JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS HDTV Digital Video Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)The JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS DVR is a great next-generation VCR and high definition media player. Under certain circumstances it's a good archival system for HD broadcasts. Unfortunately, between the recording industry's paranoia and JVC's mistakes those circumstances are rare. But it's now cheap enough so that you're basically paying for a great VCR with a HD option. On that basis, it's worth 4 stars.
While wonderful to watch, HDTV is clearly still in its early adoption stages. One problem with early adoption is that until standards settle down it's very hard to find critical support technology - like storage. Currently, the main option is to buy or rent a cable/satellite-brand specific integrated DVR/HDTV tuner. This also presents severe limitations: the box is useless if you switch providers, there's typically little storage space (typically 8 hours - HD takes about 4x the space of regular broadcasts), you can't burn programs to DVD, and they're wildly expensive. Until Tivo and others finally figure out the technology and come out with standalone HD units sometime in late 2005-2006, your only real alternative is a DVHS recorder.
For neophytes, DVHS is a remarkable update to 30 year old technology - it uses the the same tapes that VHS always did but records digitally. This is wonderful for backwards compatibility as VHS and SVHS tapes play and record perfectly in a DVHS VCR (and if you've got money to burn you can record an outrageously priced DVHS tape with a VHS signal.)

The good news is when it works it's a perfect digital copy of HD content. The bad is that after losing billions on pirated DVDs the recording industry put so many restrictions on digital recording it basically cripples this VCR and the DVHS format. In very simple terms they nerfed things so badly that it's: 1. very hard to record in HD format and 2. even more difficult to copy HD media.
So why bother with the JVC HMDH40000U?
First, you can in fact record HDTV broadcasts, and when it works its spectacular. The problem is that JVC is so paranoid at offending the studios that the only HD input is a Firewire/I-Link digital one - there are NO component video or HDMI inputs. Only a couple manufacturers provide I-Link outputs from HDTV tuners (Hitachi and Mitsubishi, along with a handful of models from others like Samsung and Sharp) which means for many people subscribing to cable or satellite HDTV this is useless. In addition, there are numerous documented cases where an tuner or camcorder has a nominal I-Link connection that's incompatible with this VCR. Even with a compatible I-Link connection, you can still run into periodic crashes with this largely due to poor compatibility with copy protection standards; I have hard reset (unplugged for 30 minutes) this unit more times than I can count to get it working again. But...when it works the results are a perfect copy and while DVHS tapes are outrageously expensive they're still cheap compared to what it would cost for 5 hours of HD stored on a hard drive.
Second, there is a very small (about 100 or so) selection of extremely high resolution (1080i) movies in a format known as D-Theater. Between this and the 25 or so Muse-HiVision laserdiscs that ceased being produced in 2001 and are only playable on obscure Japanese-only equipment which costs 10 times this VCR, this is about the only way you're going to see a movie in more than 480p on your home screen until HD-DVD/Blu-ray comes out in late 2005/early 2006 at initial prices that are 5-10x that of this VCR. Unfortunately it looks like D-Theater is going the way of Muse, but I've seen a couple movies this way and your jaw will simply drop if you find a movie you like in this format. Even when you lose a ton of resolution by letting the JVC downscale a D-Theater movie to 480i to play on your old Trinitron, this brings out details you won't see in a DVD. Most HDTV broadcasts simply don't compare to the detail you'll find on a D-Theater movie.
But the real reason to buy this is that it is what a 2005 VCR should be. It has component video outputs, an optical digital output, multiple SVHS inputs and outputs, and a range of features (like marking chapters on tapes so that you don't have to find scenes by time) that even good VCRs don't. Better yet, playback and recording in regular VHS and SVHS mode (and you can do both) are noticeably better than my 5-year old SVHS model. (And while it doesn't display video except in spurts while fastforwarding in DVHS mode, in VHS and SVHS mode it does it just as well as any standard unit.) As a VCR it's sleek and highly functional.
Unfortunately, there's a good chance that if you're buying this for HDTV recording its not compatible. Check very, very carefully first before buying. But now that JVC appears to be ready to give up on this model as it doesn't have an HDMI output, it's available at prices directly comparable to good SVHS VCRs. As such you get next generation technology for the same price. And if you're lucky, you get a lot more. For laser disc fans I'd compare it to a bargain basement HLD-X9 - the new technology didn't catch on but the upgrades on the old made this well worth it. Just know what you're getting!

