AC Ryan Playon!HD2

AC Ryan has updated its flagship media centre with the Playon!HD2 stuffed with new features. We're now in the era of USB 3, social networks and Ethernet Gigabit. AC Ryan has however still been able to use the know-how built up previously, with strong multimedia compatibility and access to a multimedia jukebox, reworked for this new model.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the glossiest of them all?

The small black box is identical in shape to the first generation Playon!HD but now has a glossy black coating. It certainly attracts your attention but is also a magnet for dust and finger marks.

Inserting a 3.5" hard drive is easy enough via the side slot and doesn't require any screwing/unscrewing. There's a new, slimmer remote, but it's still of average quality. The buttons aren't very convincing, you often have to press firmly for the command to be registered.

A nice interface, visually speaking

The navigation interface is the same as that used for the AC Ryan Essential. It's an improvement on the old one, with good use of the full-HD screen display area. The only fault is that it isn't always the fastest. Each action takes time, less than on the Essential, sure, but still noticeable. The manufacturer seems conscious of this problem with the first update partially correcting it.

You can browse files in three ways: tree format, list or by thumbnail (ten per page). Miniature mode is particularly effective for photos with almost instantaneous display. It's a shame that you can't view album covers in the same way, whether internal or external.

Finally, a cataloguing system allows you to search for files according to various criteria. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily much use with music on this model as only mp3 tags can be read and therefore catalogued. For films and photos, consultation by folder is still more practical.

A high performance video jukebox

There's also an improved, much more attractive, video jukebox. Film and series info is retrieved via computer, using a modified version of the YAMJ system that retrieves very pertinent information. Handling of series episodes and seasons is particularly good. Various filters can be activated to sort different titles. The only thing we would suggest is being able to display more posters per page.

Compatibility: exemplary

Based on a new generation Realtek chip, this Playon!HD2 didn't really have any problems during our tests. The HD videos all played, even those with very high throughput (Baraka, Avatar, 2012...).

DTS and Dolby Digital tracks can be decoded (downmix stereo or PCM 5.1) or sent to an audio amp in bitstream. Blu-ray and DVD backups are recognised no problem and only Blu-ray menus can't be read. The time it takes to move from one photo to the next is very rapid: hardly one second to go from one to the next.

Connectivity: USB 3 and Gigabit Ethernet

You get a full range of video outs with HDMI, component and composite. The audio can be transited via the HDMI, in SPDIF (optical and coaxial) or analogue stereo (RCA). There are two USB 2.0 ports and an SDHC card reader on the right hand side of the casing. File copying here is rapid with a 50% increase on the previous generation.


Next come two particularly anticipated innovations: USB 3.0 and the Gigabit network (1000 Mbps). The USB port is only a type B one which allows you to link the Playon straight up to a computer. With this, file copying is very fast indeed, going up from 25 to over 80 MB/s! This is particularly handy when you're copying lots of HD videos.

The network part is however much less convincing. While there is a gain of 35% on the Playon!HD '1' and video streaming playback doesn't pose any problems, you're still at just 5.8 MB/s when copying files from a computer. We were expecting much better, especially as this rate doesn't even equal the best 100 Mbps models.

To finish on a positive note. A good few cables are supplied. On the programme: an HDMI, a component, an RCA (composite + stereo audio) and above all a USB 3.0 cable.