UNIBRAIN iZak review

We've seen an increase in the number of portable media centres, but Unibrain's 80GB iZak takes a different approach: it has no screen.

In fact, it looks just like an average external 2" hard disk. There's even a USB Hi-Speed port, which connects the iZak directly to your PC so you can transfer files. Look a little closer, however, and you'll see an additional couple of connectors that give the game away.

The iZak connects via composite or S-video to a device such as a TV or projector. Using the bundled remote control, this is a complete media centre in a case no larger than a paperback book.

Capable of playing a variety of audio, image and video files, including DVD ISO files, it's certainly not lacking in features. As a travelling companion for use on holidays and business trips, it's an attractive proposition.

It's far from perfect, though. There's no software in the box so you can't synchronise new files and you have to use Explorer to copy data manually instead. You also need to keep the existing directory structure, such as the Movies folder, as the iZak uses this to locate files.

While it will play back DVD ISO images, which act as if the real DVD were inserted, it doesn't solve the problem of getting hold of them. DVDs are encrypted for copyright reasons, so you'll need third-party software to rip them. With the appropriate tool you can fit in around 15 uncompressed movies, which should be enough for most trips.

With your content on the iZak, using the device is pretty simple for movies. It's easy to select a file for playback. In the case of ISO files, the remote has all the same keys as a DVD player, so you'll soon forget you're using a hard disk rather than an optical one.

Sadly, music playback leaves a lot to be desired. You can only play tracks by filename, as the iZak doesn't support ID3 tags, so you'll have to have a neatly organised music collection. Bizarrely, once you start playing a track you're stuck in its directory. Only when you press Stop can you look through other music directories. Images, provided they're in directories, are a lot easier to deal with.

While the music functions are poor, it's the video capability that grabs attention. As a device for the road it's great. However, the lack of software means that it's a product that only those well versed in DVD ripping or DivX creation should buy.