Fake NMT's for sale - lookalike A110

[DirtyDonki]

Can't think why anyone would bother copying such a crap product.

[Suge_K]

(04-27-2009 11:04 AM)DirtyDonki Wrote:  Can't think why anyone would bother copying such a crap product.

Quote Willem....'The inability to setup and configure the NMT should not be disguised as a defect of the box'

Byebye

S

[simonantonanton]

The company is sterc.nl and they claimed also popcorna110.nl.

[DirtyDonki]

(04-27-2009 11:12 AM)Suge_K Wrote:  Quote Willem....'The inability to setup and configure the NMT should not be disguised as a defect of the box'

Byebye

S

Funny, I see no mention of a 'defect' and how could anyone possibly know if the box is set up or not?

A comedian at work here perhaps?

[Suge_K]

(04-27-2009 11:33 AM)DirtyDonki Wrote:  Funny, I see no mention of a 'defect' and how could anyone possibly know if the box is set up or not?

A comedian at work here perhaps?

I was getting at your comment about the a110 being a crap product, which of course it isnt....its amazing...and quoted from Willems sig. Lots of people are quick to write it off because they arent able to set it up...


S

[Sjaool]

(04-27-2009 11:29 AM)simonantonanton Wrote:  The company is sterc.nl and they claimed also popcorna110.nl.

Sterc.nl claimed the domain but the company that is selling the TT-110-A is Veninga Automatisering Assen.

[nuke12]

(04-27-2009 11:04 AM)DirtyDonki Wrote:  Can't think why anyone would bother copying such a crap product.

I wish it was my "crap product". They can't make enough, to supply the demand.

I love my unit and obviously, I'm not alone.

[chris57]

(04-27-2009 11:33 AM)DirtyDonki Wrote:  A comedian at work here perhaps?

I think you are the only comedian in this thread.

Now everyone back on topic please. No more baiting, flaming or whatever else, read the forum rules.

[malohm]

I have one of those "fake" popcornhour players myself. The unit was just about 160 Euros on eBay.de, fresh from the factory and incl. 2 years warranty. After much testing, I can confirm that the TT-110-A is indeed very, very similar to the original PCH A110.

Eg:

- reads / rejects the same audio / video material as PCH with comparable firmware releases
- all community software working on a PCH also does so on this unit
- cross-flashing with original PCH firmware works without any issues so far
- it is 100% compatible with my (internal) WD 1TB SATA drive
- WLAN is compatible with the (20 Euro a piece) TP-LINK TL821WN V2 (after upgrade to recent firmware)
- even the circuit board seems to be a 100% copy: compare
original: http://www.trick77.com/wp-content/upload...00x206.jpg
copy: http://www.networkedmediaplayer.nl/networked-media-tank

Differences I came across include:

- no hardware power-on/off switch (circuit board has a soldered-in jumper instead; this might be used to add a real switch if needed)
- optional sockets on the circuit board are missing. Most notably: socket for optional DTS decoder
- no boreholes for 2.5" in metal case

Product quality:

- very stable operation in general; no "unexplained" crashes other than those caused by faulty codecs (which will also crash the original PCH ...)
- metal case construction is pretty solid
- front plate is plastic on metal; the plastic looks fairly cheap

My conclusion so far: this is either a fairly good copy, or the OEM manufacturing the PCH 110A sells the same circuit board through different channels. Interestingly, in spite of obvious similarities, the product is not officially marketed as a PCH clone. The manufacturer even supports this product through their own web page:

http://eastsunrise.net/M_ViewImage.asp?ProductID=2678

Overall verdict: for the technically educated, :)this is a product which for all practical purposes (other than using a 2.5" drive or an internal DTS decoder) is a 100% replacement for the original PCH. Although not officially marketed as a clone, the similarities are too obvious to not attract at least a few raised eye brows ...

[nuke12]

(04-28-2009 02:57 PM)malohm Wrote:  I have one of those "fake" popcornhour players myself. The unit was just about 160 Euros on eBay.de, fresh from the factory and incl. 2 years warranty. After much testing, I can confirm that the TT-110-A is indeed very, very similar to the original PCH A110.

