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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 17 reviews
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Product summary
The good: Excellent file format compatibility; DVI output to as high as 1080p; slot for internal hard drive; Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless networking; two USB 2.0 ports; outputs full 5.1 DTS and Dolby soundtracks.
The bad: Hard drive enclosure is a very tight fit; user interface could be better; wireless performance is poor for video; no 802.11n; 480p, 720p, and 1080p modes have video-quality issues; image shifted to the left; no fast-forward/rewind on audio files; cannot play M3U, WPL, or ASX playlists; cannot save playlists; no HDMI; cannot handle files with DRM (including purchased iTunes and WMA-based subscription content); navigating large file libraries is cumbersome and unwieldy; no screensaver.
The bottom line: The Mvix MX-760 streaming media hard disk enclosure is absolutely jam-packed with features, but its varied assortment of quirks will probably limit its appeal to the enthusiast and DIY crowds.
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 02/09/2007
- Released on: 12/01/2006
Setup
Next, you'll need to format the hard drive, and the manual has instructions for doing so. However, keep in mind that if you have a sizeable hard drive, this could takes a long time--hours rather than minutes. Still, we like the fact that the drive installation is left up to the user--you get a much better bang for your buck by buying a third-party drive, and you can always upgrade it to a larger capacity in the months and years ahead. On the other hand, the fact that Mvix went with the older IDE connection rather than the newer--and faster--Serial ATA format is a bit of a mystery.
Once you get that up and running, you'll probably want to configure it to connect to either your wired or wireless network. The directions in the manual look imposing for a wired network--we certainly didn't feel like installing network protocols from deep inside Windows XP's setup menus. Instead, we played dumb and just connected everything, and it worked without a hitch with our D-Link DI-624 router after setting the MX-760HD to look for the wired connection. Likewise, just following the onscreen prompts to log on to our Wi-Fi network worked fine as well. As far as home-networking chores go, it's pretty painless.
Before you set the Mvix MX-760HD in its permanent location, you'll also want to add files to the internal hard drive, if you're using one. This can be done only by using the USB connection to a computer. That's a significant annoyance that we ran into--we'd rather be able to transfer files to the hard drive using either the wired or wireless network connection, even if it proved slower. Mvix is promising a firmware upgrade to correct this, but like all promised firmware updates, we can't guarantee when or if it will actually happen.
Design
On the front of the player is a small LCD screen that can be used to navigate the player if the remote goes missing. Below that are a few status lights indicating which connections are active. Further down are some front-panel controls--including a navigation joystick--which do give you rudimentary control over the MX-760HD if the remote goes missing. However, the front-panel controls are pretty frustrating; when we pressed the joystick down once, it would randomly move the cursor down either one or two spaces. We were repeatedly skipping over the files we wanted and selecting the wrong ones when we got impatient. Just stick to the remote and you'll be fine.
The remote itself feels a little bit cheap, and the lack of button differentiation definitely makes it difficult to use by feel, but luckily it has none of the same issues the front-panel control has. If you're in a well-lit room, it works well enough but it's rough to navigate in the dark. We were frustrated by some button-placement issues, though. For instance, the Menu button is oft-used for DVDs, yet it's located very far from the main directional pad. As always, a nice universal remote will put this issue to rest.
Interface
When connected to a TV, you'll want to do your navigating via the onscreen interface using the remote. The interface itself is pretty utilitarian, but we've definitely seen worse. On the left hand, there's a navigation menu with five choices: movies, music, photo, mixed, and setup. Going into any of the media-specific categories will filter your digital files by type so that your video files won't show up when you're browsing your music files. Under mixed, all of your digital media files will show up, regardless of file type.
Making playlists is easy, although limited. If you're just looking to, say, put together a quick playlist for a party, you'll have no problem. Just highlight the song you want, click "add," and it will add it to your list. However, there's no ability to save playlists or the ability to change the order of songs once they're added. Not a problem if you're going to put it on random, but otherwise you'll need to select the files you want in order. There's also the Jukebox, which is basically a short-term playlist. Once the Jukebox mode is engaged, every time you select a file and press Enter, it will be added to the list of files that will be played. One major gripe we had with playing audio files is that fast-forward and rewind don't work.
Features
Digital video hounds will appreciate the long list of files that the Mvix MX-760HD supports. The high-def versions of the WMV, ASF, AVI, and MP4 formats each work fine. For standard-definition video, it supports DivX, Xvid, Mpeg, VCD, DVD (VOB, IFO, and ISO), WMV, ASF, TP, TS, and TRP files. We put it through our torture test of files, and it handled almost everything well, although we did notice it couldn't cope with any video file that used the increasingly popular H.264 (AVC) encoding format.
Audio file compatibility is solid as well. The MX-760HD can play MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, WAV, and AC3 files. That's pretty extensive, but digital music buyers will notice that it doesn't support any type of DRM--that means tracks purchased on iTunes, Rhapsody, or Napster, for example, can't be played on the MX-760HD. The iTunes compatibility will have to wait for Apple TV, while Rhapsody fans should check out the excellent Sonos Digital Music System--although it can't handle video. Besides DRM'd files, there's a very noticeable omission of all types of playlist file formats. We made playlists using MSU, WPL, and ASX formats, and none of them worked. This is a significant drawback, so heavy playlist creators should probably steer clear. The only other file format we would have liked is FLAC, which offers lossless audio quality as well as a being a good way to back up your CDs. It also has the ability to play full DTS and Dolby soundtracks and output--via its digital audio outputs--full surround soundtracks.
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