Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition media player

Name: Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition media player
Item: Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition media player
Rating: 4.25
Author: Madana Prathap

A competent Iomega media streamer

Madana Prathap

PC World India

04/08/10

Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition

Expert Rating

4.25 / 5

Pros

Compact, good file format support, three USB ports

Cons

No internal storage, wireless adapter is not bundled by default

Bottom Line

The Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition offers all the features one would expect from a second-gen media player. If you'd like internal storage in addition to what this player already offers, consider other media players like the Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD or the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ instead.

Would you buy this?

Yes 9
No 5

Price
$ 297.00 (AUD)

The Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition offers all the features one would expect – in terms of supported multimedia file formats, extra USB ports, wired and optional wireless networking, internet connectivity, usability of UI and remote, and quality of playback of 1080p videos.

The ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition is smaller than the previous Iomega TV Link; it's also more powerful and looks great beside a HDTV. The front hosts two USB ports; the rear has one more USB port, power input, an HDMI port, S/PDIF optical audio output, a 10/100Mbps Ethernet jack, and red/white/yellow Composite video output.

One of these USB ports can be used to plug in Iomega’s ScreenPlay WiFi Adapter (which can be purchased separately), to give not only wired but also wireless access to your home network. The bundled remote is nicer than the previous TV Link model, and more colourful. It is easy to navigate through the on-screen interface of the TV Link Director, which is not very sluggish and quite responsive.

You can play audio/video/photo files off a USB storage device. Supported file-systems are FAT32, NTFS, HFS+, EXT2 and EXT3; in addition to networked computers and HDDs. Note that you cannot use an external optical drive to play a CD or DVD directly from source disc. It is hard to avoid comparing the Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition with the Western Digital WD TV Live.

We tested all the multimedia file formats that this device claimed to play, and it acquitted itself well. Upscaling lower resolution videos, playing 1080p, high-bitrate videos without jitters, and photo management were all impressive.

The Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link Director Edition box package includes a quick start guide, Composite video and HDMI cables. Compatibility across the globe is reinforced by the four types of power plugs that can be interchanged to suit relevant power sockets.