Design
The Mediagate 350HD is a small form factor media centre -- although it's not running Microsoft's Windows Media Center OS -- that comes in the form of a very small PC case -- think Mac Mini turned on its side and you'd be close. If you're familiar with Mediagate's product lines, the MG-350HD is encased in essentially the same casing as the MG-35, although that unit omits the wireless network capability of the MG-350HD. The sides of the case bear an embossed Mediagate logo on one side and the vent for the unit's hard drive (more on this later) on the other side. The front of the case has a five-way navigation selector above buttons for power and simple playback, which themselves sit above the power, network and hard disc activity lights. It's an unobtrusively small unit (57mm by 150mm by 185mm) that could be tucked into just about any corner, although it also comes with a PS2-style stand if you want to proudly show off your funky tech toy.
The rear of the MG-350HD houses USB host/slave connectors, DVI, S-Video, composite and component video sockets as well as optical and standard stereo output sockets. There's also a single 10/100 Ethernet port and an antennae mount for wireless networking. A wireless antenna is provided with the MG-350HD, but the standard socket means you could install a different antenna if it was needed.
While the MG-350HD offers plenty of visual oomph in its main casing, the same can't be said for the unit's remote control, which is of an ordinary visual design at best. There's no backlighting, and the dual nature of some of the buttons can be more than a tad confusing at first.
Features
The MG-350HD is primarily intended to be an entertainment hub for your video, music and picture files. The first challenge here is getting the files onto the unit; this can be done either via Ethernet or streamed via 802.11b wireless. The MG-350HD can also read media files directly off USB flash drives; our only caveat here is that the placement of the USB connector is quite near both the wireless antenna and DVI port, so some drives might find it a bit of a squeeze fitting in.
Once you've got your data over to the MG-350HD, there's the question of file type support. The MG-350HD natively supports MPG, MPEG, AVI, M2V, DAT, WM9 and VOB files -- so you could potentially dump entire unencoded DVDs onto the unit and they'd play back natively. There's also support inbuilt for a number of high-definition video formats, including HD MP2, MP4 and WMV9. Xvid is also supported, although GMC-encoded Xvid files won't play back. On the music side, MP3, WMA and Ogg Vorbis are supported, while the MG-350's picture capabilities encompass JPG, BMP, GIF and PNG files.
For a system that's highly dependant upon storage of media, there's one thing that you might find surprising about the Mediagate MG-350HD -- and that's the fact that the version distributed by Anyware comes sans any kind of hard drive. This is solidly a "roll it yourself" kind of solution; while that might give some consumers the willies, it's a great way for the technically adept to create a media centre with just the right amount of storage for their needs, whether that's a smaller 80GB drive, or a massive 1TB monster. The downside is, of course, that you'll have to factor in the cost of an additional hard drive into the overall cost of the unit itself -- or use an old drive if you've got one lying about. Our review sample came direct from distributors Anyware with a hard drive preinstalled, and it's not too hard to imagine resellers doing the same thing with sample units, so those afraid of internal PC tinkering shouldn't be too frightened by it.
Performance
The MG350-HD's interface is quite basic, and while that makes it easy to discern, it's not particularly pretty to look at, especially compared to the slick interfaces on similar-style units such as the Zensonic Z500. Still, it works and it doesn't take an advanced degree in hyperbolic topology to get it all to run, which is a good thing. Our test unit was touch slow to boot up, although it's unclear if that was a function of the test hard drive that we were supplied with, or just the unit itself.
We tested the MG-350HD with a variety of digital media streaming directly from a wireless network, from a wired network and from a number of USB flash and hard disk based devices. It's worth noting that the MG-350HD doesn't have the best visual interface for matters such as setting up wireless networking, and it took us some serious fiddling to get around the issue of encryption keys, as the unit uses an SMS-style key entry for password protection. Once we had wireless up and running, we had no complaints with the MG-350HD's performance, although clearly this is something that could vary quite widely depending on your wireless network quality. Wired connections were even better, as you'd expect. In either case, you'll find yourself facing a simple interface that lists your shared folders and allows you to simply browse them for the media you'd like to stream.
While we couldn't complain about playback quality from our selection of USB drives, we were somewhat annoyed by the fact that there's no simple way to copy files from a USB storage device direct to the MG-350HD. This is irksome primarily because the unit takes longer to decode and begin initial playback of files from USB devices than it does from either wireless/wired or its own hard drive.
The MG-350HD scores well with us for its good range of supported files and simple interface. Admittedly, you've got to factor in the cost of a hard drive if you want to store data on the unit itself, but given the asking price, which is still below that of most brand-name hard disk recorders -- and even most of the off-the-shelf lower brand alternatives -- we think it's a very good buy indeed.
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Bourne
02/07/2008, 02:53 PM
rating
8/10
When i bought this device my many friends don't like this and say to me that i exchange it with any other. But for some reason i can't exchanged it. I use it. Its function and performance is great. I decorate my all room place the speaker stands on side wide. Its remote control is junky. I hear about universal remote controls but its not working on MG-350HD. If any person face any problem with its remote control so i prefer philips universal remotes. These are compatible with this MG-350HD.
Pros: Excellent GUI.
Zippy performance.
Excellent clarity.
Cons: High frequency bias.
No auto speaker calibration.
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mexiwi
14/06/2008, 08:46 PM
rating
8/10
I just bought my second one after the first died - power supply failure.
Works great - just don't put a drive in as anecdotal evidence says the power supply can't handle a drive as well - just as easy to stream anyway.
Pros: Easy streaming over network
Cons: They do die.
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muppet
27/05/2008, 02:04 PM
rating
7/10
I've been using the Mediagate 350 for nearly a year now.