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Record high-definition television broadcasts with the JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS digital video recorder. Using special D-VHS tapes with a 50 GB of capacity, you can record up to 3.5 hours of high-quality video and Dolby Digital audio. Features include 5.1-channel Digital Dolby audio, FireWire/iLink connectivity, VCR Plus+ instant timer programming, and playback of D-Theater prerecorded movies.
Thanks to its high read/write speed (28.2 Mbps in HS mode), D-VHS produces up to six times better quality than DVDs. And you'll get powerful home theater sound with the 5.1-channel Dolby Digital audio output (and support for 2-channel linear PCM output). With the JVC HMDH40000U, you can record any type of broadcast, including HD, SD (standard definition), and analog. You can also play your old VHS and S-VHS tape library, as well as record analog video signal to those older formats.
The JVC HMDH40000U has two FireWire/iLink ports so that you can connect to a digital set-top box. If you have a digital camcorder, you can download video footage to a D-VHS tape (using the MPEG-2 video standard) via the second FireWire/iLink port. The Video Navigation System feature enables you to store title, date, and storage information on up to 2,000 tapes.
Other features include:
Time Base Corrector removes jitter from fluctuating video signals
Digital YNR/CNY improves signal-to-noise ratio by 3 dB
Record up to 24 events, up to 1 year in advance
MTS stereo reception
Remote control featuring multibrand compatibility and glow-in-the-dark buttons

Recording modes include:
HS (28.2 Mbps; 210 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
STD (14.1 Mbps; 420 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
LS3 (4.7 Mbps; 1,260 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
LS5 (2.8 Mbps; 2,100 minutes max with DF-420 cassette)
SP (210 minutes max with S-VHS or VHS cassette)
EP (630 minutes max with S-VHS or VHS cassette)

Tech Talk D-VHS: The D-VHS (or Digital VHS) format offers the highest consumer video resolution for recording and playback. It stores digitally encoded video signals and accompanying multichannel audio from high-definition TV (HDTV) to a tape format. You can record up to 3.5 hours of video at either the 1080i or 720p HDTV formats. For audio, D-VHS encodes Dolby Digital at 576 Kbps (compared to DVD's 384 Kbps and 448 Kbps data rates), which can mean higher sound fidelity due to less compression.
HDTV formats: There are two common video formats for HDTV. The 1080i format displays video at 1080 vertical by 1920 horizontal pixels and it is interlaced (which means that a video screen scans the odd-numbered video lines first, then the even-numbered lines). The 720p format displays video at 720 vertical by 1280 horizontal pixels and it is progressive (which means that all video lines are filled at the same time).
What's in the Box JVC HMDH40000U D-VHS player/recorder, remote (LP21036-013), two AA batteries, S-Video cable, RCA audio cable, coaxial cable, head cleaning cassette, and instruction manual.

