Thecus M3800 Stream Box [Review]

Thecus M3800 Stream Box [Review]

Jayesh Limaye, Apr 24, 2009 1630 hrs IST

A unique device that combines Network Attached Storage and HD multimedia streaming capabilities

Good performance, HD 1080p playback, RAID 0, 1, 5 and JBOD, multiple outputs, stylish and feature-packed, cool and quiet operation, hot-plug capable

Limited format support (no MKV and MP3), exorbitant price

Expert Rating :

Expert Review

HTPC's are in vogue these days and the falling prices of LCD displays have only added to their demand. Media players have taken advantage of this opportunity and have already made an appearance in the market. It was only recently that we reviewed the WD TV media player, but what this player lacked was the capability to include storage.

To make up for this, Thecus (best known for its excellent NAS devices) has launched the AMD Geode processor based M3800, which is a unique combination of a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device along with HD multimedia streaming capabilities. This truly versatile device is with us today and we are going to find out whether Thecus manages to pull this one off in the right way.

Bundle

Thecus M3800

Composite A/V cable

Composite RGB cable

HDMI cable

Network cable

Remote control

Power adapter

User manual

Software disc

Connecting cables of different types are provided, so you're able to connect to most display devices. The M3800 comes with a power adapter that looks similar to a laptop adapter. While a separate adapter may not seem to be a good idea, it does make sense, as it will lower the heat dissipation inside the casing. The remote control is pretty small (almost as small as the remote control that came with the Canon HG20 camcorder) and lets you control most of the basic functions associated with media playback.

Brief explanation of the concept

Before we proceed any further, we would like to familiarize you with this new concept device. While this device is a NAS device, it has multimedia features that make it a first of its kind device in the market. In fact, you can consider it to be a PC, but unlike a normal PC, this one specializes in two tasks: data storage over a network and playback of multimedia files. When we say multimedia playback, we mean that it can play full HD video at resolutions of 1080p, directly to a HD capable display

As you may be able to see in the above schematic, the M3800 acts as a central storage device that can not only store data, but also play and stream media files to different devices or even over the internet. With the basics cleared, we can now proceed to find out what the M3800 has to offer.