INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   When i first started testing and reviewing hardware media players roughly 5 year ago Plasma and LCD screens were quite simple (just taking their first steps actually) without the plethora of features one can find now even at mid-end, low cost models. Amongst those features are built in hardware media players which i was surprised to see that they are not that bad in reproducing Full HD 1080p media content with quite good image quality. Of course as always the key players/manufacturers in the industry keep introducing new features so they can make their products more appealing to consumers but we always need to remember that one of their main goals is always to reduce the cost of their products (to increase profit) and so one can never really compare one of these low cost internal hardware media players with a retail model like the XIOS DS Media Play! by Pivos which we have here with us today since the differences in specs are quite honestly somewhat vast.

 

   Established in Fremont, California, Pivos Technology Group, Inc., is a firm set to challenge the curve of our conversation with technology, redefine and create new breed of devices. Our mission is to breathe innovation, performance and quality into technology products with utmost creative and human engineering. Our products are focused on the emerging market of digital peripherals, where computing technology joins today's rich internet media contents. They all share a common goal to simplify your needs for store, deliver and playback of local, networked, or internet media data. Coupled with latest embedded technology, Pivos offers a range of consumer and commercial applications. Founded by a group of industrial veteran and renowned platform developers, Pivos's decades of industrial and product development experience formed the foundation to our ideas and believes. Infused with multi-cultural corporate infrastructure, we promote out of the box thinking and freedom of concepts. Together we create the perfect team to realize the mission to success.

 

   Much like most latest hardware media players to hit the market the XIOS DS Media Player features android OS and more specifically the latest 4.0 ice cream sandwich edition paired with an ARM Cortex A9 processor running at 1.2GHz, Mali-400 OpenGL GPU, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM, 2GB of NAND Flash, 10/100 Ethernet, 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 1.3 and an MicroSDHC card port with support for cards up to 32GB in capacity. If after reading the main specifications of the unit you're wondering then yes, hardware media players such as the XIOS DS follow the same basic design as all the latest android based smartphones and tablets. Now i really can't say if this "trend" will continue mostly because i don't know what (and if) Sigma Designs and Realtek have up their sleeves but for now let's move forward with this review and see just what the XIOS DS Network Media Player by Pivos has to offer.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pivos ships the XIOS DS inside a small white box with an green design at the top, its main features and the company logo.

 

 

The unit’s specifications are present on the left side.

 

 

A few words about the unit along with an drawing showcasing just how thin it is (19mm) are placed at the right side.

 

 

The features and dimensions of the XIOS DS are listed on the front.

 

 

Moving at the bottom of the box we find of all the supported media formats, the bundle contents, system requirements, available outputs and contact details for Pivos.

 

 

The device is placed inside a thick piece of foam while the rest of the bundle is placed right beneath.

 

 

As you can see the bundle only includes the basics so aside the XIOS DS media player you are also getting a remote, HDMI 1.3 compatible cable and the AC power adapter.

 

 

 

XIOS DS MEDIA PLAY! EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As mentioned quite a few times on the exterior of the box the XIOS DS is a very small glossy white device measuring just 110mm on each side and 19mm in height.

 

 

To better understand just how small the XIOS DS is i placed it right next to yet another tiny hardware media player, the TV-101 by Dune HD.

 

 

At the front fascia of the XIOS DS we see the on/off power LED, android loading LED, Wi-Fi LED, IR receiver and a concealed microphone for voice commands.

 

 

Two USB 2.0 ports and the MicroSDHC card port are over at the right side.

 

 

The 10/100 Ethernet port along with a USB 2.0 port, HDMI 1.3 port, DC power plug and the on/off button are placed at the rear.

 

 

To keep the height of the device to a minimum Pivos has placed 4 very tiny feet at the bottom.

 

 

Here there's also the upgrade button which you can use for "forced" firmware updates.

 

 

The bundled remote control is very easy to use and actually reminds me a lot of Wii peripherals. On the downside if you are not familiar with the android OS then it may take a long time to get used to it.

 

 

For tech enthusiasts Pivos also makes available a gyroscopic 2.4GHz remote control which is basically a point and shoot device.

 

 

The Sense remote control is almost identical to the bundled remote control.

 

 

Once you turn on the device all three activity LEDs come to life (reminds me of the Wii console).

 

 

 

XIOS DS MEDIA PLAY! INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening the unit is very easy since there are no screws of any short (just pull the bottom cover out using a flat screwdriver or a knife). The first thing we see once the bottom cover is removed is the ARM Cortex A9 (AML8726-M3) CPU.

 

 

The 2GB NAND Flash available are manufactured by Hynix.

 

 

On the PCB there are also 4 DDR2 SDRAM memory modules (each 128MB in size) manufactured by Nanya.

 

 

 

USING THE XIOS DS MEDIA PLAY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always the first thing you need to do is check for available firmware updates (containing the XMBC media center) either on the official Pivos support page or their support forums.

