The Price

1TB for $US270, 2TB for $US370 and 4TB for $US700

The Verdict

It does a lot, and it does it pretty well.

Here’s a list of the exciting bits on the Ix2-200’s feature list:

• Automated backup and restore: Full Time Machine support for Macs as well as Retrospect, a different backup scheme, for PCs and Macs.
• Automated copy jobs, which can automatically and incrementally copy (either with Windows file sharing or rsync) files off of network shares and dump it onto its own storage, or the other way around. Perfect for backing up other network shares for double data security
• RAID1
• DLNA, iTunes Servers
• Quiet running
• SMB features like email notifications, event logs, iSCSI, automated video surveillance (provided you have a compatible camera) and USB printer support
• A load of networking support, like Apple File Sharing, Bluetooth, FTP, NFS, Rsync, SNMP and standard Windows File Sharing (CIFS)
• Torrent downloading
• Remote access

Instead of building a Windows Home Server, like so many others have done, Iomega decided to build their own system from their own technology, and came out pretty feature-rich because of it.

The setup process is slightly finicky — you install the Iomega Solutions CD and wait while it searches your network for the server. This can actually take a few hours (we thought the Mac version was malfunctioning until it completed its setup and discovery process), but once you’re up, you’re up.

You control the server with a web interface, which works with a local app to provide integration into your file system. It’s pretty simple to use, and there aren’t too many tabs or options to confuse users with.

Backup and file storage

Time Machine works as well as if you were just shoving in a USB hard drive, and there’s little difference compared to running your backups over the network as if it were a Time Capsule. Iomega tells us that they’ve learned from HP’s first Windows Home Servers, the ones who weren’t able to run a complete Time Machine restore in the event of a total drive failure, so Mac users shouldn’t need to worry.

Retrospect, another backup software, can also configure backup plans on a schedule and automatically execute them without any input from you. Just choose which drives and folders you want to back up—it even backs up your network folders—and pick your schedule. If you don’t have a Windows Home Server on your network to handle your Windows backups, this is a pretty good substitute. And of course you can use Retrospect to restore your backups to your machine, in case of data failure.

Automated copy jobs is another feature that’s especially sweet for me, since I have a lot of network storage and I always worry about what would happen if one fails. This way, the Ix2-200 can maintain up-to-date copies of whatever’s sitting on other network drives, and act as the schoolmarm for all your data.

Networking and other features

Some of the other features are pretty much evaluated on a yes/no basis in terms of whether or not they work. The fan is very quiet even when transferring a mass load of files—although the hard drive is not, so that’s kind of moot—but is virtually silent otherwise. RAID1 works, and comes set up by default. The DLNA and iTunes streaming works in their respective clients, and Xbox 360/PS3 has no problem streaming files off of the server.

BitTorrent download works, but the server gets confused if you give it a URL to download a .torrent file from, so to play it safe you should just go ahead and download the .torrent yourself and feed that instead. Download speeds are decent, and you can configure what the maximum upload/download speeds are so as to not saturate your internet connection. You should also change your default port as well, since ISPS throttle that 6881 port hard.

All the networking stuff works as expected, as do the email notifications and event logs. The rest of the higher end stuff, like video surveillance integration and iSCSI we didn’t test, so we can’t say if there are any issues with them or not. It’s more than likely that they do work, but we don’t know if there are any quirks you should watch out for.

It’s a pretty good deal

Iomega’s aiming this at both the prosumer and the SMB market, which means that for most people, it’s going to have a lot of features that they don’t need. But that doesn’t matter! The Ix2-200 is so packed with stuff that it should satisfy the needs of just about any user who’s hurting for a network storage solution. And at a starting price of only $US270 for the 1TB version, it’s a cheaper alternative than Windows Home Servers, and can do just about all the same things. Plus with its user-replaceable drives and three USB ports, you can easily upgrade the storage yourself and expand your storage after the fact. [Iomega]

Great backup options including Time Machine and Retrospect

Small, quiet and fast

Feature loaded

Fairly cheap for what you get

Setup process isn’t as easy as it could be

It looks kinda chubby and short, but the StorCenter ix2-200’s full of features to appeal to the movie-downloading, home-server-building, tofu-eating, lazy arse in you. The entire device seems to revolve around making its feature set as easy to use as humanly possible while keeping up with the “green” gadget trend.

