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Seagate launches FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player, we go hands-on

by Darren Murph posted Sep 15th 2009 at 9:39AM Featured Story


Remember when Seagate introduced its Betamax-esque FreeAgent Theater HD way back at CES this year? Of course not -- you were locked onto the Palm Pre keynote. At any rate, the next generation of that very device somehow made it through the product development stage and now sits in our very hands, and we have to say, it's no more modern in person than it is in press shots. Equipped with the usual assortment of ports (HDMI, component, composite, Toslink, Ethernet and two USB) ports, the FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player gets all of its content from a FreeAgent Go USB 2.0 hard drive (sold separately or in a bundle) or whatever you shove into those USB sockets. You can count on 1080p output and a pretty standard UI, and while it's wired-or-die right now, Seagate's hoping to pop out a USB WiFi adapter ($69.99) for it next month.

We've yet to really put this player through its paces, but we can say for sure that it's not made for abuse. The mostly-plastic box is staggeringly light, and one drop from atop your AV rack could lead to utter disaster. Furthermore, this is really only useful for those wound tightly around Seagate's finger; the bulk of its functionality relies on having a FreeAgent USB drive at your disposal, and if you've selected any other portable HDD, you'll have to deal with connecting it the old fashion way and ditching the "clean look." At $149.99 sans an HDD, it's one of the cheaper options on the market, but it still can't beat Popcorn Hour's heralded lineup when it comes to value and format support. Those looking for an all-in-one deal can opt for the $289.99 bundle, which throws in a 500GB FreeAgent Go drive. Have a look at retro exemplified in the gallery below.

Seagate's Showcase HDD turns DISH Network receivers into DVRs

by Darren Murph posted Jan 15th 2009 at 6:20AM


There ain't much new here outside of marketing hoopla, but for those who missed Seagate's announcement early last year, we've got a revised one ready for publishing this year. The Showcase external HDD line has now been certified for compatibility with the Solo ViP 612 receiver, ViP 622 / 722 DuoDVR and the ViP 211 / 211k receivers. In essence, this here hard drive converts the receivers in the bunch into full-fledged DVRs, giving you one less reason to spend haphazardly on a new set-top-box. No need to thank us, we're just doing our jobs.

Video: Seagate introduces Free Agent Theater HD, designs it like a Betamax player

by Darren Murph posted Jan 8th 2009 at 12:58AM


We're going to give you just a moment to sit back and peer at the image above, and we'll politely remind you that this object was likely designed in the year 2008. For whatever reason, Seagate has chosen just about the ugliest design imaginable and applied it to its Free Agent Theater HD, though word on the street is that the user interface is actually a horse of a different color. The drive is simply a multimedia HDD that enables users to pop drives in that are full of digital media for easy viewing on the TV. It's expected to drop in March for $229.99 (250GB) / $299.99 (500GB), or those on a tight budget (or Free Agent Go HDD owners, actually) can opt for a $129.99 media player / remote control-only version. A very strange demo video is hosted just after the break.

[Via Notebooks]

Continue reading Video: Seagate introduces Free Agent Theater HD, designs it like a Betamax player

Seagate reveals Showcase external HDD: for media centers and DVRs

by Darren Murph posted May 19th 2008 at 11:24AM

Great, just great. Soon after Western Digital made a fool of itself by introducing an external hard drive "certified" for use with DISH Network HD DVRs, along comes Seagate to further fuel the hype machine. Announced at this year's Cable Show (after being mentioned at CES), the Showcase storage solution is "designed" to extend storage capacity of DVRs and media centers. In a similar vein, the outfit's newest drives are "compatible with Motorola's s-SATA-capable HD DVRs," and they also come with USB 2.0 ports and up to 1TB of space. No word on a price or any of that jazz, but those who can't figure out that an external hard drive is an external hard drive can look for 'em to land in Q3.

XStreamHD details emerge, DTS-HD and up to 2TB storage

by Steven Kim posted Jan 7th 2008 at 11:58AM

XStreamHD details emerge, DTS-HD and up to 2TB storageDetails about the new satellite HD provider, XStreamHD are starting to come to light in advance of their press conference tomorrow. We already knew about collaboration with DTS, and now thanks to a press release we know that the promised 7.1-channel audio will be coming to you in DTS-HD MA format. Similarly, the press release reveals that the Seagate drives in the box allow you to stuff in 2TB of content. Good stuff, but the question we're really waiting to see answered is all about what content will be available. The device is coming into focus, so XStreamHD hopefully will bring some answers to their press conference for us.




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