The Popcorn Hour is a surprisingly robust little network media streamer that does pretty much everything you could want a set-top box to do. In addition to streaming from your home network, attached USB storage or the internet, you can set it up to download torrents directly to an attached hard drive.

It looks like it can handle pretty much everything you throw at it, handling nearly every major codec and network protocol. It’s got a lot of connections, including HDMI out, component out and S/PDIF coax digital audio out (although no gigabit Ethernet and no built-in WiFi is a definite drawback). For a mere $180, it looks like it could be a great AppleTV alternative for people who don’t mind their products coming a little cheap and with a few quirks.

Full specs after the break

Specification :

Connectivity

• Bonjour
• UPnP SSDP
• DLNA
• Windows Media Connect
• Windows Media Player NSS
• SMB
• NFS
• HTTP servers: myiHome, WizD, SwissCenter, MSP Portal, Llink, GB-PVR
• BitTorrent P2P
• NAS access : SMB, NFS, FTP

Web services

• Video : YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, VideoCast, DL.TV, Cranky Geeks
• Audio : iPodcast, Radiobox, ABC News
• Photo : Flickr, Picasa
• RSS feed : Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! Traffic alerts, Yahoo! Stock, Cinecast, Traffic Conditions.
• Peer-to-peer TV : SayaTV
• Internet Radio : Shoutcast

Media files supported

• Video containers:
  • MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V)
  • MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG)
  • MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS)
  • VOB
  • AVI, ASF, WMV
  • Matroska (MKV)
  • MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4
• Video codecs:
  • XVID SD/HD
  • MPEG-1
  • MPEG-2
    • MP@HL
  • MPEG-4.2
    • ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC
  • WMV9
    • MP@HL
  • H.264
    • BP@L3
    • MP@L4.0
    • HP@L4.0
    • HP@L4.1
  • VC-1
    • MP@HL
    • AP@L3
• Audio containers:
  • AAC, M4A
  • MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA)
  • WAV
  • WMA
• Audio codecs:
  • WMA, WMA Pro
  • AAC
  • MP1, MP2, MP3
  • LPCM
• Audio pass through : DTS, AC3
• Photo formats : JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
• Other formats:  ISO, IFO
• Subtitle formats : SRT, SMI, SUB, SSA

DRM

• Cardea DRM (WMDRM-ND)

Chipset

• Sigma Designs SMP8635

Memory

• 256MB DDR SDRAM, 32MB Flash

Audio/Video outputs

• HDMI v1.1 (up to 1080p)
• Component Video (up to 1080p)
• S-Video
• Composite Video
• Stereo Analog Audio
• S/PDIF Coax Digital Audio

Interface

• 2x USB 2.0 host
• Parallel ATA

Network

• Ethernet 10/100

Power

• 12V DC, 3A

Dimension

• Width 10.5"(270mm) x Depth 5.25" (132mm) x Height 1.25" (32mm)

Weight

• 2.2 lbs (1Kg)

Package Content

• NMT A-100 (HDD not included)
• 100~240V Power Adapter and 3 Prong Flat US Power Cord
• 1.5M length HDMI cable
• Remote Control with 2 "AAA" batteries
• Quick start guide

via BoingBoing Gadgets Product Page