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Philips DVP5960 DVD Player with HDMI, 1080i Upscaling, DivX Ultra, USB direct Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this DVD player in mid May and 3 weeks later with very nominal usage my player just died in the middle of a movie. I had it connected to a top of the line surge protector so the problem was not a power surge. I could not even get the disc out. When I took it back to Circuit City they assured me it was probably just a bad one and gave me a new one. I could have got another brand but for the features and price I could not find one I liked in the store. The new player has worked ok for the last month but it shows some jitters while switching from one HDMI set up mode to another and causes a 'green' screen to display on my plasma. Once I switch it off and then on again it has worked fine but I am prepared to have it die on me in just a few months. I did not notice any substantial improvement in picture using the HDMI cable over the component connection. In fact, if you have a progressive DVD player I doubt that you would notice too much difference in the image quality using this upconverting DVD player. I had it set to the 1080i resolution and also to the 720p and 570p. On some DVDs the 1080i performed better than the other resoulutions but on some others it did not seem to make much of a difference which makes me think that the image quality is very DVD dependent.
The good:
Plays all discs - VCDs, CD-RWs, CDs, DVDs, MP3s, Div-X and just about anything that won't play on other DVD players.
It even has a USB connection in the front which you can use to directly plug in a zip drive or another device like a hard drive, although I have not used this feature yet.
The bad:
Remote is not at all user friendly. It is of cheap construction and buttons are not intuitive. I liked my Sony remote much better. Worse, the DVD player is VERY slow to respond to your pressing remote buttons. At times, I have to struggle to get it to respond.
While changing resolutions through DVD player set up it is better not to have a disk playing in the DVD player as that causes errors.
Finally, for the features and price this is a good buy if you have a lot of Div-X, VCD, DVD-RW discs and copies of original DVDs as this player plays them all. However, don't expect this player to be a life-long purchase and cross your fingers and hope you get a good piece when you buy one. In fact, I recommend buying it from a store close to you so that the return is easier.
11/06/06 Update: The player has worked just fine up till now but I hardly use it more than once a week.
11/16/08: This player is still working fine and plays all DVDs and home made movies without any problem. You can also make it region free if you like - just Google it. So I stand by my rating.

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DVD, HDMI (1080i Upsampling), DivX Ultra 6 (Mpeg 4 Video), Ultra Slim design, Progressive Scan, Plays CD, MP3, DVD, DVD+/-R/RW, CD-RW, JEPG Pictures,USB Connect to play all your favorite music or digital pictures, Windows Media

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Philips DVP5982 1080p Upscaling DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)To go along with my HDTV, I decided that I needed to upgrade my DVD player. While my Insignia DVD Recorder/VCR didn't look awful, it certainly didn't look good. And while the quality of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are definitely impressive, the on-going format war combined with the cost made those players inviable options.
Enter the market of upconverting DVD players. These players, which take your standard 480i DVDs and scale them to high-definition resolutions are as common as regular DVD players these days. Places like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, are full of them. I've actually owned two of them.
I started with the highly-touted Sony DVP-NS75H which is truly a great machine. It has a great design and a super picture quality. Sadly, it only upconverted to 720p or 1080i, not 1080p as my set is capable of. While I'd like to think that I'm not a total videophile, I noticed some of the ghosting and artifacts that interlaced video can expose when put on a big screen. Despite the claim of my HD monitor to do de-interlacing, I was finding that it didn't do an especially good job.
Enter the Philips DVP5982. Based on Philips well-received 5960 the 5982 adds support for 1080p output as well as improved USB compatibility. I returned the Sony, picked this one up, and set it up. Here are some of my observations:
The basics:
The DVP5982 is a basic upconverting player that you can get for around $70. It includes an HDMI output for upconverting along with coaxial digital audio outputs, plus the standard analog outputs (component, s-video, composite, and stereo audio). There is no upconverting over the component outputs however. It supports DivX file playback (as long as they're standard resolution and not too large) over USB from a FAT32 formatted device. The menu system on the 5982 is a bit archaic and hard to read, but it's manageable.
What I Like:
- True 1080p output. I was suspect of whether the 1080p output would make any visible difference over the 1080i of the Sony. I was wrong, the 1080p output made a huge difference in certain troublesome scenes from movies. I had noticed with the Sony that whenever there was a light or white background (such as a white wall or the sky) and there was motion in front of it, there were artifacts left all over the screen. In the same way, motion scenes would blur and leaving ghostly lines on the screen. Those problems are largely gone with the Philips.
- DivX playback. I have a 160GB hard drive attached to the USB and loaded onto their I have various movies that I've captured onto my computer from my cable dvr. Rather than burning all of these onto DVD or having to hook my computer up to the TV to watch them, I can just transfer them onto this hard drive and hook them up to my DVD player and they play. Pretty much every file I've thrown at it has played no problem (but I don't have any DivX HD files). The only exception was some movies that were encoded at incredibly high data rates. Even then, for the occasional really large or really high data rate file you can put it onto a DVD in DivX format and play it from the player.
- Image Quality - although its not as good as the Sony with some adjustment to my tv settings the image quality is still very good. There is some minor pinching
What I don't like
- Audio Output - this machine will either output over the HDMI cable OR the digital coaxial out - but not both at the same time. This really is only a minor problem, but it can make things more complicated than they need to be
- The Disc Tray - The tray feels kind of floppy and cheap
- The Menu System - Simply put, it's awful. Once you figure out the fonts and how it works, it makes sense, but the visual appearance really leaves something to be desired.
- The Image Quality - As I said above, it's not quite on par with the Sony, although the elimination of the ghosting and artifacts make it a worthwhile trade off.
The Summary:
Well, seldom am I so glad I spent $70 on something. Some minor inconveniences aside, for the price you cannot beat this player if you're looking for 1080p (or want to future-proof you DVD player). I feel very comfortable waiting out the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray battle with this player attached to my HDTV - DVDs look fantastic. The DivX playback, while somewhat limited by what USB devices can be attached, is a really nice added feature. But for me it was the combination of price and 1080p playback that convinced me - and I haven't been disappointed.

