From NMTWiki

On this article you can find a list of devices found compatible (or not) to the Popcorn Hour A-300. Note the items on these lists are tested by users, not necessarily officially endorsed or supported by Syabas and Popcorn Hour Inc.

If firmware updates result in changes please update any report you have made

Contents 1 USB Memory Sticks used for NMT Apps Install 2 Harddisks and storage 2.1 3.5" SATA disks 2.2 2.5" SATA disks 2.3 USB attached HDD's 2.4 USB attached ROM Drives 2.5 SSD SATA "drives" 2.6 USB Dongle WIFI 2.7 Gigabit Router/Switch 2.8 Keyboards

USB Memory Sticks used for NMT Apps Install

• It is now possible to install the NMT Apps on a USB Stick.

• You need a 4Gb USB stick as BDLive requires 2Gb and the NMT Apps a further 2Gb. If you never play a retail BD or BD backup then 2Gb will suffice, however it is strongly recommended to always use 4Gb. 8Gb will ensure that you have some spare capacity for jukebox output and the occasional video or two.

• Many USB Sticks come with supplier software that you should remove before formatting and installing the NMT Apps. The most common of these being U3, your USB Stick supplier usually has a tool for removing their software on their websites. However if you cannot find it then here is a U3 Removal Tool

• What if i get an "failed format" message when trying to install the NMT Apps on a usb stick. The PCH seems to have trouble with some sticks, some appear to work only if fat or ntfs formatted prior to install, and some can get a make/model to work and not the next.

• If you do get a "failed format" message then try to format the stick in a different format only give up if you have tried fat,fat32,ext2,ext3,ntfs. Remember to be sure that you have removed any supplier software that is on the usb stick (if there is any). Also if you do retry with a different format after a "format failed" message reboot BEFORE trying a second time.

• Format and give your USB sticks a name on your PC. The A-300 recognizes naming of USB drives and it makes the install process less confusing than the standard names such as USB_DRIVE_A1 or whatever.

REMEMBER ALWAYS REBOOT BEFORE you try to install the NMT Apps (the same goes for FW update).

1. The file you need is called apps.nmt. Obtain the version that matches your firmware, each apps.nmt file is different, via online update or install via USB (the apps file should be located in the root of the source USB stick - not in a folder).
2. Put that on one usb stick and insert the USB stick that you want to install the apps to.
3. Then go to Setup => Maintenance and start the NMT Setup Wizard.
4. The first choice is the type of installation, choose the one that matches, Fresh or Typical, Fresh if it is the first time you are installing. Then choose the location of where you want to install the NMT Apps. The source of the NMT Apps is either online or the USB stick on which the nmt.apps file is located. Continue through the menus until the installation/update starts.

• If the NMT Apps are also located on the HDD then it will use those apps because hdd gets earlier detected. Therefore if you have a previous HDD installation ensure that you remove the HDD and delete the small NMT Apps partitions. You can then expand the storage partition to take advantage of the space.
• Mediadrive is the drive you wanna use as default share partition, so if you use a USB Stick for apps, you need a path where you will store your media, and also for transmission & nzbget where it downloads.

Brand/Model	Capacity	A300 NMT Apps Version	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
EMTEC	16Gb	00-000-00000000-00	OK	Duksie	Installed NMT Apps succesfully
Kingston	8Gb	00-000-00000000-00	OK	Fakir02	Installed NMT Apps succesfully, FTP & myiHome Server working OK.
Sandisk	8Gb	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	goAMinD	Installed NMT Apps succesfully. SanDisk microSD in USB adapter for microSD.

Harddisks and storage

• If you have problems with your HDD in your NMT always ensure that you try the HDD after formatting it to NTFS in a PC. Do NOT choose the Quick Format option as this may mean that the HDD is not recognized and the NMT Setup option is not available to install the NMT Apps, always use the Full Format option or alternatively use Roadkil's Diskwipe to format a HDD for use in your NMT.

• The A-300 has an internal SATA ports that fits both 2.5" and 3.5" HDD's. There is a guide available HERE to show you how to install the HDD. Additionally, there are external USB ports. All these ports can be used to connect various kinds of storage. Remember that you need at least 4GB of available space to install the NMT Apps and create the partitions.

