LaCie debuts LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD HD media players

LaCie's LaCinema Black MAX is but a few months old, and already the aforesaid company is expanding the family. The newest two are the LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD, both of which enable users to stream HD media over their network, house content internally with up to 1TB of space and connect sans wires via WiFi. As expected, there's a built-in UPnP client to suck down content from a networked PC or Mac, and it'll even handle 1080i upscaling of SD material. Oh, and if you couldn't guess, the RECORD also enables TV tuning and recording if you're into that type thing. Both can be ordered up right now starting at $429.99.

Gallery: LaCie debuts LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD HD media players

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[ACEY RIOT @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:12PM]

now thats usefull for my torrents i mean...um my friends torrents

[DR House @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:43PM]

OMG YES YES YES IM SOO SMART i wanted to buy similar thing from amazon but i said lets wait for computex and maybe new thing will be revealed ! and i was right ( I'm always right) EAT THAT GEORGE (my friend who ordered similar product which is already outdated 2 days ago and didnt hear my advice)

YES !

[ScrapMaker @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:22PM]

@ DR House

You sound like someone who gives sploogy high-fives...

[iphonerulez @ Jun 3rd 2009 6:27PM]

The site says you have to run some sort of Windows computer to use this. What's up with that crap? And what good is a DVB-T tuner in the U.S. Throw in a ATSC tuner with TV program recording software and some OSX compatibility and it might be useful.

The industry is seriously short on ATSC-tuner harddrive DVD/RAM recorders.

[htd @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:18PM]

can you get a cheaper ion based nettop?

[M. @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:22PM]

that's what I need, anyone know if these things support a lot of codecs?

[Jeremy @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:23PM]

So, so tired of all these things maxing out at 1080i. They should ALL be able to do 1080P by now. It's like it's the same tech for the last decade. They just figured out how to make it cheaper, add more codec's and change the ports. They haven't even figured out how to get a Plex, XBMC, Boxee style interface on the boxes. They're all still pretty much file/folder based. So disappointing.

[Mateo @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:09PM]

If you'd read the article, it can decode 1080p files just fine.
Engadget only stated that it can upscale SD content to 1080i.
I don't see the need of upscaling SD video any higher.

[Jeremy @ Jun 3rd 2009 6:43PM]

Mateo, because otherwise the display is going to re-sync each time you switch between menus/sd/hd. On many displays this can be annoying and/or time consuming. It's always a more pleasant user experience to upscale to the native rate of the display so it doesn't need to keep re-syncing.

I did re the article, which is why I commented. Be kind, rewind.

[Mateo @ Jun 3rd 2009 7:45PM]

Meh, still not enough to whine about imo. Plays content in full quality and upscales crap video to a decent resolution.

[nospam @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:24PM]

same thing as a popcorn hour except it comes with DVR and $200 more.

can the DVR support QAM channels or OTA only?

[arkweld @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:55PM]

according to the blurb and the manual it will record the output from a STB, which sounds like it does not have a tuner of it's own and can only record the video feed you are watching from another source.

There is no reference to a tuner in the specs and interestingly while one of the Engadget rear panel shots shows both in and out coax connections, the images at LaCie do not, and are not shown in the printed material either.

http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11258

[Idlemind @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:25PM]

what will make or break this is....

CODECS and the User Interface...

Why doesnt the world adopt the Boxee UI ???

[arkweld @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:43PM]

Video Codecs : MPEG-1, MPEG-2 / HD, MPEG-4, DIVX, XVID, H.264 HD, WMV9 HD
Video Format : AVI, DIVX, MPG, MP4, MKV, WMV, MOV, ISO, VOB, IFO, ASF, TS, TP, TRP, M2TS
Audio Format : MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, AC3, MP4, WAV/LPCM

[Ed Husar @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:31PM]

I will stick with my Mac Mini, PLEX, and external drives. I can't imagine an more robust and expandable system for my HT right now.

[Idlemind @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:07PM]

have u been able to find a good converter/dongle whatever for HDMI ??

