$99 Network DVD Playback: Klegg MediaShare MEGA

[basementjack]

Klegg MediaShare Mega:

At Frys (USA) regular price $189, I've seen them on sale for $129, $139, and $99!

The marketing of this device is a bit off base - at Frys it was in the hard drive enclosure isle.
While it is possible to put a hard drive inside, it is not necessary to do so.

It can be used to play media files off the network.

Why would you want one?

- you have kids that scatter DVD's all over your house.
- you want a multi dvd changer with more capabilities
- you want to have one library you can watch from multiple locations.
- you want a small box you can take with you for the weekend with a bunch of movies on it.
- you want to play your MP3 music collection on your home theater
- you want to view your pictures on your tv

The klegg is pretty small, external power brick (small)
Video outputs:
DVI (can be used with HDMI with a $5 cable)
Component (3 RCA connectors)
S-Video
Composite (1 Yellow RCA Connector)

Audio Outputs:
Coax Digital (1 RCA Connector)
Optical Digital (1 toslink receptacle)
5.1 analog out (6 RCA Connectors)

USB connector:
1 B type

Network Connector:
1 Standard RJ45 receptacle

Wireless network:
Removable Antenna

Internal Hard drive connector:
SATA-Data
SATA-Power

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As Stated before, you don't need to add a hard drive to use it as a network player.


As a basic workflow, here's what needs to happen to watch a DVD on the Klegg.

You'll need a computer with software that can make a backup of a DVD you own.
The backup copy needs to make its way to the Klegg

I'll categorize and say that there are 4 ways the klegg can see your backup:
1) over a wired network (this works great)
2) off the internal hard drive
3) off an external USB hard drive
4) over a wireless network (this doesn't work well, but see the wireless section below)

Wireless network:
From what I've read, the Klegg can't do a good enough job of playing video over the wireless network.
However, the wireless network is still useful - if you combine it with an internal hard drive on the klegg (just add any PC SATA Hard drive ($45-$200))
the reason for this is that you can 'push' your movies to the Klegg over wireless - it will be slow - but they can copy overnight - once they are on the klegg hard drive - you can play them locally with no trouble at all.
The wireless network is probably also sufficient if you just want to play music through the Klegg.

How the Klegg connects to a PC over the network:
For media playback, the klegg is looking for standard shared folders from windows - there's no server/streamer application - it doesn't require media player, itunes, etc. There are some restrictions on the way the sharing has to be setup, the klegg appears to need guest account access, with no password set.
Additionally, the klegg must be able to browse the network to find the server, then browse to find the shared folder on the server. What this means is, there is no way to type in a server name or a folder name.
Also there are no parental controls of any kind.

As far as file support, the klegg will read dvd's that have been copied completely to an .iso file. This is the simplest way to go albeit it takes more space than other options. You can also copy the files from a DVD to a folder and the Klegg will read those. Either way, you'll be presented with the same menu you'd get if you put the DVD into a dvd player, and will have full access to special features, directors commentaries, subtitles etc...

The Klegg will play other file types too, .avi, h.264, Mpeg1,2,4, XviD DivX. Using these file types almost always means you need to learn a little about them - there's no guarantee that what is in them is actually playable by the Klegg - the reason for this is that unlike a typical word .doc file - where the file is always structured the same way, most of the media file formats evolved as containers for other file types called 'streams' There are dozens of different stream types for both audio and video- so there are hundreds of combinations of putting them together. I have only tried a few - I found one that worked and stuck to it. I can say that xvid files, with dolby digital surround soundtracks seem to work fine, so thats what I've used.

[eugovector]

Sounds very interesting, especially for $99. Seems to be related to the Mvix devices.

http://www.kleggusa.com/product_mediashare.html

Could you shoot an interface pic or video?

[basementjack]

I did some googling and came up with some additional info...

I expected that this device might be marketed under different names/brands so here's what I found:

In Korea http://www.sdt.co.kr/ I think it's under the Eureka product line.

Clicking on 'english' in the above site reveals: http://www.globalzio.com/

Right on the home page was a white version of our beloved 'Klegg' device...
Part number LX351HD

I also found a canadian Zio site at http://www.ziocanada.ca/ (Part LX350HD-N in canada)

this page should be interesting to anyone thinking of the product - this one looks a little different on the front, but klegg owners will no doubt recognize the back is exactly the same as our devices...

Hope these resources help everyone out!
- Jack