Sunday 18 May 2008

My new toy

Ok, so it finally arrived. My long awaited Mvix MX-760HD.

I'm not a total geek, so I'll not be getting into the nitty gritty of the tech specs of this little marvel. You can go check other reviewers if you're interested. This is more of a user based review (which will most likely be more useful and comprehensive).
Basically it's a media-viewer with a hard drive inside that can store and play most media files.


After opening the box, I quickly discover that the fellow who shipped the thing from Canada, is a bit of a twat when it comes to packing. The remote control has had its frontal plastic protection smashed. It still works but I'm a bit disappointed that I've not yet started to use the Mvix and it is already damaged.


Whether it be installing the hard drive I ordered separately or accessing my wireless network, the whole set up process is pretty easy (at least I think it is, as I wasn't the one doing the setting up).
While browsing through the interface (more on that later), I discover with delight, that I can stream a whole load of radios from the box so the installation can now be finished to the sound of Bollywood singing. Basically any kind of music you feel like, free in your living room. Decent tunes are now on tap while entertaining or just chilling. Brilliant!

I'm thrilled to be able to access my PC and by extension ALL my dvix files without having to burn a CD/DVD. It is soo easy and you lose almost nothing on quality. Although I must admit I'm watching crappy files as it is. My bad.
I also get the occasional sentence said before it is heard; however that seems to be sorted now with the upgade of firmware (essential making it now a MX-780HD). This might also be due to above mentioned files!

After a few hours of somewhat intensive usage, I noticed a couple more things.

Because of the Mvix casing being essentially made of plastic, and not having bought the quietest hard drive, there is a consistent humming noise emanating from the box when it is on. While I must admit it is not overly distracting while you are watching something, It can get quite annoying during the quiet bits and when you are in between episodes or in pause mode. ;)

The interface is not that great either.
While it is easy to understand, browsing is a lot longer than it needs to be. You have to navigate through endless folders to reach the file you want to access which can get tedious - although it will skip automatically to the next file in that folder. (Don't expect it to do this between all your folders in a particular media. In Music, it's only one album a time guys, unless you create a play list.)
It's a good thing the product is easy to use, as with a very summarised manual (unless you are fluent in Korean) you will have to search a bit, but that will help you get to know your way around the Mvix. Alternatively, you can download a more complete version here.

I have found that viewing photos is not that great either, it can't handle large images and therefore loading is too long.

All these are just superficial. And don't really matter, I didn't get the thing to view photos and I don't plan on spending hours on end browsing through my files just for the hell of it.

But, there is one major flaw in this marvel.
Transferring files via the network. (I fear I might lose one or two of you here.)

Transferring your files from the pc to the Mvix is painful. It uses an NDAS system (whatever that means) and this whatever it is tends to bugger up alot of things. It is UNBELIEVABLY slow to copy. Don't even try copying more than a couple of GB over unless you have a couple of hours ahead of you. And don't forget to turn NDAS off in the settings before plugging the Mvix directly into the computer, it will corrupt your files. Hmm.

So in the end, I download the file onto my computer, and watch via the network.
When I have a decent amount of files to copy over, I will disable the NDAS, un-plug the box, plug it into the PC (thus crawling on hands and knees) and move the files. Such a hard life. :)

Now don't get me wrong, I am really happy with my purchase, I use it all the time and it has already proved it's portability and easy set up more than once.

An extra remote on the table, but it is pure pleasure.

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