FreeAgent Theater+ goes 1080p

Seagate's no-nonsense sneakernet movie box--slide in a 2.5" external drive or thumbdrive and press play--gets a bump to 1080p in the new edition. Previously reviewed here in its 720p incarnation, the latest FreeAgent has a second USB port and HDMI output to boot.

It also supports HFS+ (i.e. OSX) formatted drives in addition to NTFS and the FATs, and comes with some media management software if dragging and dropping AVI, MOV, VOB, ISO, DIVx and Xvid files is too challenging.

Product Page [Seagate]

9 Comments

Hybridan

#1 – 12:33 PM September 15, 2009

Hey Rob, might want to change the link to the "Freeagent Theater+" instead of the older Freeagent Theater. Just to mention it. Not a big deal. Thanks for the info btw, I am actually really interested in this product now.

dculberson

#2 – 12:59 PM September 15, 2009

Holy crap, I think the bigger upgrade is the Ethernet port!

"With its built-in Ethernet port, FreeAgent Theater+ connects to your home network allowing you to sync stream content from any networked computer in your home automatically."

Just moved from "would be neat" to "sounds perfect!" But actually what is "sync stream content?" It is streaming or do you transfer the files to the hard drive then play them?

flatfive

#3 – 2:02 PM September 15, 2009

if this thing streams from any computer on a network... Well, goodbye Charter cable.

Clay

#4 – 4:48 PM September 15, 2009

Its terrific have a spammer who make attempt to comment on article!

Now what I want to know is what it is about 60° beveled fasciae that looks so retro simply by virtue of the angle used. It's uncanny.

Mope

#5 – 6:28 PM September 15, 2009

It's cool and the sort-of thing that I had been looking for for a quite while.
But $150 for a driveless unit vs $300 for a PS3 which includes a 160gig drive, a blu-ray player and a PS3.....

Restless

#6 – 6:50 PM September 15, 2009

I wonder how this stacks up against the Popcorn Hour, especially for file compatibility and features (and hackability).

dculberson

#7 – 6:45 AM September 16, 2009

Mope has a good point, the PS3 also has wireless and at least some good video games. ;-)

It doesn't support nearly as many formats, but you can convert or run a streaming converter on your computer.

oohShiny

#8 – 5:53 PM September 16, 2009

does the HDMI out support 5.1 audio?

topugg

#9 – 11:51 PM November 5, 2009