Patriot PBO Core Box Office All-in-one 1080p Full HD Media Player with HDMI PCMPBO25

Comment:
I really like this little media player. If you get one make sure you upgrade the firmware right out of the box. The new UI is much nicer looking than the old, but still a little plain.I had a hell of a time setting it up on a network with Win7. It was hardwired into a D-Link switch and router. When I would navigate via the PBO browser to NET, it would ask me for a username and password. I couldn't use any usernames and passwords to make it work. Via the user forum on the Patriot website I found some security settings that needed to be changed on the Win7 computer I was trying to stream from. Post #57 in this link fixed it for me: http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2080&page=6

Comment:
Do not buy this product if you plan to play music videos as the "random shuffle" option is not supported for videos.

Comment:
I was looking for something to sync up my TV with the media on my desktop in another room after moving , and this being my first foray into wireless media streaming I wanted something that was somewhat easy to use and setup, for both myself and my roomates. I've been fairly impressed with this unit so far. The UI is decent and haven't had to many issues in streaming. Probably not the most top of the line out there for those looking for full customization but I would say this is a fantastic value (espcially with the MIR on right now)

Comment:
Chose to buy the box office instead of spending ten times more on a media center pc. Currently streaming my downloaded movies over the network to the box office with no trouble at all. Came with P05 firmware which gave me trouble with green boxes and pixelation on my tv while playing higher resolution blu ray rips. Performing a firmware update  to P53 solved this issue. Havent't tested a real blu ray movie or .mkv file yet

Comment:
I purchased two by now, so far so good. However, they said it supports MP4, but I tried once but found not at all. I may more MP4 later to find why.

Comment:
love this little machine, it play almost anything format as I have with the max 1080p without frame lost, pictures quality are awesome, you can also go to their websit for firmware update, love it!

Comment:
After the latest firmware update  from Patriot's Web Site - (ES-51-283G-PCMPBO25-P61 - Beta (Only for Bootcode 18 or higher)*) - this unit becomes a nice solid little media player. Menu's become a lot prettier - remote control is decently responsive (slight lag - nothing to bothersome though). Streaming Video (TechTV, CNN, MSNBC, etc), Weather, Internet Radio is a cool little bonus!Wireless USB stick plays HD without a hiccup (I could only test it at 802.11G speed -- tested a 1080p / 8.2 Gig / HD-AVI).I've tried HD AVI/Mp4/MKV at 720p and 1080p without problems (most of my collection are Mp4 / 720p in the 2 gig size range - the sweet spot for Quality/Size IMO)I've had a WDTV Live before this unit. Sold it ASAP because of the horrible .MKV problems with it.I've had some people say that the Popcorn Hour is a way better unit - sure it is - but not by much - plus you can purchase 5 of these units for the same price.One of the coolest things about this unit is the Hackability of it. You can get a ton of add-ons and new fronts ends for this player - and the best thing of all is that you don't have to go hunting the web for it - it's all Unofficially supported right on Patriot's Forums. I haven't ventured into this area yet - but I will soon - flash with caution!A great media player - just not out of the box. I still give it 5 stars though - because updating it was not a big deal for me.

Comment:
It's a great media player that replace my computer next to my home theatre. Installed custom firmware and get lots of online streaming content including Youtube. RMVB support is really useful which is why I think it's better than WDTV.SPDIF RAW is problematic. When I play mpeg-encoded audio, I have to switch to SPDIF LCPM to get sound.

Comment:
Awesome value for money, does everything that I want it to do--wanted something that played movies/episodes on the TV in the living room.First two times I started up the box, it crashed though. Not sure what was wrong, but it's stable since.

Comment:
Exceeded my expectations - on image quality, ease of use. Up and running, working perfectly straight out of the box in 2mins. Plays everything thrown at it, including FLAC files. Codecs are good enough to display well on 50" plasma (better than the HDMI out from my Dell XPS laptop). It's really small device.

Comment:
The linux backend is very useful if you're in to that kind of thing (I setup nfs mounts to my media center).

Comment:
I have this little box for a month. It is awesome， it plays all the movie format i throw at it. Highly recommand to anyone who plays lots of videos.

Comment:
I bought this media player for a very good price $59.99 after MIR. I connect it to my TV via HDMI and read files from my laptop thr' network, no problem at all. The output picture / video quality is 100/100 subject to this price. I highly recommend it.

Comment:
I got this and WDTV. It is better than WDTV Overall it`s a nice media player. I had a bit of trouble at first with the network setup, but after a bit got it going. I do like the video preview window but I didn`t like the GUI.

Comment:
Got tired of using the kid's noisy computer as a media player and got this. Works fairly well with our big old tube over composite; haven't had a chance to hook it up to a HDMI tv yet. The interface doesn't like the overscan of the old tv, though, some words are clipped at the sides.The remote is a bit fussy to use but has lots of buttons to directly access various controls and features.Have it hooked up to an external usb drive for storage. Once the drive is mounted (takes a little while) it works fine. Managing files works okay after you get the hang of the slightly odd interface.It plays anything we've thrown at it, and the audio is good. Can't properly judge the picture yet since I'm watching over a composite connection.

