Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The iomega ScreenPlay MX is an extremely easy to use, multimedia player. What is a multimedia player? Essentially any media (audio, photos, video) file from your computer can be copied onto this player and then easily played.
Essentially this is a 1 Terabyte hard drive (1,000 GB) that seamlessly plays multimedia files for you when connected to your audio/video system. So unlike a computer, you don't need to worry about software or software updates (although in theory you might want to update the software of the ScreenPlay MX itself at some time in the future if they enhance it). Playing a song or movie is as easy as navigating to the file and pressing "play" (select) on the remote.
It does take a little time (30 seconds?) to "boot up", so it is not quite "instant on" (few devices these days really are).
There are no buttons on this device, you control it completely via the remote (so don't lose the remote!).
The remote does have volume controls which adjust the volume of the media player itself and thus you rarely need to pick up a separate remote to adjust your audio volume.
There is a full manual you can download, or read online, from iomega's website but it's extremely unlikely you would ever need it. Pretty much everything is obvious with a small amount of "trial and error".
The unit does get extremely hot when being used. There is no cooling fan and the hard drive is extremely quiet. So if little noises like the spinning sounds of your DVD player annoy you, relax this unit is dead silent.
I love the convenience of this unit. The large 1 TB hard drive will hold a lot of data (approximately 200 typical DVDs). So I can rip my entire music CD collection to electronic files (I prefer OGG format over MP3s) and have all of my music available via easy remote control selection. And I can load dozens of my favorite DVDs so they are conveniently always available (very handy for instructional DVDs which you may watch often).
One valuable usage is that this device can serve as a backup for your computer's hard drive. So if you've bought a lot of music or collected lots of video (perhaps all your own vacation videos), copy it to this player and leave the master copy on your computer.
Power on/off is a bit weird on this device. It's no problem when connected to your TV as the remote puts it into "standby" (which appears to be completely powered off). But when disconnecting from your computer the only way to power it down seems to be to unplug it. There is a push button power switch on the back of the unit but this seems to only work to turn it on (not to turn it off).
One of my WMV files doesn't play on this player but others do. I'm sure there are a few odd codecs that aren't supported. It also would not play the .MTS files taken with my digital camcorder (software that reads this is fairly rare). Also it would not play a .3GP video file (taken with my Droid 2 phone).
Favorite features:
* Plays OGG format audio!
* Small physical size (sits next to HDTV very nicely)
Concerns or flaws:
* Very hot! Potentially this may mean a short life span.
* Not "instant on"
* Can't be powered off after connecting to computer
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Iomega 35029 ScreenPlay MX HD 1 TB Media Player (Black)The Iomega ScreenPlay MX HD Media Player will change how you experience digital entertainment in your home. With more media formats (including H.264, WMV, RMVB), brilliant 1080p HD quality for a magnificent picture and superior sound you'll enjoy your videos, movies, photos, and music even more. Plus, stream content from multiple sources including your digital camera, video camera, or USB drive and enjoy it on your large screen high-definition television. Iomega Protection Suite software is included to ensure all your digital content is safe and secure. Store up to 2TB of digital content directly on your ScreenPlay MX.
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