 

 

Updating the firmware either by using the in-menu option or the forced upgrade button only takes around 2-3 minutes.

 

 

The default GUI (graphical user interface) of the XIOS DS is a lot like the one we find with android based smartphones and tablets so if you own such a device then you will feel right at home. However even if you don't navigation is extremely easy (especially compared with the very first XIOS DS firmware version) so you shouldn't have any problems whatsoever.

 

 

The only thing that may confuse people who are just now taking their first steps with android devices is the settings page which is filled with countless options for one to play with (and not the easiest to navigate).

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY - RESULTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   After thinking it over i have decided on performing the same exact tests for all the Media Players i review. This occurred right after some of you emailed me while on my previous position asking for a more reliable methodology when testing such players/recorders. To be honest this may complicate things but it should also save me quite a bit of time in the process. So from now and on testing will be performed with the help of 4 specific MKV media files and several BDISO (when possible), MOV, RMVB and AVI ones, with bitrates of up to 35Mbps, something which as many of you know is not easy to come by. Of course the 4 specific MKV files are ones i ripped myself from 4 Blu-Ray titles i currently own in order to not only manage to hit the desired bitrate of up to 35Mbps but also use specific, high detailed scenes. My good old SONY 55A2000 (already 3+ years old but still my favorite) along with my latest Panasonic TX-P42S20 are the two screens i will be using for testing. In due time and when i finally see a 3D Screen that really makes me want to buy it i will also start using 3D material for testing but currently that is simply not possible and so i can't comment on 3D results. As for sound the audio/video amplifiers used with the two screens are the Yamaha RX-650 and the Yamaha RX-V463 coupled with 5.1 systems by TANNOY and Crystal Audio.

 

     Up until today android OS based hardware media players have been far from perfect since they could hardly handle high/heavy bitrate media files and the same applied with the XIOS DS Media Play! roughly two months ago when it arrived here (the installed KMPlayer was not strong enough). Of course issues always occur when you test the very first software release regardless of what type of device it is you are testing so that didn't really surprise me. Luckily two months later the support team over at Pivos along with the guys over at XMBC have managed to elevate the XIOS DS Media Play to a whole new level and so it can now reproduce even the heaviest media files (i even ripped the latest Avengers BD which is over 30GB in size just to test the unit) with very good image and audio quality. Of course although the XIOS DS Media Play! supports Dolby Digital and DTS that's only through an HDMI pass-through enabled A/V amplifier since it lacks both optical and coaxial outputs something which i personally didn't enjoy that much (especially since only 1 out of my 2 amps features HDMI pass-through). I did enjoy however playing angry birds, watching YouTube clips and installing various android apps like i do on my smartphones (although most people get a hardware media player for what it does best and that's to reproduce media files).

 

     Bellow you will find 4 different screenshots from the 4 specific MKV media files i mentioned above featuring bit rates between 20 and 35Mbps. The resolution has remained unchanged (however the files are compressed to JPEG to save space on the server) at 1920x1080.

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Two months ago when i first opened the box of the XIOS DS Media Play! i can't say that i was really excited with it since it was just a mediocre device because of the largely incomplete firmware version. When i say incomplete version i mean that it offered limited menus, several graphics glitches (even when changing menu screens), lacked several settings and most importantly as mentioned already was unable to reproduce heavy bitrate files (BD MKV rips) via the installed KMPlayer. Now however with the latest XBMC firmware update the XIOS DS Media Play! can handle pretty much everything you can throw at it (BDiso excluded) and so if we exclude the serious lack of optical/coaxial audio outputs i really have nothing bad to say. As for the Sense remote control well it may not be extremely accurate and it's certainly not an essential tool to use the XIOS DS but it's not something we see often, makes navigating easier and there are quite a few games that work well with it so it makes a fine addition to the entire package.

 

   With a current price tag set at USD 114.99 inside the USA (Amazon) and at around 100Euros inside the EU the XIOS DS Media Play! by Pivos is amongst the best cost-effective available android OS based hardware media players in the market as we speak while the extra Sense gyroscopic remote control currently retails for just USD25 inside the USA and 20Euros inside the EU allowing you to also have point and shoot functionality without having to spend a great deal in the process. Of course all of the above really apply only if you like android OS based devices or you want just a tad more from a hardware media player than just watching movies, listening to music, watching YouTube and surfing the web. However if you mostly want to watch movies and listen to music and care not about the extra bells and whistles then there are many other hardware media players out there with better connectivity (optical, coaxial, eSATA, internal HDD bay). Personal preferences aside however the XIOS DS Media Play! is small, looks great and above all else works as advertised (at least now) and that's why it gets our Golden award.

 

PROS

- Build Quality
- Size
- Picture/Audio Quality
- 3 USB 2.0 Ports
- Build In Wi-Fi
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS
- XMBC Media Center
- Sense Gyroscopic Remote (Extra)
- Price (For Some) 

 

 

CONS

- No Audio Outputs (Optical/Coaxial)
- No BDISO Support