dolby Truehd.)
Caprichoso (Ken Morimura and Orchestra America), 00134.m2ts	Video: AVC / H.264 29,970 FPS, audio 96 kHz DTS (STREAM EXTRENSION) (MA) 8 channels ( DTS Master Audio.)
Roller 00138.m2ts.	Video: AVC / H.264, 29,970 FPS, audio 96 kHz (Stream extresence) (HRA) 8 channels ( DTS HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO)
High Resolution Sound (HD) - Dolby - The Sound of High Definition Blu-ray
Roller 00004.m2ts.	Video: AVC / H.264, 29,970 FPS, audio 48.0 kHz 5 E-AC-3 channels (Stream extresence) ( Dolby Digital Plus.)

The player successfully coped with decoding in a stereo 8-channel LPCM 96 kHz / 24 bits.

The Dolby True HD player track recognized and successfully decoded.

DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio recognized and successfully decoded (in the form of DTS CORE).

Dolby Digital Plus player recognized and successfully decoded player.

Thus, the player decodes the sound tracks of the standard Dolby Digital and DTS, as well as the DTS-HD High Resolution Audio track, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD.

Sound Transmission to External Receiver (Bitstream)

The next stage of our tests concerned sound transmission to an external 7.1-channel HDMI receiver Sony STR-DH800 for decoding. The HDMI LCD panel connected to the receiver, it turned to her a picture, and the decoding of the sound was performed on the receiver. In the player settings, we included the appropriate option for the HDMI audio output (RAW).

We could easily issue a standard Dolby Digital and DTS track on the receiver. So you can comfortably view DVD images and files.mkv when the external receiver will be responsible for decoding the sound.

The ASUS O! Play Mini player was able to display the Dolby Digital Plus track on the exterior receiver. The LPCM 96 kHz / 24 multichannel track was also successfully displayed on the receiver. The Dolby True HD player track recognized and brought to the exterior receiver. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS CORE).

Conclusion

ASUS O! Play Mini Plus player pleasantly pleased. We have a model on the Realtek 1085 chipset with a new firmware based on RealTek SDK4 (compared with previous ASUS HDP-R1 and HDP-R3 models). New firmware really good - the manufacturer took another step towards the interface friendly. Although the long-awaited support of the Blu-Ray menu, we never received. In early 2011, we have already tested the player based on the RealTek 1055 chipset without network support. In this case, the Plus player is just more expensive, but you will get wired and wireless LAN / WiFi interfaces, as well as a set of Internet services.

The appearance is pleasant and stylish. The upper black panel with diamonds looks pretty, and compact dimensions make it easy to enter the player in the living room environment. Installing inside hard disk is not provided, but you can connect drives via USB 2.0 port or ESATA / USB 2.0 combo port. The latter allows the player to work with ESATA drives with power supply. Support USB 3.0, unfortunately, no. But there is a "card" SD / MMC / MS / XD.

The ASUS O! Play Mini Plus player supports the minimum set of interfaces. Old TVs can only be connected through a composite output (less high-quality). For new flat-panel TVs, it is better to use HDMI. The sound can be supplied via HDMI, via a digital optical output or through analog output (stereo). It's a shame that the manufacturer did not put the HDMI cable.

The player's remote control also updated, he became more elongated. Buttons are pressed well, they will not rattling. On the remote control function key "Option", which provides access to additional functions, such as switching subtitles or audio track. Through it, you can go to the DVD menu. There is a direct output button in the DVD menu.

The ASUS O! Play Mini Plus player coped well with the playback of our test dialing video, music and photos. You will be able to watch movies in all popular codecs, such as DivX, Xvid, H.264 / AVC, VC-1, MPEG1 / 2/4, Real Media, Flash Video, M-JPEG. We could not see Flash Animation Files.SWF.

The ASUS O! Play Mini Plus player successfully copes with the playback of DVD from the image on the hard disk (including.iso). You can fully use the menu, choose chapters, additional materials, and so on. If necessary, you can play files.vob separately. Supports decoding of the sound tracks of the standard Dolby Digital and DTS permission.

The Blu-ray menu is not supported, but for modern players is a typical situation. But the player recognizes the Blu-ray images on the hard disk and automatically starts to play the main track of the movie (if you select a movie through the "Movies" menu). If necessary, you can select the desired M2TS file manually (for example, to output additional materials). I was pleased with the fact that when playing Blu-Ray, you can go to the movie chapters.

The player is able to decode Dolby Digital and DTS standard permissions. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio decodes in a standard resolution (DTS CORE). The player successfully decodes Dolby Truehd tracks, as well as Dolby Digital Plus. We were able to successfully decode a high-resolution LPCM multi-channel LPCM sound.

High Resolution Sound Tracks DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio are transmitted to the external receiver in the standard resolution format (DTS CORE). The Dolby TrueHD track is displayed on the receiver in the original format, like the Dolby Digital Plus track. High resolution multichannel LPCM sound is also successfully transmitted to the external receiver.