We’ve shown you what you can use a NAS for, but it all seems like it’ll be easier with the ix2-200: You don’t even need to have a PC attached to download torrents, you can grab files from your Bluetooth-capable phone, and the Apple lovers can use it for Time Machine backups.

The ix2-200 starts at $US270 for the 1TB version, no word on what the 2TB and 4TB versions will run for.

Iomega Announces Next Generation “Green” Desktop Network Storage Appliance With Powerful Enterprise and Consumer Features

***

Compact StorCenter ix2-200 Features:

* Easy Push Button Appliance-to-Appliance Copy and Backup
* Disk Spin Down for Energy Efficiency
* User Replaceable Disk Drives and More

SAN DIEGO, October 8, 2009 – Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the next generation of its popular double-drive desktop NAS appliance with the worldwide launch of the new Iomega® StorCenter™ ix2-200. Based on industry-leading enterprise-class EMC® storage technologies, the versatile yet affordable StorCenter ix2-200 wraps ease-of-use around big business data management functionality and advanced media serving and other consumer features that make it the ideal NAS appliance for small business users and home users.

Available in 1TB*, 2TB and 4TB capacities, the new ix2-200 utilizes a very simple four-step setup to be operational in a matter of minutes – be it in a business setting or in the digital home.

Starting at less than $US270.00, the ix2-200 employs an easy-to-understand interface to provide robust data management and protection for the serious business user, as well as the latest in multimedia serving and remote access features that makes it a breeze to access your own data, whether in the office, the home, or anywhere else in the world.**

Among the standout business features of the new StorCenter ix2-200:

* Device-to-device replication for business continuity and file recovery
* iSCSI block-level access for efficient storage utilization
* RAID 1 configurations for optimised data protection
* Windows® Active Directory support
* A new front panel QuikTransfer button for easy copying of selected files
* User replaceable hard drives
* Multiple IP security camera support
* And for the forward-thinking small business, VMware® certification for virtualization installations.

The new StorCenter ix2-200 also has a treasure trove of features for the digital home, including:

* A DLNA® certified UPnP® AV Media Server that makes the ix2-200 the central repository for serving up all your movies, pictures, music and other files to any compatible device on your network
* Serves as a Time Machine® target for Apple® computer backups
* Built-in torrent support for file-sharing without the need for a dedicated PC
* Bluetooth® capability for uploading all kinds of digital content from a smart phone
* Cooliris™ slide show plug-in allows for easy photo viewing
* And remote access to the ix2-200 from anywhere in the world

“The new StorCenter ix2-200 is definitely the easiest to use small office and consumer network storage appliance in the marketplace today,” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. “Combining EMC’s world class enterprise storage and security technologies with advanced media serving features makes the ix2-200 a versatile and affordable NAS appliance that gives smaller organizations, work groups and home users not only cost-effective and robust network storage but some of the same sophisticated data management capabilities as a Fortune 100 corporation – but without any need for IT experience.”

The new Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 NAS appliance is now available in the Americas and Europe from retailers, VARs and IT resellers, including valued Iomega partner CDW.

“When it comes to managing and protecting digital content, small businesses today face many of the same challenges as much larger organizations,” said Matt Troka, vice president, Product & Partner Management, CDW Corporation. “Iomega’s new StorCenter ix2-200 delivers cost-effective network storage with advanced enterprise features at extremely affordable prices. For the budget conscious small business with a need for dependable network storage that is easy to setup and maintain without any internal IT expertise, the compact StorCenter ix2-200 offers a great value proposition, which makes it a viable data storage and back-up solution for our customers.”

The Little Compact Desktop NAS Appliance with Lots of Capabilities

The new StorCenter ix2-200 NAS desktop appliance utilizes the acclaimed EMC LifeLine™ software, a fully-developed Linux operating environment and suite of applications that is designed for cross-platform support with Windows®, Mac® and Linux computers.