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Philips DVD player, 1080p Upscaling, DivX Ultra certified, Plays CD, CD-R-RW,MP3/WMA, DVD, DVD-R/+R, DivX to support video downloads from your PC in Mpeg4 format, 1080P upscaling will increase the picture resolution performance from your movie CD's to 1080P resolution similation, plays Jpeg picture CD's, Progressive Scan. Full size 420 mm width

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Philips DVP5990 HDMI 1080p Upscaling DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD player is a great bargain at $55. It works perfectly fine. Here's what you really want to know:
1) Make this DVD player region-free. Press Setup on the remote and go to Preferences. Press 1, 3, 8, 9, 3, 1 on the remote. Use the up and down buttons to select Region 0 (region-free).
2) Go to the General Setup page. Press 1, 3, 7, 9. This will display the firmware information. If the last two digits of Version aren't "31," then go to the Philips website and update to the most recent firmware (31).
3) For US users, the first two digits of Version will be "37." Go to http://vb6rocod.euracks.com/dvp5990_37.php and download "DVP5990_37_vb6_v32_All_Logo.rar" and follow the upgrading instructions (http://vb6rocod.euracks.com/upgrade.html). It really is as simple as it sounds, and it can be done in less than 60 seconds. I recommend the USB method. Upgrading to this firmware will give the USB capabilities of the DVD player increased functionality and usability (there are a couple dozen changes and fixes; I won't list them here).
Random notes: The DVD player will only recognize jump drives and USB hard drives that are formatted in FAT32, so you will need to do that. Now, the manual says there is a limit of 300 folders and 648 files. This is not exactly true. There IS a limit of 648 files PER folder. So what reads as a limit of 648 files is actually a limit of 648 * 300 = 194,400 files. So this is NOT a limiting factor.
I tested a variety of files and the DVD player can read everything I threw at it, with the exception of Quicktime files and Real files. It is equally as capable in the realm of audio files. It also has a slideshow feature for pictures. In case you are curious, it can't read PDF files.
When one video or audio file finishes, it automatically goes on to the next one. It could be great for background music when hosting a party.
The DVD player can access .srt subtitle files that have multiple tracks and you can flip through them while watching a foreign Divx movie. I was extremely pleased by this. The modified firmware I linked will also allow you to change the color, size, and location of the subtitles while you're watching the movie. Extremely nifty.
Watching Divx movies on my TV looks perfectly sharp, and now I don't have to store or swap discs. This DVD player is a sign of the future. Get out and buy one (and a USB hard drive... if you catch a deal they're as cheap as ten cents/GB). $100 can create a total multimedia collection that changes with you.
Also, the remote does feel a little cheap. But who cares? It is cheap.