• For 3.5" HDD drives, the general recommendation, is to choose drives marketed with terms such as "low rpm" , "low noise", "low power consumption", "Eco-Friendly" and "Green", rather than ones sold for performance (which will usually have higher noise levels). These low power drives often have a rpm of around 5400 or 5900, rather than the current consumer "standard" of 7200. Despite the lower rpm, they will have more than enough performance to satisfy all typical NMT usage demands. Alternatively they may be marketed as for 'Video Surveillance/CCTV' systems.

• A note to testers: please verify if you successfully installed the NMT Apps or if you've chosen to use another filesystem/format. Other things to check for are noise and the possibility to tune/adjust the speed. Thank you for sharing your results!

• Using a 10.000RPM HDD is not recommended, they produce a lot of heat which might affect the performance of the entire NMT.

• External HDD's sometimes come with loads of proprietary software or even media serving software. Don't use this just simply select the folder/file via the NMT remote. Some larger sized HDD's may require Allocation Size 64kb, rather than the default 32kb allocation, for NTFS.

3.5" SATA disks

Brand/Model	Capacity	Cache	A300 NMT apps	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
Maxtor	Any	N/A	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	NO	mtha26	Old HDD's that draw too much power, generally no longer working
HITACHI Deskstar - HDT725032VLA360	320GB	16MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	tetelu	Formatted via NMT and works fine
HITACHI Deskstar - 7K1000.D 0F13180	1TB	32MB	05-01-120118-23-POP-421	OK	Leonr64	Formatted via NMT and works fine
Samsung SpinPoint F3EG HD203WI	2TB	32MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	Rambler	Formatted via NMT and works fine
Samsung SpinPoint F4EG HD204UI	2TB	32MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	cem25	Formatted via NMT and works fine
Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD204UJ	2Tb	32Mb	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	Moovika	Formatted via NMT and works fine
Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD103UJ	1Tb	32Mb	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	Messer80	Formatted via NMT and works fine
Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD103UJ	1Tb	32Mb	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	Fakir02	Formatted via NMT did not go past 0% and A300 completely froze, but after reboot NMT apps were installed correctly. The HDD did start resonating in the A300 after a while which made a lot of noise.
Seagate Barracuda - 9QM7GRET	500GB	16MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	Dreamy	Formatted via NMT and works fine
Seagate Barracuda - ST2000DL003	2TB	64Mb	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	marbsal	Works accordingly
WD Caviar Green - WD30EZRX	3TB	64MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	kevin1990	Connecting via usb to win7 gives problems, probably due to driver issues with 3TB
WD Caviar Green - WD30EZRX	3TB	64MB	05-01-120118-23-POP-421-000	MIXED	Theother	A300 requires GPT partitioning table instead of MBR. You have to connect the drive to a PC, remove all partitions and force a GPT table. Then you may connect the drive to the A300 and use NMT App to format the drive and install NMT Apps. These drives will NOT work out-of-the box.
WD Caviar Green - WD20EARX	2TB	64MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	Moovika	Connecting via usb to win7 and formated NTFS with partition GPT - Good
WD AV-GP - WD20EVDS	2TB	32MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	Ozzy	Formatted via NMT and works fine
WD Caviar GP WD10EARS	1TB	64MB	05-01-111007-23-POP-421	OK	grz3si3k	Formatted via NMT and works fine

2.5" SATA disks

Brand/Model	Capacity	Cache	A300 NMT Apps	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
A.N.Other	4Gb	64Mb	00-000-00000000-00	OK	Chris57	Testing

USB attached HDD's

Brand/Model	Capacity	Tested Filesystem	A300 NMT Apps	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
Core	650Gb	HFS+	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	KevG123	Using with Mac so HFS+ formatted. Plugged into front USB socket and working well
Iomega eGo	350Gb	HFS+	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	dbarbetto	OSx MAC formatted ext HDD, USB2 connection working well
Seagate GoFlex Portable	1 TB	NTFS	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Duksie	Drive recognized and working without issue
Seagate GoFlex Portable	1.5 TB	NTFS	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Wildcard30	Drive recognized and working without issue
Seagate GoFlex Portable	2 TB	NTFS	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Doggz1999	Drive recognized and working without issue
Seagate GoFlex Desk	3Tb	NTFS	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Quadd	Worked fine, removed Seagate software.
Seagate GoFlex Desk STC4000100	4Tb	NTFS	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	samarmstrong	Recognised when connected via USB.
WD My Passport Essential SE	1 TB	NTFS	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Wildcard30	Drive recognized and working without issue
Western Digital Elements	2Tb	NTFS	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	KevG123	Drive recognized and working without issue
WD My Book Essential (USB 3.0)	3 TB	NTFS	05-01-120118-23-POP-421-000	OK	Wit	Work. On Windows 7, format using "WD Quick Formatter" select "Factory Default". Then quick format to NTFS. Don't know yet if contents become larger than 2TB.

