We’ve got a special offer happening to mark the launch of this new product. All items ordered on presale will receive a FREE Wireless N Dongle (Popcorn Hour’s own new WN-150) so you can connect to your wireless network for file transfers, media streaming and internet services. We’ll also ship the pack to you for free when they arrive in the country, which we expect to be in time for a first week of February dispatch.

The A200 is priced at $299, whilst the WN150 Wireless USB Dongle (also compatible with the Popcorn Hour C200) comes in at a very reasonable $39.95, making this the most affordable Popcorn Hour product release to date.

Get the A200 here or get the WN150 here.

The new look Popcorn Hour A200 in the flesh.

Quick update on the ever popular Popcorn Hour C-200…

We have managed to get our hands on very limited shipment of the C-200′s.

There’s been a price drop down from $489 to $449.

They’re in stock right now! But they are very limited so if you want one – jump in fast!

Next shipment is not until January.

The Xtreamer 1080p Network Media Player

The release of the Xtreamer Network Media Player is one of the more anticipated product launches in the Digital Media Player space.

It is a small player which can have an internal  2.5″ SATA Hard Drive installed. These drives are rapidly increasing in size, with a new 1TB edition recently being released by Western Digital. The Xtreamer is an extremely affordable option in the Network Media Player category. We are selling the unit by itself for just $189, you can choose whether or not to install a Hard Drive from there. For those of you wishing to keep the unit out of reach of any cabled network, not to worry. There is an optional USB Wireless Antenna available for an extra $30.

Playback is in crystal clear, 1080p High Definition, via the high quality HDMI output. This allows for a huge range of file types to be compatible, including all the newer Blu-Ray formats, like .M2TS and MKV H.264.

The Xtreamer will change your living room, with a multitude of Internet Services, including Youtube, Picasa, Podcasts and Internet Radio, all accessible on your TV. Stream your music, movies and/or photos from you PC, straight to your TV. No need to burn discs or take the computer to the other room.

With the new Xtreamer, it’s media storage and playback… on your terms!

We were brought in quite late, after all cabling had been laid by the electricians. Unfortunately in planning the wiring, all data ports were put in where phones were to be placed and close to where internet would be used. As the house retained its old double brick shell, it was thought it would be hard to get a wireless network happening. How wrong they were.

We were called in to get the house online with a multimedia system. A large database of movies had been collected by the kids, but at present was all stored on computers.

It was decided that, using 4 x Apple Airport Express units, we would first turn the house wireless. This would enable everyone to access the internet on their laptops from anywhere on the property (including outside by the pool). In addition, it would allow us to use some Network Media Players as receivers by each TV. The TVs we also sourced for them were 4 x LG 32” models as well as 2 x brand new Samsung LED screens (That’s right, we can source many other home entertainment products outside those listed on the site… just ask!).

We decided to install 6 x Popcorn Hour A-110 Network Media Tanks into the various bedrooms and living areas. This would allow them to access movies stored on different computers around their home. These were all fitted with a Wireless N USB Adapter Dongle from TP-Link, to access the wireless network of course. Potentially we could be called back to add another one to a study area and a further one to an outdoor gym area.

Finally, for centralised storage purposes, we set up a Netgear ReadyNAS Duo with 2 x 1.5TB Seagate Hard Drives installed. This gives the family the ability to drop all their multimedia files from their laptops onto a central device, freeing up space on the computer and giving access to a greater array of multimedia for other family members.

The initial tutorial that we gave them was met with many ooh’s and aahh’s as they seemed quite amazed by what was possible, and indeed what we had done for them. We’re quite sure they will be calling us for a helping hand as they get used to their new home entertainment network, and we’re equally as confident that they will grow to love it more and more each day.

The scope of this technology continues to amaze us.

Now, its’ off to go set up something like this in my home!

Cheers, Myles.