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Mediaman HVX-3500 Multi-player
Price: £149.99 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 03/08/2006
Featured in magazine:
Issue 141
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: PlayEngine
Tel: 01344 382626
Web Address: www.playengine.co.uk


It's a familiar problem, but unless you've forked out hundreds of pounds on a PC that plugs into your TV, most of your digital content will probably be in the wrong place for comfortable viewing. If you've also forked out for one of the almost ubiquitous HD-ready TVs and are frustrated at the lack of HD programming, you could do with something that'll take HD quality from your PC and present it on your screen.

Features
This is basically an 80GB hard disk in a natty box with a remote control, but you don't actually need much more to get your digital content from your PC to your TV.

This device means you don't have to worry about networking – the USB cable plugs straight into your PC, which will recognise it without the need to install any software or drivers. All you have to do is save your movies, pictures and music onto this hard disk, unplug it, transfer it to your TV and use the supplied remote control to browse the contents of the disk.

Performance
Without wanting to get too nerdy, it's the ports on the back of this device that get us slathering. It has options for digitally connecting to an HD-ready TV, providing it has a DVI or component (Y/Pb/Pr) connector, to provide maximum output quality. So as long as your home videos, downloaded content or digital photos are up to scratch, it'll display them in superior quality. It'll handle surround sound too, so home cinema enthusiasts who've yet to find a way of connecting PC to TV should already feel their wallets tingling. The only downside is that the supplied hard disk seemed a bit noisy to us, but crank up the TV sound and you'll barely notice.

Ease of use
Connecting the device to your PC is easy – the USB connection means it's no more complicated than any other type of external hard disk or memory, and Windows XP recognises it immediately and adds it to your list of drives in My Computer. Hooking it up to your TV is also simple, though you'll need to buy an extra cable if you want to make use of its superior digital connections – only S-Video and stereo audio are supplied.

Value for money
Big hard disks are relatively cheap nowadays, so it's nice to see this hasn't got a massive premium slapped on it. Corners haven't been cut though – it should still have all the ports you could wish for and the installed software for running the device off your TV is perfectly satisfactory.

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