KWorld M210 Network Media player Review

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Product: M210
Manufacturer: KWorld
Supplied by: KWorld
Price: 97USD/RM289
Launch Date: April 2011

If home theatre system is over budget then you may consider a media player which allows users to run certain of multimedia applications on a TV; this is even better if it is a network media player. KWorld M210 Network Media player is a newly launched network media player which costs less than 100USD with features of full 1080p HD movies, internal storage, Internet streaming programs, support multiple of video codecs & formats and so on.

Company Profile

Among the well-established multimedia video peripherals providers, KWorld Computer is the youngest one who is consistently devoted to developing, manufacturing and promoting PC multimedia video peripherals to the world ever since it has established in 1999.

The name "KWorld" comes from "King of the Multimedia World". KWorld visualize itself in becoming the leader in the audio video industry by delivering quality, and developing consumer based technology to the world.

Features

● Support HDMI,YPbPr&AV Outputs
● HDMI connection and 1080p high-definition video playback.
● Playback Resume
● Supports BT download
● Web services such as YouTube, Picasa, weather and BT download
● sub, smi, ssa, ass, srt, idx + sub, PGS subtitle formats
● Internal 2.5"/3.5" hot swap SATA HDD rack for easy HDD swapping without unscrewing or opening the case

Package & Content

KWorld M210 Network Media Player comes with slightly bulkier enclosure than others if you are familiar with media player but it is wrapped with adequate protection so no worries about that. Besides that plenty of product information are written on packaging to explain its functionality and features.

Besides the KWorld M210 Network Media Player, it still comes with remote control, power adapter, user manual & CD, USB cable, network cable, HDMI cable, composite cable and RCA cable. Factory format utility is included within the CD for restoring KWorld M210 Network Media Player to factory setup.

Here are the closer looks of these bundled accessories and it could be confusing if you do not recognize them but you can always refer to the user manual. KWorld provides three types of video & audio outputs (HDMI, RCA & Component) but only one set is required to make it work correctly.

A Closer on KWorld M210 Network Media Player

M210 was added into KWorld's media player product line recently and currently there are four standard media players and two network media players including M210. Sooner or later non-network supported media player will get replaced by network media player since the price gap between them are getting smaller plus their differences in term of abilities.

Media player is a simple device which allows it to play most of the multimedia files (video, photo, music) through TV, projector and other display devices. However network media player comes with additional feature where it does not solely depend its internal or connected storage but also able to play the multimedia files via the network.

In term of physical size, KWorld M210 Network Media Player is slightly bulkier than other media players due to its internal 3.5" HDD supportability. The exact dimension and weight of KWorld M210 Network Media Player are 190 x 190 x 60 mm and about 1.5 KG; not really bulky but perfectly to be placed in any environment to enjoy a small home theatre system.

Here are the front & rear panels of KWorld M210 Network Media Player; everything has been designed perfect and neatly. KWorld M210 Network Media Player's top panel is a glossy panel which enhances its classy design while other panels are in mesh painting. All the ports are located at the rear panel which gives better cable management and port indication is available for those non-IT experts.

A square power On/Off button is placed on the front panel of KWorld M210 Network Media Player together with a standby indicator and remote receiving sensor. Overall we have nothing to comment about the design and layout of this device but we would like to see additional infrastructure on next successor like SD card reader and front USB port which could significantly increase its attractiveness.

Video format is one of the important factors when selecting a media player and KWorld M210 Network Media Player is well equipped with adequate supportability. E-SATA and SATA connectors are for data transferring or accessing, HDMI, component, RCA and optical are for video & audio while network port is for accessing the multimedia files from other PCs via network.

HDMI is the most preferred video & audio connectivity at this moment as only a single cable is required. An Ethernet port is available for network accessing but wireless is supported as well with an appropriate supported Wi-Fi USB dongle (optional item). However we hope the next successor will come with a built-in Wi-Fi feature which will be much ideal for media player or small home theatre.

