Popcorn Hour C-300 Pro Reviews

A great piece of kit for AV enthusiasts looking for an expandable and adaptable streamer that can ultimately double as a Blu-ray player, the Popcorn Hour C-300 requires some careful choices to be made. However, it lacks Wi-Fi, must-have apps and a bulletproof architecture.

Not much has changed in the Popcorn Hour mentality since it launched its first player many years ago. That's a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. There's no doubt that the flexibility offered by these devices is the best you can lay your hands on. Codec support is outstanding, and you can build a media centre that meets your needs perfectly. Where it falls down slightly is in the way these devices are released with software that still has some glitches. We've found this with both the C-200 and now the C-300. The 300 is much better than the 200 was when it launched, there are far fewer major problems and what you're getting here is a very accomplished media player. Some files won't play, and there are little irritations about how long it takes to load a network source at times, and other usability glitches. Overall though, if you have a lot of video to play, and you want to bring together content from all your computers, network storage and even drives built in to the Popcorn Hour itself, then this is the player for you. It may not be perfect, but we've not used anything else that is as comprehensive in its format support. And having certified Blu-ray playback is the icing on the cake.