Customer Reviews

Trekstor MovieStation Maxi t.u (88550) 500 GB Multi-Media SATA Hard Drive

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have really mixed feelings about this unit. On the plus side, it is well made (built like a rock, and weighs about as much), the set-up went smoothly, and the quality of the video on my 52 inch HD is excellent. On the minus side, it does not play wmv of mpeg4 format files (which are the most common formats I have) without first being converted to avi or xvid. The conversion is a nuisance and, at least so far, results in a dramatic reduction in the quality of the image. (Perhaps there are format conversion techniques that do not result in video quality reduction, but so far I have not been able to find them.) The users manual is so brief and at places crypic as to be pretty much useless. Although the remote control works for basic functions such as start, stop, and forward/rewind (except inexplicably the FF does not work on my larger avi files, 700 MB or more) only a few buttons are actualy functional. The rest seem to be there for some other unit for which the remote was designed. I contacted Trekstor tedhical support about the file format problems and received a prompt but terse reply, basically telling me that I needed to convert file formats that were not supported by the unit, reminding me that the user's manual stated that not all formats were supported, and finally indicating that other file formats never would be supported. Also, I have not been able to get the unit to play copies of DVDs, although the users manual says that DVD formats are supported. To be fair I have not tried very hard so far to play DVD copies, but even if it is possible clearly it is not straightforward. In sum: despite the limitations I have decided to keep the unit but I am by no means completely satisfied. So two stars is all I can give it.

We are looking at the future, where all digital media will be stored in one device to be played back on one system! This HD is great for playing back my downloaded movies, pictures, music, so I am happy with it, havent run into a format it doesnt support, Movies look great in HD on my 50 inch plasma, a great buy as far as Im concerned!

I want to start out saying that there are some things that one will buy in their lifetime that everytime they use them or when the time arises, you say "god, i am so glad I got this when I did!" Well that product just so happens to be my TrekStor! I love this little thing! There are some downsides, like the fact that not all fideo formats aren't supported....but come on now, look at how many different types of formats there are... At any rate, with a little background knowledge, some computer skill, this device is perfect. I bought this while deployed to Iraq, and it was a huge hit! At the same time, comming home and sitting down with the family, we needed something to do...ta da! 700 movies all in one device that hooked up to the family tv! another big hit! It is now a "must take" when me, the wife, and the son travel, just in case there is nothing to do, we can always plug it in and its an instant "family movie night" its absolutly awesome. Now, we are planning on getting two more of them for our parents, I see that the model I have isn't there any more (MovieStation Maxi t.u) but I have been looking at the MovieStation Maxi t.uc, and I am impressed, it has all the options that I have in my current one and more. I am going to purchase and I have high hopes.

I title this review good product, and not excellent product. There are reasons for it.

First, if you are considering an external hard drive that doesn't connect to a TV, you need to spend about $100 to $150. For extra $40, you are getting the connectivity, assuming 500 GB for our discussion. 500 GB is a lot of space for back up storage.

Second, the function is the simplest it can get. I connect the line into my laptop and TV. I am in business. I just have to drag file into the external drive.

Here is the shortfall, it doesn't support mpeg4.

But I just looking for something that can back up my family photo and video. So I am happy with the moviestation. I left it connect to my TV. I just play the photo or video without have to access my laptop.

Say you have been shooting video of your kids or of family vacations (I use a Sony DVD camcorder). Say you load your videos onto a computer and edit them with a program like Sony's Vegas Movie Studio. Then you probably burn them to DVD. How else to watch them on your big TV? Not only is DVD creation an extra tedious step, but now you have a bunch of DVDs getting misplaced, acquiring dirty fingerprints, and so on. The Trekstor MovieStation provides a simple solution. It is basically an external hard drive with video and audio outs. It connects to a computer through a USB cable just like an external hard drive, does not require any new or clunky proprietary software and supports folder creation just as any hard drive would. I take my .mpeg2 format videos (it supports many other formats as well; check the website) and drag and drop them to the device. You can arrange you videos into folders, group photo files separately, etc. Now you connect the device to your TV (it has component and composite video outs) and the magic happens. On the TV screen you see a menu of the folders you created and the files you copied. Use the remote to page to the file you want and press play. That's it! All your movies are on one device! It even supports playlists and when one video is finished it will automatically go on to play the next one in the folder. For folders of photo files, there is a slideshow function that will show all the photos in sequence. Life is so much simpler and the odds of actually watching your videos, no matter how old, dramatically increase.

The device is not perfect. The remote control is a generic unit that has been adapted to this device and is a little non-intuitive. The Trekstor MovieStation supports HD upto 1080i through component (red, green, blue; YPbPr) but not HDMI outputs. The biggest issue is that it does not support networking and must be detached from the TV, carried over to the computer, connected by USB, well you get the idea. On reflection though, this is OK. The device is small, compact and easy to move. Most people do not have an Ethernet connection near their TV anyway, which means they would need wireless networking. The home wireless networking of devices from different manufacturers with the goal of moving huge video files is an exercise in guerilla warfare that I have experienced, and am not enthusiastic about. The Trekstor suits my needs.

This is my second MovieStation. It is an awesome product. Only complaint is the box arrives with seal broken. Everything was there and no damage was noted. Thanks

Thank God companies like Trekstor started making these media players. I bought the 500 gig moviestation recently and just got rid of all my DVD's! There aren't many of these products out there and this is one of the better ones. It has all the bells and whistles, no PC needed and a great on-screen interface. But I have to be honest: the fact that it's made in Germany was the tipping point for me. These guys know how to engineer durable, high-performance stuff.