Astone media player review

The plain design, complex networking system and lack of a hard drive may deter some people. At first glance, the Astone Media Gear p AP looks like a bedside clock with its flimsy construction and bland design. However, it's actually a media player with good format support, a reasonable price and the ability to play Full HD media. There are two USB ports at the front; unfortunately they are placed extremely close together.

This makes it virtually impossible to plug two USB drives into the unit simultaneously; to use both ports, one would need to be plugged in via extension cable.

This is an impressive array of connections for a player at this price point. Playback is seamless and smooth; we didn't notice any frames skipping in videos. When watching videos, users have the option to switch between resolutions, including p, p, p and p.

Users also have the option to view photographs, and eight transition effects can be selected for slideshows. The media player lets you create playlists of videos, music and photos; however it does not have any internal memory. In order to access media files an external storage device will need to be plugged into the unit via the USB connection. The media player can connect to an existing network and stream music, photos and videos directly from a connected computer.

If you're willing to overlook its flimsy design, poorly positioned USB ports and complicated networking, the high-performance Full HD media playback and extensive format support will definitely satisfy most users. Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up. There's also limited on-board support for iPod playback, but only from hard drive models such as the iPod Classic. One feature we've seen in many media streamers is online media compatibility, and here the D is noticeably lacking, with no in-built YouTube or similar streaming capability.

The last time we reviewed an Astone media player , we came away almost entirely dissatisfied. Suffice to say, when the APD landed on our test bench, we weren't all that hopeful. The D didn't entirely wow us with any new way of looking at media streaming, but at the same time, it's a capable enough little unit. The APD's menu system, and indeed most of the unit itself can be summed up in one word: basic.

Menu layouts look rough, there's nothing in the way of animation or even character graphics around each selection, and there's an almost retro, DOS-like style to the whole affair.

Where the APD does work is that it'll play back almost anything you throw at it. Fancy menus don't mean a whole lot when you're actually watching content. The remote control for the APD is cheap and fairly woeful. It's one area where corners have clearly been cut, and layout should have been more logical. Again, it works, but it's nothing fancy. We mentioned the bottom-mounted ports on the D earlier for a reason.

If you're familiar with basic thermodynamics, you'll be aware that heat rises. Bottom-mounted vents are therefore not going to be the most efficient way to vent excess temperature. After only a short while, we found the D tended to heat up alarmingly. It never managed to crash itself, even during a Sydney heatwave, but objects around it did pick up a lot of ambient heat.

The APD is a basic media streamer, priced accordingly. Alex Kidman.