TViX Slim S1 : Bidding Adieu to the Realtek RTD1283
by Ganesh T S on March 8, 2011 8:23 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Media Streamer
- DVICO
- TVIX
The TViX Slim S1 comes in a sleek package, and every aspect of the package as well as the bundled components screams 'premium'.
Inside the box, we have the following components:
- Slim S1 main unit
- 36W power adapter
- IR remote with batteries
- RCA Cable
- CD with manual and Netshare NFS server software
- USB 2.0 cable for external hard disk mode usage
- Glossy setup guide
The remote bundled with the unit is one of the better ones (but, not the best) that we have seen in a media streamer. The keys do not feel cheap, and have a certain solidity in them. That said, the remote was occasionally too sensitive, registering multiple key presses with a short duration.
The front of the main unit has a VFD display behind it (7 alpha-numeric characters and 5 digits), with a host of buttons on the top panel. These buttons include the ability to power on and off the unit, perform menu navigation and control playback. On one side of the unit is the hard drive slot, while the other side has the fan outlet and an eSATA host / USB 2.0 host. The rear side has the power adapter connector, optical & coaxial SPDIF, component and composite (along with stereo) connectors, HDMI 1.3 port, 100 Mbps RJ-45 port, USB 2.0 host and USB 2.0 slave ports.
The screwless hard disk installation is a welcome feature. The internal hard disk is quite easy to install, even for the novice users. The only simpler hard disk installation mechanism that I have seen is the one on the A.C.Ryan PlayOn!HD2. Some pictures of the main unit and the hard disk tray / screwless installation mechanism are given in the gallery below. We used a 7200rpm 2TB Seagate Barracuda XT for testing out the internal hard disk capabilities of the TViX Slim S1.
Let us wrap up this section with a table summarizing the A/V and data connectivity options of the TViX Slim S1
| TViX Slim S1 | ||||
| Feature | TViX Slim S1 Config | |||
| HDMI | Yes (v1.3) | |||
| Component | Yes | |||
| Composite | Yes | |||
| VGA | No | |||
| SPDIF | Yes (Optical and Coaxial) | |||
| Stereo | Yes | |||
| Optical Disk Drive | No (Supported on USB) | |||
| USB | Yes (2 x 2.0 Host, 1 x 2.0 Slave) | |||
| eSATA | Yes (Host) | |||
| LAN | Yes (100 Mbps) | |||
| Internal HDD | Supported (3.5", Not Included) | |||
| WiFi | No (Supported over USB Dongle, Not Included) | |||
| Card Reader | No | |||
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
9 Comments
View All Comments
Cullinaire - Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - link
Doesn't adieu mean to say goodbye? Seems odd to use it in the headline as is.ganeshts - Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - link
That was the intent :) This is the final 1283 based product that we review.From now on, it will be 1185 only..
Cullinaire - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Now I understand :)MGSsancho - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
over all Ganesh, excellent review. the box on the stuff it does not support was mostly what I went directly to. I agree with your wish list in your conclusion. I noticed you didn't mention cheap. to be honest some of ups demand top features, quality and user interface. we recognize premium features come at a premium price. $100 or $150 would be ideal but I will pay $300 or even $500 for a perfect media streamer box. how ever i beleive these should be optional extras (tuners, hdds, ssds, wifi, etc.)you know if any of these devices come with a 3.5mm IR port on the back or those of us with more 'fun' setups? :-)
probedb - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Thanks for the review again :)Why are streamers so bad at this stuff?
I see this one doesn't even pass the CUE test which has been known about and fixed in pretty much every DVD player for the last 5-10 years?
The deinterlacing stuff is particularly annoying and noticable on larger TVs.
Rainman200 - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
In a way yes, the media streamer market has been dragging it's feet for years servicing a niche user base.* Not considering the wider market or improving usability so horrible GUI's are all too common (realtek a major sinner here)
* Avoiding putting GPU's in their chipsets until forced to do so by competition.
* Not bothering implementing automatic media scraping until competition does so.
* Sticking to the outdated one folder per movie for metadata system.
None of the traditional media streamer companies are proactive, they're all reactive waiting until something threatens their business model to respond.
The one bright thing Sigma Designs did is porting XBMC to their chipsets, that will put a serious dent in most of the competition if XBMC players start shipping on the market.
RamarC - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
quite a few have DLNA support and many can play content from usb drives. So, to me, a $200 blu-ray is definitely an alternative to a streamer, but in what areas is it better than or worse than a steamer?reggiethealligator - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Another great media player review! And i like that you are reviewing more than just the boxee and wd offerings which are more well known, but not always better in every situation. This and the Nixeus Fusion HD review gave me some more options to think about.jnmfox - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - link
Any plans on reviewing the HD Theater 300 from SageTV? Works as a standalone media streamer and can be connected to a Sage Server for a more feature rich experience. If you are looking to integrate DVR/PRV functions with your media player WMC and SageTV seem to be the two best ways to go.User created plug-ins (apps) has also improved the functionality as well as the look and feel of the interface.
http://www.sagetv.com/hd_theater.html