A while ago I was sent the ASUS BDS-700 O!Play media player to, well, play around with. I spent quite a bit of time getting to know the device and how to work with it and how to stream various files. It was pretty easy to set up and use, and while it had its own little foibles, it has proven to be an essential tool for our home entertainment.
Now, ASUS have launched the next step in home entertainment fun and frolics – the O!Play Media Pro Smart TV set-top box which comes with plenty of features. It should keep even the most die-hard home entertainment fan happy.
This powerful media player supports over 50 different formats so you are almost guaranteed complete compatibility. The Wireless-N and Gigabit Ethernet offer high-speed access to live entertainment options and both downloads and streaming of HD content are kept smooth and seamless.
The O!Play Media Pro supports more formats than the BDS-700, which shows ASUS has paid attention to some of the more common format queries that appeared around that device. This shiny new Smart TV set-top box also has a built-in DVB-T digital TV tuner so it can not only give you access to digital TV, but it also doubles as a set-top box that comes complete with the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) so you can schedule and record content in advance.
You can also stream content from pretty much anything with this O!Play Media Pro – your desktop, notebook, pad, and smartphone all become source gadgets that stream directly to your TV. I am pretty keen on the smartphone streaming option as it has always been something of a WANT for me – I do a lot of videos on mine and loathe the painstaking ripping and prepping that I have to do before I can watch them.
Overall this new ASUS O!Play Media Pro Smart TV set-top box looks pretty interesting. I’d love to get my hands on it and see how set-up and use compare to its older sister. What do you think? Would you love one of these in your home?
Mrs Mario
Mrs.Mario is a freelance journalist who loves to write about anything and everything. She accidentally fell into the cauldron of technology about eight years ago and has been slowly simmering in there ever since. She’s a geek but still has tons to learn about the wonderful world of technology. She also suffers from a rare disease known as “need to game” that demands it’s sufferers play at least one videogame a week. So far, she’s been coping with her ailment admirably.