Introduction

I would like to thank CaseKing.de for supplying the review sample.

CaseKing is one of the few companies out there, which will not just sell anything. They only offer hardware that performs well and is of high quality. The shop carries quite a few exclusive parts and devices from all around the world and it is also the official distributor for a long list of well known manufacturers. Their assortment has grown substantially in recent years, while great service and support is still a very important part of the shop philosophy. The website may be in German, but due to great demand an English version is also available.

We will be taking a closer look at the A.C. Ryan PlayOn! DVR TV. This is a multimedia hard drive enclosure, which comes equipped with multiple networking interfaces, traditional USB 2.0 connectivity and a HDMI out, so that you can display 720P video on your LCD or Plasma TV easily. You can also use the it as a DVR to record both analog and digital (DVB-T) signals unto the hard drive. A.C.Ryan offers the PlayOn! DVR in three versions. One without a TV tuner, but with the capability to play back media with up to 720P, then the one we are showing you today with a tuner build-in and a high-end version with HDMI 1.3 and FullHD playback - called the PlayOn! HD.

Features.

• TV Recording (analog & digital)
• Internet Radio
• Record, Store & Playback
• Digital audio, video & images
• HDMI High Definition Multimedia Interface
• NAS Network HDD / Media Player
• Wired & Wireless Network
• Supports internal 3.5" SATA/SATA2 Harddisk
• Supports external USB Harddisk / external USB storage
• USB2.0 Host for expansion with more USB drives
• Remote Control

Packaging

The multimedia hard drive enclosure ships in a blue carboard box, which is not as thick as you may expect, but is still sturdy enough when filled correctly. The front of the package has an image of the device, while the rear goes into great detail about the functions of the PlayOn! DVR. The shot of all the rear connectivity can be found on one side, while the other has some marketing text. It is weird to see this text turned by 90 degrees, when compared to all the other information on the box.


The enclosure itself is very well protected. This should make up for the fairly thin cardboard box. Foam spacers and a foam bag protect the unit from damage during transportation.

Contents

You get quite a few extras along with the PlayOn! DVR. Starting with the manual, which goes into great detail about setup. A.C. Ryan also includes a USB 2.0 cable, a component cable and a pair of RCA cables to connect the DVR to both the PC or the TV. You will also find a small splitter for your TV signal and a DVB-T antenna within the package. While this is great, we would have loved to see one for the HDMI connectivity as well.


But wait, there is more! A full remote control and a USB dongle for the advertised wireless functionality round up the extras. It would have been nice to have the Wifi functionality built into the enclosure itself, as this will now fill one of the two USB 2.0 ports in the rear of the enclosure.


The power supply is actually quite compact. It is comparable to other the ones used for traditional external hard drive enclosures these days. Sure there are smaller ones, but the the PlayOn! DVR requires 3 A at 12V instead of the 1.5 - 2 A that simpler units usually require.