[murphy @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:56PM]

I used the Cables Unlimited 6-Foot Digital Audio/Visual HDMI-to-DVI-D Single Link Cable bought on Amazon for $12. I don't know what it costs now but it worked good while I had the mini hooked up to a flat screen.

[wayne @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:37PM]

i have a lacie rugged cinema drive , and i'm not too impressed (especially the interface/speed of ui and no mkv support).
I'm spoiled by xbmc ..

i'd wait for some reviews and search forums from users before buying another similar product from lacie.

[neil @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:45PM]

Bought my WHOLE COMPUTER for $429 with Vista Premium. My computer is connected to my 65 inch Sony and is the coolest thing ever. :)

I also have a $100 WDTV and a $100 1TB Lacie Hard Drive hooked up to my other T.V.

What is the extra $130 for, a network adapter?

[Damo @ Jun 4th 2009 1:32AM]

No, the Extra money is for a network port and a TV tuner.

[Unknown @ Jun 3rd 2009 6:44PM]

Get me a built-in Clear QAM tuner and I would have been all over this.

[roulette843 @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:06PM]

LaCie's LaCinema was LaInvented by a LaLovely lady named LaShonda.

[neil @ Jun 3rd 2009 8:29PM]

Yep, I have a drive at Lacie right now being "repaired," even though it was doa, out of the box.

[Joe @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:25PM]

I will never give another LaCent of my money to LaCie. Too many bad experiences with this company.

[Brian! @ Jun 3rd 2009 7:14PM]

+1

My LaSuck, I mean LaCie drive here lies dead by my desk to remind me how to never trust that company with my data again.

[Lemmiwinks @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:29PM]

It'll look grand under your new Samsung television.

[Sachin @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:43PM]

wiat...why buy the PLAY if they're both priced equally?

[therpham @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:46PM]

I love the whole sharp-edged obelisk thing they have going. I have one of their hard drives that looks like that and it's so cool.

[paul @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:46PM]

This is confusing. The PDF says it connects to both Macs and PCs, yet the system requirements list it as Windows only. So which is it?

[paul @ Jun 3rd 2009 7:11PM]

Also note: The PDF claims it connects to "a networked PC or Mac using UPnP", yet Macs don't have UPnP. Me thinks someone at Lacie doesn't know their stuff.

[paul @ Jun 4th 2009 12:08PM]

Okay, here's the response I got after e-mailing Lacie:

"The LaCinema Black can be connected to the UPnP wireless network using the bundled Twonky Media Server which is compatible with either MAC or PC. However utilizing the direct USB connection requires a PC."

[paul @ Jun 4th 2009 12:51PM]

Haha, one more message from Lacie:

"I apologize, this product just launched and I was given incorrect information, the USB functionality of the drive IS Mac compatible and the drive can be formatted as such (HFS+). With regards to the media server, Twonky is a program which must be downloaded and configured with your network, it is able to transfer files wirelessly, however, keep in mind that transferring files using this method is slower than by directly attached means."

[Mike @ Jun 5th 2009 12:21PM]

The product works best with a network connection -- ie Ethernet

The USB port is not like a normal USB2 hard drive. Instead, it uses the MTP protocol (see: Wikipedia MTP explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol). this is supported by Vista. It is not supported by OS X at this time.

Media files can be copied to the internal hard drive using a network connection with Macs or PCs; additionally via the USB host port on PCs only. the other 2 USB ports are for disk expansion.

A Mac, Windows PC, or Linux computer with the ability to share files is necessary to copy files to the LaCinema internal hard drive.

As previously noted:
- record capability is limited to SD via the AV inputs
- to playback HD content, HD files must be created using other devices. LaCinema is able to play HD content from other sources.

[br4nd0nh347 @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:49PM]

Was anyone else thinking Final Fantasy?

[sophisticated @ Jun 3rd 2009 6:07PM]

The lacinema record appears to be useless for hd considering it only accepts sd video in.

[xValentine @ Jun 3rd 2009 7:52PM]

Shiny.

[CH3BURASHKA @ Jun 3rd 2009 9:41PM]

I think I'm gay for LaCie's products.