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Feedback from the trenches is that the Eee does just fine with media playback. In this case, Charlie and Lola ripped in glorious full-definition using k9copy under Linux then transferred to the 8GB SD card for use by the field agent in question. Snakes on a plane? Hell, no! This is macaroni and video!

Two almost-4GB ISO images fit neatly onto the storage device in question and provide at least three hours of audio visual enjoyment with the Eee‘s battery fully charged.

Note to dad: make sure that SD card is formatted NTFS (for compatibility) and not FAT32. You do want to copy files larger than 4GB, don’t you?

In the endless pursuit of getting disk-based media to play back easily and seamlessly, I recently found the Mvix line of products. There’s nothing fancy about these: basically little more than a standard IDE hard drive with some firmware. The model I selected is the MV-5000U, featuring an LCD display and a ton of output jacks on the rear-end. The package also includes a stand, remote control, AV cable, power brick, USB cable, carry bag, driver CD and a manual. The hard drive is not included and should not exceed 400GB in size. I settled on a speedy Hitachi 320GB.

The MV-5000U is roughly 20cm in height and less than 6cm wide. With an attractive silver finish, it fits into most home entertainment setups. The front features the LCD display for basic status information, a couple of LED’s in various colours, some buttons and the IR sensor.

First things first. Slide the locking latch to the unlock position. This is on the underside of the unit. Then, gently slide the side panel down to reveal the insides of the MV-5000U. There’s little to see: an empty drive bay with power and IDE cables. Two thumbscrews make the installation of the drive very simple indeed once the cables have been connected. Make sure to have the drive jumpers set to Master, normally the factory setting. That’s it. Slide the cover back on and latch to the lock position.
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I’ve had some time to properly test the iMON VFD over the past two months. It has completed my media PC and is generally very useful. Here’s a brief rundown on this pretty nifty addition to any media PC.

The iMON VFD is boxed with all necessary parts included. The package contains the VFD unit itself, a remote control with batteries, a cable to plug the VFD between the power supply and motherboard and a USB connection cable. A driver disk is included, as is a printed guide for cabling the whole thing up properly. The computer you’ll be installing this unit into will require a 20 or 24 pin power header on the motherboard (more on that later), a free 3.5″ drive bay for the installation of the VFD unit and a spare USB connection (either externally or as a header pin on the motherboard).

My media PC is based on a VIA Mini-ITX board. This board has a 20 pin power header. The standard for ATX motherboards is a 24 pin power connector. Whatever you read, don’t panic about this aspect of the installation. I did, being dumb enough not to open the case and have an actual look at what is really under hood. The supplied 24 pin connector slides apart, providing a 20 pin and seperate 4 pin connector. So you should be covered (provided you have an ATX PC)! The printed connection diagram requires some studying. I would not recommend the installation of the iMON VFD if you have never dug around the innards of your PC.

The case I am using is pretty cramped, making the installation of the iMON VFD a pretty frustrating affair. I elected to connect the USB cable directly onto the motherboard, trying to remember the sequence of wires and their colours. The connection of the power cable from the VFD to the motherboard is relatively simple, then connect the power switch to the VFD and its cable to the motherboard. Easy – no?

One important thing to remember: as with most USB devices, the software has to be installed prior to the actual device being connected. I had to be sure not to close the case and load up the software in my eagerness to get this done! Unplug the USB connection, start up the computer and install the software from the CD. After that, shutdown, reconnect the USB cable and close everything up. My media PC now looks something like this:

Batteries for the remote control unit are included. It’s an easy matter to install them. The remote control does seem to be a bit cluttered. The round cursor control button does not always offer adequate tactile feedback, so one tends to press the button more than once. A bit of practice is needed to get the feel for its operation.

The software provided with my unit was very old – I realized this once I started using it and various things weren’t working as expected. In particular, the media scanner constantly lost all information as to the location of my media files, causing lengthy scanning cycles. A download of the new software from Soundgraph and a new installation was necessary. The change in interface is quite dramatic! At least the scanning issues were resolved and the software made a more solid impression. Various settings can be made to change what the VFD displays – this ranges from weather reports to Email notifications.

If a specific display is required, this can be set or the unit can be requested to cycle through a variety of information.

I was disappointed by the initial software installation. The functionality and control over the loaded media was reasonable, but the software seemed to forget where all the media had been stored every now and then. I had to download the latest software release to fix these issues. Once the media has been loaded onto the PC, iMON is able to search for it. I prefer to organize my files manually. In this case, it is necessary to tell the software where to find music, movies and photos:

iMON builds its own internal database of media-related information. A scan of the media is necessary. Depending on the amount of data to be indexed, this can be a lengthy process. The software is intelligent enough to recognize the addition of new media content.

Once the media has been indexed, sit back and enjoy! The remote control is able to switch the PC on and off. Select the desired media…

and play…

If required, the remote control is able to emulate mouse operations. I’d use this only in extreme circumstances! Overall, an excellent product that has added a lot of convenience to my media PC. In some later post I’ll give an overview of what I’ve used to build the media PC itself.

Note to self: in future, check the actual motherboard before making statements that aren’t true! Yes, the EPIA M10000 does have a 20 pin ATX power connector. Yes, the iMON comes with a 24 pin cable. Yes, you can fit the 20 pins on that cable into the motherboard! So: no converter needed!

I’ll put up a more detailed review of the iMON soon. In the meantime, I managed to install the hardware, fire up the software and start watching some episodes of Lost last night. So far, I’m impressed.

This is the piece of kit that will make my media PC complete! A VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) with integrated volume control and power button, IR remote control and media management software.

First hitch during the hardware installation: my ITX motherboard and power supply connector are standard 20 pin ATX. The iMON VFD uses an enhanced ATX 24 pin connector. So I’ll need to get a converter before trying this out…