Thus, even inexpensive players like ASUS O! Play Mini Plus, have acquired full support for the decoding of the high-resolution sound and output to the external receiver in the encoded format (Bitstream).

The player indexes files, and through the "Movies", "Music" and "Photos" of the main menu you will get access to indexed files. It is also possible to navigate the folders through the file manager.

The player menu turned out to be much more comfortable and beautiful compared to the RealTek models of the previous generation of firmware. It was pleasantly pleased.

The player has network support, and there is both wired LAN (1 Gbps) and wireless (802.11 b / g / n). We have successfully connected to our computer running Windows 7 and played multimedia files from it. There is also a decent set of Internet services, including integration with Facebook. Judging by our experience, this set will be complemented and updated along with the player firmware updates.

There were no problems with music. Everything worked as it should be.

View photos also satisfied us. It looks good looking effects of the transition, there is also support for the effect of the influx of Ken Burns. You can view photos under the background music.

At the time of publication, the price of ASUS O! Play Mini Plus was from 4400 rubles.

In general, you will get the same features of playback and support for formats as the "senior" models. And all this, taking into account the quality brand ASUS.

Benefits.

• Understands all common and popular XVID codecs, DivX, MPEG1 / 2/4, H.264, VC1, and both in the standard resolution and HD;
• understands M2TS files and Blu-ray disks of all three codecs (MPEG2, AVC / H.264, VC1);
• understands the head structure and DVD menu;
• understands the Blu-Ray structure - reproduces the main film (although the menu is not supported);
• plays Flash Video files (FLV) and Real Media;
• the presence of a Russian-speaking interface;
• understands Russian letters in the names of the files;
• understands the MKV container, allows you to move in it between the chapters;
• can lose with any network resources (Computers, NAS, UPNP servers);
• support of the Wired LAN and Wireless Network;
• indexing multimedia files without messenger.vob i.m2ts (you can search by date and list of recently open files);
• present support large number Internet services;
• decodes the sound tracks of the standard Dolby Digital and DTS permission;
• decodes the sound tracks of the high resolution of DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio with Downsampling (DTS Core), Dobly Truehd and Dolby Digital Plus with Downsampling;
• transmits to the external receiver of the Dolby Digital and DTS track, high-resolution tracks Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Truehd tracks, high-resolution tracks DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio with Downsampling (DTS CORE);
• supports Internet radio stations;
• supports Internet TV;
• there are digital audio output (optical);
• the presence of an ESATA port for connecting external drives (combined with USB).
• the presence of "cards" to read from flash cards;
• the player supports the firmware update over the network (via the Internet).

Disadvantages.

• There is no built-in hard disk;
• small shortcomings to transfer the menu;
• there are no analog video outputs S-Video, component, SCART;
• absence hDMI cable Complete.

Media Player as a certain multimedia center today has a different circle of users. Maybe, in twenty years, no one will remember the era of these beneficial devices as romantic, as we remember the time of cassette video recorders, but it does not fit the advantages of media players. Simply, unlike old-kind "Vikaskov", the media players managed to adapt to a variety of users' needs. For example, if you want to have a conventional console to a USB-port TV to connect flash cards or any other external media, it is not necessary to buy a complex and expensive player on the basis of a hard disk for these purposes, and even with unnecessary network interfaces. There are models simpler.

It is to such devices and refers to a novelty from Asustek Computer Inc. who got to us in the test laboratory. The ASUS O! Play Mini media player has no built-in hard disk, and there is no Ethernet interface to read the files over the network. This simple device is intended solely for those users who need reading files from external USB media.

⇡ Supplies

Contents of delivery

The novelty comes in a small black-colored cardboard box with color glossy embossed. Inside, except for the media player, we found the following accessories:

• power adapter with two removable forks of different standards,
• remote control with a pair of aaa-batarek,
• composite A / V-cable,
• HDMI cable,
• quick Guide to Connect in different languages,
• CD with a full Russian user manual in PDF format.

Power adapter

Equipment is traditional, but still you should pay attention to the presence of an HDMI cable and on the original power adapter with removable forks. The adapter is made high, not wide, so it will probably not interfere with the next forks in the tee.