Here is the bottom panel of KWorld M210 Network Media Player and a row of ventilation holes is available which is important to dissipate the excess heat as KWorld M210 Network Media Player does not come with any active cooling despite of its size. Four solid rubber feet are used to secure the enclosure on the ground.

Internal storage is not a compulsory feature for a media player but it is definitely convenience for storing up certain amount of files inside. KWorld M210 Network Media Player is able to support a single unit of 2.5"/3.5" SATA HDD (up to 2TB) and its tray is located on the left side of the enclosure. A handle is available for user to pull out or slot in the HDD tray into the enclosure easily.

The HDD tray of KWorld M210 Network Media Player is merely a metal tray without any electrical or PCB device. Thanks to the perfect fitting where manual screw installation is not a compulsory step for 3.5" HDD but it is always good to secure it for long term usage. However this is not applicable for 2.5" HDD as it must be fastened on the metal tray with screws.

Basically the internal portion of KWorld M210 Network Media Player is very spacious and the reason of this is to support a 3.5" HDD or else it could be much smaller; just like other media players. KWorld M210 Network Media Player comes with Realtek RTD1073; the core processor which is one of the famous media player decoder chips with Ethernet and HDMI support.

As we mentioned previously supported formats and codecs are very important for a media player and some of the popular and supported video formats are FLV, MP4, AVI, RMVB, RM, MOV, MKV, ISO and etc. No worries about the unsupported or new video formats or codecs as we believe this could be solved when new firmware is ready.

Remote control is a standard bundled accessory for media player which acts as a keyboard and mouse. Most of remote controls in the market are not only similar in term of design but also in term of functions hence nothing much we would like to stress here as long as the remote control is able to function properly.

Installation, Testing & Performance

Basically KWorld M210 Network Media Player does not require any hardware installation except cable management and HDD installation if it is applicable. Installation for both 3.5"/2.5" HDD is pretty simple, even a newbie is able to get it done fast and accurate. Cable management is not complicated as well but it must be compatible with the display device; either with RCA, component or HDMI. This is not really a problem as most of the latest or few-year old TVs sure will able to support either one of them. Besides the video & audio setup, Ethernet will be the next important setup especially for the wireless environment. Once everything has been setup correctly then it is time to turn it on.

Here is the home screen of KWorld M210 Network Media Player once the booting screen is fully loaded. The available selections for this home screen are movie, music, photo, ms, file copy and setup.

Setup page is one of the important sections which cannot be ignored at least for the initial setup. audio and video configurations are pretty straightforward; just choice the desired outputs to suit the hardware setup environment.

Since KWorld M210 Network Media Player is a network media player, this section is available to fine tune the right setting in order to play the multimedia files via network. Wireless configuration has been pre-programmed and it is ready to be serviced once Wifi USB dongle is attached.

Other languages are supported by KWorld M210 Network Media Player as well such as Simplified & Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, French and German. Samba and BT are supported as well and login could be pre-entered into system for fast accessing.

MISC section provides additional control on how the multimedia files will be played on this device such as resuming movie playing from the last stop segment, photo slide playback interval, adding music background when picture is playing, screen saver, movie previewing and etc.

If internal storage (either HDD or flash drive) is attached to this device then file transferring is allowed between them or with the PC client via network. E-SATA is available for faster accessing speed but we do hope a USB 3.0 port will be available for the next successor which will be much preferred.

Some additional features like forecast weather is added on KWorld M210 Network Media Player which is something nice to have but this feature must be worked together with a valid network for pulling out the data from Internet. Other apps are Internet app, Sina music, Internet radio and stock market.

KWorld M210 Network Media Player can be used to access other PCs on the same network but this works in the other way as well by logging into its Web Management; just type the IP address into the Internal Browser; IP address could be identified from the network page of the system setup.

Default user name and password are "admin" and "123"; password can be changed via account management. All the connected devices on KWorld M210 Network Media Player is viewable via Neighbor Web; such as the storage information of the installed HDD or connected USB flash drive.