The LifeLine operating system presents a simple-to-use graphical interface that makes it easy to perform valuable business tasks while remaining confident that your data is securely stored, protected, and accessible whenever and wherever you need it.

Small office users will enjoy the ix2-200’s fast Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and high-performance embedded architecture, which boosts productivity by making data readily accessible and secure over a local network at the office or in the home. The ix2-200 also boasts the versatility of three USB 2.0 ports for adding printers or additional storage capacity with external USB drives.

Key Features of the StorCenter ix2-200 NAS Appliance

The new ix2-200 NAS appliance’s many features make it one of the most advanced, innovative and easy-to-use double-drive network storage devices available today. Among the features:

* Device-to-Device Replication (copy jobs): Copy or backup files to and from the ix2-200 to any other NAS or USB-attached storage device without the need for a client computer. Jobs can be set to run at pre-determined schedule or at the touch of the ix2-200’s new QuikTransfer button. The ix2-200 uses either the rsync or Windows File Sharing protocol to transfer data between itself and another network storage device.
* iSCSI Support: Provides block-level access for the most efficient storage utilization, especially for database, email and backup application performance. This feature also allows host-based operating systems and virtualization software to use the full capabilities of their native file systems, such as enabling VMFS for VMware utilization.
* VMware® Ready Certification: The ix2-200 is certified as both NAS (NFS) and iSCSI storage for VMware ESX Server 3.5 and 4.0 vSphere. The ix2-200 is listed on the VMware hardware compatibility list, enabling small offices and work groups to affordably take advantage of the benefits and advanced features offered by shared storage in a VMware environment. The ix2-200 is the ideal storage match for smaller virtualization deployments that use the new VMware vSphere Essentials and vSphere Essentials Plus software packages.
* Remote Access: Set up remote access and remotely manage and access pictures, videos, work files and other digital data on the ix2-200 from anywhere in the world. Just enter a personalised web address into any browser for easy downloading and uploading of files securely.
* RAID Support: RAID 1 with automatic RAID rebuild for data redundancy and protection. Single volume (JBOD) mode also available.
* Multiple Network Protocols: Works in Windows, Linux and Mac environments with network protocol support including CIFS/SMB/Rally, NFS, and AFP/Bonjour. The ix2-200 also supports advanced protocols such as HTTP, FTP and SNMP.
* Time Machine® Support: Lets Apple® users easily backup to the ix2-200 with Mac computers running OS X (10.5 or later) using Time Machine.
* Windows® Active Directory Support: Allows the ix2-200 to function as a client member in an Active Directory domain, giving users and groups access to the ix2-200.
* Uninterruptible Power Supply Support: Enables unattended system shutdown without data loss in the case of power failure.
* Gigabit Ethernet: high speed connectivity with jumbo frame support
* Video Surveillance: Connect up to five Axis® Network video cameras for real-time monitoring and video capture, without the need of a dedicated computer (dependent upon system workload and network conditions). The ix2-200 can be used as a storage target for other network surveillance cameras as well.
* Print Server: Supports intelligent print sharing capability for up to three USB printers directly connected to the ix2-200.
* UPnP AV/DLNA Certified Media Server: Compatible with UPnP and DLNA certified media players, the ix2-200 streams photos, audio content and videos to not only laptops and computers but a variety of media devices, including game consoles (Xbox® 360, Sony PlayStation® 3), audio bridges, iTunes™ players, networked digital picture frames and other compatible devices.
* Bluetooth capability: Allows users to upload contacts, photos and more from a cell phone, pocket PC or Blackberry® phone (Bluetooth USB adaptor required, sold separately).
* Photo Slideshow: Integrated utility based on Cooliris™ technology for quick browsing and sharing of pictures stored on the ix2-200 to both local and remote users.
* Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP): Supports no touch, automatic transfer of photos from digital cameras via one of the four USB 2.0 ports on the ix2-200.
* Versatility: Supports read and write on various formats, including Fat32, NTFS or ext2/ext3 formatted hard disks; also supports HFS+ (ready only).

