Popcorn Hour A-210 Chassis Upgrade Kit

[popcornhoursales]

To all A-200 owners,

we hear your requests and finally the upgrade kit for A-210 aluminum case is available now

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/i...nItemId=44

Face-lift your A-200 with a brand new design, which is both beautiful and provides better heat dissipation.

Price is $32.99 and shipping charges are charge according to respective countries. Shipping will start on 6th of May 2011.


*The weight for A-210 Chassis Upgrade Kit(Including the packaging box) is around 1.3KG/2.86lbs.

*We will ship the A-210 Chassis Upgrade Kit from Hong Kong to all countries.

*Warranty is limited for A-210 Chassis Upgrade Kit. If have any cosmetic or scratches issue upon receive the parcel from courier services, we will provide 1 to 1 exchange.


For those from the EU you may be able to cut down on the total cost by purchasing from resellers.

There's a French one here:-
http://www.popcorn-hour-fr.com/boutique/...product=59
German one here:-
http://www.popcorn-hour.de/shop/Zubehoer...-A200.html

[wvn]

Looks the same to me... thanks

[teddystacker]

Could we have a good deal more detail on this please , as the description both here and on the website are rather vague?.

I am sure more detail will alow existing A200 users to judge if thay can jusify the cost (Esp with shipping costs being quite high ie 2/3 of the cost of the kit)

1) Does this turn a A200 into a A210?

2) What exactly does the "kit" contain , list of parts please..

3) What tools and skill levels are required for a average user to complate the swap over?

4) Ref above , how long would the average person take to complete this task.

5) Is this shipped from within the USA , as shipping costs to a US state appear to be almost two thirds of the price ie $19.99?

6) Is the warranty still valid?

[partyfart]

(04-26-2011 01:24 PM)teddystacker Wrote:  Could we have a good deal more detail on this please , as the description both here and on the website are rather vague?.

Good questions!!

[accident]

The only difference between the a200 and a210 is the case so in my eye, yes this is updating it to an a210, although ti will still default to hostname pch-a200. 200 and 210 use the same exact firmware..

The warranty question is interesting, I too would like to know how this impact warranty..

BTW: this manual for installing it is at: http://support.popcornhour.com/article.aspx?id=1129 so you can look it over and decide if you are comfortable with the steps.

EDIT: post edited to change manual url to the support website version.

EDIT #2: If that url doesn't work for you, try: http://files.syabas.com/popcornhour/down...kit_A3.pdf

[Pain]

(04-26-2011 01:24 PM)teddystacker Wrote:  1) Does this turn a A200 into a A210?

2) What exactly does the "kit" contain , list of parts please..

3) What tools and skill levels are required for a average user to complate the swap over?

4) Ref above , how long would the average person take to complete this task.

You can download the install guide here: http://support.popcornhour.com/article.aspx?id=1129

Answers to 2,3 and 4 can be found in the guide.

To get a better answer to your question 1, can you elaborate more on what you are asking for?
There is functionally no difference between a A200 and a A210. When the A210 was announced, one of the Syabas users posted that they use the same PCB. They use the same firmware. The only difference is the case. The kit involves moving the A200 PCB to the A210 case.

[teddystacker]

Thanks for your answers guys , I think it would have been very helpful for the PCH guys to post a link to the install guide on the website , as it does indeed answer many questions...I must remember that when I buy my next car to ask for the manual first so I can read it :-)

Ref question 1) , I was wondering if they provided a f/w patch in the "kit" to actually make the unit "Identify" itself as a A210 on th network etc , but I doubt that really matters anyway , I was just interested.

I myself, wont be investing in just something mostly cosmetic , in these recession filled days ,where money is real tight for most of us. I would never pay so much for something just aesthetic/cosmetic.The real kicker here is the crazy shipping charges , which I am sure others with more substantial means will not bother about..

Thanks again...

[Banshee1971]

It not seem well ventilate !

I order the A200... than purchase the Case from http://www.popcorn-hour-fr.com/

It as more ventillation hole on the top than the one came with the A210 (i recently configure the A210 from a friends).


Look there : http://www.popcorn-hour-fr.com/boutique/...product=35
You will notice vent on the top...

Don't forget 1 thing... Heat goest up before... not down. And HDD create lot of heat ! You need to check the right case before upgrade it !

[Pain]

(04-26-2011 04:46 PM)Banshee1971 Wrote:  Don't forget 1 thing... Heat goest up before... not down. And HDD create lot of heat ! You need to check the right case before upgrade it !

I have a solution to that. The ventilation is on the bottom side, so use the case upside down.

[Banshee1971]

(04-26-2011 04:51 PM)Pain Wrote:  

(04-26-2011 04:46 PM)Banshee1971 Wrote:  Don't forget 1 thing... Heat goest up before... not down. And HDD create lot of heat ! You need to check the right case before upgrade it !

I have a solution to that. The ventilation is on the bottom side, so use the case upside down.

ha ha ha ... i was thinking the same... and erase my line before click "post"....

[accident]

There's a couple different passive cooling methods.. the .fr.com site uses a method where you need to vent. The 210 case uses the method where all the heat is transfered to the case itself and air moving past the case cools it off. Both methods are tried and true, even in computer cases and mobile car computer cases.

I've never seen 1 a210 owner post anything about heat problems.. I can't say the same for a200 owners.

[QuikSoft]

32 dollars for shipping to the netherlands thats 99 cents cheaper than the case.

[Steve.Young]

We really can't control the shipping rates, our carriers do =/.

[teddystacker]

Thats not really true , as if you shipped them to your office in each country , and then it would only cost your customer a nominal rate from that office to them.But being as you ship direct from the far east to your end customers its means the end user has to pay a much , much higher rate.

When a user is paying $200US for a player , its not such a big ussue for them.But when you are charging as much for shipping as the item itself , then thats not on.I think you will have to re-consider this policy on this item.

Here you are offering a Add on to your Existing customers , not new clients , so I think you need to "Look after" people that have supported you.You must understand there is a world recession going on at the moment , and prices are going through the roof in all areas , so your customers disposible income will not be available as it once was.

Step back guys and take a wider view...

Just my view but looking at comments over the net today , I dont think I am alone in my thoughts...

[accident]

I don't really disagree with their practice of drop shipping from the factory. It's the same for every company when you order direct (some exceptions)..

The problem is there is no reseller in the US except amazon so every part isn't readily available for reasonable shipping. Perhaps the solution is find some new resellers or try to get the old ones to carry their products again.