Gizmodo: player

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ Adds HDMI, Ethernet, DTS, and Dolby Digital

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:31:44 EDT

Seagate woke up and smelled the coffee, adding a much needed 1080p HDMI output port, Ethernet connectivity, and Dolby Digital and DTS 2.0 to their FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player. The new FreeAgent Theater+ also gets new video codecs.

The list of supported formats now include MPEG-1 MPEG-2 (VOB/ISO), MPEG-4 (DivX(R)/Xvid formats), DivX HD, Xvid HD, AVI, MOV, MKV, RMVB, AVC HD, H.264, WMV9, VC-1, M2TS, and TS/TP/M2T. On the audio front it includes AAC, MP3, Dolby Digital, DTS, ASF, FLAC, WMA, LPCM, ADPCM, WAV and OGG. It can also display JPEG files up to 20 megapixels, BMP, GIF, PNG and TIFF.

The FreeAgent Theater+ also includes two additional USB ports to add more hard drives, and Seagate says that they will have a USB Wireless Adapter in October, to integrate the device in 802.11n Wi-Fi networks. The audio output also uses the obligatory optical S/PDIF port.

You can get it now for $150—without hard drive—and $290 with 500GB. The Wi-Fi adapter will come later for $70. OK, Seagate, now that you smelled the coffee, bring me a cuppa and a bagel, please.

Seagate's New FreeAgent Theater+(TM) HD Media Player Enhances the Enjoyment of Digital Home Movies and Photos

Bring Your Digital Media to Life with True HD and Dolby(R) Digital Surround Sound Technology
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Seagate (Nasdaq: STX), the worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions, today unveiled its new FreeAgent Theater+(TM) [Plus] HD media player, the next generation home theater solution designed to instantly and easily connect your digital media library to your home entertainment system.

The FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player leverages a docking system unique to Seagate FreeAgent Go(TM) portable drives and accessories, providing a quick and easy way to connect your external hard drive to your television or home entertainment center. After loading the drive with your favorite movies, videos, music and pictures from the home PC, simply slide it into the FreeAgent Theater+ dock to get instant access to your digital media library. With the FreeAgent Theater+ player, you can just sit back, relax, point, click and enjoy as digitally captured memories and your favorite movies come to life in 1080p HD video, DTS(TM) 2.0 + Digital Out, or Dolby Digital technology. The interface is easily navigated with the included remote control, and you can choose from video, photos or music with the up/down arrows on the remote to make your selection.

The Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player includes two additional USB ports for connecting other USB attached storage devices. Also incorporated into FreeAgent Theater+ is an Ethernet port for network connectivity, which allows access to digital media through your home network. Seagate intends to launch a USB Wireless Adapter in October to enable this same access with 802.11n wireless connectivity to a home network. Enjoy it all, with the included new and improved remote control, from the comfort of your couch.

"There is so much media that is now being captured and created through various methods and stored on the PC, yet the computer is not the ideal way to enjoy these photos and videos," said Terry Cunningham, senior vice president, Seagate Branded Solutions. "The FreeAgent Theater provides the easiest way to view and enjoy video and photos on your HDTV. Simply load up a Seagate FreeAgent Go(TM) hard drive and drop it into the FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player dock. It's a behavior we've all been familiar with for years with VHS and DVDs, but now with digital HD enjoyment."

The new FreeAgent Theater+(TM) HD media player solution includes:

HDMI with 1080p HD video playback for high-definition content viewing
Dolby(R) Digital and DTS(TM) 2.0 + Digital Out audio support surround sound where available.
Unique docking system eliminates fumbling with cables and connections
Ethernet connection for accessing shared content on your network or streaming of content from the Internet
The optional wireless connectivity feature, expected to be available in October, will allow you to access stored content on any networked computer in the home at your fingertips
Two additional USB ports and one front-mounted port for digital cameras and additional storage devices
Simple sync software for PC and Mac(R) computers
Intuitive user interface with DVD-style navigation
Support for Windows(R) XP, Windows Vista(R), Windows(R) 7, and Mac OS(R) X operating systems, as well as NTFS, FAT, FAT32, HFS+ file support
Component video and Composite video support
Optical S/PDIF audio and Stereo RCA sound options
The software included with FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player is a rich media-specific synchronization application that enables the automatic transfer and organization of all photo, music, video and movie files stored on your computer.