Backup and Security Software for a Complete Solution

The StorCenter ix2-200 provides data backup and protection for any number of desktops and laptops with integrated EMC Retrospect® Express backup software. During the set-up process, users choose files and folders for scheduled automatic backups. After that, any changes or additions are updated and saved automatically.

For data security, the ix2-200 also includes RSA® BSAFE® encryption security technology for protecting installs and upgrades from viruses or malware. RSA is the security division of EMC that protects digital data at many of the world’s largest banks.

A Power Saving “Green” NAS Appliance

The StorCenter ix2-200 utilizes such power saving features as automatic hard drive spin down when the ix2-200 isn’t copying or serving up data, power consumption “green” hard disk drives, and an Energy Star® certified power supply. All of these features ensure the most efficient or minimal power consumption.

Compatibility

The StorCenter ix2-200 is compatible with Windows®, Mac OS®, and Linux® PCs. The interface is localised in 11 supported languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, German, and Russian).

Price and Availability and Warranty

The new 1TB StorCenter ix2-200 NAS appliance is now available in the Americas and Europe for $US269.99, the 2TB model is now available for $US369.99, and the 4TB model, which will be available later this month, is $US699.99. (All prices are U.S. suggested retail.) All three capacities of the new StorCenter ix2-200 will be available in Asia in November. The StorCenter ix2-200 is backed by a three-year warranty (with product registration).

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world’s leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC’s products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

About Iomega

Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage and network security solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than 410 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega’s product portfolio includes one of the industry’s broadest selection of direct-attached external hard drives; industry leading network attached storage products for the home and small business; and the ScreenPlay family of multimedia drives that makes it easy to move video, pictures and other digital files from the computer room to the livingroom. To learn about all of Iomega’s digital storage products and managed services solutions, please go to the Web at www.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at www.iomega.com/ipartner.

NOTE: This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.’s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component and product quality and availability; (ix) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or acts of terrorism; (xii) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xiii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; and (xiv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

# # #

* 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.

** Requires an Internet connection.

The only downside I can see some of you noting is that the bus-powered 2.5″ drive is 5400rpm, so not as ideal as a 7200rpm drive for serious amounts of randomly accessed video content, but it’s amazing when you’re moving files around.

I tested it against other drives using a 1.04GB file (an MPEG-4 rip of my Burn After Reading DVD). When I copied that file to a nice SanDisk Extreme III SDHC card, via an ExpressCard SanDisk SDHC reader, it took 1 minute 48 seconds. When I moved it to an old USB 2.0 IDE drive, the same file took 38 seconds. On a PC, I moved that file to a newer USB 2.0 drive, and it took longer, 52 seconds. When I moved that file from the Mac to the eGo via FireWire 800, it took just 15 seconds.

As you might have guessed, it took about twice as long via USB 2.0, and since Apple has pretty much given up on the FireWire 400 format, I didn’t test that, but it would have probably been even slower still. I have to say, there was one drive that was even faster: A 7200rpm 3.5″ 2TB Seagate Free Agent XTreme that you have to plug into the wall, connected to an HP notebook via eSATA. At first, it took 23 seconds to move that file from PC to drive. But I reformatted the drive so that it didn’t have its own software in the way, and boom, the thing scooted from PC to drive in 11 seconds.

But I digress. The point is, for people who have a FireWire 800 jack, but might need to connect elsewhere using USB 2.0, grabbing this totally bus-powered drive is smart. I plan to offload all of my movies to it, and just plug them in when I am on the road, or at home and in possession of Apple Remote and Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter.

It’s super light (198 grams) and has “Drop Guard” protection for falls of up to 1.3 metres. My only gripe is the ridiculously shiny blue LED that indicates when the drive is being read or written to. It’s so bright, I decided to tape over it, so that the neighbours wouldn’t think I was busy laser-welding my homemade Iron Man suit (again).

