The Iomega TV media streamer looks a sight more conventional than D-Link’s bizarrely shaped Boxee Box, and our test version can locally store digital media on its built-in 1TB hard-disk, unlike the D-Link.
That will appeal to HD enthusiasts – large high-definition video files can be problematic when streamed over a busy or slow network – and it also gives you
the option to use the hard-disk as a globally accessible NAS drive, using Iomega’s ‘personal cloud’ software.
If you don’t want the hard-disk feature, a £190 version is available without it. Conversely, if you want even more storage, there’s a £332 model with a capacious 2TB drive.
As with the D-Link Boxee Box, the Iomega comes with a double-sided remote, with one face featuring a cursor-pad arrangement – which can be frustratingly imprecise at times – and the other a compact QWERTY keyboard.
Easy to set up
Set-up is relatively straightforward thanks to a simple configuration wizard and, as with other Boxee kit, the Iomega will browse your library of data and arrange any digital media it can play into its own folder structure, complete with thumbnails
to make navigation easier.
Playback is impressive too: there’s scarcely a file format the Iomega can’t handle, and its performance with both high-quality FLAC audio and 1080p MKV is well up to par.
So far so good. Our key gripe is that for now, the Iomega lacks the dedicated BBC iPlayer and Spotify apps recently launched on the Boxee Box, leaving you with the standard hotch-potch of web-based video.
If Iomega can sort that – and overhaul the remote – there’d be even more to like.
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