Page 4 - Performance and Conclusion
Audio/Video Performance
The MPLAY-HD's multimedia handling and output quality is generally acceptable. It plays the most common types of video and audio formats that I can throw at it through my external USB hard drive. All audio files I have played very smoothly from what I have experienced. Almost all video files played just as well, from standard definition videos, all the way up to high definition 1080p videos -- with the exception of MPEG 1/2/4 files as mentioned on the previous page.
Bringing up text files and image files takes no longer than a couple of seconds as expected, all without significant loading times -- even though there may be tons of files to boot up. Overall, much of the media that was selected to display ran smoothly.
In terms of audio quality, subjective audio testing was performed with digital optical output to my home audio system. The MPLAY-HD came with composite analog output, so I constantly switched between that and the onboard digital out for comparison purposes. A digital connection is not necessarily dependent on the device itself, because the signal is converted to analog on your receiver rather than relying on the DAC and operational amplifiers on the Micca MPLAY-HD. The Patriot Box Office and the QNAP NMP-1000 reviewed by Jonathan not too long ago were exhibited some difference in quality between the analog and digital signal. Our MPLAY-HD's audio quality had similar reported characteristics of the QNAP NMP-1000. Although I took over half an hour to completely distinguish the quality of sound using a double blinded test, is was quite obvious the composite analog inputs were slightly inferior in quality, and would be more noticeable when playing high bitrate audio files, especially when it contains heavier bass to it with the contrast of the higher treble sounds.
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Generally speaking, the Micca MPLAY-HD is a decent media player for the price. Its eye appealing physical design will go well with any modern room equipped with a flat panel TV, and its compact design is really the icing on the cake. As far as a digital media player is concerned, it does not lack much on paper. The graphical user interface, features, and media handling are commendable for $60 price tag at press time. Unfortunately, the market has become too competitive recently. A quick price tag indicates that the Patriot Box office is only $65 after mail in rebate at press time, and while it does not have a graphical user interface as good as the MPLAY-HD, it is network enabled, can accommodate an internal hard drive, and features superior hardware. That's not to mention that an HDMI cable is not provided with the Micca system, so buying your own will certainly bring up the price to Patriot Box Office territory. Meanwhile, the Micca MPLAY-HD's user interface is simple, fast, snappy, and has a visually appealing design, despite the fact that it does not have any animated eye candy. More optimization work to make the usage experience better would be highly appreciated (As we always like to say, learning a few things from Windows Media Center is definitely a step in the right direction). It would also be awesome if it features indexing to improve performance and media handling as well. Of all things, the biggest issue boils down to minor lag spikes when playing MPEG 1/2/4 videos with the firmware provided at press time. To sum it all up, if Micca would make the MPLAY-HD even more price competitive, implement more eye candy in the user interface for improved media experience, and fix its MPEG video playback issues in upcoming firmware updates, then here's a media player you can definitely consider on your home theater shopping list.
Special thanks to Jack over at Micca for making this review possible.
APH Review Focus Summary:
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 6.0/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The Micca MPLAY-HD media player is a compact and stealthy digital media player with a commendably simple and snappy user interface.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. A Closer Look - Software
4. Performance and Conclusion
