Media centre test: boxes from AC Ryan and Emtec

AC Ryan Playon!HD mini Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Popcorn Hour A-300 Built-In Blu-ray Player HDI Dune HD Max Functions on a Shoestring Popbox V8

Two budget products enter our media centre product survey today. Cheap, but does this mean sub-standard? Not necessarily!

The AC Ryan Playon!HD mini is an affordable multimedia gangway which nevertheless offers a full range of features. Compatible with HD videos and DVD rips as well as DTS audio tracks, it can also create a video jukebox. A threat to the WD TV Live? Could well be.

Viewing and recording digital HD, recording external sources, HD video playback and networking features: this is what the Emtec Movie Cube V800H promises. Add to that a control screen, an SDHC card reader and a competitive price tag and you have a media centre that, on paper at least, seems to offer a pretty comprehensive service. What will this mean in practice?

> Test: AC Ryan Playon!HD mini
> Test: Emtec Movie Cube V800H

> Product Survey: Multimedia Hard Drives and Media Centres


> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products