ATMT HV355 Media HDD review

Media PCs are big news at the moment, but they're not cheap and putting a device as complex as a PC in a room the whole family use isn't always a good idea.

ATMT's HV355 is a media PC without the PC - it's a hard disk that can play any video or audio files that are stored on it. The drive plugs into your PC via USB, allowing you to easily copy your media files to it. Connecting the HV355 to your TV is easy, as it includes a SCART socket on the rear. There's also composite and component TV output, as well as a coaxial digital audio link, so you can connect the HV355 to a home cinema amp. Image quality using the SCART port was surprisingly good and DivX files looked identical when played on the HV355 to when played on a PC.

The device comes with a simple operating system preinstalled that displays on your television screen a simple list of the folders and files on the disk. Using the remote control supplied, you browse the list to select the file you want to play. Compared to the slickness of say, Windows Media Center, it isn't good-looking, but it's clear and easy to read.

The HV355 supports the most popular media file formats, including the popular DivX and XviD codecs, MPEG-2 DVD movies, MP3 audio files and JPEG still images. There are already some legally available films in these formats and all the major Hollywood studios have now announced plans for movie download services. The only other easy way to get films onto the hard drive would be to decrypt and copy a DVD, but this is illegal.

The only real downsides to the HV355 are that it's big and not that good-looking, and it's rather noisy when it's working. The hard disk rattles and whines inside the casing, which can be distracting during the quiet periods of your TV programme.