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Xtreamer PRO – Larger storage capacity + 7.1 DTS TrueHD
Oct 1st
After some much anticipation, Xtreamer has finally launched their Xtreamer PRO media players and this product ticked all our boxes when it was road tested. First off, the build quality is excellent with 90% of the case made from a sleek, black brushed aluminium case which not only looks great, but helps with keeping Xtreamer PRO cool under operation (a built in fan also exists). We tested the unit’s playback capabilities with a range of files including avi, mpeg, mp4, rmvb, divX and almost every other file format the unit claimed to support and it played it all without any problems. What really interested us was the fact that the Xtreamer pro comes with an improved chipset which supports MKV (h.264) as well as Dolby DTS-TrueHD 7.1CH audio. We connected the Xtreamer Pro up to a Harmon Kardon AVR260 to test the 7.1 sound
and played back a movie file encoded in MKV (h.264) and we were pleasantly surprised at the clarity of the movie (1080p) as well as the digital sound.
The Xtreamer PRO also supports wireless-N via a USB antenna and while this wasn’t standard or included in retail packaging (it is an optional extra at $25), I suppose not everyone requires this feature and helps keep the price a little lower. We also found that the “Xtreamer Live” (or xLive) function which allowed streaming content over the Internet was also pretty cool (I really liked the internet radio feature) and we have heard that Xtreamer is putting in more work on the xLive feature to add in more channels.
Its dual bay internal storage accepts 2 x 3.5″ SATA drives which means it can hold up to a whopping 4TB of data. It also has 2 x USB host supports which allows an external USB device (such as a friend’s hard drive) to be connected to the unit and have media files played from this external drive to further extend its storage capacity. The Xtreamer Pro is a must have device for you media lovers or for those who want a digital jukebox or media centre as an addition to their home theatre setup in one small but incredibly powerful unit.
Xtreamer Sidewinder – Now fanless
Sep 27th
After some debate about cooling issues for the compact Xtreamer media player, the manufacturer has decided to replace all of their 2.5″ Xtreamer media players with the new Xtreamer Sidewinder which is a fanless design and uses a large aluminium heatsink which acts as part of the case design on one entire side of the unit to help keep operating temperatures down dramatically when used for longer periods.
As well as improving cooling temperatures, Xtreamer has improved the chipset in their units thanks to the new Realtek 128X chipset which enables support for Dolby DTS-True HD Audio 7.1Ch which is a much anticipated and welcomed feature for many audiophiles and movie buffs out there.
These recent improvements to the 2.5″ Xtreamer Sidewinder media players makes this an extremely powerful and compact unit for those who want a silent/fanless portable media player that can also play high definition, high compression files such as MKV (h.264) on their DTS-TrueHD 7.1 enabled home theatre setup. The Xtreamer sidewinder uses 2.5″ SATA notebook hard drives to keep the unit compact and portable.
If portability is not an issue and you want somthing with large storage space, you may want to take a look at the Xtreamer PRO which has dual bay storage drives and uses 3.5″ SATA desktop drives to allow storage of up to 4TB.
iPad gets an external keyboard
Sep 24th
While the iPad is a great all in one device, the problem lies in long periods of extensive typing using the on screen keyboard. It can get tiresome due to the non-existent ergonomics as well as causing repetitive strain injury. Apple has acknowledged this problem and released their version of the iPad keyboard, however I found that it while it worked well, Apple’s iPad keyboard had a built in dock which restricted the viewing distance of the user and the keyboard since the iPad had to always be docked on its cradle in order for the keyboard to function. This then caused eye strain after about 15-20mins of use. We then found an iPad keyboard which has a separate docking station to allow the iPad to be placed at a much more comfortable distance from the user. This separate dock allowed me to freely place my iPad into the dock/stand and use the iPad for longer periods without any eye strain. The iPad keyboard is also a very good size without constant fumbling and missing keys like some smaller portable keyboards out there. It also had all the handy one touch keys to access
the home screen, spot light search functions, adjust screen brightness, etc. Build quality is excellent and has a nice tactile feel to the keyboard, similar to the original Apple version. Priced lower than the original Apple iPad keyboard, along with a separate dock, this product gets my vote!