Many of us get our digital content online these days and most of us are happy to watch it right on the computer. Sometimes though we may want to free that content from the confines of our main computers to share with others. Sure, there are a few people out there who have taken the route of a home theatre PC, but that may not be a viable, affordable, or user-friendly option for everyone. That’s why a media playing set top box just seems so much more straightforward.
You may recall that a short while ago, we took a look at the Hi-Den Vision HDMI 1080p Digital Photo and Video Viewer. By and large, this device had the typical lack of polish that you find with most generic products straight from China. Today, we take a look at something that’s got a little more spit, polish and a little more shine. Introducing the Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player.
When compared to the Hi-Den Vision box, you get almost the same thing with one very important difference. Aside from the obvious enhancements to the overall package, the Seagate solution comes with a removable 250GB external hard drive. Since the drive is removable, you can also expand with extra drives along the way. Let’s take a closer look!
What’s in the Box?
One of the first things that I noticed about the Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player Solution was that Seagate spent a fair bit of time working on the packaging. It’s not only the glossy box that looks good, but everything is very neatly packed into a tri-fold plastic shell inside.
On the first layer, you find the CD and documentation. On the next layer, you find the FreeAgent Go portable hard drive. On the bottom-most layer, you get the actual media player itself, the remote control, the hard drive docking station, USB cable, power cable, and A/V cable.
Features and Highlights
Seagate says that this is “the easiest way to move your photos, movies and music from your PC to your TV.” The idea is that you keep the docking station for the included 250GB FreeAgent Go portable hard drive next to your main computer. This way, you can dock that hard drive as needed to load it up with new content.
After pumping it full of movies, music, and pictures, the hard drive can then be walked over to the FreeAgent Theater Media Player connected to your HDTV and you’ll be able to enjoy all that great content on your big television.
In terms of file support, this multimedia player will be able to handle a range of MPEG-1, MPEG_2, and MPEG-4 video files, including DivX and Xvid. It’ll also support both true HD and upscaling up to 720p/1080i. On the music front, it’ll do MP3, AC3, WMA, WAV, and OGG. For pictures, it’ll display up to 20-megapixel JPEGs. This content can either be loaded on the provided hard drive or you can use the front-mounted USB port for further expansion.
Start by Docking the Drive
The Seagate FreeAgent Theater is available in three different versions. You can buy the HD media player solution on its own if you prefer, but you’ll get a better value by opting for the versions that include a FreeAgent Go portable hard drive instead. The version that I’m reviewing comes with a 250GB drive, but you can opt for the 500GB variant too.
Since the FreeAgent Go comes in a variety of colors, you can effectively organize your media collection based on color, docking the drive of choice into the FreeAgent Theater as desired. This helps Seagate’s business, of course, but as mentioned, you can run things from the single USB port too.
A Shiny Box of Multimedia Enjoyment
Measuring 31 x 183 x 180mm (1.22 x 7.20 x 7.09 inches), the Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player is fairly compact and will be able to fit into just about any home theatre arrangement. It’s not quite as small as the Hi-Den Vision, but that didn’t come with a hard drive docking slot. I’d say that the FreeAgent Theater is about the same size as those compact DVD players.
The glossy black casing is quite classy, but I find that it clashes with the provided silver FreeAgent Go portable hard drive. I don’t think that it’ll look very good with anything other than a black hard drive, but that’s a matter of taste.
Connectivity Options
Turning around to the back of the device, you’ll find the connectivity options that it offers. Since it is being marketed as an HD media player, I fully expected that it would come with a more comprehensive set of high-definition ports. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Included in the box are a set of standard composite video cables, giving you a paltry 480i experience at best. In addition to the composite connection, the FreeAgent Theater also lets you do S-Video or component, but there is no DVI or HDMI option. I would have really liked HDMI output, since it’s just so much easier to connect to most contemporary HDTVs on the market.
On the audio side, you choose between the usual RCA stereo or coaxial. There is no optical option. Again, this is quite disappointing. If this is going to be an HD set top box, I expect it to be able to do what a Blu-ray player can do.
Controlling Your Entertainment
Included in the box is a fairly standard remote control. This can be used for turning the system on and off, navigating through the menus, advancing to the next track, and so on. Since the FreeAgent Theater supports subtitle files, there is also a button to control that aspect of your video watching experience.
I initially thought that the audio output on the media player was quite a bit lower than other products I have connected to my Samsung TV, but it turns out that the Seagate player has its own volume control as well. This way, you don’t have to switch between the Seagate remote and your TV remote. That’s pretty handy.
The core controls are duplicated on the top of the FreeAgent Theater itself. You get the five-way navigator, a power button, menu button, play/pause, and stop. You can get basic functionality if you happen to lose the remote, but it’s just that: very basic. Don’t lose the remote.
Slick On-Screen Interface is Back in Black
One of the complaints that I had about the Hi-Den Vision was that the interface was clunky and unresponsive. That’s why I still prefer to use my Xbox 360 as a media player. The on-screen interface just works so much better.
The on-screen interface for the Seagate Theater HD Media Player fits somewhere in between. It’s certainly slick-looking with its clean black background and simple icons, but I still found that it wasn’t quite as responsive as my Xbox in terms of getting through menus and such. That said, it does come with more features.
Navigating horizontally gets you to choose between all, music, photos, and videos. From there, you can choose either to access the attached FreeAgent Go portable hard drive or some sort of external storage you have connected to the USB port.
Video Previews for the Win!
Not familiar with the file names? Not sure which episode you should be watching? Perhaps the single greatest feature found on the FreeAgent Theater is that when you have your selection bar over a video file, the clip is previewed in the window on the right. This adds a touch of lag to the menu, but I think it’s worth it.
File Support and Shuffle Capabilities
While the media player here may not be quite as robust as the software you have running on your computer, I am glad that some rudimentary features have been implemented here. For instance, the music player is able to shuffle the songs within a single folder. This isn’t perfect, but it’s acceptable.
As with so many of these media players, the true value boils down to file support. As mentioned, Seagate says that the FreeAgent Theater will be able to handle MPEG-1/2/4 files, including those encoded in DivX or Xvid. Well, it’s not perfect.
In my tests, it would not play an MP4 file. That much was largely expected. However, the FreeAgent Theater also wouldn’t play some of my AVI files. Apparently, the codec is not supported. It did play one file that my Xbox 360 didn’t recognize though. I’m thinking that this issue can be resolved with a comprehensive firmware update.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Compared to some of the generic solutions on the market, the Seagate FreeAgent Theater is much more polished and complete. The interface is slick, the file support is acceptable, and I like how the FreeAgent Go portable hard drive comfortably slides into its slot in the player. The insertion and ejection process reminds me of 8-track tapes. Remember those?
This product is not without its faults. There is no HDMI output, which is a pretty big deal for me. It’s also unfortunate that it won’t play MP4 files and is not completely up to date with audio/video codecs. The subtitle support is a nice touch and despite a mere component connection at best, the video quality is acceptable albeit far from breathtaking.
Although it’s officially listed at about $230, the 250GB FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player can be found online for about $160. This represents a pretty good value, considering that the 250GB FreeAgent Go on its own is already about a hundred bucks.
Pros
- Simple home theatre multimedia solution
- Includes versatile FreeAgent Go portable hard drive
- Clean and slick on-screen interface
- In-menu video previews are great
Cons
- No Wi-Fi for wireless streaming
- Lack of HDMI output option
- File and codec support could be improved
- USB port is upside down
Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
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