The 500GB version is $US150, and comes in the red you see. There’s a 320GB that comes in blue for $US110, and a white one that holds 250GB for just under $US100. (It doesn’t take a lot of math skills to see why the red is the best bet.) [Iomega]

The price isn’t super-low, but these drives, which start at $US85 for the 250GB model and top out with the 500GB, $US135 dollar model, are decidedly accessible. They’re all (in most cases) powered from a single USB port, and come with a decent suite of EMC backup software.

They’re available in four colours (red, silver, blue and black) starting today. Press release below.

SAN DIEGO, May 18, 2009 – Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the worldwide availability of a new generation of the exciting Iomega® eGo™ Portable Hard Drive, featuring new look USB 2.0-powered models with superior ruggedness and the broadest suite of bundled data protection software in the industry, and all backed with a three-year limited warranty. Available in four different colours and up to 500GB* in capacity, the new Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive is the ultimate embodiment of style and function in portable drives today.

“The new Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drives are the perfect companions for home users and professionals that want to take their files anywhere with the assurance of a superior rugged portable drive that has style to spare and a compact form with flair,” said Jonathan Huberman, President of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. “After two very successful years with the previous model, the new eGo drive sports a compact, sleek new aluminium enclosure in eye-catching colours and comes complete with a suite of backup and anti-virus software to protect your data and your laptop, netbook or personal computer. Top it all off with the best drop spec in the industry and the new eGo drive is the portable hard drive this summer for dads and grads and everyone else.”

A key element of the Iomega Protection Suite is McAfee® VirusScan Plus, the market-leading anti-virus, anti-spyware software.

“In today’s world of increasing attacks on consumers’ data by the bad guys, it’s as important to protect your external hard drive data as it is to protect your PC’s local data,” said Todd Gebhart, President, Consumer Products, McAfee, Inc. “Iomega is the first to recognise this fact and we’re pleased to be partnering with them in this fight.”

Cool Hardware with Superior Functionality

The new USB 2.0-powered eGo Portable Hard Drive comes in variety of colours and capacities: the bright Ruby Red model is available in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities; the sparkling Silver model comes in 320GB; and the deep Midnight Blue model is available in 320GB. (Color and capacity combinations vary in international markets.)

Inside an anodized aluminium shell little more than a half-inch thick (16 mm) and weighing less than 7 ounces (200 grams) is a state-of-the-art 2.5-inch portable hard drive. Iomega’s Drop Guard™ feature protects data on the new eGo drive from drops of up to 51 inches, or 40% above the industry average! The new 500GB Iomega® eGo™ BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0, available in June, comes complete with a black eGo Power Grip Belt and Iomega’s Drop Guard™ Xtreme, which provides unparalleled protection for the drive from drops of up to 7 feet (2.1 mm) – over twice the industry average!

All of the new USB 2.0 eGo Portable Hard Drives receive power from a laptop or computer’s USB port so there’s no power supply to carry around. And unlike other portable hard drives, the new USB 2.0 eGo Portable Hard Drives ship with a “Y” cable which gives users the flexibility to use two USB ports to power the drive, if needed. And with up to 500GB of capacity, the new eGo drive can store up to 2,000,000 photos, over 9,250 hours of music or 750 hours of video**.

Most Powerful Software Package Bundle with a Portable Hard Drive Today

Bundled free of charge with the new USB-powered eGo Portable Hard Drives is the new Iomega Protection Suite, a one-stop portfolio of backup and anti-virus software giving users added protection for their photos, videos, music and other files.

The Iomega Protection Suite includes:

* McAfee® VirusScan Plus: a free six-month subscription to this market-leading software that protects your PC with anti-virus, anti-spyware, 2-way firewall, and web security protection (PC only).
* Iomega QuikProtect: backup software for simple scheduled file-level backup of data to hard drives and network-attached storage devices (for Windows and Macintosh desktops and notebooks).
* EMC® Retrospect® Express or Express HD: backup all of your data plus applications and settings (for Windows and Macintosh desktops and notebooks).
* MozyHome™ Online Backup: Convenient online backup service with 2GB of online capacity for free (unlimited online storage for $4.95/month). MozyHome Online service allows you to restore your most important data from any computer with internet access, at any location in the world.

