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Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player Review

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.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

313 Responses

  1. Avatar for Don Reyes Don Reyes says:

    I’m excited to watch “300” on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player.nothing like a movie that will inspire you to fight against the odds,,and much dramatic and surreal with HD playback!

  2. Avatar for Aileen Siwa Aileen Siwa says:

    My all-time fave movie is Miss Congeniality because it showed how strong a woman’s personality is and how she should be treated.

    https://twitter.com/#!/AileenSiwa/status/123422586590871552

  3. Avatar for Ken Go Ken Go says:

    my all-time favorite movie is The Lost Bladesman, as it depicts chinese history adapting the story of Guan Yu.

  4. Avatar for Demi Barbra Angeles Demi Barbra Angeles says:

    http://twitter.com/mishidems/status/123419074695*****8

    My all-time favorite movie is the Harry Potter series. Cause it made my adolescent life fun, complete and full of inspiration. :)

  5. Avatar for Jhun Jhun says:

    https://twitter.com/#!/jhunserrano/status/123414557388570625

    my all-time favorite movie is The Godfather, ’cause it brings out the gangsta in me.

  6. Avatar for Marlon Marlon says:

    I’m excited to watch Phineas and Ferb Movie on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player. Want one? Grab one free from YugaTech — http://yugatech.ph/pKdxNy

    My all-time favorite movie is Disney’s Phineas and Ferb. Best musical-animation TV. Original story and best original music. Good for family viewing (Kids of all ages will definitely enjoy!) Noontec MovieHome V8 connected to your TV…. with popcorn… with the whole family…. Heaven at Home! … :-)

  7. Avatar for edson igloria edson igloria says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/_edson1to/status/123397557408894977

    my all-time favorite movie is Kung FU Panda because I love Po’s awesome character. awesomeness!!

  8. Avatar for Mark Mark says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/markz08/status/123391177197240320

    what’s you all-time favorite movie and why?

    My all-time favorite movie is Memento because it is a mind-bending film and one of the best suspense movies I’ve seen.

  9. Avatar for soulgemini84 soulgemini84 says:

    One of my all time favorite movie is Lord of the Rings (Trilogy). Epic film at its own. Saw these on the big screen but I want/wish to watch this again on a full high def. :)

    https://twitter.com/#!/soulgemini84

  10. Avatar for freejosef freejosef says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/freejosef/status/123388896884174848

    I am so excited to watch The Usual Suspects on the Noontec MovieHome V8 Media Player! Kevin Spacey is just so evil in this one. I recommend it to everyone who wants a good movie!

  11. Avatar for jan keifer jan keifer says:

    https://twitter.com/#!/jankeifer

    favorite movie of all time? hmm..

    definitely STAR WARS 1-6, because you’ll really see the evolution of how movies was made before and comparing it to today.. also I’m a big fan of George Lucas

  12. Avatar for rod rod says:

    my all time favorite is Star Wars because the force is too strong to resist

    https://plus.google.com/1054317*****793243548/posts/XpLSH7ervpw

  13. Avatar for Will Esguerra Will Esguerra says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/will_esguerra/status/123374656609722368

    My all time favorite movie is “Superman” because you will believe that a man could fly. =)

  14. Avatar for Jayson Jayson says:

    My all time favorite is Black Hawk Down! Salute to all those brave soldiers!

    https://plus.google.com/112758974483204030653/posts/eYWymgXNkf8

  15. Avatar for JB Mangalus JB Mangalus says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/jbmangalus

    My all time favorite movie is X-Men coz ilove sci-fi movies and the x-men is a perfect example! :)) (sorry for too many post)

  16. Avatar for AdoubleD AdoubleD says:

    https://plus.google.com/1083549*****453310643/posts?hl=en

    All time favorite movie – KILL BILL 1&2. I love these movies because of it’s witty script, packed with non-stop action.

  17. Avatar for AdoubleD AdoubleD says:

    https://plus.google.com/1083549*****453310643/posts?hl=en

    All favorite movie – KILL BILL 1&2. I love these movies because of it’s witty script, packed with non-stop action.

  18. Avatar for JB Mangalus JB Mangalus says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/jbmangalus

    My all time favorite movie is X-Men coz i want sci-fi movies and the x-men is a perfect example! :))

  19. Avatar for JB Mangalus JB Mangalus says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/jbmangalus

  20. Avatar for jivansky jivansky says:

    ROBOCOP is my favorite movie! Bakit? Co’z I’d but that for a dollar!

    https://twitter.com/#!/jivansky/status/123365050298*****8

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