On paper, the Emtec Movie Cube P800 seems like a solid set-top box, with a good range of touted functionalities. In actual use, however, it’s a largely half-assed implementation, salvaged only by the number of things it can do.
Small and silent, it comes with a good set of both analog and digital connectors, several USB ports, a multi-card slot, a hard disk bay and Ethernet connectivity. As such, it serves to record more than just TV shows, doubling as a media center all on its own. While being versatile does have its charms, it’s hardly the guarantee that the device can actually perform to decent standards.
The TV recording feature works well enough, handling both analog and digital programs. Hit a single button and it will immediately start recording whatever you’re watching, all of which you can set in the background. It comes with scheduled recordings, but gives it one of the most ridiculously backward facilities available, requiring you to enter everything, including the length of time it will record – just like you used to do back in the days of the VCR.
Fitted with plenty of storage options, you can browse through the connected file systems to find things you want to watch. Instead of the sleek MediaFlow-style UI that’s become the norm for most media boxes, the P800 lets you wade through the mess folder by painstaking folder. It can get quite frustrating if you’ve got several levels of content on large hard disks, so it’s not the most efficient system around.
File support is decent, only refusing playback of WMV files out of my hard disk’s wide and varied collection. You can also get it to play internet radio and HD-quality video, although resolution tops out at 1080i. Quality is about average – nothing special nor particularly bad.
Overall, the Emtec Movie Cube P800 is a decent and affordable media box. If you can live with the nominal UI, then it should offer a good choice. Do note that it’s running Realtek Linux and is wide open for modding, which is something a lot of people who bought it are doing. Could be interesting.
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