In the wake of the digital music revolution, it seems that all media has now started moving in the same direction.  This new decade is shaping up to be the end of physical media as we know it, as newspapers, books, and even video have moved past their first steps into a broader digital world.

One of the problems with digital video is that the downloadable video content goes straight to your computer hard drive, taking up enormous amounts of storage space, and requiring you to watch the video on your sub-par computer screen…or tiny mobile device.  Surely there must be a better way…and now there is, thanks to Seagate.  With Seagate’s FreeAgent Theater +, all you need to do is download video content, pictures, and pretty much any other media to your portable FreeAgent Go drive, and connect it into your HDTV using the FreeAgent Theater + HD Media Player.  That’s it.  It is as easy as playing a DVD.  But I am getting a little ahead of myself.  Seagate sent a unit for us to check out, so let’s back up and take a look at exactly what we are talking about.

Right out of the box, I was pretty impressed with this unit.  I have bought far too many computer and stereo accessories which do not include all of the necessary cables.  There is nothing worse than coming home with your new printer, Blu-Ray, scanner, or anything else, only to turn right around and head back to the store to buy the remaining parts you need to hook it up.  So, I was really impressed when I opened the FreeAgent Theater to find, in addition to the unit itself:

• Remote control (3xAAA batteries included)
• Component video cable
• Composite A/V cable
• Ethernet Cable
• Power cable
• Assorted manuals, guides, and software

The only things missing were the HDMI cable, which would have been nice for HD content; and the wireless network adaptor, which is sold separately by Seagate for $59.99.

Normally, at this point in the review, we would take a walk around the device.  To be honest, though, there is not a lot to see here.  I will say that I did find the design to be quite attractive, and its compact size means it will fit just about anywhere in yoru entertainment center.

A door opens from the top, allowing you to open the device, and slide in a FreeAgent Go drive.  The nice thing about this is that FreeAgent go drives can hold an incredible amount of data.  They now come in sizes up to 1TB (yeah, I said Terabytes, which will hold a complete library of movies, videos, pictures, and plenty more.   Plus, since the drive is completely separate, you can even swap to a different FreeAgent Go drive for added capacity.

All of the connections you need to watch your movies are in the back.  Just about every kind of cable you can use is represented here.  The component video cable, which was included in the box connects back here, as does (if you prefer) an optical audio cable, and even HDMI, giving you full 1080p video quality.  I liked the fact that even though Seagate did not include it in the box, they did include the capability to connect via HDMI by making sure the appropriate jack was built into the device.

Additionally, you can connect the FreeAgent Theater to your home network using the included ethernet cable, or by connecting a wireless adaptor to the USB port in the back.  Again, though, you will have to purchase a wireless network adaptor separately.  It would have been nice if this capability had been built into the device.  I would not be surprised at all if Seagate came out with a new model which did include a built in Wi-fi radio.

Before you can play any videos, however, you will need to load them onto your FreeAgent Go drive.  For the most part, especially if you want that HD quality, that means downloading them from the Internet. Unfortunately, this is where digital rights management (DRM) rears its ugly head.  DRM seems to be the bane of digital media’s existence, and nowhere are the problems with DRM more apparent than in digital video.  It seems like every player and provider of content features their own unique DRM format.  Some are compatible with other players, but not all.  The end result is a confusing maze of formats, which weigh around the neck of the FreeAgent Theater like an albatross.

I attempted to download video content from three primary sources: iTunes, The Zune Store, and Amazon.com, only to find that none were compatible with the FreeAgent Theater system.  Fortunately, you can overcome this hurdle by download or streaming content directly from the FreeAgent Theater device (you will need to connect it to your home network using the included ethernet cable or a wireless adaptor).  While this does not make the download process any faster or easier, it does overcome the DRM and formatting related issues by ensuring you are only streaming content which is compatible with the device.   I ended up testing the HD features with some sample HD videos from Microsoft’s website, which while not ideal, worked well enough to show off the HD features of the FreeAgent Theater system.   Though I will say I found the DRM problems and lack of available HD content to be extremely frustrating.

The other way to obtain video content is by streaming the video online.  I did not get to test the streaming video content as much as I would have liked, but what I did get to try worked great.  You can use this option to access any number of online sites with HD video content (including YouTube) or photo sharing sites like Photobucket and Flickr.

OK, that all brings us to the main attraction.  Let’s go ahead and connect the FreeAgent Theater to the TV and see what happens.   One thing I really liked was the simplicity of the main screen.  There are five options here: Movies, Pictures, Music, Internet, and Devices.

The nice thing about the FreeAgent Theater is that there is no need to search your device.  When you connect your FreeAgent Drive, the Theater player will automatically search for appropriate content (even if the format is not compatible) and display it under the correct menu.  This is great because it saves you the trouble of searching through your files and hunting for media.  Then again, if you do wish to hunt through the drive, you can always select that Devices option to open the file explorer.

The downside of this organization, however, is that the player does not maintain your file structure and organization.  Your photos, music, or videos, will be listed alphabetically by title.  While this was fine for my videos, listing 50,000 photos – most of which start with the word IMG or Image followed by a random number – grew a bit tedious.  Since I have long since lost track of naming my photos, it would be nice if I could maintain the organization, or at least search by keywords.

The real attraction of this device for me, though, was the ability to replay videos…and not just any videos, but HD videos.  I downloaded several videos to test this one out with, most of which were recorded in full 1080p HD.  I have to say, despite my problems with DRM formatting, I was really impressed by the convenience and quality of the video.  The image was crisp and clear.

Additionally, with no tape to break, discs to scratch, or other moving parts, the FreeAgent system makes the perfect archival tool as well.  You can shoot all of the home videos or pictures you want and store them on your FreeAgent Go drive for future generations to enjoy…or laugh at your crazy fashion sense…in the same perfect quality you filmed it originally.

The FreeAgent Theater + HD Media Player is available from Seagate for $149.99.  It is also available with a 500 GB FreeAgent drive for $269.99.

What I Liked:

• Compact and attractive design
• Necessary cables are included
• Easy to setup
• Simple menu system makes navigation a breeze
• Automatically finds digital content
• Great video playback quality

What Needs Improvement:

• No included HDMI cable
• No included wireless network adaptor
• DRM incompatibility made it difficult to find compatible HD video content
• Media is organized alphabetically, without regard for organization or folder structure

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Related posts:

1. Review: Seagate Freeagent GoFlex TV HD Media Player
2. Review: Pocket Player 3 — Raising the Bar to a Better Media Player
3. Review: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex
4. Review: SeaGate FreeAgent DockStar
5. Review: Sony W-Series Media Player