The Iomega ScreenPlay HD
The Iomega ScreenPlay HD certainly makes digital content easily viewable on a television; however the limited way in which content can be added to it makes it a more awkward experience than it really should be.
Even the most casual of computer users are becoming increasingly reliant on their PC for entertainment. With broadband speeds and online purchase options increasing people are turning more to digital downloads and cameras, saving themselves money and time in the process.
Of course digital downloads and uploaded photographs have plenty of down sides, not least the fact that they were not designed to be enjoyed on a pokey computer or laptop screen. As well as this it can often be a bit of a waste to have a powerful PC running just to watch a film or listen to some music – this is where devices like the ScreenPlay HD come into play.
In essence the device is a 500GB external hard-drive, capable of storing days worth of video content, over a hundred thousand hours of audio and hundreds of thousands of photographs.
What makes the ScreenPlay different to any other hard-drive is its connectivity features, which allows it to be hooked up to a television through a HDMI cable, Scart lead or a variety of other means. The device can also be navigated through via a number of buttons at its front, while the bundled remote allows you to have the same control from the comfort of your sofa.
Adding content to the device is remarkably simple. The connection used is USB and once the drivers are in place it is just a case of dragging and dropping chosen files into the hard drive – no different than you would do with an attached USB flash key. Most common file types like .mp3 and .avi are recognised too – although formats like .m4a and .mov do not seem to do so well.
When connected to the television its operation is just as simple with a basic and frankly quite ugly menu system on offer, which can be navigated easily with the remote.
For users who want to make all of their existing media accessible through their TV in a few simple steps this is ideal. However for those users who would want to add new content to the device on a regular basis, rather than simply upload everything in one go and be done with it, things may get a little bit fraught.
Not because the adding of files is difficult in itself but because it requires a direct USB connection to the PC in order to do so. For users who have their PC in a different location to their television this would mean a complete disconnect and re-connect of the device – and back again – every time something needed to be added or removed.
The ideal solution for Iomega would be to add some kind of wireless or bluetooth functionality to the device – a feature that is standard in most new computers today. If either were present files could be sent seamlessly over the home’s network and neither PC, TV nor ScreenPlay HD would ever need to be moved again. As such a feature is not, this device may be constantly on the move if left in the hands of the serial downloader.
An edited version of this review appeared in Business & Finance magazine on the 4th December 2008.
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