Dune BD Prime 3.0 Blu-ray Player First Look

[admin]

Very rarely does a product come along that has us at a loss for words. It isn't that we can't figure out what it is (OK, occasionally with some of the esoteric gear that's the case), but that we have a hard time explaining it. Such is the case with the Dune BD Prime 3.0. Obviously, it's a Blu-ray player. It's also a media server and a networked storage device. But it is so much more. Maybe it would be easier to start off with what it doesn't do - SACD or DVD-A. As far as we can tell, that's about it.

Discuss "Dune BD Prime 3.0 Blu-ray Player First Look" here. Read the article.

 

[TRT]

This product is significantly more interesting than 3D. I can't really tell from the pics about quality of construction, but the product has my attention. I wonder if some BD's cause lockups and other problems that have affected main stream players.

 

[en sabur nur]

This product is significantly more interesting than 3D. I can't really tell from the pics about quality of construction, but the product has my attention. I wonder if some BD's cause lockups and other problems that have affected main stream players.

There is a thread over at AVS Forum about this player and it's cheaper brother, the Dune HDBASE 3.0. The Base does the same thing as the Prime, but instead of a blu ray drive, the base has a 3.5 hard drive bay. According to the members in the thread, as well as many "pro" reviews, the DuneHD players will stream and play blu ray rips (including menus) out of the box.

Dune HDPrime 3.0 is $449.00
Dune HDBase 3.0 is $349.00

 

[TRT]

Check the company web site. They have several new players due out next month! The link for Dunes new flagship model follows.

http://dune-hd.com/hd_players/current/135-dune-hd-max.html

 

[TRT]

Dune HD Max (September 2010 Availability) $499.00US

Introduction
The new top-of-the-range model. Universal all-in-one solution to play video up to Full HD (1080p), combines in one case: universal HD media player and the up-to-date Blu-ray player.

Dune HD Max features the powerful modern Sigma Designs SMP8642 video processor, and a built-in silent optical drive that allows the Dune HD Max to play anything from CDDA to DVD and Blu-ray disks. The player also has a 3.5" SATA HDD rack with hot-swap support, an SD card slot, and 3 high-speed USB 2.0 ports to connect external storage and extension modules.

One of the main features that distinguishes this media player from its competitors is its special compartment for extension boards. The compartment is located behind a panel at the rear of the media player. Up to 2 boards can be installed simultaneously.

