At long last, QNAP has officially launched its NMP-1000P network media player, a network-savvy device that can tap into digital media stored locally or around on a user’s home network and bring high-performance, high-quality digital audio and visual experiences to home theater and audio systems. The NMP-1000P features high-end digital converters and supports Dolby and DTS multi-channel surround sound—plus it can access online media, handle backing up computers on the home network, and provide remote access to local media via a Web-based file manager and FTP.
“NMP-1000P is truly the missing piece in today’s digital homes for enjoying premium-quality picture and sound,” said QNAP Systems product manager Jason Hsu, in a statement. Product Manager of QNAP Systems, Inc. “NMP-1000P is the culmination of QNAP’s extensive experience in developing network appliances and software applications which can satisfy the consumers’ need to get the content they want from virtually any source, and play it with the best video and audio quality on the living room TV using a single networked device.”
The NMP-1000P takes the form of a set-op box that can tap into media stored on PCs or NAS devices on a home network via wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi (via an external adapter), or on a user-supplied SATA hard drive (USB and eSATA ports offer additional expansion). The unit caters to movie fans and audiophiles with high-quality gear, including a 667 MHz Sigma Designs video/audio decoder that easily handles H.264 and other popular formats at 1080p resolution, along with multi-channel surround sound audio. The unit also sports a Wolfson WM8524 digital-to-analog converter with a 106 db signal to noise ratio for pristine sound, with 24-bit conversion of all sampling rates between 8 and 192 KHz. The system supports a myriad of audio and video formats: the goal is to make considering file formats a thing of the past.
A new onscreen interface puts users’ media libraries front and center, but the system can also easily tap into photo libraries, camcorders, and online media sources like Flickr, Picassa, Internet radio, Mediafly, and Apple-hosted movie trailers: the system also offers advanced NAS features for storage and file-sharing, and can handle media file backup from Windows PCs. The unit also provides remote access to media files, DDNS support, and PC-free BitTorrent downloads. Plus, the unit sips power, consuming only 10 Watts in operation and 7 Watts in standby.
QNAP hasn’t revealed pricing or availability information, but it’s reasonable to assume the company wants these devices available to consumers and home theater fans before the holidays are out.
