I oso in a delimna, and forced to be patient because AC Ryan still quite high priced...haven't even consider another dedicated HDD to slot in.

For me at this point of time..
Player only:
Seagate Home Theatre plus, cheap n cheerful Rm230?
Yangxi (seller in this forum) HDPro+ RM330?? I saw one previous models (borrowed from owner who bought from this seller)...didn't like the PCB design inside..very crude PCB design...looks cheap skate inside. My Aztech DSL modem better quality PCB... sorry...my view again, amazingly the thing works...thats all that matters.
AC Ryan POHD: Branded?? but owners still complain its flawed firmware or still buggy?  RM490??
Eaget M8?? another china product??? last time I try login for support...support site down... LIEDAT ONE ah??
Dune... Bloody expensive...out of my reach!.

PURELY MY VIEW...anyone else can differ.

Me will decide something in the middle and may spend more on a few HDD's for storage. Afterthat the player is just a tool, install and forget. I'm just with pragmatic approach. I won't spend more than 1K even if I've the money and its better spent elsewhere.
Many years ago I bought a high end DVD player...Sony DVP-S7700, possibly the best in its era and no DVD player currently can match its build quality. Yes, it gave me great years of service, optimum SQ and PQ but today it can't beat my RM200+ LG DVD player with upscaling. The point is... that RM3+k I spent on that model is reduced to dust now when I could have used two thirds of the cost for a new TV or something else. No need to spend too much on a player.

Hi Firends, if u want cheap but quality good, pls look for POHD E, which do not hv LAN port. It will be available by end of this month. Our target price is RM319.00. POHD is UK based company. For even better quality, you can look at Mede8er, but price is RM519 wor. The best is Dune, in term of colour and sharpness. Pls remember, good thing come with price ya.
For media player, the most important factor is firmware support. Until now, POHD, Mede8er and Dune firmware support are very well. But those China brand release firmware with the original SDK only. Mostly they do not modify according to the current movie files situation.
The technology always new, it won't stop. We do not where we go tomorrow, so, we must enjoy now friends...

Yes u can. We will handle your case. Our address I will PM u.

Our office at Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam. But we do not do retail. you can get POHD from our resellers, here u go..
http://www.boxbuilder.com.my/PV73100.asp#buy
Thanks.

You can try your luck but I am sure my resellers will offer you a very good price, don't worry. But make sure it is from Box Builder ya then I can scratch your back when ever u need help.

See if you will find my input useful...

I have both POHD and POHDmini. I first bought the POHD with a 1.5TB built in HDD. Very satisfied, Then I realised I keep unplugging and plugging TV1-PC-TV2-TV1! I have yet to do the wireless or NAS thing which I know little about...

I then decided to buy a Mini too since the price was good and an ext 2TB was very good priced too - so that I swap around less.

I also have a portable 500GB HDD now to transfer files from PC, from frens, etc. The file copy feature in the POHD and mini is very useful since a PC will not be required.

In summary, if you will not be keeping a lot of files, better go for the Mini + portable HDD. If you plan to keep lots of files, then a POHD w/built in HDD + portable HDD will be best. A matter of $ too!

Bear in mind the best files are >10GB so a 500 GB HDD can only store 40-50 of them.

Mini can support 2.5" or 3.5", no problem. Playback, no noticeable difference.
The 2.5" is handy since it does not require ext power, but is limited to 500GB (1TB is costly now); file transfer is slower.
The 3.5" needs ext power but is economical, say RM400/2TB = 20sen per GB.

The mini is half the size and weighs 1/4 of the regular (w/HDD inside).

Now Samsung 2TB is about RM290, WD RM310 and Hitachi RM355. We tested 500GB 2.5" with mini and it is ok but never test 1TB (price still high). Due to extra power needed compare to 500GB. So, I suggest Doreamon test first.

You will like it. Assuming your TV is FullHD, 480p mkv is better than normal TV and some DVDs; 720p mkv equivalent to Astro BYond 1080i; 1080p mkv is superb, as good as a BluRay disc.
Just make you do the settings properly!

Enjoy! 

Now, I'm logging off to watch my shows.

if you have problem in playing the MKV file (i.e. no picture, sound only) then refer to this http://www.acryan.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=7907

1080p mkv never as good as original bd bro. superb yes but as good as....no

im just making statement bcoz our friend says mkv as good as bd which i dont agree. i have no complaint against mkv and i hv a lot of them

is your mkv 1080p?
have you check the video setup page, and set it to 1080p?

Freaking hot because of internal HDD?.. IMHO, internal HDD not highly recommended as we live in rather hot climate. If you're in air con room its probably ok. Yes, I know internal HDD can reduce clutter but not suitable in this climate without adequate cooling.
Thats why I'm going to get an external 3.5" HDD for future use where it'll be externally powered too. Less stress on the ori adapter.
In fact I was having ideas of another DIY box (like amplifier size) with integrated SMPS PSU (to power multiple HDD, Linear PSU for the ACR electronics and enough place to put in a few HDD's solely for the purpose. Only an idea now, unsure if I'll do it later on.

I see. thought is the other POHD. Extreme hot isn't good news for any electronics. My POHD runs quite cool, (maybe because in air con enviroment). I don't like my electronics to run too hot, not even my PC.
OK..you'll have to find some form of cooling solution like you mentioned or have a table fan blow it cool during play at worst.
I've seen the only heaty thing inside the POHD is the Realtek processor with the elcheapo aluminum heat sink. (ha!..they couldn't even afford a better quality one. I think I'll find a high quality one in due course.)

As explained by someone recently, any of the port can be used with an optical DVD reader, not a DVD player.

About heating... my POHD with builtin HDD does not get that hot even after 4-5 hours. No aircond, but I keep a good "ceiling" space above it. The Mini... does not seem to get that hot either, just warm.

Although you can connect an external USB DVD drive, the Playon!HD won't be able to play encrypted discs. Also don't expect all drives to be compatible.

I bought the mini after the big one - for two reasons. After a while, I really dun wan to keep moving it between floors. I also wanted to keep a backup of some of my precious stuff, can't afford a crash and find 1TB of my fav files gone!

Dunno how prices of other brands are vs performance, but I find the ACRs at current price serve all my needs and wants.