ASRock ION 3D - A Next Generation ION HTPC
by Cameron Butterfield on January 14, 2011 3:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- ION
- ASRock
- Media Streamer
- HTPC
Conclusion: Wait and See
So where does this leave us? Although it's not perfect and is missing some bitstreaming capabilities that you would expect an HTPC to have in 2011, the ION 3D has proved itself to be an adept machine when playing the role of HTPC. It's a functional and feature packed unit; however, while I feel like this device ends up being a good product, its value is diminished from the range of devices above it and below it. Let me explain.
The ION 3D model that includes the Blu-ray optical drive can be had for roughly $480. Meanwhile, the core 100HT can be had for $540, and a typical media streamer like the WD TV Live Plus can be found for around $100. As we can see from this pricing lineup, in terms of a media streaming device, you can get 80-90 percent of the functionality of the ION 3D from a $99 device.
The major advantage in this scenario is that the ION 3D, in addition to being a media streaming device, can also be utilized as a fully featured PC and has Blu-ray capabilities. For some prospective consumers, this is definitely worth the cost; however, by spending only $60-100 more, you can go with the Core 100HT which will get you a much faster processing platform and full bit-streaming support.
This product only makes sense if you are in a scenario where you can only spend up to $500 and not a penny more, and want the smallest and most power efficient device available. In that case I could recommend the ION 3D over the likes of ASRock's other MINI PC devices. But even with that particular use case, we need to consider other options.
For close to $500 you could build your own more powerful HTPC, but if the small form factor and aesthetics are your priorities, it would be hard to build your own device at this size with the same neat integrated design and smooth aesthetics. Our bigger concern is the recent launch of Intel's Sandy Bridge and the upcoming AMD Brazos platforms. Sandy Bridge improves performance, reduces power requirements, and also boosts their integrated graphics performance by over 100%. An updated 100HT using such a CPU would be even more attractive than the current offerings. On the other end of the scale, AMD's Brazos packs a much more capable GPU with performance that should beat Atom by a fair amount—all that and it should also come priced lower than Atom + NG-ION.
Unless you're in a hurry to get something right now, we have to recommend a "wait and see" approach. There are a lot of new products coming out in the next few months that could easily eclipse the current offerings.
Pros
- Great Build Quality
- Small Form Factor
- Essentially Silent Operation
- Good media compatibility
- Quick iPhone Charging
- Has a wide range of video outputs (HDMI, DVI, VGA)
Cons
- USB 3.0 devices may not be needed by the target users of this device, and do not operated at full speed
- No Bitstreaming support may be a deal-breaker for some users
- The processing platform is "quick enough" for playback of media content, but can be slow at skipping, and navigation
- Performance / Price can be greatly enhanced by opting for a slightly higher model such as the Core 100HT
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laytoncy - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
I think I'm going to wait until they start using Sandy Bridge in these. I'd love to see the Core 100HT-BD with the Sandy Bridge. I'm not holding my breath but I've been reading all these reviews and have a friend with the ION version and he loves his. I'm just not sure how much longer I can wait or if I'm going to build my own htpc. I figure I've waited this long I'll see if they can push some out this quarter.silverblue - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
The Brazos platform will be faster, certainly, however its GPU doesn't have the ability to decode BluRay 3D. You don't seem to have looked at this platform's ability to decode 3D, though (unless I've missed something).On the other hand, TomsHardware have reviewed the ASRock E350M1 and noted that Ion's CUDA cores throw out questionable quality when encoding, so it's all swings and roundabouts really.
erwos - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
I don't want to be "that guy", but it bugs the hell out of me to see HTPC reviews where they don't even see how many cablecard or ATSC streams this thing can record/display at a time. The modern HTPC is of debatable utility if all you're doing is streaming video; there are any number of embedded devices that will do that cheaper and better.stlbearboy - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
Exactly how many tuners do you expect to get in that case? My recording is done on an ATX motherboard with 13 total tuners. The reviewed system is a playback system, not a recording system.vol7ron - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
At least one for that case.Why in the world would you have 13 tuners? What kind of bootlegging business are you running?
Let me guess, you also have Starz, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and sports packages too.
erwos - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
You can connect tuners via USB (ATI) or over the network (HDHR). Shoving them straight into your computer is actually slightly odd to me.stlbearboy - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
3 Directv4 OTA
4 Cable
3 Clear QAM
This allows viewing to all every TV in the house via extenders. The most active at one time has been 9. I looked at the HDHR and have 3 HD-PVRs for Directv. Only Sports package is Sunday Ticket but with kids and diverse tastes I like the flexibility. You could use a NAS for storage and HDHR for tuners, although I could not imagine trying to comskip on an ION! But my point still remains, you buy that system for playback not recording. As to the question of how many streams you can record, that is a function of your HDD as ATSC does not take any encoding.
CSMR - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
24W is high power. Regular (non-atom) desktop computers can have similar idle power.Atom makes it unsuitable for anything except media use.
But now there are dedicated devices that are generally more convenient, and lower power. (Popcorn hour, Dune, etc.).
A full OS is not suitable for pure media use.
therealnickdanger - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
I'm still not sure how ANY device can be recommended for a home theater that doesn't support the full range of bitstreaming options. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA have been in application for nearly five years. It is simply inexcusable to offer anything less than PERFECT support for these. Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD should be ashamed. Please don't take this question in a hostile way, but what kind of "home theater" are you trying to build?Next time a device claims to be a "home theater" device and doesn't support bitstreaming, send it back to the manufacturer. It's high time these folks learned that ANY modern HT device must support the following:
1. Full lossless and legacy bitstreaming compliance
2. 23.976 compliance
3. Simultaneous multi-video and multi-audio streams
Sheesh, it's bloody 2011.
Guspaz - Friday, January 14, 2011 - link
So, in other words, this thing is pretty much the same as the old ION 330, except with a bluray drive and some front USB ports? I mean, the difference in both the CPU and GPU is very minor, Atom hasn't seen any major developments since it first launched a few years ago.