It's an excellent entry level model for those who want to make the move from computer-based viewing to TV-based viewing.
Having said that, the initial set-up was so difficult that I'd seriously question the viability of the wireless model. The MG35, which doesn't feature wireless, may be a better option.
The MG350 gives me wireless write speeds (using an iMac) of around 1.6MB/sec. This isn't great, but if you're transferring files direct from the internet, this may be fast enough. I haven't tried direct streaming though.
The MG350 is a good alternative to Apple TV due to its price and ability to play a wide range of formats, though big points off for usability.
Pros: * Cheap
* Easy to use - once set up
* Works well on a Mac
* HD easy to upgrade
Cons: * Initial set-up difficult - wireless can find it difficult to get round firewalls
* Power consumption in standby mode is extreme (uses only 30% less power in standby compared to 'on' mode)
* Lame remote
* Not great for music playback
* Manual and online support poor.
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Rudy
07/05/2008, 03:17 PM
rating
8/10
I have had this device for about 1.5 years and never regretted its purchase since. I have bought 2 since one for each of my bros and they love it.
Pros: Plays heaps of formats easy to use and setup.
Cons: Can't play mov files. Some files as large as 2GB have skipping and hanging issue if you fast forward or rewind.
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Alfred Davey
07/05/2008, 11:31 AM
rating
4/10
Plasy about 70% of files. Very frustaing. Home video footage from my camera wont play on it (one of main reasons bought it for). My mate has an old x-box which plays every single file - inlcuding those that dont work on mine. Frustrating thing is some .avi files work and some dont??
Had 3 IT guys try to hook up wirelessly and even via ethernet over power to my PC. Each way ceases to work after hours/days with no explanation as to why. You can not plug in a flashdrive to the USB port and transfer footage onto it either. You have to connect it to the PC. So if a mate gives me a movie on my flashdrive I have to copy to the PC and then do a second transfer to the mediagate.
Pros: Would be great if it played the general range of files it needed too - and if it could stay linked to my PC - wirless I could understand dropping out - but ethernet over power??? Cmon
Cons: Problems with many files not playing - and when it hits a file it cant play it locks up and needs rebooting.
Very hard to set up - and once set up doesnt stay set up. I have to unplug and carry upstairs everytime I want to transfer a file.
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shecky
13/04/2008, 08:28 PM
rating
10/10
I've had mine for over a year now and absolutely love it. There has been a firmware update every coupla months since it was released and the updates really do fix problems and add useful features. The latest firmware solves my only beef with the unit: You can finally search through other folders while listening to music! so simple yet overlooked for so long, thank you mediagate!
Pros: you can use a jumpdrive to transfer media from your pc to the mediagate (though you can't copy from one - yet), streaming from a usb device is instantaneous never been a problem, unlike...
Cons: ...the wireless functionality. I had no problems setting up my network and getting everything going, I just fail to see the point. Its just not very fast, nowhere near as fast as usb2 and a flash drive.
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Ken from Canada
19/03/2008, 06:10 PM
rating
9/10
I have owned MG-350HD for 4 months. I must say this is the #1 coolest electronic device I've ever owned! Very happy with the unit though there are a few things on my wishlist for the next generation. There is no other product like it on the market at this time that can compare.
I have it connected to my home network so I can download content from the internet and play back thru my TV and 5.1 surround system. Video and sound quality are outstanding. Videophiles will appreciate that picture brightness, contrast and saturation levels can be set from the remote without adjusting the TV. My VCR and DVD player are now gone! I record TV on my PC with a capture card and stream playback thru this unit. It makes playing back downloaded AVI files easy without burning to disk or converting format. Easy interface- remote is "toyish" but functional- and certainly better than some cheapo import DVD player remotes. I can store my mp3's on the HDD or stream them from my PC to playback thru my surround system. Zoom function works great allowing any size original to fill the screen. Screensaver prevents burn in while playing back music.
Pros: HD 1080 Connectivity (DVI, Component) Digital Audio
Supports HDD onboard- mediagate claims tested to 750GB but may support more. Also has USB port for thumbdrive and PC connectivity so feasibly you could connect an external HDD though I haven't tried this.
Download and playback all kinds of content without converting or burning to disk.
MG-450HD is now available and supports HDMI -seems otherwise to be the same.
Cons: While the unit has handled every video format I've thrown at it I understand some users with newer formats are finding those files not supported. (I've not come across those formats so I guess they're not mainstream.)
The firmware allows users to construct and playback playlists (useful for music/photos) however constructing the playlists is time consuming and must be completed prior to beginning playback- you can't playback and browse files at the same time. Plus once you leave the playlist its gone forever. Unit doesn't seem to support m3u or PLS playlists though I did read somewhere on the internet that it can be done- I doubt it can be done.
Most of the bugs in the firmware have been ironed out with the latest firmware release and the manufacturer will likely keep the upgrades coming as often as practicable. Hopefully they'll add m3u support and this thing'll be perfect.
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supermousepad
05/03/2008, 10:14 AM
rating
9/10
Best thing since slice bread.
Pros: - movies at the drop of a hat
Cons: - remote sux, i have to pull the small led battery tray out a little to make it work.
- Networking over VISA sux, used to work fine on Xp till i upgraded.
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analogik
20/02/2008, 01:26 AM
rating
7/10
Just bought a 450 with 1Tb SATA HDD. HDMI is now included but still unable to copy from USB drive. FTP server setup took some experimentation but it works fine. Wireless setup is reasonably easy for an advanced user, although it was unclear as to how exactly samba sharing is supposed to work.
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MRFU2
02/02/2008, 03:04 PM
rating
9/10
i love my mediagate
Pros: everything works great
Cons: cant get it to work with Vista....
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