⇡ Specifications

ASUS O! Play Mini
Display	Absent
Interfaces	1 x USB 2.0 Host, SD / MS / XD / MMC Memory Card Reader
Built-in media	Absent
File system	FAT16 / 32, NTFS, HFS / HFS +, EXT3
Video	Formats: .mp4, .mov, .xvid, .avi, .asf, .wmv, .mkv, .rm, .rmvb, .flv, .ts, .m2ts, .dat, .mpg, .vob, .tp, .trp , .mts, .iso, .ifo, .mlv, .m2v, .m4v Codecs: MPEG 1/2/4, H.264, VC-1, RM / RMVB, WMV9 Maximum resolution: 1080p Color mode: NTSC / PAL
Audio	MP3, WMA, AAC, Ogg, Wav, Flac, Dolby Digital AC3, DTS Digital Surround, PCM / LPCM, Dolby Truehd, Tag ID3
Photo	JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
Subtitles	SRT, SUB, SMI, IDX + SUB, SSA, ASS, TXT
A / V-Outputs	Video: Analog composite (HF), digital HDMI 1.3 Audio: Analog stereo, digital optical S / PDIF
A / V-inputs	Absent
Network protocols	Absent
Food	External power supply (12 V, 2 A DC)
Power, W	10
Dimensions, mm.	152x107x29.
Mass, G.	175
price, rub.	There is no data

General view of the media player ASUS O! PLAY MINI

Reading and reading! Such or similar motto could be written on the box with ASUS O! Play Mini. He has no "unnecessary" connection interfaces, there is no possibility of downloading files over the network, and the USB HOST port is only one. The only thing that I would like to see even such a crumb like Asus O! Play Mini is a 3.5 mm jack socket to connect headphones. Unfortunately, its necessity manufacturers are very often ignored, and it is so convenient to settle down in the evening in a chair in front of the video pointer and, without interfering with anyone, enjoy your favorite film with a full, and not muted sound.

But according to the possibilities of reading multimedia files, the novelty does not differ from quite "adults" ASUS players. The specification declared the most complete set of all the popular video files to date today. In addition, there are no complaints about the declared features of reading images, audio files and subtitles.

⇡ Design and Ergonomics

Front view of the media player ASUS O! PLAY MINI

The novelty housing causes ambiguous sensations. On the one hand, it is made of high-quality plastic, and lacquered (quickly dumping and scratching) is made only a flat top cover. The main part of the hull is enjoyable to the touch roughness. This part is a solid monolithic structure, in which the curved side walls smoothly go into a flat base. And here it also lies the main designer sore, which someone can come to the soul, and someone will cause associations with cheap products of Unnamed chinese manufacturers. Due to the beveled side faces, the novelty in the literal sense resembles a soap box, only big. But it is not customary about tastes, as it is known to argue, so we will leave this purely subjective opinion on the readers' court and get acquainted with the Ergonomics of the media player.

View of the ASUS O! Play Mini Media Player

Since ASUS O! Play Mini has small sizes, the developers did not come up with any other installation methods, except the classic horizontal. For this, there are four miniature rubber legs on the bottom. Placing connections in new items, like others aSUS devices, thought out perfectly. In the central part of the front panel there is a device for reading memory cards and a USB port. On the sides of them there are a LED-indicator with a bright blue glow and a black translucent window, followed by the receiver of IR signals from the remote control.

Rear view of the Media Player ASUS O! Play Mini

All A / V interfaces are behind. There is also a socket for connecting the power adapter and drowning the enclosure button to restart the device. Thus, all cables connected to the media player can be collected in one bundle so that they do not interfere with the work and did not spoil appearance. Interestingly, no ventilation holes are provided in the design of the novelty. It can be assumed that the device is almost not heated, but it or not - will show our testing.

⇡ Internal structure

Internal Building Media Player ASUS O! Play Mini

The novelty is collected on one pCB Green color with branded logo. The board is neatly cut around the edges for the perfect compliance of the geometry of the case. Soldering of all elements, as always with ASUS products, extremely neat and accurate. Such a device is simply pleased to keep in your hands and admire it.

Media Processor Realtek RTD1055DDD.

In the central part of the board there is a very small amount of RTD1055 media processor produced by Realtek Semiconductor Corp. This is the newest chip whose production was started only at the end of last year. It represents the simplest model from the new line of processors - without network interfaces and without the possibility of video coding. But, unlike its predecessors, it works with the Dolby True HD HD and DTS Master Audio. It is noteworthy that the new media processor is distinguished not only by the compact case, but also low heat dissipation. The exact data, alas, failed even on the manufacturer's website, but the fact that the processor does not cover the radiator at all - it says a lot. The novelty uses version of RTD1055DD. The latest letters apparently indicate a built-in DTS decoder with the DOWNMIX function.

Realtek RTS5159 Memory Card Reader Controller

Nearby is the controller of the RTS5159 memory card reader, also developed by Realtek Semiconductor Corp.

