Syabas have launched the next-generation Popcorn Hour A-300 today. The previous versions all used Sigma chipsets, where the A-300 is no different. It sports the SMP-8647 SoC with a 800MHz MIPS CPU at the core. It also includes true GbE (part of the core SoC package) in the media streamer. The A-300 is housed in an aluminium body and is fanless, so its perfectly silent for your lounge room.

Sigma also now supports Real Media decode in the 8647, which means the A-300 gets the same codec compatibility as most of the other Realtek-based media streamers. Like most media streamers today, there's also an included app market for premium video services. Unfortunately, the A-300 does not include HDMI 1.4 or 3D Blu-ray ISO support as the SMP 8647 does not support it. The A-300 is expected to drop on October 18, 2011.