All of the software elements in the Iomega Protection Suite are accessible via easy download to new eGo Portable Hard Drive owners.

Compatibility

The new Iomega® eGo Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 models are compatible with Microsoft® Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, and Windows Vista™, and Mac OS X 10.4 or above. MozyHome software is available for Windows XP and Windows Vista, along with Mac OS X 10.4 and above. EMC Retrospect software is available for both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.

New eGo Portable Hard Drive Accessories

Available for purchase at www.iomega.com are two new accessories for the new USB-powered eGo Portable Hard Drive: a durable black carry case, and the Iomega Power Grip Belt (like the one on the eGo BlackBelt Drive), available in black and translucent colors.

Pricing, Availability and Warranty

The Iomega® eGo™ Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 family of drives are available today, except for the new Iomega® BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive 500GB USB 2.0, which will be available in June. The 250GB Ruby Red eGo model is priced at $84.99; the 320GB Ruby Red, Midnight Blue and Silver eGo models are $94.99; the 500GB Ruby Red is $134.99; and the 500GB BlackBelt eGo model is $139.99. (All pricing is U.S. suggested retail.) All of the new USB-powered eGo models include a 3-year limited warranty, and are available from online retailers, VARs, resellers and select retailers, as well as at www.iomega.com.

In June, Iomega will announce additional new eGo Portable Hard Drive models with multiple interface combinations.

Make just posted a piece on how to turn the now useless drives into one of these playful cybernetically styled puppets. (It’s called Zippy. Get it?) The one thing that throws me off is this: The actual Boy Scout who is ostensibly masterminding this transformation probably wasn’t alive when the Zip drive was popular. Somebody definitely put him up to it. I’m guessing it was his dad. [Make]

Note: Save that link, because tomorrow morning Make will post a full video of Zip drive marionette making for you to watch—from what I can tell, it’s antiquated computer hardware fun for the whole family!

The Price: US$200

The Verdict: This thing kinda sucks. I was hoping the ScreenPlay would be able to replace my current set up of streaming media over an Xbox 360. The 360 works most of the time, but sometimes it gets hung up buffering large files, and I don’t have an external HDD the size of the ScreenPlay to plug into it. If this one could play all the codecs of the Xbox while looking halfway decent and not lagging, I’d convert in a heartbeat.

The first problem came when I tried to load files from my Mac. The drive is formatted in NTFS, rendering it incompatible with OS X. Worried I’d lose the ScreenPlay’s UI if I formatted the drive, I got some files from my roommate’s PC first. (Later, I formatted the drive to FAT, and everything loaded fine from both computers.) The AVIs transferred quickly, and I hooked it up to the TV via HDMI.

The UI is just a basic file manager, nothing special or sexy about it. One thing I found particularly annoying is that the button in the centre of the D-Pad is “Play” and not “OK”, so pressing play on a folder went straight to the first file. It took me about five times of hitting it to figure it out. However, I did like that the ScreenPlay accepted multiple levels of folders, something I haven’t been able to figure out for my Mac files on the Xbox.

Picture quality on the ScreenPlay wasn’t very good. It claims to upscale content, but my low-qual Flight of the Conchords videos looked like junk, and higher-res BSG episodes looked the same as they do on Xbox. When I tried to play a 720p ep of Planet Earth, I got a “resolution not supported” error—this never happens on Xbox. The MP4 videos that I use to encode all my Handbrake rips didn’t show up in the menu, since they are not supported. Music and photo playback were decent, but the interface wasn’t nearly as robust as the Xbox.

The ScreenPlay HD didn’t meet my expectations at all. Sure, it can play some videos and other multimedia, and it’s nice to not worry about buffering, but the playback limitations outweigh the benefits. On top of that, US$200 is steep for a 500GB HD, especially considering Iomega sells others for under US$100. There’s no chance that this would replace my Xbox for watching computer media on TV, but it could make a nice, if expensive, addition to plug into the 360’s USB port. [Iomega]