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Philips HDMI 1080p DVD player with true high definition video upscaling, D/A converter: 12 bit, 108 MHz progressive Scan, High Def (720p, 1080i, 1080p), Video Upscaling(720p, 1080i/p)192kHz/24 bit audio DAC enhances analogue sound input, High definition JPEG playback for images in true resolution, Brings your PC to your living room with Windows Media Video playback, DivX Ultra for enhanced playback of DivX media files, Plays DivX, MP3, WMA and JPEG digital camera photos, Plays CD, (S)VCD, DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, Direct conversion from CD to MP3, USB Direct plays DivX movies, photos and music from USB flash drives

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Philips BDP9000 Blu-Ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)URGENT UPDATE: INSTALL SAMSUNG 1.9 Driver to the Philips Player To Fix Problems!!!
It's Feb 2009 and this Blu Ray player was having trouble with certain new Blu Ray releases . . . they wouldn't play, etc. I was told this unit would be useless soon and Philips was not updating firmware. I searched and found this thread [...] and it suggested installing the Samsung Driver . . . I was skeptical at first, but was about to scrap this thing . . . so I installed the SAMSUNG 1.9 Driver update . . . IT WORKED!!!!!!!Previous Review Below
Like the reviewer below, I also have the Toshiba HD2 Model for HD DVD. I am using both of these units on a Mitsubishi 55" 1080i HDTV. Using the Impact Component Video Switcher with Optical Audio connections I have been extremely pleased with this product so far. Why would anyone spend more for a Blu Ray Player? At some point I think the details of the output specs don't live up to the cost paid. This unit however, exceeds expectations given the current price point of other Blu Ray Players. Bottomline . . . I feel I made an excellent choice buying both this unit and the Toshiba HD2 HD DVD players rather than spending MORE money for just a Panasonic or Sony Blu Ray player.