Technical Specifications

The Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player now supports even more Audio/Video and sound formats including MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (VOB/ISO), MPEG-4 (DivX(R)/Xvid formats), DivX HD, Xvid HD, AVI, MOV, MKV, RMVB, AVC HD, H.264, WMV9, VC-1, M2TS, TS/TP/M2T, JPEG files up to 20 megapixels, BMP, GIF, PNG and TIFF. Audio formats supported include 5.1 channel surround sound, where available, and popular digital audio formats including: AAC, MP3, Dolby Digital, DTS, ASF, FLAC, WMA, LPCM, ADPCM, WAV and OGG. The FreeAgent Theater+ player also offers support for SAMI (smi), SRT and SUB subtitles. To download and transfer content to a Seagate FreeAgent Go portable drive using a Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 operated PC, a 256MB RAM and an available USB port is required. Mac computer users must be running Mac OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.6 or later and have an available USB port. FreeAgent Theater connects to any TV with composite, component video or HDMI connection and stereo, optical S/PDIF or HDMI audio connection

Pricing and Availability

The Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player is available immediately via Seagate.com and other online retailers. It comes as a stand-alone unit for use with any USB storage device for a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $149.99, or bundled with a 500GB FreeAgent Go drive for a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $289.99. The FreeAgent Theater+ Wireless Adapter is expected to be available in October as a separate accessory through Seagate.com for $69.99.

Mirage Media Player Will Project An 80-inch Image...Apparently

Danny Allen — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:30:41 EDT

Color me interested, but skeptical. The makers of the Mirage PMP claim that when ready, its built-in projector will throw an impressive 80-inch picture. Other specs include a 3.5-inch display, and support for 64-bit games of some description.

Not much further info was given, but shot in the dark: the specs will probably be similar to every other Chinese-made media player out there.

As far as I remember, the Sunview PMP was the first media player with a built-in projector; it claimed a 53-inch throw. The more recent Nikon S1000pj camera projects a 40-inch image.

As for the Mirage, sounds neat…but yeah, I think I'll do fine with a battery-powered pico-projector for the moment. [Yinlips via Cloned in China]

Real Star Trek Tricorder Media Player Goes Where No PMP Has Gone Before

Danny Allen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:29:40 EDT

We've seen plenty of Tricorder-styled gizmos, but the PMP-09 is the best I've seen, and a functional gadget in its own-right. The flip-up PMP has a 2.8-inch display, 8GB storage, and provides 12 hours of music/4 hours of video playback.

It has 12 different Star Trek LCARS (Library Computer Access/Retrieval System) interface themes, and the site says more will be available for download. File format support is listed as MP3, MP4, AVI JPG, BMP, and WAV.

What gave me goosebumps: Seeing that beyond the TR-590 Tricorder X-style design, there are also Medical, Borg, Marine, Workbee and Troi-styled models available. The starting price of $349 might bring you back down to earth, though. [AmeralisGrafx — Thanks Junior!]

SATA HDD Multimedia Dock II, Now with HDMI

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:40:00 EDT

Brando, Brando, oh purveyors off all things plastic and electronic in a myriad forms and shapes. If you didn't like the Brando SATA drive horizontal dock with HDMI output, now you can have the vertical model.

