Table of Content
And note that the "container" doesn't always imply support for the underlying format--for instance, one MKV file we had didn't play, because the underlying file used H.264 encoding. True, you can use a converter to make most video formats compatible with the FreeAgent Theater, but we're comparing native support to native support. You have a few options for connecting the FreeAgent Theater to your TV. For the best quality--and to view HD-resolution video of 720p or 1080i--you need to go with component video connection .
For one thing, the FreeAgent Theater doesn’t play unprotected AAC audio files at all. So any music you’ve ripped from your CD collection using iTunes’ default settings–along with any iTunes Plus (DRM-free) songs you’ve purchased–can’t be played via the FreeAgent Theater. Also, the only way it can play back MPEG-4 video is if that video uses the DivX, Xvid, or AVI codec. • This is a DLNA-compliant server, so you can stream content to any playback device on your home network that has DLNA support.
FreeAgent Theater Sync for MacOS Software
Both are designed to be paired with portable hard drives that are loaded with media files. Unlike the Seagate FreeAgent Theater, however, neither Western Digital nor Iomega integrated slots for their own respective USB hard-drive products. Beyond simply offering a DLNA server, Seagate has gone the extra step of designing its own free media app for both iOS and Android, called Seagate Media. I downloaded the iOS app to my iPhone 4 and the Android app to my Galaxy tablet. Both apps immediately detected the Seagate server I had set up and allowed me to access the files.
He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks. The following procedure provides the steps necessary to add the FreeAgent Theater media sync software to your Windows system. By default this software searches your documents and settings folders for movies, music, and photos and places them in folders on your FreeAgent Go. • This is a basic single-drive NAS device without RAID to provide advanced data protection.
"seagate theater"
On top of that, there are also options for an S-Video hookup or you can go with the included composite AV cables that are also used to pass analog stereo audio. For digital audio, there's a coaxial connection onboard that allows you to run Dolby Digital surround sound (if it's available as part of your video file) from the black box to an AV receiver or home theater in a box. A small remote control is included that gives you DVD-like playback options for your videos with increments of 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, and 32x for forward/reverse and a slow-motion option.
See what being one of the top hard drive makers in the world brings to your home theater in this Adrienne Maxwell review. The player itself is compact and well-designed, with playback control buttons on top, a USB port on the front , and a dock where you can insert a FreeAgent Go drive. On the back are component and composite outputs, and S-Video-out, but no HDMI-out. Though the FreeAgent Theater supports high-definition video , and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, its lack of HDMI will disappoint some users. • When using Remote Access through both WiFi and my cellular network, I could not stream videos; I had to download them to the device to play them back.
Zoom Selects Seagate's Lyve Cloud for S3 Storage as a Service
Of course, I was nowhere close to using up the full 4TB of storage at my disposal. If you've amassed a large collection of high-definition movies and/or high-resolution music, then the transfer process will be a lengthier one. The media files reside in a Public folder on the Seagate server that can be accessed by any DLNA-compatible players on the same network. Pretty much every new "smart" HDTV and Blu-ray player has built-in DLNA playback support, as do many streaming media players. A vast array of DLNA apps are available for your smartphone or tablet so that you can stream content from the server to your handheld device.
Samsung has also added the app directly to its smart TV platform, so you can access the server via your Samsung smart TV or Blu-ray player. As noted, we loaded a variety of files--video, JPEG still images, and MP3 music--onto the 250GB FreeAgent drive that came with our review sample and a separate 4GB thumbdrive that we provided. Except for one video file that remained hidden, the system had no problem revealing what we had on the external drive and the thumbdrive.
Seagate FreeAgent Theater
All that said, we should note that the PlayStation 3 does an even better job with images--and it has DivX support for playing back video files. Yes, it costs almost twice as much as this, but it also plays games, offers Blu-ray and DVD playback, and can access PC-based media files over a network. That integrated slot is actually one of the strong points of the Seagate media player, which is relatively compact and sleek--it looks like a not-so-curvy mini Sony PlayStation 3. The idea is that you connect your FreeAgent Go drive to your computer, drag various image, music, and video files onto it, then slide it into the slot on the FreeAgent Theater, which remains connected to your TV. Alternatively, Seagate includes some software that puts a user-friendly interface on the transfer and file organization process that makes things easier for less tech-savvy folks. In the final analysis, before you purchase any of these types of media players, you'll have to ask yourself what you plan on using it for.
Once I enabled it, I had no trouble accessing my library through both my phone and tablet when I was away from the house. • Read more media center and NAS drive reviews from the HomeTheaterReview.com archive. The big question we had for Seagate is why it chose to go with a component video connection rather than the HDMI connection found on Western Digital and Iomega systems. Seagate went with a chipset that allows for faster and better support for image viewing. Register, access, and manage Lyve Mobile services, subscriptions and projects.
• You can set it up to automatically archive your Facebook photos and videos; any time you upload a photo or video directly to Facebook, it will get archived. Adrienne Maxwell is the former Managing Editor ofHomeTheaterReview.com, Home Theater Magazine, and HDTVEtc.com. Adrienne has also written for Wirecutter, Home Entertainment Magazine, AVRev.com, ModernHomeTheater.com, and other top specialty audio/video publications. She is an ISF Level II-certified video calibrator who specializes in reviews of flat-panel HDTVs, front video projectors, video screens, video servers, and video source devices, both disc- and streaming-based. Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers.
Whatever content is on those drives or devices will show up in an onscreen menu system or GUI that we found fairly easy to use. If there's a small knock against all these types of media players, it's that it takes a little while for the unit to initially recognize and load all the media files. The FreeAgent Theater includes PC syncing software for transferring photos, music, and movies from your computer to a hard drive. Plug in the hard drive, and the software will automatically sync your PC’s media collection to the external drive. Also included is a cradle for attaching any of Seagate’s FreeAgent Go portable hard drives to your PC to make transferring media easier. Plug in a hard drive, click the MediaSync button in the PC sync software toolbar, choose your sync options, and you’re ready to go.
Use the Lyve Cloud portal to configure and manage your object storage and services. Provides access to product training, sales and marketing resources, deal registration, and more to our VARs, Integrators, Resellers and other channel partners. Deploy machine learning models to access real-time recommendations, prevent fraud, and predict failures. By and large, the FreeAgent Theater does an admirable job; and for many users, it should provide an easy, painless way to release the media held hostage on their PC. For high-end users, though, the lack of HDMI output may be a deal-breaker.
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