HYNIX HY5PS1G1631C Memory Module

As buffer memory The HYNIX Semiconductor Inc. microcircuit is used by HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR INC. The microcircuit is the DDR2-667 module of 128 MB. Well, the firmware is stored in the MX25L12845EMI-10G Flash module produced by Taiwanese company

7 ago acquired ASUS O! Play Mini (1.14) and external HDD transcend 750GB 2.5 "USB3.0. I could not rejoice at first, everything was cool. Last night I wanted to watch the movie, turn on the player, hDD Not determined. The media player writes the "connected new device", then the hard disk flashes, then the "Connected New Device" appears again. All Icons "Movies" "Photos" Music "of gray, in the file manager too 0. Tried the following: - Included, turned off the media player - the wires inserted several times and removed both on the hard and ASUS. Checked, it seems nothing hangs. - Pressed the RESET button on the media player - I tried to insert a flash drive to 8GB - determines. - changed the firmware on 1.16 - I tried to connect a hard disk to the computer, everything works and determines. At the same time deleted the folder ".theater," thought the indexes knocked down. What else can you do? Carry back to the store? So do not want. I really liked this player, I don't want anything else. Help please solve this issue. Thanks in advance!

Media player sees no external USB HDD - relatively frequent problem. There may be several reasons:
1. The existing initially and progressing is not a complete failure, but only deviations in technical parameters, both player and USB HDD, which do not allow the player to fully detect HDD. At the same time, the computer can see a suspicious USB HDD, and see a suspicious player to see a flash drive, - it does not yet talk about fulfillment, both player and USB HDD. Here, there is a manifestation of some kind of difficult and explained, as if the incompatibility of two specific products because of the partial malfunction of one of them.
2. Unreliable contact in USB connector. There are factory disorders of the contact geometry in the hardware USB player connector. (Contact strips must have spring bends-protrusions at the ends). Here tip: In the service only you need to declare a claim - "The player does not define USB HDD" and not a word about the USB connector. (Otherwise you will be claimed: "External connectors are not a warranty case"!).
3. Actions: according to claim 1 - a visit to the SC with a player and its USB HDD. If another USB HDD is ok, then another problem visit to another SC with USB HDD. According to clause 2 - in any case, thoroughly examine and clean (not a skin!) Contacts USB player connector and USB HDD.
In my opinion (incl. And unsuccessful) experience with media player ASUS O! Play Mini, I can say that this is the best of choices from the entire package of such devices. (Low price, complete omnivorousness, small dimensions, lack of newly costy and not necessary for sensitive users of networks and the built-in SATA HDD). Disadvantages: sometimes the manufacturer's marriages are found. This is not a problem, but replacement for analogue under warranty.

Media Player did not see external USB HDD
Addition to the previous answer.
The most likely reason: external USB HDD lacks 5 volts via USB chains from the player.
1. Ensure that each device (player, USB HDD) is in principle, by mutual substitution on something similar.
2. With the assurance that each product itself is properly, it is possible to suggest that the problem occurs due to the lack of external USB HDD power supply 5 volts via USB chains from the player. (Velikine voltage drop in the supply chains, or the 5V source does not provide the desired power).
Actions:
- to contact the USB contacts of the player and USB HDD connector;
- Replace USB cable for short (0.3-0.5 m);
- Buying an external USB HDD to give preference to the USB-2 interface, if your other USB-3 equipment does not give anything;
- When buying an external USB HDD to give preference to the option, which includes, thicker uSB cable with an additional USB connector;
- Offer (if you turn out!) Measure the change in the supply voltage 5V when the external HDD is turned on.

We have already tested two network multimedia players from ASUS: HDP-R1 and HDP-R3. Both players were built on the Realtek 1073 chipset and left a positive impression. This time we did the first player on the new lightweight version of the REALTEK 1055 chipset. It does not support the network, but about other functions we had very big expectations.

The ASUS O! Play Mini player is very compact, 151 x 106 x 29 mm with a weight of 175. Installation is not provided inside the rigid disk, you can connect an external hard drive through a single USB 2.0 port. On the front panel there is a dim-blue power indicator, said USB 2.0 port and "Cartorate" SD / MMC / MS / XD. The right and left panels are empty. All other interfaces are deposited on the back panel (from left to right): power socket, composite video output and analog stereo audio outputs (RCA), HDMI 1.3 output, optical digital audio output, reset key.

The player allows you to connect modern flat-panel TVs through the HDMI interface, and only a composite output is available for old analog televisions. That is, the full picture of the picture you will only get on a modern LCD TV. And if you have a decent analog model, you will have to be content with composite output - the least quality. It is a pity that the manufacturer has not provided the ability to connect through a component output or, at least, through SCART or S-Video, since the RealTek chipset has such capabilities. However, from the MINI player is unlikely to expect similar functions.

Characteristics ASUS O! Play Mini (manufacturer information)
Formats and codecs video	Formats: MPEG1 / 2/4, H.264, VC-1, RM / RMVB, WMV9. Extensions: .mp4, .mov, .xvid, .avi, .asf, .wmv, .flv, .mkv, .rm, .rmvb, .ts, m2ts, .tp, .trp, .dat, .mpg,. Vob, .mts, .tso, .ifo, .mlv, .m2v, .m4v
Audio formats and codecs	MP3, WMA, WAV, ACC, OCG, FLAC, Dolby Digital AC3, DTS Digital Surround, PCM / LPCM, Dolby Truehd, ID3 Tag
Images	JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
Subtitles	SRT, SUB, SMI, IDX + SUB, SSA, ASS, TXT
Audio and video outputs	HDMI (digital video and audio signals), composite video output, optical digital output SPDIF, stereo audio output

The package includes: player and remote control, cable and power supply, composite cable + analog stereo sound, documentation, HDMI cable.