Adding to the composite, component, and USB, the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock II also has an HDMI port, although it only supports 1080i. The media player supports the following formats:

• MPEG-1 (MPG, DAT)
• MPEG-2 (MPG, MPEG, VOB)
• MPEG-4 (AVI, MP4)
• DivX 3.11/4/5 (AVI, DIVX)
• XviD (AVI)
• AVI decode audio: MP3, AC3, ADPCM
• VOBSUB: srt, sub, smi, txt, ass, ssa
• MPEG-1 Layer 3, 24-320kbps (MP3)
• AC3 (in the movie)
• Microsoft PCM Wave (WAV)
• Advance Audio Coding LC (AAC)
• Microsoft Windows Media Audio WMA7/8 (WMA), no support for WMA9 Pro
• MP2 (MPA)

Looks like crap, but nice for $79. [Brando]

Flash Zunes Get Cheaper Tomorrow

matt buchanan — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:15:50 EST

Following up Zune 3.1 and this new TV spot, Microsoft's going to announce price cuts across the board for its flash Zunes tomorrow. Not drastic or desperate, but nice, solid drops: The 4GB model will fall to $100, 8GB will go for $140 ($10 off) and 16GB for $180, down from $200, making them all cheaper than the equivalent iPod nano capacities ('cept on Amazon). Perfect if you don't like sharp corners. [Cnet]

8GB Sansa Clips Make iPod Shuffles Seem Juvenile

Andi Wang — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:00:13 EST

Perfect for those who need a small device for music on-the-go, the Sansa Clip from SanDisk is very much like the iPod Shuffle with its compact size and its ability to clip onto belt, purses and clothing. However, what makes the Sansa Clip stand out—and what the iPod Shuffle could benefit from—is it produces more bang for your buck with its larger selection, increased storage, built-in FM tuner, and the color OLED screen that allows users to see and choose their audio entertainment. Although it is $30 more than the 2GB iPod Shuffle, the 8GB Sansa Disk can hold roughly 1,500 more songs than the largest Shuffle, and will be available starting this week for $99. [cnet via Gadgetell]

Dell Ditching Zing-Based MP3 Player Plans, Says Rumor

Kit Eaton — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:00:18 EST

In July there were some strong rumors that Dell would be bringing out a Zing-based MP3 player that would be a "Zune killer": but now it looks like those plans have been canned. According to the Wall St Journal, Dell had been as close as this Autumn to making at least one Zing-device, but the prototypes are being "indefinitely" shelved. Instead Dell will turn its concentration to the software aspect of Zing, and busy itself incorporating that into its upcoming PCs as music and video management software. I'll leave it to you in the comments to work out if Dell's being sensible or not. [WSJ via Electronista]

Gadget Deals of the Day

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:30:00 EST

Discounted Sony Blu-ray players, discounted Guitar Hero's guitars, discounted HD cameras, discounted this, discounted that, discounted Shake Shack burgers, discounted g-strings, and even two beds for the price of one, with red duvet covers. I just got that for my new NY apartment, but they are not in today's Dealzmodo list. The Sony, the guitar, the sci-fi DVDs for $6, and a lot more, however, all are right here:

Gaming:

• Guitar Hero III - Aerosmith - with guitar for Wii or Xbox 360 for $50 (originally $99.99 - only at Walmart).

Audio/Video and accessories:

• Sony 1080p Blu-ray player for $186 plus free shipping (originally $399.99).

• Panasonic iPod Wireless Headphones for $29.99 (originally $199.95 - use this rebate form).

• Logitech Harmony Universal Remote Control for $49.97 plus free shipping (originally $99.97).

Cameras and accessories:

• Samsung HD Digital Camcorder for $299.99 plus free shipping (originally $649.95).

• Transcend 16GB SDHC for $28.99 plus free shipping (originally $48.99).

Handhelds:

• HP iPAQ 111 Handheld for $189.99 (originally $329.99).

Stocking Stuffers:

• Sci-Fi DVDs as low as $5.99.