One of the benefits to access KWorld M210 Network Media Player via internal browser is to access and control the BT downloading progress. BT support is quite an attractive feature as users can directly download and play the file on the device directly.

Before we received KWorld M210 Network Media Player, we have already tested couple of media players including network media player hence playing around with a media player is not a problem for us. We chose to use HDMI port throughout our test as this is one of the most common ports for both TV and LCD monitors. Powering up the KWorld M210 Network Media Player just requires a single touch on the power button and if no display is shown up due to unsupported resolution then you might press the "Home" button on the remote control which will able to solve this issue.

In order to test out the KWorld M210 Network Media Player completely, we have tested every single functions of this device. Photo, music and video playing through internal HDD and USB flash drive are completely smooth and the display quality is even better than some of those expensive media players that we have tested before; or maybe we could say KWorld M210 Network Media Player is much compatible with wider range of displays. Audio sound quality are pretty standard but this could be improved by connecting it to an amplifier and get a better set of speaker.

File supportability is one of the important factors but it is also a common problem as a media player with limited file supportability is just wasted especially video formats. We have played couple of video formats on KWorld M210 Network Media Player to ensure its video format and up-to-date video codecs supportabilities. So far all of the played video files are supported by this device without any problem; FYI those tested formats in our test were AVI, MKV, MOV, RMVB, RM and etc. Hopefully more video codecs or video formats will be supported when the next firmware is available.

KWorld M210 Network Media Player is a network media player hence we will not miss out this opportunity to test out its ability. Wired Ethernet setup is simple where an active Ethernet connection must be available and other IP configuration could be set to auto mode to make everything simple. For wireless Setup, unfortunately our Wi-Fi USB dongle is not supported hence it is best to consult KWorld support team to verify which brands and models are supported.

The performance of Internet content streaming and playing from other PC under same network are pretty up to expectation but it is really depend on the network speed, stability and reliability; video buffering might be there if the network speed is not fast or stable enough. Overall we are still satisfied with the performance of KWorld M210 Network Media Player. Besides that KWorld M210 Network Media Player can also be served as a simple network storage device (NAS) too; type the device's IP address into "RUN" application; much cheaper for you to get a real NAS which complicated configurations.

Next we would like to touch a little bit on user's experience of KWorld M210 Network Media Player. Overall the responsive of KWorld M210 Network Media Player is pretty good with the remote control; but this could be further enhanced to make the remote controlling much sensitive; perhaps stronger and better IR sensor or maybe better type of sensor technology. In term of GUI of KWorld M210 Network Media Player, we like it very much as everything looks very simple and straightforward where everyone will able to master it within next couple of minutes; excellent GUI design by keeping everything simple and neat.

Verdicts

Media player is definitely one of the hot selling toys lately and its demand will be kept increasing until a new device is born to replace it but it will not be that soon. Getting a network media player is even a better choice as it significantly increase the ability and functionality of a media player and KWorld M210 Network Media Player is one of the newly launched devices in the market with attractive price; less than 100USD. Some of the KWorld M210 Network Media Player's features that we would like to highlight here are the full HD 1080p, internal storage, pre-programmed Internet app, wide range of port selection, could be served as NAS, user's friend GUI and etc. If you are looking a media player for playing certain of multimedia files through your TV or projector then you should really take a deep look on KWorld M210 Network Media Player as it has everything that an expensive media player has and most important is KWorld M210 Network Media Player is much cheaper than others; very affordable.

Pros:

+ Network media player
+ Support internal 3.5" HDD storage
+ Support web services like BT, YouTube
+ Wide range of port selection; HDMI, USB & etc
+ Easy Internet streaming
+ Full HD 1080p
+ Could be served as NAS
+ Very affordable
+ User's friendly GUI

Cons:

- Built-in Wi-Fi will be much better

Thanks to KWorld for providing this sample for us to review.