We were suitably impressed by A.C. Ryan's Playon!HD and Playon!HD mini media players, particularly their ability to playback almost any media format ever conceived.
Unfortunately, the interface, while functional, certainly lacked a little polish. In fact, we said that a firmware update couldn't come soon enough.
Well, it looks as though our prayers have been answered just 48 hours later as the manufacturer has today released a new update that refreshes the user interface and introduces a few new features.
The new firmware replaces the main menu and tweaks the general user interface. Even the bland loading screens have been changed.
On top of the visual updates, several new features have been added, including support for the HFS+ file system and Dolby TrueHD passthrough, as well as improved support for SHOUTcast internet radio. As promised, integration with Yet Another Movie Jukebox has also been included to help manage those unwieldy movie collections.
The firmware updates, along with a complete list of changes, are available now for the Playon!HD and Playon!HD mini directly from A.C. Ryan's website. We've yet to try the official release for ourselves - and A.C. Ryan's own forum users appear to be seeing early teething problems - but for those eager to make the jump, the major changes are outlined as follows:
- New main menu GUI (Graphical User Interface)
- Improved loading animation
- Improved SHOUTcast API2.0 (Internet Radio)
- Added function to display rich content movie cover art image and plays the video instantly
- Added Movie Jukebox function (YAMJ - Yet Another Movie Jukebox)
- Added support for HFS+ file system
- Dolby TrueHD downmix and Passthrough (Licensed for C+ board)
- Dolby Digital Plus downmix (Licensed for C+ board)
- Added loading of screen saver at home menu level
- Added HTTP and FTP server function
- BT/SAMBA are now individual selections