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The Philips BDP9000 DVD player is the first model from Philips that plays high-definition Blu-ray Discs, which takes advantage of today's flat-screen HDTVs by playing content at native 720p or 1080i video resolutions. The clarity and full-color spectrum of the vibrant video produced from Blu-ray movie discs, which provide five times the resolution of standard DVD movie discs is absolutely amazing. The Philips BDP9000 also offers backward compatibility for DVD movie and CD audio discs, and has an upconverting function that brings your favorite DVDs to near HD quality through the HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) output. The player includes one (HDMI) output, which provides uncompressed multi-channel digital audio, digital High Definition video delivered via a single cable (720p/1080p). High-definition signals up to 1080i are also available through the component video output for Bluray discs (standard DVD’s are output 480p through component video). Note that viewing high-definition Blu-ray Disc content requires an HDTV or HD-ready TV. The user-friendly graphic interface includes a full-color, hi-def animated menu, with features such as advanced subtitle functions, video scene search and pop-ups--which provide informative tidbits and are embedded in Blu-ray Disc contents. The unique 10-in-2 multi-format memory card slot displays 3-megapixel and larger images. It's compatible with Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia (MMC), CompactFlash, MicroDrive, XD Picture Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Duo Pro, Memory Stick Pro, RS MMC, and Mini SD. Other technical features include: Up to 1080p (1920 x 1080p) output through HDMI digital outputSelectable 1080p/1080i/720p video upconversion of DVD’s through HDMIBD-RE, BD-ROM, DVD ROM, DVD RAM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-ROM, CD-R/RW playback compatibleMPEG2, VC-1, H.264, HD JPEG decoding12-bit/192MhZ video D/A converter; 24-bit/192KHz audio D/A converter The BDP9000 provides a full range of audio decoding, including Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby DTS, and MP3. It has stereo outputs as well as coaxial and optical digital audio outputs for 5.1-channel home theater surround sound. It offers the following video output connection options: HDMI: 1Component Video: 1S-Video: 1Composite AV (RCA): 1 Blu-ray Disc Format The next-generation Blu-ray optical disc format was created by a group of the world's top consumer electronics companies, including Philips and Sony. This format was intended to meet the demand for playing and recording high-definition content, which far surpasses the video quality DVD can handle. With remarkable high quality video and crisp audio clarity, Blu-ray also offers increased storage capacity--up to 25 GB of content on a single-sided disc and enough space for two hours of high-definition movies or recorded content. (This is over five times the 4.7 GB of data a standard single-sided DVD disc can store.) The name Blu-ray is derived from the blue-violet laser the player uses to read and write to the disc. Tech Talk HDMI: is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link any audio/video source (such as a set-top box, DVD player, or AV receiver) with your TV--all over a single cable. HDMI supports standard, enhanced or high definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It supports all ATSC formats--standard (SDTV), enhanced (EDTV), and high (HDTV). Component video: (also called Y/Pb/Pr) features a three-jack video input, which provides separate connections for luminance or "black and white" (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. You will need a separate RCA left/right audio cable for sound or you can use a digital connection like "digital coaxial" or "optical". High Definition Formats: The most common high-def (HD) video format is 1080i, which displays video at 1080 vertical by 1920 horizontal pixels. The "i" means that it is interlaced (interlaced means the screen scans the odd-numbered video lines first, then the even-numbered lines).The 1080p format has the same pixel resolution as 1080i, but it is a progressive scan format and thus has a constant vertical resolution of 1080 lines. The "p" denotes that it is progressive scan, meaning that all video lines are filled at the same time.Another high-def (HD) video format is 720p, which displays video at 720 vertical by 1280 horizontal pixels.It displays the same way as as 1080p except at a lower resolution. What's in the Box Blu-ray DVD player, remote control (multibrand for TVs; comes with batteries), printed operating instructions.

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ADVANCED HIGH SPEED DIGITAL 6 FT HDMI to MINI HDMI HIGH DEFINITION DIGITAL INTERCONNECT VIDEO CABLE Supports: 1440p,1080p,1080i,720p,480p, HDMI Category 2 Certified. Supports up to 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio. Review

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(More customer reviews)These are well made cables and at a CHEAP price. I dont know how they can sell such quality made cables at such a low price but somehow they do, and Im glad. With Fast shipping, I got the 3 cables I ordered quickly and as Advertised.
Really, you would have to be a complete Idiot to throw a Hundred Plus on some Way overpriced Monster Cable Garbage that uses lots of False advertising to get suckers to fall for it. Guess what, these cables are also Lifetime Warranty, not like youll ever need to worry about it. Stores like to display Side By Side Test Displays, and show one with Monster Cable in use and the other with a Generic cable, and of course the one using Monster is BETTER. What most people dont notice is that the picture on the Generic Cable Display and been purposely screwed up to look bad, or whats even better, they use a Composite connection on the Generic HDTV Display, (which means its not even showing a HD Picture) and a HDMI connection on the Monster setup. Most people arent going to try and see the cables and the hookups that are behind out of sight.
You could buy one of these new cables every year, for YEARS before you ever caught up to the price of buying a single Monster (Rip-Off) cable. HDMI is also a DIGITAL signal, as in 1s and 0s being passed though the cable, or as in On/Off, Power, No power. You either get a picture or you dont. Its not like a Analog single were the picture can get worse and worse.

