brite-View CinemaTube BV-5005HD | Reviews | Techie.com.ph
9:33 AM | Wednesday | 16 June 2020

In the short time that hi-def digital media players have been around, they've evolved quickly. It wasn't so long ago that our collective jaws dropped on the floor when the Popcorn Hour A-100 was announced. No other device came close to simplifying the process of watching digital videos on a widescreen HDTV.

If the hard-drive based, uber-connected Popcorn Hour A-100/A-110 intimidated some people, the Western Digital WD TV tried to dumb itself down by taking away network features and internal drives. The former may be too advanced for some, the latter, too basic. Where do folks who want the best of both turn to?

Media player maker brite-View might have the answer with the CinemaTube networked media tank. Like a well-worn Miley Cyrus song, it combines the best of both worlds – it offers the speed and simplicity of the WDTV and the advanced network features of the Popcorn Hour A-110.

Booting up the CinemaTube takes a mere 10 seconds. Compared to other players like the A-110 and the EGreat EG-M31B which takes a few minutes to spool up the FTL drives, the CinemaTube can launch itself into warp speed from the get-go.

The menu itself is fast and responsive. There's even a quick preview window when browsing through movie files. The other thing we liked about the CinemaTube is how quickly you can access audio, video, network, and system settings without exiting the movie. The video will politely pause when you press the setup button on the remote.

Unlike the A-110, the CinemaTube does not support an internal hard drive. Instead, external HDDs and flash drives can be connected via two USB ports at the back. The player can also access networked drives via a wired or optional wireless connection. We hooked it up to a router, and it immediately found the shared folders on a laptop connected via Wi-Fi. The CinemaTube played the HD .mkv files on the laptop without a hitch.

Video decoding is top-notch both for SD and HD files. Those who are yet to purchase a full surround-sound rig/receiver will find the built-in DTS downmixer a convenient feature as it will pump out audio straight to the TV.

Because of the CinemaTube's very attractive price of P6,350 and full features, its relatively few shortcomings such as the fugly start-up menu, the lightweight plastic build, and the basic remote can be happily overlooked.

Read more about the CinemaTube by visiting www.digilivingph.com or click here to see it in the Buyer's Guide.