Coolest gadget ever :Seagate HD+ theatre interface

ken c wrote on 2/8/2010, 1:28 PM
Hey fellow video Vegas editors, sorry for sounding like an ad, but I thought you guys might like this...

Here's something that made my decade...

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/home_entertainment/freeagent_theater_plus/

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ (just released December 2009)

Finally - a low cost ($149; skip their option for a low-capacity hd and just get a 2TB external usb seagate instead, to plug into it) interface w/remote between external hard drives for movies, and the television/home theatre (w/hdmi support).

So basically you can get a 2TB external drive (I like seagates), put video on it, and usb-plug it into the interface and remote-control watch any video footage on your television.

A much easier alternate to using a laptop-to-tv or other interface. The remote isn't great so I bought a sony universal, trying to figure it out... but the interface device works great... so I can put all my video footage (isos, vobs, wmvs, avis) on hard drives (and powered-usb chain them for super-capacity), and plug those into this interface, so I can watch all my video with NO more dvds ever needed.

Finally!

I'd been waiting for years for something like this. In years past, there was an expensive ($10,000-type) storage/interface device for wealthier folks, this is a great budget type solution, and it really works.

Not perfect, here's there forum, but it works great:
http://forums.seagate.com/stx/board?board.id=fatheater


Anyone else get one yet?

-k

Comments

Radio Guy wrote on 2/8/2010, 2:07 PM
Looks cool. I've got the Western Digital version that came out a few years back the WD HD TV player and they are fun to use for sure.


Cheers
ReneH wrote on 2/8/2010, 2:15 PM
Well, I have been doing somehting similar for about a year now.

I bought a Pioneer DVD home player with a USB input. I just copy whatever dvix movies, also those with vob files, and play them on my tv. The DVD player calls up a menu on screen and actually shows all my files, including jpegs, and png's I believe.

Just to see if it would work, I also got an external USB drive, an old 80 gig, and the DVD player also recognized it. The menu comes up and I can select whatever I want to watch.

Go figure! I don't even burn dvd's anymore, just save it ti flash drive or external usb drive.
musicvid10 wrote on 2/8/2010, 7:34 PM
I'd like to know how the Seagate and WD compare. I've been contemplating the WD because of its positive reviews.
BudWzr wrote on 2/8/2010, 8:19 PM
I have the Viewsonic model ($89 Fry's Anaheim). It has a component output too besides HDMI, the WD does not, don't know about the Seagate.

P.S. Composite out gives you HD to a projector, among other uses.

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/vmp70.htm
DGates wrote on 2/8/2010, 8:29 PM
Ken's a little behind the times. These aren't new by any stretch.
BudWzr wrote on 2/8/2010, 8:33 PM
Hey, let the guy enjoy a little, party pooper!
DGates wrote on 2/8/2010, 8:34 PM
I was teasing him.
Radio Guy wrote on 2/9/2010, 4:56 AM
For Musicvid re - I've been contemplating the WD because of its positive reviews-
----
I chose the WD for the positive reviews too, although the other products are probably just as good. The darn thing is tiny, just connect two 1TB WD Drives and I have a great solution for storing a large collection of my dvds I create folders for adventure, scifi, my own projects etc with thumbnail art and your set. I convert to MKV and plug in the HDMI plus TOS cable for surround sound. Works for me.
Rory Cooper wrote on 2/9/2010, 6:56 AM
These are cool. I have a mvixpvr = good,and a iomega = soso

They are great for presentations. Most corporate boardrooms have HD plasmas…. set up and go
The guys who present after you with a laptop……..sad.

The Mede8er plays raw AVCHD….so even for scamping through footage for a edit and have a few people working on the project = dump and view .

If you want to grow your client base this will do it

The Mede8er is HALF the price of the PVR and better

gpsmikey wrote on 2/9/2010, 7:09 AM
I have the WD TV Live version (also plugs into the ethernet of your local LAN and can see shared files/drives). Works quite well although the menu system is a bit ..... odd/clunky. Have we reached the "who needs blue-ray" state yet with these things - just work around the need for the optical disk completely (almost) :-)

mikey
JasonATL wrote on 2/9/2010, 5:55 PM
This thread got me thinking... My new Sony Bravia XBR TV has a USB port and it can access internet/network content. So, I copied some Vegas-rendered files to a memory stick and tried it. It worked! I haven't tried ripping DVD's or Blu-ray to disc and connecting yet, but I just might try that. Thanks for the thead.
ReneH wrote on 2/9/2010, 7:07 PM
Jason,

Thats very similar to my home dvd player. Been doing this for quite some time, I'm surprised few have noticed this.
BudWzr wrote on 2/9/2010, 7:58 PM
This video collecting craze has been going on since the DOS days, some of the oldtimers have terabyte collections.
DJPadre wrote on 2/10/2010, 7:22 AM
no offense, but i woudlnt touch seagate if my life depended on it...

i had 4 drives fail in 3 months... and warranty repalcement WONT replace the data ie they wont cover the cost of platter to platter data restotation, even though its the spindle of the drive or most likely the PCB failing (which is 95% of teh problems seagate cough maxtor face... since maxtor took over, seagate components are rubbish and im not the only one whos had these issues... i knwo at least 5 other producers whove lost data coz of seagates inability to handle high temps.. when u have an array of 8HDD's its gonna get hot, regardless of whether or not a fan is there...
musicvid10 wrote on 2/10/2010, 8:59 AM
What do Seagate internal HDDs have to do with this thread?
I had a viewfinder on my Sony Video8 camcorder go bad. Out-of-warranty replacement was more than the worth of the unit. Should I have stopped buying all Sony products at that point?
BudWzr wrote on 2/10/2010, 9:40 AM
Seagate is the industry leader, I use their "Barracuda" line in my NAS. Their online support and RMA processing is topnotch.
bill-kranz wrote on 2/14/2010, 7:14 AM
Hi-

This process sounds great if you are the only one carting the unit and movies around.
But what about giving your friends a long hi def movie? In this case I still see a need for
Blu Ray but media prices are still high.
How will this play out for friends who don't have a PC? Will the disc prices ever come down?

Sincerely,
Bill
Radio Guy wrote on 2/14/2010, 8:50 AM
Bill Asked: How will this play out for friends who don't have a PC

Well the WD version I have fits in my jacket with cables and a small my pocket WD flash drive holding say 30 movies that fits in your shirt pocket and your good to go at your friends place. Of course your friend has to have a tv with HDMI or at least RCA inputs for composite

Cheers
musicvid10 wrote on 2/14/2010, 9:31 AM
Comparing the descriptions at Microcenter, I find the Seagate doesn't have HDMI. Even the WD Mini has that.