Eg:

- reads / rejects the same audio / video material as PCH with comparable firmware releases
- all community software working on a PCH also does so on this unit
- cross-flashing with original PCH firmware works without any issues so far
- it is 100% compatible with my (internal) WD 1TB SATA drive
- WLAN is compatible with the (20 Euro a piece) TP-LINK TL821WN V2 (after upgrade to recent firmware)
- even the circuit board seems to be a 100% copy: compare
original: http://www.trick77.com/wp-content/upload...00x206.jpg
copy: http://www.networkedmediaplayer.nl/networked-media-tank

Differences I came across include:

- no hardware power-on/off switch (circuit board has a soldered-in jumper instead; this might be used to add a real switch if needed)
- optional sockets on the circuit board are missing. Most notably: socket for optional DTS decoder
- no boreholes for 2.5" in metal case

Product quality:

- very stable operation in general; no "unexplained" crashes other than those caused by faulty codecs (which will also crash the original PCH ...)
- metal case construction is pretty solid
- front plate is plastic on metal; the plastic looks fairly cheap

My conclusion so far: this is either a fairly good copy, or the OEM manufacturing the PCH 110A sells the same circuit board through different channels. Interestingly, in spite of obvious similarities, the product is not officially marketed as a PCH clone. The manufacturer even supports this product through their own web page:

http://eastsunrise.net/M_ViewImage.asp?ProductID=2678

Overall verdict: for the technically educated, :)this is a product which for all practical purposes (other than using a 2.5" drive or an internal DTS decoder) is a 100% replacement for the original PCH. Although not officially marketed as a clone, the similarities are too obvious to not attract at least a few raised eye brows ...

I guess the question is, did you think you were buying the PCH or did you know it was a clone or did you figure it was something different all together?

[malohm]

(04-28-2009 03:14 PM)nuke12 Wrote:  I guess the question is, did you think you were buying the PCH or did you know it was a clone or did you figure it was something different all together?

Comparing various web sites, I concluded that most NMTs are similar internally (as they all make use of the same Sigma Designs reference design and the same Syabas software stack). Hence, I simply went for the cheapest offer available under a "not good - money back" policy. Having said this, I did not expect to buy an "original" PCH. However: I knew my unit would be functionally very similar and I hoped the build quality would turn out ok. I wasn't disappointed ...

[nuke12]

(04-28-2009 03:24 PM)malohm Wrote:  Comparing various web sites, I concluded that most NMTs are similar internally (as they all make use of the same Sigma Designs reference design and the same Syabas software stack). Hence, I simply went for the cheapest offer available under a "not good - money back" policy. Having said this, I did not expect to buy an "original" PCH. However: I knew my unit would be functionally very similar and I hoped the build quality would turn out ok. I wasn't disappointed ...

Well, they are using NMT firmware and supplying Myihome software. My bet is Syabas will find some method to detect the clone hardware and future firmware updates will fail.

Ahhh, a thought. Did you lookup who the MAC address is registered to?
Syabas is using

Code:

00:06:DC

http://www.coffer.com/mac_find/

[daniel_owen_uk]

Has anyone considered that this may actually be a Syabas board just without the partner agreement to call it an NMT?

Syabas after all are a middleware company.

[nuke12]

(04-28-2009 03:53 PM)daniel_owen_uk Wrote:  Has anyone considered that this may actually be a Syabas board just without the partner agreement to call it an NMT?

Syabas after all are a middleware company.

Isn't that something like stabbing your buddy in the back and if he lives, the relationship won't be so great?

[highonhd]

Thx Malohm for the short review.
in fact there are very useful info at their FAQ page here.

I tend to agree with your philosophy.

Syabas have created a software platform running on top of a reference h/w design. That's cool.

They have started to sell the h/w as Popcornhour. That's cool too.

They have licensed the s/w platform to other manufacters. That's cool too.

Other manufacturers are getting the h/w (most likely from the same factory) and adding their own variations (with Optical or with Coax digitial audio out or both, etc) inside various packaging to differentiate their product. That's cool too.

Increases choice for the consumer and will be bring down the prices. That's cool too.

The consumer gets mainly the same experience, consistency and benefits. That's cool too.

As long as the manufacturers are licensing the s/w then these units are not fakes. That's cool too.

They are only fakes when they pretend to be a product that they are not. That's way not cool.

So let this particular company repent and join the community of NMT's.