IOGEAR's Portable Media Player skips the whole "portable" part

If you need a handy way to tote around your digital movie collection, and can overlook the aesthetic criminality of this product, IOGEAR's Portable Media Player maybe, just maybe, could be meant for you. The $350 unit can play back standard def videos and upconvert them to 720p over its component outputs -- or just sacrifice quality altogether and output over composite. There room for 50 hours of "DVD-quality video," which we're guessing means about 120GB of storage, but we're still waiting for word on codec support. Obviously without a screen you won't be watching any of this stuff on the go, but if none of that deters you, the unit is available now.

Update: Codecs include AVI, DivX, XviD, MP3, MPEG-2 and so forth, and the capacity is indeed 120GB.

[Acerguy @ Apr 8th 2008 12:17PM]

1st

[Jeremy K. @ Apr 8th 2008 12:44PM]

to fail.

[Graham @ Apr 8th 2008 12:23PM]

Why not just buy a Media Gate MG35 enclosure? and an IDE hard drive? It would be cheaper and would have more storage...

[Orlando @ Apr 8th 2008 12:35PM]

AVI is a codec, you M*r*n!

[makishima @ Apr 8th 2008 12:41PM]

@Orlando I assume that was meant at Doug? And either way directly from the wikipedia entry about codecs "The widely spread notion of AVI being a codec is incorrect as AVI (nowadays) is a container format, which many codecs might use (although not to ISO standard). There are other well known alternative containers such as Ogg, ASF, QuickTime, RealMedia, Matroska, DivX, and MP4." found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec Thanks for playing though.

[silencer @ Apr 8th 2008 12:43PM]

So you spend $220 on the MediaGate and $45 on a 160GB IDE HDD. That brings your total to $265.

That is a pretty good deal. I like the IOGEAR device for it's just plug-and-go appeal. The ability to just pop some movies on there and bring it along with you to your friends or on the road in your hotel is convenient.

The MediaGate device would be nice if you didn't plan on making it all that portal it seems. At the most, moving it from maybe a bedroom TV, to the TV in the living room.

Just my 2c.

[Eric M. @ Apr 8th 2008 12:45PM]

@Orlando

Aww the irony of calling someone out, only to be called out yourself. And not to mention replying to the wrong person. Gotta love it.

[Doug @ Apr 8th 2008 12:24PM]

AVI isn't a codec.

[phanbouy @ Apr 8th 2008 1:18PM]

sez you, Castanza!

[Emilio @ Apr 8th 2008 12:28PM]

Sound like what I have been looking for to see things on the hotel tv's instead of crappy TV or watching on my 14" laptop screen from close up.

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 8th 2008 1:07PM]

For future reference, to reply to someone's comment, click the Date under the Users name. This will insure it will post to the right comment.

Also, if commenting, and you get a 'This page cannot be displayed' when you submit, don't refresh or repost. Your comment DID in fact post. Don't believe me? Head back to the article to double-check.

These tips and more will be out in my next publication: "Engadget- How To Comment Without Looking Like A Double-Posting, Misinformed Tool."

[Graham @ Apr 8th 2008 12:51PM]

Should I point out the irony, of calling someone a moron yet replying to the wrong comment...?

Oh wait... I just did.

Engadget... Fix the comments.

[Tom Gabriele @ Apr 8th 2008 12:35PM]

why not get something like the archos 605 where you can have a screen and more storage for about the same price? and theres a $30 ad on for tv output

[Richard @ Apr 8th 2008 12:37PM]

Looks vaguely like an old zip drive....

[BioWare #1 @ Apr 8th 2008 12:44PM]

"and theres a $30 ad on for tv output"

Exactly. $350 for this thing? Buy a video ipod w/ tv output cables. Shoot... buy a PSP slim w/ tv output cables and watch movies AND play games.

This is the worst idea... when so many products can already provide this function for you... for a lot less or about the same price really.

[BioWare #1 @ Apr 8th 2008 12:49PM]

Ah... except for the 720p part of course, so I guess it would be good for the person who's both a hi-def videophile AND must impose their video-superiority wherever they go. LOL.

I still say: Fail.

[Graham @ Apr 8th 2008 12:52PM]

I hate this commenting system...

[nathan.wong @ Apr 8th 2008 12:58PM]

Why use component when they could have used HDMI?

[Sabba @ Apr 8th 2008 3:08PM]

especially because analog tv is dead, right?!?

[Doug @ Apr 8th 2008 1:25PM]

As mentioned above, AVI is a container. It can contain media in any codec. You don't install an AVI codec on your computer; you install DivX, XviD, MPEG codecs, and play AVI files containing media that uses those codecs. AVI is just the messenger, as is MOV. Don't shoot the messenger.

To say that something plays AVI says nothing. It doesn't give you any useful information as to what files will actually play.

[Doug @ Apr 8th 2008 1:25PM]

Looks like replies are broken again.

[601210 @ Apr 8th 2008 1:48PM]

Fix your commenting system, Engadget. This is getting ridiculous.

[Warneh @ Apr 8th 2008 2:19PM]

how come this is on engadget only now? I have already seen this almost a year ago... with 160GB

[John @ Apr 8th 2008 4:31PM]

These things are all over Italy... millions of different styles and brands, 3.5" HD styles, even 2.5" powered with just USB... Starting down at I think about 129 euro for the cheap 80 giggers... I've thought about 'em a million times, but just haven't gotten past the sh!t or get off the pot stage...

[austin @ Apr 8th 2008 6:02PM]

Am I mistaken or did they build a bottle opener into the top (green part)?

[David Russell @ Apr 8th 2008 6:12PM]

Why do none of these things ever include WMV support? Not all of us are watching xVid rips off BitTorrent!

[computer.dude.28 @ Apr 8th 2008 7:09PM]

This portable media player is about as portable as pocket projectors are pocket!

[Benson @ Apr 8th 2008 8:29PM]

No screen? That's cool; what are HUDs for, anyway?

[Uzair @ Apr 9th 2008 3:12AM]

Ya! That is two in one. An unportable portable player, and an unopenable bottle opener.

[hermanussen @ Apr 9th 2008 6:34AM]

That pic looks a lot like the player I bought recently (http://ibood.com/site/nl/forum/index.php?action=vthread&forum=1&topic=23546). It's pretty good... at a very decent price!

[Evan @ Apr 9th 2008 8:03AM]

$350? Are they nuts? It doesn't even have WiFi! I could get a MediaGate or hacked AppleTV for less.