We had a good two weeks with the Noontec Media Player MovieHome V8. It’s a totally new media player to me but having used and played with a lot of similar ones before, it was fairly easy to familiarize myself with the device. Check out our full review after the jump.
There are a number of models in the Noontec line-up and the MovieHome V8 NAS is the newest of the lot (launched back in June with a local distributor bringing the unit to the Philippines just this month).
The manufacturer (Noontec) is based in Shenzen, China and has been making a lot of media players for years including a recently launched Android Gingerbread-based Smart TV HD Player.
The player looks like a cross between one of those black and slim DVD players and the PS3 with its combination of glossy and sand-paper finish.
The Noontec V8 houses an internal storage using a 2.5″ or 3.5″ HDD with capacities of up to 3TB. You can transfer movies into the drive via a USB 3.0 cable or directly download files straight into the client. The drive bay can be easily opened from the front when you install a HDD (no need to unscrew any of the metal panels).
That somewhat justifies the larger than usual size of the player compared to the ones we used before.
You can also connect an external drive, NAS, or SD card on any of the ports built into the player. There’s a single HDMI port at the back to connect to your TV or, if you have an analog display, use the S-Video sockets.
The SD card reader is on the right side and can read media card with up to 8GB in capacity (not sure why it’s limited to that size but it could probably be fixed with a firmware update).
There’s a Gigabit LAN port as well to connect the player to the network although an optional WiFi dongle can be hooked to one of the USB 2.0 ports if you want wireless connection. The LED display up front also provides helpful info about the media you are currently playing.
The Noontec V8 reads just about any of the more common file for movies (including Bluray ISO), music and photos. And the HDD doesn’t need any special formatting as it supports FAT32 and NTFS.
Video decoding: MPEG 1/2/4, Xvid, H.264,VC-1, RM/RMVB
Video formats: AVI, MPG,TS/M2TS/TP/TRP, ISO, IFO, VOB, DAT, MP4, FLV, WMV, MKV, MOV, RM/RMVB
Audio formats: APE, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG, FLAC, Dolby Digital, DTS Digital
Audio codec: MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, AAC, LPCM, FLAC, AC3
Photo file format: JPG, JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, GIF
One issue I had was that the manual that came with it is all in Chinese. Luckily, you can download a copy of the English Manual from their website.
The UI is very simple and easy to understand and use. It’s fast and responsive even when the list of titles on the catalog is quite long. It’s a minor feature but I really liked the idea of having a background wallpaper that you can customize on the screen.
Setting up the device to the network was pretty easy and straightforward via the LAN port. I haven’t tried the WiFi since it will need the optional, dedicated dongle to go with it. The Gigabit connection (1,000Mbps) is a huge plus factor when you’re transferring large files across your network. If not, you can still use the USB 3.0 port for really fast file transfers.
The Noontec V8 also comes with a Bittorent client so you can download movies straight into the internal HDD. The interface of the client needs a little bit more work though — it’s not that user-friendly (I keep coming back to the Chinese manual). In any case, it does the work as expected and as long as it can download torrents on its own, that’s fine by me.
Movie playback is fast and smooth with support for full HD 1080p videos. No lags or noticeable choking of video streams. Video output is great and the player renders them without any degradation (tried it on a 42-inch LCD TV and worked flawlessly).
The LED display in the front does help in providing media information of the file I am playing (as well as the elapsed time).
The remote control looks good, has a solid build and easy to use and operate. I wish they added backlit keys so one can use them even in the dark.
The Noontec Media Player MovieHome V8 has a suggested retail price of Php7,799 but they’re offering it for Php6,999 as an introductory price (HDD sold separately).
Not a bad price for a pretty capable device — biggest advantage is the USB 3.0, Gigabit LAN and Bittorent client.
Don’t know which stores carry these players but you can email [email protected] for inquiries (will update once I get them).
Wait, there’s more!
I asked the local distributor if I can give away this review unit and they gladly agreed. Let’s make this very easy and simple, just the way we do giveaways around here.
