Iomega 1TB ScreenPlay Director HD Multimedia Player (34650)

I have never owned a multimedia player before, and I didn't think using one would be this hard. Technology has been around for a few years now and you would think manufacturers would have figured out some basic necessities. I wonder if Iomega engineers even looked at their competition before designing this.

Pros:
1) It works
2) Connections are easy
3) Looks good
4) Has buttons on the front for most operations - if you lose the remote, you can still use the device
5) Built-in hard drive
6) USB allows external drives (I have only tried a flash drive and it worked well)
7) Plays AVCHD files from Canon (HG10) without conversion
8) Plays Flip videos without conversion

Cons:
1) AVI Videos from my Canon (S1-IS and S2-IS) can not be played
2) MOV video files from my Panasonic (FZ28) can not be played
3) USB connection with computer is flaky. Some times the drive is recognized some times not. Win XP and Win 7 had the same issue. I am yet to figure out what causes it work - very frustrating issue.
4) Printed manual is only quick setup manual, has no useful information, and occupies less than a letter sized paper (one side only)
5) Manual is on a supplied CD, in HTML form, hard to use. WHY CAN'T THEY GIVE A PDF?
6) When connected to TV and turned on, it takes several seconds to boot up. I have a suspecion that it reads the hard disk contents while booting up.
7) Menu selection (using the remote) is hard to control. Push the button once - nothing happens. Push it again, skips twice.
8) When you navigate into a folder containing a large number of files, it will show first few files. There is no scroll bar and there is no way to know how many files are there. I couldn't figure out how to page-up and page-down. That function may not be there.
9) I couldn't find a way to randomize video playing sequence. If you have a bunch of home videos and you want to watch them, you must watch them sequentially.
10) When an error occurs (file can not be played), a popup box comes up and it wouldn't go away easily. Pushing the OK button performs some other unanticipated action.

Wish List:
1) I want a firmware update with a totally revamped menu design. Current system is very frustrating.
2) The device must play most popular file formats (MJPEG) without having to convert them first.
3) A printed manual.
4) Fix the USB connection issues
5) Speed up the boot up process

I was able to convert my video files successfully using MediaCoder software (free) into MP4 and the ScreenPlay Director played them fine.

This product was on Amazon's "Lightning Sale" for $199 and I thought AWESOME. Iomega has been around forever with their zip drives and what-not, and 2TB of space to put all of my collected avi's, mpeg's, mp4's, mp3's and jpeg's on a platform that would play them in 1080i would be great...

N O P E

It loaded just fine, in fact I thought it went rather fast, but then I set it up. It's SLOWWWWWW, and I don't mean just to start up. I changed the batteries in the remote... TWICE because I didn't want to believe that such a simple device could be bogged down navigating 4 option menus. After painfully wading through unattractive menus and sub-menus it would always lead me back to the file menu, and heaven forbid you have all of your mp3's in the same folder it will lock-up for 10 minutes. Speaking of Locking-Up, that seems to be it's favorite pastime. I had to reset 3 times in the first 10 minutes including physically pulling the plug since it was completely unresponsive.

I am not in the habit of besmirching a product, but I usually base my buying options on customer feedbacks which I dearly cherish; unfortunately, at the time of my purchase the product was bran-spanking new and there was no feedback. For the sake of future shoppers I am paying-this-forward (which also gives me the rights for "I told you so!").

I was excited to receive the Iomega ScreenPlay Director, the idea of storing all my media files in one place and playing them on any TV in my house. Here's how my experience went.

PC CONNECTION:
Since I had a large number of movie files on my PC, I first connected the Iomega to my PC via the included USB cable. My system did not immediately recognize the Iomega, so I ran the enclosed CD, but I am still unsure exactly what that did, or if it was even necessary. Printed instructions are rather vague. After finally getting my PC and the Iomega to talk, I discovered two partitions on the drive; one FAT32 and one NTSF. Where do I copy my files to? The printed Quick Start guide (which, in English, is less than a page and a half in length) was no help, so I decided on the larger, NTFS partition (which is correct) and copied over my movie files, which are mostly from my Sony HDD camcorder in .mpg format.

