Asus aims at Apple TV with LAN-linked set-top box

The Story of O!Play

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

3rd June 2009 11:24 GMT

There's not word on when - or if - this little black box will arrive in the UK, but here's Asus' attempt to take on the Apple TV and other gadgets that display digital content on an HD TV.

Asus' O!Play HDP-R1: connect your telly to your NAS

The O!Play may sound like a marital aid, but it's actually a compact set-top box that supports major video formats MPEG 1-4, H.264 and VC-1, along with Real Media, all in a wide array of container formats. Separate subtitle files are supported too, in four forms.

Standard photo and audio formats are included too - Ogg and Flac are both on the list - and all the content's pumped out through the O!Play's HDMI and composite-video ports, and RCA and optical digital audio feeds.

The box has an Ethernet port on the back for source network file stores - there's no wireless, though - and a combo USB 2.0/eSata port for directely connected storage. ®