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Seagate Theater+ HD Media Player

Hardware, software, and methods for displaying & distributing your creations.

Seagate Theater+ HD Media Player

Postby Barb O » Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:12 pm

I just purchased a Seatgate FreeAgent Theater+ (HD Media Player) and I wonder if anyone has experience with this device ? If yes,

1-- does it play any specific video format better than others?
(we have many different SD video formats from different cameras - so for our favorites I was thinking of converting to a single format that would play well)
2-- does it do any upscaling of standard def video when playing on an HD TV via an HDMI connection ?

Background --
My objective is to play our photos and videos on our new 42 inch HD TV. We currently have problems getting a good wireless signal to our family room, so at least for now I chose a device where I copy the files to be played from my PC to an external drive which I then walk to the Seagate player.

FYI - reference to description
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/produc ... ater_plus/)
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Re: Seagate Theater+ HD Media Player

Postby Paul LS » Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:02 am

Hi Barb, cant answer your questions but it looks like a nice little box. I read the specification... very impressive.
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Re: Seagate Theater+ HD Media Player

Postby Ron Hunter » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:11 am

Barb, thanks for the post. This product looks like what I'm after...a media player that also can stream Netflix. And it supports the M2T files that PRE7 creates!
Desktop: HPE-580T, i7-950 (3.07GHz), 16GB RAM, Win'7 64-bit Home Premium, PSE12/PRE12, Lightroom 5.
Laptop: MacBook Pro (retina), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5.
Cameras (in use): Panasonic GH4/Canon HFR400/Canon HV30, GoPro HD Hero2.
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Re: Seagate Theater+ HD Media Player

Postby Barb O » Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:28 pm

Paul and Ron Hunter,
Yes the specs look good but I am skeptical as I start to use this device. Therefore I do not want to imply that I am recommending it.

Ron Hunter,
As I read the other post about DVD upscaling to HD players which can do Netflix, my reaction was that they might be a better solution than this Seagate device for many people. For example,

-- I don't know yet if this device does upscaling (standard DVD to HD) and that is a HUGE consideration.
-- the device is designed for the older shape of Seagate small portable drives that slide into the player : I have several of those drives. So this player seemed like an easy choice. There is the alternative of using its USB port for flash "thumb" drives or for a different external hard drive - but I think that some DVD players also do that.
-- the remote control seems "cheap" : its buttons are not easy to use

Yes for me this device gave a quick method to display the photos via HDMI. For my home video I am not sure yet.
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Re: Seagate Theater+ HD Media Player

Postby Ron Hunter » Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:22 pm

Barb, it has been about a month since your original post. What do you think of the Seagate media player now? Is the user interface reasonable? How does it work with HD movies created in PRE? How well does it display photos? Does the wireless Netflix streaming work well? How did the remote control work out?

(BTW, my friend with the Droid doesn't know any good user forums for Droid discussions. Sorry.)

Thanks!
Desktop: HPE-580T, i7-950 (3.07GHz), 16GB RAM, Win'7 64-bit Home Premium, PSE12/PRE12, Lightroom 5.
Laptop: MacBook Pro (retina), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5.
Cameras (in use): Panasonic GH4/Canon HFR400/Canon HV30, GoPro HD Hero2.
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Re: Seagate Theater+ HD Media Player

Postby Barb O » Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:59 pm

Hi Ron,
I am busy with other things and I don't have much feedback.

No additional feedback yet about video created by Premiere Elements or video in general and that will, of course, be a significant point.

I will not be trying the Netflix streaming because we don't have a subscription. The remote does seem cheap and buttons do not always register. However it worked fine for a quick display of photos from a few folders that I created on that hard drive.

So my summary is that I think I can make it work for me (as long as videos will work) as an inexpensive solution. However it might not be a good fit for others. Also, mine is the older discontinued model, so the newer Goflex based Seagate media player may be different and better.
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