All you need to do is this — complete this sentence:
I’m excited to watch the < name of movie > on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player. Want one? Grab one free from YugaTech — http://yugatech.ph/pKdxNy
Leave a comment below with a link to your entry and answer this question — what’s you all-time favorite movie and why?
Hit the comments with your answer. We’ll randomly pick a winner by October 24.
Follow us on Twitter, Google+ or add us up on Facebook for more updates and contests.
My favorite movie of all time is transformers. I love action, suspense and thrilling movies.
what’s you all-time favorite movie and why?
a: Spider-man movies. i love tobey and mary jane tandem. =)
https://www.facebook.com/#!/aronhinanay/posts/244570255592664
I’m excited to watch The Godfather HD on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player. Want one? Grab one free from YugaTech — http://yugatech.ph/pKdxNy
https://twitter.com/#!/chadman4/status/1281009661*****561
https://plus.google.com/1020708*****475105631/posts/goaBSzJuMem
Pick meeeeeeeee :)
Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie and why?
A: Pirates of Silicon Valley. Its all about how Apple and Microsoft rose from an orchard farm at California, and now called Silicon Valley.
Link: http://facebook.com/simonsoft
I’m excited to watch the Pirates of Silicon Valley on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player. Want one? Grab one free from YugaTech — http://yugatech.ph/pKdxNy
My favorite movie of all time is the Movie Titanic because is has a nice Love Story and i love it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1299373913
https://twitter.com/#!/paomagz/status/128098190*****4720
I’m excited to watch The Hangover on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player! Nothing beats good times with good friends and a good movie with the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player!
my all time favorite movie is Shrek because that is the first movie that my daughter watch and it was really memorable
https://twitter.com/#!/jingkring/status/1281006046*****344
My all-time favorite is ‘Edward Scissorhands’
If you don’t like this movie, you have no heart! this movie has always held a very special place in my heart!
http://twitter.com/#!/acegirl23/status/128098436*****1649
https://twitter.com/#!/paomagz/status/128098190*****4720
I’m excited to watch The Hangover on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player. Want one? Grab one free from YugaTech — http://yugatech.ph/pKdxNy
my all time favorite movie is Princess Mononoke by my idol, Hayao Miyazaki. It is the first movie i know from Miyazaki and it’s the movie that lead me to discover all other masterpiece of mr. miyazaki.. :)
link to my post:
http://twitter.com/#!/epwilmawi/status/128098793*****2080
Q:What’s your all-time favorite movie and why?
A: Harry Potter! Because I love magic….
http://dencioh.tumblr.com/post/11815928447/im-excited-to-watch-the-harry-potter-on-the
Noontec Media Player MovieHome V8 Nice Name xD i can enjoy my Sembreak with this Noontec Media Player MovieHome V8. S
Wishing to have this one
More Power to Yogatech Ph..
GodBless..
My all-time favorite is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Oh boy! Who will forget that roller coaster ride like chase scene. This movie is one of Spielberg’s best!
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=181038455*****5&id=1000001*****005
I’m excited to watch the IRONMAN on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player so that I can take advantage of the cinema capabilities of the device that the movie’s action packed special effects delivers. Want one? Grab one free from YugaTech — http://yugatech.ph/pKdxNy
My all-time favorite movie is Wall-E because it makes me cry
http://twitter.com/#!/bill_0784/status/127934786630197248
My all time favorite movie is the Lord of the Rings because I watched it many times.
FB share: http://www.facebook.com/repageo/posts/13066462*****25
I’m excited to watch the Lord Of the Rings Trilogy Extended version because there can only be one ring to rule them all on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player. Want one? Grab one free from YugaTech — http://yugatech.ph/pKdxNy
My all time favorite movie is Forrest Gump because life is like a box of chocolates and you’ll never know if I’m going to get this media player… hehehe
http://www.facebook.com/macjune
My all time favorite Movie is Spiderman.
Because great power comes with great responsibility (My message to our leaders here in the Philippines) ^_^
http://www.facebook.com/jeff.jularbal1
Drool! I would love to have a media player to replace my ageing DVD player!
http://twitter.com/#!/pinoypie/status/127789825360269312