Reviews

Long time readers of MissingRemote will remember a popular review we did in 2009 where some of the top Windows Media Center movie plugins are pitted against each other, and how My Movies 3.0 emerged as my personal favorite. My Movies has always been a movie management system which unlike some plugins, includes a fully user manageable server with a database backend and a very customizable frontend. My Movies 4 is a full new version number but the changes aren't as comprehensive as its predecessor. Now included is extensive TV episode and series support, as well as a slightly modified database interface which aims to bring My Movies into the forefront of two of the main types of Media Management users--TV and movies.

What is it?

My Movies 4.0 is an all-inclusive movie manager and frontend (interface) for Windows Vista and Windows 7 Media Center users. If you are not a Media Center user you can still leverage the extensive movie database backend to manage your collection as the application will make universally recognizable files for other applications and devices such as XBMC, HDI Dune and Popcorn Hour, to name a few. The application was created by Brian Binnerup back in 2004 due to the lack of a native Windows' default Movie Library  in Media Center. Over the years My Movies has built arguably the largest database of movie information and artwork.

What's Changed

The H10.ODD is a microATX fanless HTPC-centric chassis brought to use by HDPLEX Inc. If the name HDPLEX (no relation to OSX Media Center Plex) sounds familiar, it should. We helped spread the word a little over a year ago HD Plex Announces Fanless, Heatpipe-cooled All-Aluminum HTPC Enclosures. I was curious then and jumped at the opportunity to review one of the first H10.ODD made available.

In the words of HDPLEX CEO Larry Liu, “We [HDPLEX] set out to create a family of products that look good when combined with high-end A/V equipment, are silent and affordable”. High end and affordable are not words this editor has commonly seen used together and I was intrigued to see whether they succeeded.

Today we have for review the QNAP NMP-1000P universal media player device. If this sounds and looks familiar, it's because we have previously reviewed its predecessor, the QNAP NMP-1000 which was a very capable media player that could play a wealth of formats. Tim’s main points of argument were the cost and size of the player. While neither of those changed with this revision, there were a couple of items that have changed which make this an even more attractive unit. As you may expect, this NMP-1000P from QNAP is on our Media Player Comparison Guide if you would like to compare with other players on the market. As it is one of the highest end players available, we will look to see if the $400+ retail price is appropriate and worthy of your hard earned dollars.

SPECIFICATIONS

Let’s start out with the most glaring point about the NMP-1000P that’s different than the 1000 version--if you live in the United States, this device is currently not available for sale there. For the purposes of this review, I won’t re-hash what Tim has already done a a wonderful job on in May of this year in his review of the NMP-1000P. Instead I will focus on what makes this version different and how it matches up.

Here are the detailed specs from QNAP NMP-1000P:

Home theater PC chassis manufacturer OrigenAE has consistently produced some of the most lust worthy high-end cases available on the market today.  Intended as a companion to their M10 mini-ITX enclosure, the M7 integrated stereo amplifier marks the company’s first foray into the audio space.  Offering impressive specifications at an MSRP of $595 this little aluminum enclosed 25W hi-fi is targeted at the space limited audiophile who needs to support multiple devices.