The new device justifiably promises to be as successful as its predecessors in the 3.0 series, which won all possible industry awards, and came out top in all the comparative tests conducted by different high-profile technology publications around the world. The Dune HD Max supports practically all audio and standard and high-definition video formats. It is compatible with all types of "high-definition" sound formats (Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio etc.), and plays DVD and Blu-ray discs and images with ease. Special notice should be taken of the extremely fast networking speed, the IPTV and Internet Radio functions, as well as the built-in torrent client and Internet browser, not to mention the constant product development with firmware upgrade possibility.
Key Features
•The newest Sigma Designs 8642 media processor: enjoy excellent playback and performance of interactive features.
•Blu-ray and DVD player: play Blu-rays and DVDs (plus Audio CD and data discs with video/music/photo files).
•HDD player: connect an HDD to the player and play content directly from the HDD.
•Network player: connect the player to a local network and play content directly from PC or NAS (UPnP, SMB, NFS).
•MKV player: play HD and SD video in a popular MKV format and other modern video file formats, including top quality HD video with very high bitrate.
•RealD: watch 3D video in this ultra modern format used in cinema for the latest movies.
•HD audio: enjoy top-quality audio tracks (Dolby True HD, DTS HD Master Audio, LPCM, FLAC).
•3 USB ports: conveniently connect HDDs, USB flash drives, USB card readers and other USB storage devices.
•HDD rack with hot swap function: easily and quickly insert and exchange internal 3.5" SATA HDD.
•SD card slot: easily play media files on SD memory cards from your camera or other devices, or use an SD memory card as a local or system storage (required for BD Live function).
•HDMI 1.3: ensure the best possible quality of HD video and HD audio.
•A rich set of standard A/V connectors: use S/PDIF optical audio, stereo audio, component video, composite video outputs to easily connect any A/V equipment.
•Extended support for Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio: output bitstream (up to 7.1 channels) or decode (up to 7.1 channels) for maximum flexibility when connecting audio equipment, and for extended support of advanced playback features (such as Picture-in-Picture).
•Video output flexibility: output video in any resolution and format (from SD to 1080p, 24p/PAL/NTSC).
•Upscaling: high quality upscaling of DVD and any other SD video content to Full HD (1080p) or other HD resolution.
•File browser: convenient file browser with powerful file management (copy, move, delete, rename, organize, sort).
Specification
•Processor: Sigma Designs 8642/8643
•Memory: RAM 512 MB, system Flash: 128 MB, expandable with a HDD partition or USB flash drive (2GB recommended)
•Media sources: built-in Blu-ray drive, external HDD (eSATA, USB), external optical drive (eSATA, USB), USB devices (USB flash drive, USB card reader, etc), PC and NAS in local network (SMB, NFS, UPnP, HTTP), internal 3.5" SATA HDD (option)
•Video codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, WMV9, VC1, H.264
•Video file formats: MKV, MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, M2TS, VOB, AVI, MOV, MP4, QT, ASF, WMV, Blu-Ray-ISO, BDMV, DVD-ISO, VIDEO_TS
•Video output modes: wide range of supported modes and resolutions, including 23.976p, 24p, PAL, NTSC
•Audio codecs: AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS, MPEG, AAC, LPCM, WMA, WMAPro, EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), Dolby True HD, DTS HD High Resolution Audio, DTS HD Master Audio, FLAC, multichannel FLAC
•Audio file formats: MP3, MPA, M4A, WMA, FLAC, WAV, DTS-WAV, DTS, AC3, AAC
•Pass-through and decoding of HD audio formats, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio
•Picture file formats: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
•Subtitle formats: SRT, SUB, text/SSA/*** (MKV), VobSub (MP4), PGS (full Blu-ray mode)
•Playlist file formats: M3U, PLS
•Filesystems: FAT16/FAT32 (read-write), EXT2/EXT3 (read-write), NTFS (read-write)
Extra Functions
•High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey's Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc).
•Playlists: build playlists from your folders, use your own playlists, use repeat and shuffle functions.
•NAS function: access files on storage devices (HDD, optical drive, etc) attached to the player from the local network (using SMB or FTP).
•BitTorrent: use built-in BitTorrent client to download files from P2P networks.
•Customizable user interface: work with media collections using cover art and icon browsing (with Full HD graphics).
•Flash applications: extend the player functionality with FlashLite applications.
•Internet radio: playback and record various Internet radio stations (HTTP/MP3).
•IPTV: playback and record IPTV streams (multicast UDP/RTP) from your Internet provider (check availability of multicast UDP/RTP streams with your Internet provider).
•Digital TV option: playback and record Digital TV channels using an optional Digital TV USB dongle (Digital TV USB dongle is not included; this option can be purchased separately).
•Internet browsing: view Internet Web sites on your TV using the built-in Web browser (built-in Web browser has limitations and may not allow to view some Internet Web sites).
Package Contents
•Dune HD Max media player
•Remote control (batteries may not be included)
•Power supply cord
•AV cable
•HDMI cable
•Quick start guide
•Additional items (optional) may be included into the package, depending on player configuration, region, and distributor
Country of origin
Taiwan
Warranty
Two-year warranty.
MSRP
•USA: 499 USD
•EU, with VAT: 499 EUR

 

[j_garcia]

Don't think I need the top model, but might be interested in one of the lower ones. The region free capability is also a point of interest for me.

 

[thomaco]

I tried a couple of the Dune BD Prime 3.0 Blu-Ray Players but couldn't get any of them to play blu-ray discs properly. The first player had a faulty drive. I had problems with audio playback with another unit. This was both over HDMI and analogue audio. They were wonderful network media players, but rather pricey for just that feature.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I tried a couple of the Dune BD Prime 3.0 Blu-Ray Players but couldn't get any of them to play blu-ray discs properly. The first player had a faulty drive. I had problems with audio playback with another unit. This was both over HDMI and analogue audio. They were wonderful network media players, but rather pricey for just that feature.

Somehow I had the feeling this would happen. I seen it over and over again before. New company, no one heard of, comes out with new product which is/might be in very high demand and promises all the features in the world before everyone. End result - Product full of bugs. E.g., Apex products, Dvico's Tvix, Popcorn hour etc...
If were are lucky and company stays afloat and interested in continuing fixing bugs in existing products (which doesn't bring new revenues) we'll end up burning new firmware every month or so... that is if the bug is software fixable...