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Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player and FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST905004CEA1E1-RK Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't want to repeat too much what others have already listed. The unit works great for playing your home videos you converted to DVDs just like you're using a DVD player and you don't need to convert any files(provided they are in the standard DVD format ifo, VOB etc) them just copy them off your DVD and you can have access to all your memories. I click on the VIDEO_TS.IFO file and it plays just like I had the DVD in menus and all.
Now for the problem. The unit does not recognize the FreeAgent Go drives. Dock the drive to it and it does not know a drive is there. I purchased both the unit and a FreeAgent Go drive in the last 2 months. The drive arrived yesterday. I had been using a flashdrive up until now using the USB port. Now I wish I did not buy this unit. Unfortunately, the only place people were talking about this issue was on Seagate's website in the forum section. If you can't dock your external hard drive to it, it's not of much use. Perhaps earlier models worked but in this economy many firms went cheap and perhaps Seagate has done this too. It was just too good to be true and I have relied on Seagate for storage for years, and now they have let me down.
***Update, Seagate initiated contact with me and appears may be taking care of the issue. I will update. So far their customer service has been very proactive and they initiated contact with me based on my discussion about it and how many firms do that!**** Seagate did replace the drive based on comments I wrote in a forum. I also purchased another unit for $29 (no drive included) on sale Jan 2010. Both units working well but you may need to use a USB cable to use a larger Go Drive.

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The easiest way to move your photos, movies and music from your PC to your TV. Share and enjoy your memories in a comfortable, social environment such as your living room. The Seagate FreeAgent Theater media player solution consists of three components: a media player dock, a PC dock and a FreeAgent Go portable hard drive. With two easy steps, you will be viewing and sharing your favorite photos, movies and music in no time! With its unique dual-docking system, setup the device once and never hassle with cables again. Simply place the FreeAgent Go portable hard drive into the PC docking station and it automatically copies your photos, movies and music from the PC to the drive. Then docking the FreeAgent Go portable hard drive into the FreeAgent Theater media player, connected to the TV, puts your entire media library at your fingertips with 1080i High-Definition playback and crystal clear Dolby Digital 5.1 audio surround sound support. With the front-mounted USB port, you can also plug your digital camera, USB flash drive or external USB hard drive directly into the FreeAgent Theater and enjoy the same high-quality viewing experience. Navigating through your media library is intuitive with the FreeAgent Theater¿s user interface and compact remote control. Share your memories like a pro with easy to customize slideshows, transitions, background music and zoom feature for both pictures and movies. Share and experience your memories in comfort with FreeAgent Theater.

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Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player STCEA101-RK Review

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(More customer reviews)The Seagate FreeAgent Theater is now cheap because it is old technology and it shows. It is not a bad player for old-school video formats, but the picture is composite like an early years DVD Player, not HD. The firmware is slow, ugly, and buggy. The newer Theater+ model has HDMI, networking, and HD picture, but it is not worth the much higher $ investment (currently over $200 with hard drive and dock). The new firmware is still a D+ at best. I recommend using a netbook with an HDMI port as a media server instead. A netbook will work flawlessly as a media server and you will enjoy all the other PC fuctions it can do for you.

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The easiest way to move your photos, movies and music from your PC to your TV. Share and enjoy your memories in a comfortable, social environment such as your living room. With two easy steps, you will be viewing and sharing your favorite photos, movies and music in no time! With its unique dual-docking system, setup the device once and never hassle with cables again. Simply place the FreeAgent Go portable hard drive (sold seperately) into the PC docking station and it automatically copies your photos, movies and music from the PC to the drive. Then docking the FreeAgent Go portable hard drive into the FreeAgent Theater media player, connected to the TV, puts your entire media library at your fingertips with 1080i High-Definition playback and crystal clear Dolby Digital 5.1 audio surround sound support. With the front-mounted USB port, you can also plug your digital camera, USB flash drive or external USB hard drive directly into the FreeAgent Theater and enjoy the same high-quality viewing experience. Navigating through your media library is intuitive with the FreeAgent Theater¿s user interface and compact remote control. Share your memories like a pro with easy to customize slideshows, transitions, background music and zoom feature for both pictures and movies. Share and experience your memories in comfort with FreeAgent Theater.

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