USB attached ROM Drives

Brand/Model	Type of ROM drive	A300 firmware	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
A.N.Other	DVD or BD	00-000-00000000-00	OK	Chris57	Testing

SSD SATA "drives"

Brand/Model	Capacity	A300 firmware	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
Intel X25-E	32 GB	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	lundman	SSDSA2SH032G1GN
OCZ Agility2	40 GB	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	heol	NMT Apps installed and working
OCZ VertexPlus	60 GB	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Chris57	Had to format on PC first and then install NMT Apps. SSD required firmware v3.55 for stability.
OCZ VERTEX 2	120 GB	05-01-120118-23-POP-421-000	OK	Wit	Had to format on PC first and then install NMT Apps.
OCZ VertexPlus	64 GB	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Duksie	Worked straight away
Kingston SSDNow S100	8 GB	05-01-111124-23-POP-421-000	OK	haggis444	Formatted on A300--worked straight away

USB Dongle WIFI

Brand/Model	A300 firmware	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
Popcorn Hour WN-160	05-01-120118-23-POP-421-000	OK	Dreamy	Worked fine with WPA2-AES
Popcorn Hour WN-150	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Chris57	Worked fine with WPA2-AES
Edimax EW-7612UAn	05-01-111011-23-POP-421-094	OK	NetSkipper	Working with WPA/2

Gigabit Router/Switch

Brand/Model	A300 firmware	Gigabit Mode	100mbit Mode	Tester	User notes
CBN CH6541E (Telenet modem/router)	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Not Tested	kevin1990	~11MB/s max
TP-Link 5-port Switch	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Not Tested	kevin1990	15-20MB/s
TP-Link 5-port Switch - TL-SG1005D (newer model)	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Not Tested	kevin1990	~16MB/s max
TP-Link 5-port Switch - TL-SG1005D (newer model)	05-01-111016-23-POP-421-000	OK	Not Tested	Dreamy	~22MB/s max FTP mode
Netgear GS-605/608 5/8 ports switch	05-01-1110116-23-POP-421-000	OK	Not Tested	Chris57	17MB/s via SMB, more with FTP
HP Pro-Curve 1400-8G 8 port switch	05-01-1110116-23-POP-421-000	OK	Not Tested	Chris57	17MB/s via SMB, more with FTP
TRENDnet TEG-S50G GREENnet Switch	05-01-1110116-23-POP-421-000	OK	OK	JBejm	15-17 MB/s SMB ....... 20-24 MB/s FTP
BUFFALO WZR-HP-AG300H AirStation High Power N600 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n	05-01-1110116-23-POP-421-000	OK	OK	JBejm	15-17 MB/s SMB ....... 20-24 MB/s FTP
DELL PowerConnect 2716, 16-port managed gigabit switch	05-01-111125-23-POP-421-000	OK	OK	goAMinD	15-17 MB/s SMB. Flow control activated and forced uplink speeds on port.

LINKSYS SE2500 5 way Gigabit Switch 05-01-120118-23-POP-421-000 OK Not Tested WhiteVanMan Transfer speed not tested

Keyboards

Brand/Model	A300 firmware	Compatibility	Tester	User notes
Logitech Wireless Keyboard K250	05-01-111125-23-POP-421-000	MIXED	mhe4	Basic letters, numbers, arrows, shift work. Can't find the '1' or 'backspace' keys yet
Logitech Keyboard K120	05-01-111125-23-POP-421-000	MIXED	mhe4	Basic letters, numbers, arrows, shift work. Can't find the '1' or 'backspace' keys yet