Almost A Dealzmodo: Iriver Drops Prices on New MP3 Players

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Always classy, always feature-packed, and usually too expensive PMP manufacturer Iriver is dropping prices on their current lineup starting today. We already covered the Spinn's $50 price drop, to $190 and $230 for 4GB and 8GB capacities, and the more entry-level E100 and Lplayer drop $40, down to $70 and $100 for those same capacities. I love Iriver and it's great to see the prices coming out of the stratosphere, but Iriver's gotta bump up those capacities to be a competitor here in the bigger-is-better States. Now, a 16GB Spinn for $230? That'd be a Dealzmodo. [CNET]

Philips Luxe Bluetooth MP3 Player Is Simultaneously Bare-Bones and Feature-Packed

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

The sparkly, diamond-esque Philips Luxe mp3 player is a tale of contradictions. On the one hand, it's an mp3 player with a mere 2GB of memory, a scant 10 hours of battery life, a one-line LCD screen, and an expected price of around $90. On the other hand, it's a feature-packed Bluetooth 2.1 headset, providing 100 hours of standby time, an FM radio, and excellent sound quality.

It'll pause your tunes automatically when a call comes in, so be careful about singing along with that hot new Britney Spears track when your mom calls. Due to come out in Singapore next month, it's priced at S$139, or $94 USD, or 4 cans of beans PEC (post-econopocalyptic currency). Oh, and it's really, really sparkly. [PMP Today]

Twinned MP3 Player for the Couple that Shares Everything

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Are you in a relationship? Can you hardly bear to be apart from your partner for more than half an hour? Do you make out in the library while sitting next to a Gizmodo writer, totally unaware that someday he'll grumpily complain about you in a post? Well, I have the perfect mp3 player for you and your equally annoying significant other. The Twinned MP3 Player concept is actually two mp3 players, capable of holding only one playlist each: the same one.

When combined, in that adorable spooning position, you can plug 'em into the computer to load your songs, but when separated, they can only play back the tunes you and your partner have chosen together. Just the one playlist. Forever. At least it's easier to throw away than a matching tattoo. It's definitely just a concept for now, with no mention of basics like how you control the thing, let alone price or release date. [Yanko Design]

iRiver Concepts Feel Straight Out of Terry Gilliam's Brain

Jesus Diaz — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT

Apart from their Spinn 70s-retro analog goodness, iRiver had two beautiful concept products in their IFA 2008 stand which had a design that looked further into the past, as far as the beginning of the 20th century. As you can see in the video, both their Clix speaker—inspired by the shape of cathode ray tubes—and their pipe music player—which you can blow to mute (insert joke here), and connect it to a speaker resembling a phonograph horn—look both intriguing and beautiful. [More IFA 2008 Coverage]

Gear4 BlackBox Micro is Micro Black Box Speaker For MP3 Gear

Kit Eaton — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:15:00 EDT

Last time we talked about Blackbox gizmos from Gear4 it was a largeish Bluetooth speaker, but this new one is different. It's wired, USB-powered and designed to be a portable companion for an MP3 player. You may think size sacrifices bass power, but apparently it's got an "SFX gel" base, meaning it uses any flat surface you stick it to to amplify sound volume and bass. It's got a normal driver too, takes line-in, and can be powered with a power-brick. Gear4's site doesn't reveal exactly how small it is, but it's out August in the UK for $40. [Gear4 and Pocket-Lint]

Blockbuster's Box Is Hot Competition for Netflix

Mark Wilson — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:10:00 EDT

Can Blockbuster compete with the new Netflix Player? Their first attempt at a box of their own (seen here) looks like it might fall a little short when it comes to streaming movies and TV shows on demand. But it absolutely dominates the competition in the areas of fast food pizza delivery. Different strokes, I guess. [Silicon Alley Insider]

MPillow Concept Is Both Cushion, Light Show and MP3 Player

AddyDugdale — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 05:47:37 EST

The MPillow is a technogel-filled music player-cushion combo to aid relaxation, that connects via wireless to your computer. Designed by Per Arlander, Madiene Linstrom and Ozgur Tasar, you can either download your own music or listen to the ambient whale-fart sounds available on the MPillow itself. The lights change according to your musical tastes, apparently. A couple more pictures of the MPillow being fondled by a lay-dee and in light-up mode are below.

