HDI Dune BD Prime 3.0 Blu-ray media player
Posted March 5th, 2010 by admin No Comments »
By Alun Taylor (via reghardware.co.uk)
There is no denying that the idea of one-box Blu-ray player, media streamer and HDD storage is a good one but, to date, we have not come across an example we could wholeheartedly recommend. Popcorn Hour’s C-200 Media Tank came close, but the price – which doesn’t actually include a Blu-ray player – the slight whiff of DIY and the persistent on-line chatter about firmware problems, all stacked up against it.
Mixed media: HDI’s Dune BD Prime 3.0
American manufacturer HDI has now taken up the baton with its BD Prime 3 Blu-ray media player. The essential idea is the same as the C-200 but HDI supplies a Blu-ray drive already installed. The machine is also being pitched as a media hub for everyman, rather than the technically accomplished hobbyist.
Certainly, the Prime looks the part and resembles many other pieces of low-to-mid-range AV kit from Japan or Korea with its black brushed aluminium and plastic case, discreet fluorescent display on the left of the fascia and a slimline footprint of 420 x 262 x 50 mm.
We say low-to-mid-range, because the disc tray and door actions aren’t the most refined we have encountered and the drive makes a fair old racket until the disc has settled down to play. Fascia controls are limited to basic media navigation buttons, the disc tray control and an on/off switch. Read the rest of this entry »