Comment:
Have two of these, one in the living room, one in the bedroom. No drives installed, use my Synology NAS and stream all content to the Box Offices. No issues running two over a 10/100 network, everything streams fine.Almost the same O/S as a Kingwin media player/recorder I used to own, only much better remote and smaller footprint.

Comment:
I got this when I thought my WDTV had bit the dust. I managed to get it going again and decided to keep this for a second media player. Overall it`s a nice media player. I had a bit of trouble at first with the network setup, but after a bit got it going. I do like the video preview window but I didn`t like the GUI. It`s a good unit to pick up if you need a media player. I personally prefer the WDTV myself, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

Comment:
After reading a lot about this player and what it can do, I decided to pick one up. The price was fantastic after the $35 MIR as it came up to only about $55 and change. The Patriot Box Office (PBO) is a very small unit and has a really nice quality feel to it with its aluminum body.A few advantages this unit has is its file support and storage abilities. This little thing can play a plethora of different file formats including RMVB which may appeal to the Asian audience out there. In addition, it has an internal bay for a 2.5" SATA hard drive. Only problem with this is that the unit can get quite toasty with the drive installed. The remote control is also great. If you've ever used any of the other media streaming devices, the PBO remote is a big step ahead. There are a ton of useful buttons on there.There's a front USB connector which you can plug a flash drive or external HD into. Alternatively, you can also stream video over your network through the 100Mbit LAN port. I would have liked to see a 1Gbit port instead but, I use wireless most of the time anyway so it's not a big deal, just a nice feature. With that being said, in order to use wireless, you do need a wireless USB adapter which does not come included but, you can pick one up for a few bucks. The wireless function while slow, seems to work quite well as long as the bitrate isn't too bad. I can transfer at about 3MB/s from my computer wirelessly to the PBO.The interface itself leaves a lot to be desired. It does the job in most cases but it's not aesthetically pleasing by any means and it can get a little troublesome to navigate in some cases. But, most Realtek devices share a similar interface so, there really isn't much you can do about this one.Overall, it's a wonderful system. The quality is quite good and it's packed with some nice features not to mention the price is great. If you read up on the Patriot forums, you can also do some nice modifications to this machine as long as you're careful.

Comment:
My main media player is a popcorn hour, but i bought this as a cheaper media box for upstiars, it does what it says, but it can be a bit slow, and i find the UI to just be a bit weirdfor the price though, you can't complain it works great, sound and picture are awesomeRemote could be a bit bigger

Comment:
overall it's a very solid piece, easy to usethe remote controller is well designed, and responsivethere is also hdmi cable in the box which is nice and it has a very good internet forum support, very helpfulI just wish the firmware comes with the factory could support more internet video stream featureand also they need a better installation guide

Comment:
This is the second one I've bought and eventhough not the prettiest it does the job. And it does pass the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). And for the price I haven't seen anything quite as good. The linux backend is very useful if you're in to that kind of thing (I setup nfs mounts to my media center).

Comment:
Wanted something that would server files in place of my main computer (win7 - 64bit) being on all the time.With the PBO and slightly modified linux files (easy to do), I now have a cheap ~$50 nas unit with one 2.5" internal drive and up to 3 usb attached drives i can also access from the network.I no longer need to keep my main computer on to audio/video files to the other computers.Plus it plays everything i throw at it with very clear and crisp image through both hdmi and composite to the TV.The PBO forum has a great wealth of info on modding and updating the firmware.Bought this unit because its also suppose to be nearly impossible to brick when doing firmware upgrades, and even if it does you can always send it back to the mfg for warrenty in the states.Overall i'm very happy with the unit as it statisfies my may needs:-Cheaply priced!!!-Doubles as a NAS with one 2.5" hdd(currently 500Gb)-Ability to add an additional 3 ext usb drives-Plays everything i throw at it very nicely on my 42"-Bonus: Forum members at PBO are very knowledgeable and willing to help out.Only con i can think of is that network speeds on this unit transfers at a sustained 5Mb/s (not the fastest but I just do a bulk copy over the first time overnight or when i'm doing something else around the house... I believe you can connect it through usb to the comp, but i'm too lazy and can live with the network speed.

Comment:
Haven't had time to play around with custom firmwares, but I've seen some pretty cool screenshots that makes the player turn into a neat movie player that you can show off to your friends. In general, the box is very versatile. Patriot forums is a great place to go to learn about customizing it.

Comment:
I bought this last week with a 500GB 2.5in HD. The unit is absolutely amazing, we used it all weekend and I felt it before turning it off, it wasn't even hot. Tested Network - very fast. Tested USB transfer to HD - very fast. I also ordered the Wireless USB key from EBAY for $20USD. It plays every format I've sent so far. I also really like that the remote has it's own volume control, along with the TV volume it's easy to find the right level for various files. Played a dl HD movie, couldn't tell the difference between my HD cable and the file. You'll love it.

Comment:
I have installed a 7.2RPM sata drive into it, plugged to my laptop (windows 7) and drag and drop  my files into the drive! Simply too easy :)The quality of the videos is really good, but it always depend of the file that you are playing.The RJ-45 plug is really usefull for sharing files over the network, because even if my hard drive is full, I have a 2 terabytes on my pc muhaha !The HDMI is great, but you need .MKV files to make it BRIGHT LIKE A STAR :D!If you are watching movies on your pc, you must have this piece of equipment, it's GREAT!