LaCie ups the LaCinema Rugged ante with new HD version

At first glance, you'd be hard-pressed to notice the difference between LaCie's LaCinema Rugged HD and last year's model, but sure enough, the middle square of that device definitely has "HD" ingrained into its genetic code, and if you can't guess what that means, we'll tell ya: 1080p output. Other than that aesthetic modification and the new peak resolution, there's not a lot that's changed -- HDMI and composite output, USB 2.0 transfer, and a sizable number of supported codecs -- but that's not exactly a bad thing here. It's available as of this moment, and while previously we had a few variety of sizes, for now we're only seeing 500GB at a penny under $350 before shipping.

[rezaudio @ Jul 9th 2009 6:14AM]

What about a separate output for 5.1 sound?

[ozdavo @ Jul 9th 2009 9:36PM]

has Toslink Digital Audio out...

but would be soo much better if it had an ethernet port or even usb to connect other HDDs to.

[~:Dhruv:~ @ Jul 9th 2009 6:19AM]

I dunno... but isnt 500GB pretty less for what this device can do ???

[fluxusfuxus @ Jul 9th 2009 7:37AM]

I hope they did a damn bit more than crank up the resolution--because this thing is a nightmare! -The buggiest, slowest, most infuriating sack of pig shit I've ever used.

[Neeko @ Jul 9th 2009 8:04AM]

Ill stick to the $100 WDTV and a 16gb flash drive.much cheaper and better GUI. 500gb doesn't matter to me.

[xingii @ Jul 9th 2009 8:38AM]

how do you have that flashdrive of yours formatted? NTFS seems resistant and exFAT won't play on WDTV.

[anthony.marek @ Jul 9th 2009 9:02AM]

I love my WDTV. Paired with a cheap 1 TB external, it's the perfect system for packrats.

[Civuck @ Jul 9th 2009 10:19AM]

Throw a cheap Apple USB->Ethernet adapter on the WDTV and get that WDLXTV firmware and you're networked too.

[GingerFox @ Jul 9th 2009 11:52AM]

I dont really get why this is rugged. Even if you did a lot of traveling wouldn't you just stick it in you case inbtween some nice soft clothes?

[Richard @ Jul 9th 2009 12:32PM]

The LaCie Rugged line is NOT rugged. It's like thinking a Camry with a lift kit and off road tires has any mojo.

My organization issues them to us because they bought the "rugged" hype. They are not any more rugged than any other external HD. The ONLY thing they have going for them is the rubber casing, which will keep out some dust and might help if you knock it off your desk.

If you need a REALLY rugged, milspec tested hard drive, you need an Olixer or something similar. Not this generic masquerading as a real piece of equipment.

[Bravo_18 @ Jul 9th 2009 12:58PM]

A big plus for WDTV..

firmware is updating...now supports a large range of format...and a good community..

Homebrews..and customization of the GUI...

you got WDLXTV...and appletrailers...mods..

bought it at newegg for $99 usd and a WD 500gb scorpio 2.5 HD SATA for $99 usd..still less on LAcie's price range..

[Tim Lastoria @ Jul 27th 2009 4:33PM]

WDTV is almost perfect for me. I have to send mine back though because of the lack of DTS support for my MKV files. I just have waaaaay too many movies that have DTS encoded audio.