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HTPC Roundup: Seagate FreeAgent Theater
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The next installment of this roundup involves a nice little media player from Seagate called the FreeAgent (FA) Theater and it does not technically qualify as a HTPC. Although I cannot deny that this is true, I can challenge your way of thinking. Why can't you lump these well endowed media players in with the HTPC crowd? They do many, if not all, of the things you want a HTPC to do in your living room for a fraction of the cost.
The Seagate FA Theater is one of these well featured media players. It does exactly what I would expect a HTPC to do, save for a few features. It plays music, videos (many different formats), and views pictures. The basics right? The simplicity and functionality rolled into this package is what makes it attractive as an alternative HTPC option.
Features
The Seagate FA Theater lets you browse through your media collection in the same folder tree view you're used to. Files are stored on a FreeAgent Go or can be connected via external storage through the USB port. All files that can be read are given a preview square on the right hand side of the screen. The interface allows you to sort by all, music, video, or pictures to reduce time spent going through looking for what you want.
Music is played by either selecting a file like normal and pressing play or pressing play on the folder itself to have everything inside played as a playlist. This is taken further for folders that have pictures and music together. If you hit play on a folder containing both music and pictures, it will play a slideshow of the pictures while playing the music in the background. There are no complicated playlists or programs needed to edit this. You simply load a folder with pictures, complimentary music, and then hit play.
Music formats supported:
MP3
WMA
WAV
OGG
Pictures are browsed in slideshow view by default, but a simple press of the pause button can halt it. While a picture is stationary, you have the ability to zoom, with picture-in-picture (PIP) box of the original within the zoomed frame. Rotation can also be easily done by pressing the various arrow buttons.
Video is also a treat. It plays all of the formats listed below and one surprise was tossed in. If you happen to have a backup of a DVD (legally purchased of course) in the standard ripped form of .VOB files, the Seagate FA Theater will play these with a simple push of the play button. It won't play them in the traditional Cyberlink PowerDVD fashion where you have to select each .VOB file each time you want to continue. The Seagate FA Theater intuitively plays the files as if it were the actual DVD. I hit play on the folder or on the first file of the series and that is it. The movie pops up on the screen and you use the remote to control it like any other movie. I tested this out with my legally purchased copies of Spirited Away and Avatar: The Last Airbender. I didn't modify the file structures in any way and placed them in their raw ripped form on the provided FreeAgent Go drive. It could not have been more pain free. One little side note to this is that the Seagate FA Theater may support playing these files. It does not, in any way, rip the DVDs or circumvent copy protections for you. A resourceful internet user can easily find many options to do such things, but make sure it really is for your personal backup so you don't ruin it for the rest of us. I love having an easy option to backup, store, and play my favorite movies and TV shows without causing any further degradation to the original disc.
Video formats supported:
MPEG-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-4
DIVX
Video Resolutions supported:
NTSC
PAL
HD up to 1080i via component cable (cable not included)
Now for what the player does not do. The player is not meant to entirely replace a HTPC. It offers an easy and affordable solution for those that don't require full HTPC functions and are more concerned about media display and playback. The Seagate FA Theater does not have internet browsing capabilities nor does it connect directly to video viewing sites like Hulu and YouTube. The Seagate FA Theater also does not work with Mac formatted hard drives (HFS or HFS+). It is purely for Windows XP or Vista.
Price
The Seagate FA Theater is sold in three packages currently. Those are the standalone player for a retail price of $129.99 (Amazon shows $99.99), Player with 250GB FreeAgent Go Drive and Dock for a retail price of $229.99 ($142.08 on Amazon), Player with 500GB FreeAgent Go Drive and Dock for a retail price of $299.99 ($243.78 on Amazon)
Criticisms
These criticisms are minor, but should be mentioned. Menu navigation isn't immediately responsive. You will expect to wait a few seconds between screens sometimes. This is not a deal breaker, but that may annoy some of you. The other is that the buttons on the remote have to be pressed a little harder sometimes to get it to work. Again, this is nothing terrible. Another problem is that you have to point the remote within a small cone of the device to get the button press to register. I bounced around the room as if I was performing an odd interpretive dance to get a good idea of where the boundaries are and what angles worked. I managed to get the remote to work approximately twelve feet away from the unit.
Conclusions
The Seagate FA Theater captures the essence of what a HTPC normally does in most situations and makes playing or viewing various forms of media a snap. I would definitely recommend this media player if you do not necessarily have the funds to buy or build a full HTPC.
Fix for Remote: I noted that I wasn't particular happy with the remote functions recently so I decided to see if my Logitech Harmony One remote could be programmed to replace it. Sure enough, it can. I setup an activity to switch the input on my receiver and TV while powering on the Seagate FA Theater. I did have to add some on screen buttons to expand the functionality to match the original remote, but that didn't take very long. For those out there that are lucky enough to own one of Logitech's programmable Harmony remotes, you'll find it will save you from the problem of dealing with the tiny remote provided with the Seagate FA Theater.
For more info:
Seagate FreeAgent Theater
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