Hands On Review: MG-M²TV
MediaGate was kind enough to send us their latest gadget, the M2TV, aka the MG-M²TV. The next generation of the MG-800HD can receive images, video and audio via an external hard drive, video card or USB source and playback in the highest quality HDTV display or home theater with almost any A/V file supported. I hooked it up and found it to be easy to connect, mostly simple to work and fun to play with.
On my USB flash memory drive I had downloaded some images from artist Mike Wrathell, a video from Robot Snob and some music from Jamendo (thanks to amelie's tune "Do it Over") so that I could run the full gamut.
Connection is super simple and you are given HDMI and RCA cords so it's not necessary to buy anything further. Even the remote battery is included. The M2TV is very small and sleek and will fit in the smallest of areas.
I always figure if you need extensive usage of the guide that comes with something, it's much too complicated. Thankfully, this is not the case here. After connection, the M2TV loads up very quickly. The main menu gives you a choice between movies, music, photo, settings and file copy.
Selecting movies shows what's in there and can be run in preview or full screen. Both video and sound were extremely impressive. The remote includes the ability to play in slo-mo, zoom, repeat, ff/rew, instant replay and more. Subtitles can be added in several languages.
When viewing images, you can select one at a time or build a slideshow with a timing of 2 seconds to 2 minutes, music background and transition effects in the Setup portion. Another fun trick is the ability to turn your images 360º and you can adjust the contrast, brightness, aspect ratio, etc. When playing music, you again can adjust by remote as you do with video.
The M2TV also allows for updating. Visit the site to download the latest version.
Summation
If you are the type that makes slideshows or likes to watch downloaded content without using up your hard drive, this is the device for you. We have reviewed electronic gadgets that need extra parts, will not compensate if you do not have HD or have other issues, but frankly about the only aspects we didn't like were very small lettering and the noise it made. We know, picky picky, but here's hoping the next model, which may feature WiFi, is quieter and doesn't need a magnifying glass to read the photo details.
(Thanks, Tony)
Via MediaGate
Read More in: Audio Streaming | Hands On Review | Image Streaming | Media Center | Video Streaming
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Posted by Sheila Franklin at August 1, 2009 9:04 AM
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