Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/3977/zotac-zbox-hdid34-review
Zotac ZBOX Blu-Ray HD-ID34 Review
by Alan Lueke on October 19, 2010 2:15 AM EST- Posted in
- ION
- Atom
- Home Theater
- Media Streamer
- HTPC
- Gadgets
Zotac has made quite a name for itself with its mini-PC products. The ZBOX offering aims at bringing an affordable Blu-Ray equipped HTPC option to the masses for some time now. Look no further than our review of the Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 to see what the fuss has been about.
Over the last 12 months, however, the relevance of the Atom/ION combination has been steadily diminishing. The release of Clarkdale and Arrandale based systems have bared many of the shortcomings of the ION platform. It is extremely surprising to find a product refresh this late into 2010 willing to still utilize the Atom/ION2 combination. Zotac has released two versions of this box, the HD-ID33BR-U and the HD-ID34BR-U. The units are identical in terms of the system platform and specifications although the HD-ID34BR-U comes with a few extras, which I will touch upon further on in the review.
On a technical level, the Intel Atom, paired with Nvidia’s Ion, falls short of some of the other solutions out there. However, the Zotac ZBOX HD-ID34, makes a different kind of statement., realized as soon as one pulls it out of the box. With a slim form factor and light weight, but solid feel, the HD-ID34BR-U has more of a resemblance to other elegant home theater components than the more utilitarian media streaming boxes and HTPCs released in the past. What Zotac has done here, is take a page out of Apple’s book and designed a HTPC with a styling that may draw in consumers regardless of the hardware found within. Most of the visitors I’ve had over since receiving the review unit did not realize that this thing was a PC. Instead they thought it was an impressive blu-ray player, which in many ways, it is.
More than just the slim form factor that I mentioned earlier, the Zbox HD-ID34 comes with a few additional upgrades over the previously reviewed HD-ID11. The unit includes only 4 USB ports now compared to the 6 found in the earlier unit. However, two of the ports (one in the front and one at the back) are now USB 3.0 capable. The third port is a dual eSATA (3.0 Gbps) / USB 2.0 port. Only one is a standalone USB 2.0 port. DVI and HDMI ports have been included for video output. Stereo analog audio ports and an optical SPDIF port round up the audio connections.
There is an internal SATA (3.0 Gbps) connector as well for an internal HDD or SSD, as well as two DIMM slots that support up to 4 GB of DDR2-800 memory. The unit also includes built in Wi-Fi with b/g/n support as well as a GbE port. The 802.11n card inside the unit uses dual stream technology (2T2R) to achieve 300 Mbps data rate. A slot loading slim blu-ray drive is also part of the system for those consumers who still playback media from optical discs. The unit also ships with the Zotac VESA mount, which allows the unit to be mounted on the back of your display, or wall mounted next to a likewise wall mounted display. An OEM copy of PowerDVD 9 is included for Blu-Ray playback despite the fact that the unit ships without an OS. Finally, the system also includes a media card reader to complete the connectivity options.
All of these included features really allow the Zotac Zbox to be used in a lot of different scenarios. Unfortunately, one I didn’t find the unit all that useful for was the role of the primary HTPC in the house. Most users need DTS-HD MA and Dobly TrueHD bitstreaming from their primary HTPC for their AV receiver to decode. The HD-ID34 is not capable of bitstreaming HD audio codecs, and thus, may not please many audiophiles. To further compound the problem, the included PowerDVD 9 only comes with a limited 2ch+2Ch license. So, even though the hardware can at least output down sampled 8 channel LPCM, the software included does not support that many channels.