The remote control lies in the hand well, the keys are large, pressed clearly. That's just their location is not entirely usual (as well as the previous ASUS players), but you can get used to it. To call additional functions (switching audio tracks, subtitles, the output in the DVD menu) serves a separate "Options" key.

Installation and Setup

We started tests from updating the player firmware. At the time of publication, version 1.07 was available on the ASUS website, which we downloaded and installed.

After the player, the player suggested choosing a language and set time.

We will traditionally begin the player tests with the consideration of the settings.

There are four items in the Setup menu: "System", "Sound", "Video", "Firmware Update".

In the "System" menu, you can select the menu language and subtitle encoding, set the time, set the idle time until the screensaver is output (5 minutes by default), specify the language for the mini-keyboard (English and several Chinese layouts are available). You can enable / disable automatic scanning of connected drives or retell drives. You can enable the renewal feature from the discharged place, turn on the sleep timer and restore the standard factory settings.

In the "Sound" menu, you can enable the limit of the dynamic sound range (useful for watching movies at night), select the HDMI (LPCM, multichannel LPCM, RAW) and SPDIF output mode. When connecting the TV via HDMI, it is necessary to decode sound on the player (LPCM / multichannel LPCM), and if you connect the player to the HDMI receiver, you can output the sound in the RawStream encoded format (Bitstream) so that decoding is performed on the receiver.

The "Video" menu allows you to set the frame format (16: 9, 16:10, stretching or trimming 4: 3), select the video output mode, enable the video enlarge function to the full screen, the DNR noise reduction function, and 1080p 24 Hz mode, if It is supported by a TV.

The last "firmware update" item performs the appropriate function. You can update the firmware before writing it on the flash key chain, formatted in FAT32.

Work with player

The main player menu contains the following items: "Films", "Photos", "Music", "File Manager", "Setup menu". We have already considered the player setting, then let's get to the "File Manager" item.

Here you get access to the standard file structure, you can copy, delete, move and rename files. There is no built-in hard disk and network support, so that the meaning of this function is dubious. Is that it will be useful if you want to copy photos from the flash card to the USB drive.

If for some reason you are not satisfied with the indexing function of the files from the player, you can use the "File Manager" for direct navigation through the file structure.

Watching films

In the "Movies" menu, the player displays all relevant files found on the connected drive.

The "Info" key allows you to display the information about the film.

The "Option" key provides access to playback options. You can set the time interval ("Skip the duration"), which will scroll by the movie Keys forward / back.

The "Video Setup" item provides access to brightness adjustments, contrast and saturation, although the same settings are best done on the TV.

You can choose the soundtrack.

And the path of subtitles. You can also set the location of subtitles on the screen, size, encoding, color and delay relative to the video.

And if necessary, go to the DVD menu.

Also using the "Option" and the "Goto" item can go to any time of the movie in time, to any chapter or partition.

The ZOOM key on the remote control allows you to increase any fragment of the frame right up to 8x.

The fast / rewind keys forward / back allow you to enable accelerated playback in the appropriate direction at speeds up to 32x.

Through the Movies menu, the player displays the DVD image in the form of a finished film, and through the "File Manager" you can go to display the image structure. To play a DVD movie in this case, select the video_ts.ifo file.

The same applies to both Blu-ray images. Through the "File Manager" you can play any container .M2TS optionally, and through the Movies menu - the main track.

The player remembers the place from which the film was interrupted. And when repeatedly selecting the film offers to resume viewing from the same place.

Separately, we will focus on the menu "Films", in which indexed movies are stored. The player recognizes images of DVD and Blu-Ray, so the squeezing files.vob i.m2ts you do not get. In addition, useful sorting options are available (by name, in size, according to popular, according to the newly added). You can display movies in the form of sketches or list.

There is an interesting option "Show DVD", which performs the appropriate function - only DVD / Blu-ray films will be displayed.

View photos

Photos The player also index and displays the corresponding menu.

By default, all the photos found are outlined, which is not very convenient. Therefore, it is reasonable to view photos of folders or albums (if the corresponding tag is set).

There is a fairly convenient viewing mode by the date of creation. The player creates virtual folders, and you can see photos taken on a specific vacation day.

Otherwise, the Options are ordinary: you can choose the slideshow interval and transition effects, specify the background music, select the slideshow mode. There is an effect of influxing Ken Burns.

Using the ZOOM key, you can enlarge the photo fragment.