A quick note to the designers, however. That beige color is hideous—lucky for us it can be covered in just about any fabric, eh? [Yanko]

MP3 Player, Steampunk Style

Charlie White — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:11:11 EST

Here's how they listened to MP3s back in the late 19th century, using this steampunk Ambient Enhancer. Handmade by a guy who calls himself Porkshanks, it features a gutted pair of vintage Cannonball Empire headphones whose innards were replaced with modern-day Sony earphones. He wrapped some handmade leather and brass around an ordinary MP3 player, and suddenly he was wearing a strange-looking device that looked like some sort of steam valve on his wrist. Let's ogle a bigger picture of the player, and a couple of views of it on his wrist:

Apparently Porkshanks takes his steampunk love to the limit, and this musical device is but a small part of his daily retro-future getup. Now if he would just get a tripod to hold his camera still, we could get a good non-blurry look at his gorgeous work. [Deviant Art, via Wired]

Tok Tak MP3 Player Looks Like Audio Jack, Comes with Base Station

AddyDugdale — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 05:38:26 EST

Ah, holidays. Spend a couple of weeks on a faraway island, where the words "internet" and "connection" are met with baffled stares, and it's easy to forget what one's purpose in life actually is. And then you come across a concept gizmo like the Tok Tak and it all comes flooding back: The Giz! Her readers! Hot Verdommer and Eek-a-poos, I'd better get back to work before the editor realises that I didn't just nip out to get a packet of fags from the store. Designed by Tae-won Kim, the Tok Tak looks like an audio jack but is actually a basic MP3 player concept that comes with a base station — which, judging by the photo below, looks a bit like Tae-won got his inspiration from gazing at a smoke detector.

See what I mean? It's quite a neat concept, though (if you don't mind looking like an idjut who wanders around wearing earphones plugged into nothing) — plug the jack into the smoke alarm and, as well as recharging and uploading new tunes onto the player, it converts into a speaker unit with joystick controller. [Yanko]

Zune Flash Player in the Urban Jungle

Haroon Malik — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST

Zunerama community member, ed, claims to have already purchased a new Zune flash player, days before the expected official release. Apparently, the player was acquired from an Office Depot in St. Louis. (Again, if any of you could somehow manage to get one to us before the launch, we'll cough up for them). Ed has not had much fun time with his new player, as the device will not function without an impending firmware release! Check out the blurry gallery below:

Our man with the spanking flash player had the cheek to call Microsoft and demand what the deal was. They told him the firmware will be released on Tuesday, until then he was told to be patient, as for now he's holding "a bit of the future." Holding a bit of the future could well be dangerous, as we all know from Marty's shenanigans when he purchased that book in the future and brought it back to the present, thus enabling him to make a killing on sports bets—but it went pear shaped, didn't it Marty? Yes, yes it did. Respect the future, people. [Zunerama]

Replug Breakaway Audio Connector Prevents Your Gear From Getting Pwned

Adrian Covert — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:12:24 EDT

It's impossible to describe the functionality of the Replug audio adapter without comparing to Apple's Magsafe power adapter, so let's just get it out of the way now. Like the Magsafe, the Replug breaks away when you pull on your audio cable at a bad angle without messing up your hardware. It plugs into any 3.5mm audio jack (PMPs, Laptops, MP3 Players, Stereos, ect...) and connects your equipment via magnet. As someone who has sent my laptop flying off the couch/bed/table a few times because i forgot my headphones had me tethered to the computer, I welcome the Replug with open arms. Release date and pricing are still a little hazy, but expect it soon. [Replug]

Mister Disc, The "Portable" LP Player

blongo3 — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:45:57 EDT

Keeping with our tech-from-20-years-ago theme, we present you with Mister Disc. This "miniature" beauty was a portable LP player created by Audio Technics in 1983. It was even battery powered to ensure "on the go" fun. Although fun could not consist of moving or any vibrations in general, otherwise your music would come to abrupt stop. Maybe this would be a good time to take a couple of minutes and go let your iPod know how much it means to you. [New Launches]