However, away from the main home theater, the perks of the Zotac Zbox HD-ID34 begin to shine. It results in an elegant media solution when paired with a wall mounted bedroom or recreation room TV. The Zbox can be mounted on the wall next to a wall mounted television and connected via a single HDMI cable. Add a remote and IR receiver and you have a beautiful streaming solution with limited wire mess. The bitstreaming and software limitations in these scenarios are lessened, as many televisions outside of the home theater do not have much beyond stereo setups. The connectivity options allow for the use of high speed external storage devices, and the included blu-ray drive allow the Zbox to be used as a media hub. Discs can be ripped and stored on the external drives for playback over other networked devices including a main HTPC which then doesn’t need to have a Blu-Ray drive of its own.
The Nvidia ION GPU has already been run through the HQV 2.0 test suite in an earlier review by Raja. I also can the system through our media streaming test suite. Being that the system is an HTPC, format support is really not an issue, as the user can install all the players and codecs they choose. To give the hardware an accurate test however, media was played back with PowerDVD 10 Mark II Ultra. Many of our tested audio files include 5.1 tracks that would not playback correctly with the included 2Ch+2Ch version of PowerDVD 9 included with the hardware. The following softwares were used to process our media streamer test suite:
- Cyberlink PowerDVD 10.0.2113.51 Mark II retail
- MPC-HC x64 1.4.2499 with ffdshow Audio Decoder (x64 SVN 3572)
- VLC 1.1.4
The Zotac ZBOX obtained 308 out of a maximum possible 358 points (86%) in our media streaming test suite. Most of the points were lost in files containing a bitstreaming test for an HD audio codec, which the Zotac Zbox is simply incapable of doing due to the limitations of the hardware. Also, points were lost due to stuttering in high definition Real Media video streams. These decode for Real Media is not accelerated by the GPU and the Atom D525, without the aid of the ION, is not able to playback HD content stutter free.
Using a Kill-a-Watt meter, the system posted 12 Watts of power draw while idle and a max of 45 Watts while under load. Using RealTemp GT the system idled with a CPU temperature of 33C while it posted 44 C under load. I streamed all media files from my main system using the gigabit Ethernet connection only. I wanted the most bandwidth I could get to accurately test the hardware in the system.
Fan noise is hardly appreciable, and I had to hold my ear to the unit to hear the fan noise in my testing room. Unfortunately, my primary LED backlit LCD display did not fit the VESA mount, and I wasn’t willing to drill holes in the wall simply to test this unit. I have included additional images of the unit in the image gallery below.
The Zotac ZBOX HD-ID34 is an elegant HTPC capable of playing back DVDs and Blu-Ray discs straight from the optical media. It can be wall mounted next to your display and connected with a single HDMI cable. Most users, however, will want to run a RJ-45 cable to a wall outlet for HD streaming as the Wireless-N connections, in general, do not deliver enough bandwidth (heavily dependent on the home setup). Numerous connectivity options allow this system to also host your media connection with eSATA and USB 3.0 connections. Since the unit ships devoid of an OS you can even install Windows Home Server if you so choose.
The low power usage, heat, and elegant styling make this a perfect media playback device in any room where full HD audio isn’t a requirement. In the main home theater setting, the limitations of the hardware as far as HD codecs are concerned as well as the four channel imitation of the software may be reasons to look elsewhere.
As I mentioned before, there are two separate versions of this box, the HD-ID33 and the HD-ID34. The only difference being that the HD-ID34 comes preloaded with 2 GB of memory and a traditional 250 GB HDD. The HD-ID33 will set you back $399, while the loaded unit costs $499. Those looking to bring their own HDD or an SSD to the party to speed up the system may want to save the $100 and go with the HD-ID33. For those who just want to load an OS and start streaming, the HD-ID34 will perform admirably.
Honestly, I think this is a real win for Zotac from the industrial design viewpoint, and it is possibly the best looking Atom/ION2 Blu-Ray system that can be bought currently. I have been looking for a stylish system to hang in the bedroom next to a wall mounted LCD, and this system really looks amazing. The blue circular LED power light is somewhat annoying, but it can be disabled in the systems BIOS. Couple that with low noise, decent power consumption, a styling that the significant other doesn’t hate hanging in the open, and you have a winner in your hands!