Listening to music

In the "Music" menu, all indexed files are displayed. Therefore, it is reasonable to include any sorting options.

For example, enable album sorting. You can also sort according to the artist, by genre, by the year of exit. There are also all the familiar playback options: repeat, random order.

Test results

The Russian edition of Tom's Hardware and Laboratory of Chekanova is expressing Sony's gratitude for the STR-DH800 HDMI-DH800 receiver tests, as well as Avermedia for the CaptureHD HDMI Capture Card (H727). The receiver we used to check the Bitstream audio decoding (standard resolution and HD), and the capture card is to obtain screenshots as 720p.

When testing the ASUS O! Play Mini player, we used the Updated Test Method of 2011.

Standard resolution
Film / Roller	Notes	Test result
Borate / Brath - Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (XVID AVI)	MPEG4 Visual (XVID Advanced [Email Protected]) 1095 kbps / s 608 × 336 25 FPS, MP3 sound 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Indiana Jones and Kingdom of Crystal Skull / Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of Crystal Skull (XVID AVI)	MPEG4 Visual (XVID) 1135 kbps / from 704 × 288 23,976 fps, sound Dolby Digital (AC3) 6 channels, no subtitles	Success
Harry Potter Parody (DX50)	DivX 5 MPEG4, 998 Kbps 640 × 480 29,97 FPS, MP3 Sound 2 Channels, no subtitles	Success
Nuclear Explosion (DivX)	DivX 4 MPEG4 798 kbps / s 352 × 240 25 FPS, no sound, no subtitles	Success
TV Show About USSR / Transmission about the USSR (Div3)	DivX 3 Low Mpeg4, 137 Kbps 260 × 196 10 FPS, Sound MP3 1 Channel, Subtitles	Success
Donald Duck (FLV)	Flash Video, Video H.263 303 Kbps 29 FPS, Audio MPEG	Success
TV Show (television program) 20040506.rm	RealMedia, Video RealVideo 4 386 Kbps, 29 FPS, Audio 1 Channel 64.1 kbps COOKER	Success
CRASH.RMVB (Manga)	Realmedia Variable Bitrate, Video RealVideo 4 408 Kbps, 29 FPS, Audio 2 Channel 96,5 Kbps COOKER	Success
Roller Kharkov / Kharkiv Video (MPEG2)	MPEG Video (Version 1, BVOP) 2800 kbps 25 FPS, MPEG AUDIO Sound (Version 1), subtitles	Success
Roller "Masyany" / Masyanya Show (Flash / SWF)	Shockwave 360 \u200b\u200b× 288 (5: 4), 25 fps, MPEG-1L3 sound, no subtitles	Renouncement
Roller with Nikon D300S / Camera Video Nikon D300S camera (M-JPEG) AVI	M-JPEG 1280 × 720 (16: 9) 24 FPS, Sound Mono PCM, no subtitles	Success
Transfer "Gold VIP-Youth" / "VIP-Youth" Show (MP4S)	MPEG-4 Visual (MS MPEG-4 V3) 1078 Kbps, 320 × 240, WMA Sound (Version 2) 2 channels, no subtitles	Success
Roller with television about love for candy / I Like Sweet Show (WMV3)	WMV3 / VC-1 350 kbps / s 360 × 288 23 FPS, sound WMA (Version 2) 1 channel, subtitles	Success
Nevzorov "hell" / Nevzorov "Hell" (MP4V)	MPEG-4 Visual ( [Email Protected]) 352 × 288 25 FPS, AAC sound (Version 4) 2 channels, subtitles	Success
Justified Cruelty / History of Violence) (AVC)	AVC / H.264 720 × 408 1390 Kbps 25 FPS, AAC Sound (Version 4) 2 Channels, no subtitles	Success
Camera with Olympus / Camera Video Olympus (M-JPEG) MOV	M-JPEG 320 × 240 (4: 3), 12.5 FPS, Sound Mono PCM, no subtitles	Success
Budweiser Roller (MP43 / WMA2)	ASF, video S-MPEG 4 V3 66,4 Kbps 15 FPS, Audio WMA	Success
BBC: Invisible Plant Life / The Private Life of Plants (DVD)	MPEG-2, 720 × 576, Dolby Digital Sound 6 Channels, Subtitles ISO DVD Playback Check	Success
Sand and Fog House / House of Sand and Fog (DVD)	MPEG-2, 7.6 Mbps, 720 × 576, DTS Sound 6 Channels, Dolby Digital 6 Channels, Subtitles Check DVD playback from the disk folder. Check Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. Check the menu and navigation on the chapters. Check subtitles.	Success
High Resolution (HD)
Back to the Future 3 / Back to the Future 3 (Xvid, 720p, AVI)	XVID MPEG-4, 4495 Kbps / from 1280 × 720 23,976 FPS, Dolby Digital Sound (AC3) 6 channels, without subtitles	Success
Cruel Intensions / Brutal Games (WMV3, 720p, AVI)	VC-1 (WMV3), 5386 kbps / from 1280 × 720 23,976 FPS, Dolby Digital Sound (AC3) 6 channels, without subtitles	Success
Mamma Mia! (AVC1, 1080P, MKV)	AVC / H.264, 13 Mbps 1920 × 800 23,976 FPS, Sound 6 Dolby Digital Channels (AC3), DTS, Subtitles	Success
Inglourious Basterds / Inchlastic Bastard (AVC1, 1080P, MKV)	AVC / H.264, 9759 Kbps / since 1920 × 800 23,976 FPS, Sound 6 Dolby Digital Channels (AC3), DTS, Subtitles	Success
Book of Masters / Masters Book (Blu-ray AVC / H.264)	0005.m2ts, AVC / H.264 26.2 Mbps 23,976 FPS, DTS MA, Dolby Digital (AC3)	Success (without menu)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest / Flying over Cuckoo Nest (Blu-ray, VC1)	0000.M2TS, VC-1 15.1 Mbit / s, Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, Subtitles	Success (without menu)
Sky Captain / Heavenly Captain (Blu-ray, MPEG2)	00002.m2ts, MPEG2 18.9 Mbps, Dolby Digital, DTS, Subtitles	Success (without menu)