TV CONNECTION:
Next I took the Iomega to the room where my old "HD-compatible" TV is. Note: this TV is almost 10 years old and is "HD-compatible." Key words. This was before HD was the in thing, but I wanted to see if the Iomega would work on an older TV, as well as a newer LCD TV (which it does perfectly, via the included HDMI cable). I connected the Iomega to my old TV using the supplied composite cables. I could not get a picture, just a fuzzy black and white image, so I consulted the Quick Start guide. (While there is no PDF included on the CD, there is a HTML manual, which is adequate.)

I discovered that there is a button on the remote control called "TV SYS" and that when pressed, cycles through compatible TV resolutions. I went back to my TV and tried pressing this button but I could still not get a picture. Next I dug out some component cables (not supplied) and tried those, thinking that "HD-compatible" of my old TV might only be via component input. I was right. I cycled the "TV SYS" button until I finally had a picture. Of course, this is the fault of my old TV, not the Iomega, but now I had a picture . . . still B&W, just not fuzzy anymore.

ON-SCREEN MENU:
The Iomega menu is in black and white, with each section sporting a tiny colored graphic in the center. Colored-coded text matches the bottom three colored buttons on the remote control--Red for Video, Green for Photos, Blue for Music. I have to say, I really don't like the B&W design; I was expecting something a little more dazzling and eye-appealing, and a little less like an indication my TV was acting up.

FILE COMPATIBILITY:
Despite claims to the numerous file format the Iomega is said to be able to play, I had issues trying to play some simple ones, like .WMV. It told me no codec was found. I am willing to accept that this is my particular file and not all .WMVs. The Iomega did play all my Sony .mpg camcorder files without any issues, and since this is what I mainly wanted it to do, I am happy with that. Of note, if you're like me and use iTunes, you should be aware that the unit will not play protected .AAC files.

ETHERNET/HOME NETWORK:
When I attached the Iomega via Ethernet to my home network, the unit identified itself as SCREENPLAY with just a single partition that you can access. Because it supports folder directories, you can keep everything sorted nicely. You can copy your files to and from the Iomega via Ethernet, and you can also play any content from it on your PC. Although if you have a lot of files to copy to it, it is suggested you plug the Iomega directly into your PC via the USB cable for faster transfer. Interestingly enough, the .WMV mentioned above that I could not watch on my TV because of a codec error, played fine when streamed to my PC *from* the Iomega drive. Huh?

ONLINE CONTENT:
One of the coolest features is the button on the remote which allows you to stream online content from a number of sites, including YouTube, Flickr, CNN, Larry King, CNET, GameTrailers, and lots more. You can also read blogs and articles, and listen to internet radio. This effectively turns your non-internet TV into an internet TV. Very cool!

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UPDATE: July 29 2010: As of now, I can no longer access or watch anything on YouTube! This is unacceptable, and I am dropping my review to 3 stars to reflect this disappointing change. See comments to my review for details.
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REMOTE CONTROL:
While it's nice to have a remote control to sit back and play your media files and YouTube goodies from the couch, I really don't like the layout of the remote. The three main menu buttons that you use most to navigate the menu (Red for Video, Green for Photos, Blue for Music) are located at the very bottom edge, making them very hard to press unless you use two hands. If these were located central or at the top of the remote (where the Internet button is), it would be much easier to use. This is probably just a personal preference, but it is something I felt annoying enough to mention.

CONCLUSION:
With online access, Ethernet transfers, and a generous 1TB of disc space, the Iomega ScreenPlay Director is a great addition to any home theater. Still, while it successfully brings your PC's photos, movies, and music into your living room and onto your big screen TV, I feel there is room for some little tweaks and improvements.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 84 reviews  2.8 out of 5 stars