Summary: I don't want be unpaid beta tester for another half backed product..

 

[its phillip]

Seeing stuff like this always makes me laugh:

+$129 for optional 500GB hard drive

You can get a 2TB drive for less than that :/

Product is interesting, but I'm more than willing to let other people buy it first and let me know how it works out.

 

[j_garcia]

Seeing stuff like this always makes me laugh:


You can get a 2TB drive for less than that :/

Product is interesting, but I'm more than willing to let other people buy it first and let me know how it works out.

Yep, but Sony and MS do it to with their consoles. That means they probably pay around $20-$30 for it and it gets the standard markup for profitability.

The issue I have with a device that "does everything" is, as mentioned, that it usually doesn't do all of it well. It does a few things here and there really well, and everything else just so-so and a few things poorly. Also, probably most people don't need something that does everything that it does. It is nice to know it has you covered if you wanted to, but most people will likely only use a portion of the capabilities regularly.

 

[its phillip]

Yeah, how they do it with consoles is a joke too. For the ps3 slims, there isn't any reason to pay the premium for one with a larger drive. It's cheaper to buy your own. There was an exception with the original 20 and 60GB models, since they had other differences. It's not as simple with the 360 hard drives though.

 

[haraldo]

Trying to see, what's the benefit of this product compared to say...
An Oppo digtal player with an external 500Gb USB drive, the oppo will do the same, and also play dvd-audio and sacd if that's of an interest

and they have lower price tags, and I don't think video quality is less, probably better
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-80/

I guess the Oppo players will play "everything in the universe" too

 

[j_garcia]

You can only connect a drive up to 250G to the Oppos according to Oppo and they aren't region free.

 

[en sabur nur]

You can only connect a drive up to 250G to the Oppos according to Oppo and they aren't region free.

The Dunes are the real deal. I personally own a DuneHD Base and it does stream the highest bit rate Blu Rays (with full menus and HD audio) with no problems out of the box.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I tried a couple of the Dune BD Prime 3.0 Blu-Ray Players but couldn't get any of them to play blu-ray discs properly. The first player had a faulty drive. I had problems with audio playback with another unit. This was both over HDMI and analogue audio. They were wonderful network media players, but rather pricey for just that feature.

How was customer support in replacing the players? Is the 3rd one working properly?

 

[haraldo]

You can only connect a drive up to 250G to the Oppos according to Oppo and they aren't region free.

I think Oppo must be playing some jokes here

Never have I heard that there is a space limitation on USB protocol like this, I see no reason why you can't connect a 100TB disk rack to the Oppo via USB, well I don't say anyone should do this (I would not) but what I'm trying to say is that if there's this kind of limitation via USB then I suggest that Oppo does not do USB according to standards
Have you ever seen in any computer spec any limitations on disk storage you can connect via USB?

The Oppo players have been raved about when it comes to their unparalleled video quality, including reviews here at AH... So is the Dune's even better in this regard too

The Dunes are the real deal. I personally own a DuneHD Base and it does stream the highest bit rate Blu Rays (with full menus and HD audio) with no problems out of the box.

Region free is certainly of high value, especially to us here at the east side of the big Atlantic Ocean

How about pure low-jitter output of music from digital out, anyone using the Dune's as 2 channel high end music servers/players, with well performing DAC's like Benchmark DAC1?

 

[fatherom]

I own both an Oppo BDP-83 and a Dune Base 3.0, so I feel qualified to speak on this.

For DVD upconversion, SACD and DVD-Audio playback, the Oppo wins. Plus, the Oppo CAN be made region free with an easy hardware add-on.

For streaming HD files of any type (MKV, full blu-ray ISOs, etc), with any codec (especially HD audio codecs in any container)...the Dune is the winner. The Oppo stutters on many high bitrate files that the Dune plays with ease.

And there is no 250GB limit for USB drives as one poster mentioned.

Neither player does everything perfectly. This is why I own both...I get the best of both worlds.

Chris

 

[haraldo]

Not sure if this is stated or listen anyplace but I take it for granted that the Dune BD does the following easily:

Can the player browse and access and playback files on a windows or samba share?
- Where windows share is just a folder shared so it's access in the form:
\\server+sharename\folder\file
- Samba is the same just that it's served via a Linux server