The player successfully coped with the playback of our test files in common formats, both in standard and high resolution.

The player successfully coped with playing Flash Video (.flv) files.

We were able to play the Real Media files with a fixed and variable stream.

Player successfully played Blu-ray movies from images on HDD in all three codecs (AVC / H.264, MPEG2, VC-1).

The only slip files with Flash animation (CWF) were the only slip. It's a shame, because the other player on the RealTek chipset with the firmware on SDK4 () coped with it. So we stayed without "Masyani".

HD Sound Tests

First we checked the decoding of the high resolution sound when it is displayed on the TV (stereo). We used SUPER HIVI Cast Blu-ray discs and Dolby - The Sound of High Definition Blu-ray.

High Resolution Sound (HD) - SUPER HIVI CAST Blu-ray
Caprichoso (Ken Morimura and Orchestra America), 00132.m2ts	Video: AVC / H.264 29,970 FPS 25 Mbps, audio 18.4 Mbps 96 kHz / 24 bits, 8 channels LPCM.
Caprichoso (Ken Morimura and Orchestra America), 00133.m2ts	Video: AVC / H.264 29,970 FPS, audio VARIABLE / 640 Kbps / s 96/48 kHz AC-3 (Stream Extrension) (Truehd / Core) 6/8 channels ( Dolby Truehd.)
Caprichoso (Ken Morimura and Orchestra America), 00134.m2ts	Video: AVC / H.264 29,970 FPS, audio 96 kHz DTS (STREAM EXTRENSION) (MA) 8 channels ( DTS Master Audio.)
Roller 00138.m2ts.	Video: AVC / H.264, 29,970 FPS, audio 96 kHz (Stream extresence) (HRA) 8 channels ( DTS HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO)
High Resolution Sound (HD) - Dolby - The Sound of High Definition Blu-ray
Roller 00004.m2ts.	Video: AVC / H.264, 29,970 FPS, audio 48.0 kHz 5 E-AC-3 channels (Stream extresence) ( Dolby Digital Plus.)

The player successfully coped with decoding in a stereo 8-channel LPCM 96 kHz / 24 bits.

The Dolby True HD player did not recognize the player, refusing to open the file with it.

DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio recognized and successfully decoded.

Dolby Digital Plus player recognized and successfully decoded player.

Thus, the player decodes the sound tracks of the standard Dolby Digital and DTS resolution, as well as the DTS-HD HD High Resolution Audio track, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus. It is a pity that the Dolby True HD track does not recognize, although it is declared as supported.

Sound Transmission to External Receiver (Bitstream)

The next stage of our tests concerned sound transmission to an external 7.1-channel HDMI receiver Sony STR-DH800 for decoding. The HDMI LCD panel connected to the receiver, it turned to her a picture, and the decoding of the sound was performed on the receiver. In the player settings, we included the appropriate option for the HDMI audio output (RAW). To the option worked, the player had to restart.

We could easily issue a standard Dolby Digital and DTS track on the receiver. So you can comfortably view DVD images and files.mkv when the external receiver will be responsible for decoding the sound.

The ASUS O! Play Mini player could not display the Dolby Digital Plus track on the exterior receiver.

The LPCM 96 kHz / 24 multichannel track was successfully displayed on the receiver, but only in stereo. Dolby True HD Track Player recognized and brought to an external receiver - a curious surprise, given that the player decoded to decode this path. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS CORE).

Conclusion

The ASUS O! Play Mini player left a positive impression. We have a model on a new Realtek 1055 chipset without network support, but already with a new firmware based on Realtek SDK4. The new firmware really pleased - the manufacturer took another step towards the interface friendly. Although the long-awaited support of the Blu-Ray menu, we never received.

The appearance is pleasant and stylish. The upper black glossy panel looks pretty, and compact dimensions make it easy to enter the player in the living room environment. Installation inside the rigid disk is not provided, but you can connect drives through a single (unfortunately) USB port 2.0. There are both "cards" SD / MMC / MS / XD.

ASUS O! Play Mini supports the minimum interface set. Old TVs can only be connected through a composite output (less high-quality). For new flat-panel TVs, it is better to use HDMI. The sound can be supplied via HDMI, via a digital optical output or through analog output (stereo). It's nice that the manufacturer has invested the HDMI cable.

The remote control of the player is simple and lightweight. Rubber keys are well pressed, they will not rattling. On the remote, there is a function key "Option", which provides access to additional functions, such as switching subtitles or sound track. Through it, you can go to the DVD menu.

ASUS O! Play Mini player coped well with playing our test dialing video, music and photos. You will be able to watch movies in all popular codecs, such as DivX, Xvid, H.264 / AVC, VC-1, MPEG1 / 2/4, Real Media, Flash Video, M-JPEG. We could not see Flash Animation Files.SWF.

The ASUS O! Play Mini player successfully copes with the playback of the DVD from the rigid disk (including.iso). You can fully use the menu, choose chapters, additional materials, and so on. If necessary, you can play files.vob separately. Supports decoding of the sound tracks of the standard Dolby Digital and DTS permission.

The Blu-ray menu is not supported, but for modern players is a typical situation. But the player recognizes the Blu-ray images on the hard disk and automatically starts on playing the main track of the movie (if you select a movie through the "Movies" menu). If necessary, you can select the desired M2TS file manually (for example, to output additional materials). I was pleased with the fact that when playing Blu-Ray, you can go to the movie chapters.

The player is able to decode Dolby Digital and DTS standard permissions. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio decodes in a standard resolution (DTS CORE). The player does not decode Dolby Truehd tracks, refusing to recognize the file, but with decoding Dolby Digital Plus copes successfully. We were able to successfully decode a high-resolution LPCM multi-channel LPCM sound.

High Resolution Sound Tracks DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio are transmitted to the external receiver in the standard resolution format (DTS CORE). The Dolby TrueHD track is displayed on the receiver in the original format, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. But the Dolby Digital Plus path we cannot withdraw on the receiver. The high-resolution LPCM multichannel sound is transmitted to the external receiver only in the stereo format.

The player indexes files, and through the "Movies", "Music" and "Photos" of the main menu you will get access to indexed files. It is also possible to navigate the folders through the file manager.

The player menu turned out to be much more comfortable and beautiful compared to the RealTek models of the previous generation of firmware. It was pleasantly pleased.

The player does not have network support, so all relevant functions and Internet services are missing.

There were no problems with music. Everything worked as it should be.

View photos also satisfied us. It looks good looking effects of the transition, there is also support for the effect of the influx of Ken Burns. You can view photos under the background music.

At the time of publication, the price of ASUS O! Play Mini was from 3000 rubles. Of course, there is no support for the network and the Internet, but for the rest of the functions the player is not trimmed. You will receive the very same features of playback and support for formats as the "older" models. And all this, taking into account the quality of the ASUS brand. On the other hand, paying 1000 rubles you can buy - also with the SDK4 base firmware, with network support and Internet services, although on the old chipset.

Benefits.

• Understands all common and popular XVID codecs, DivX, MPEG1 / 2/4, H.264, VC1, and both in the standard resolution and HD;
• understands M2TS files and Blu-ray disks of all three codecs (MPEG2, AVC / H.264, VC1);
• understands the head structure and DVD menu;
• understands the Blu-Ray structure - reproduces the main film (although the menu is not supported);
• plays Flash Video files (FLV) and Real Media;
• the presence of a Russian-speaking interface;
• understands Russian letters in the names of the files;
• understands the MKV container, allows you to move in it between the chapters;
• indexing multimedia files without messenger.vob i.m2ts;
• decodes the sound tracks of the standard Dolby Digital and DTS permission;
• decodes sound tracks of high resolution DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio with Downsampling (DTS CORE), Dobly Truehd with Downsampling (AC3)
• transmits to the external Dolby Digital and DTS track path receiver, high-resolution tracks Dolby Digital Plus, high resolution tracks DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio with Downsampling (DTS CORE);
• there are digital audio output (optical);
• the presence of the HDMI cable included;
• the presence of "cards" to read with flash cards.

Disadvantages.

• The player does not support the connection to the network;
• true HD High Resolution Sound Decoding is not supported;
• the transfer of some high-resolution sound tracks in the encoded format (BitStream) to the external receiver without downsamping is not supported;
• there are no analog video outputs S-Video, component, SCART;
• does not play flash animation .SWF.