Tech Review: Mede8er MED500X2

Contributing Blogger: Nonoy Floresca of http://trailsunlimited.blogspot.com

There are two types of home entertainment enthusiasts that will appreciate Mede8er MED500X2. One is the multi-media tech savvy who will be able to decipher and fully understand all the techie jargons; and the other is a person who can’t even tell the difference between RAM from ROM but who simply loves to watch and experience high quality definition movies right in the comfort of his own home. In addition, he probably has extra money to splurge on the latest and cutting edge home entertainment equipment.

This review of Mede8er MED500X2 is presented to cater to the understanding and appreciation of both tech savvy and non-tech savvy individuals alike. In the best of my ability, I will try to interpret and share these tech-jargons in their simplest forms in the hope that readers, techie or not, will find delight in reading them.

MED500X2 is the latest innovation of Mede8er, the leading brand in high end multimedia player technology. To better appreciate this new product, the following are the detailed specs and features found in the Mede8er website with my “deciphered” interpretations:

1. The MED500X2 has been designed for good solid media playback from a hard drive, USB device, SD Card, Internet, or Local Network source. It is equipped with advanced features like Fast Gigabit Port and Super Fast USB 3.0 Slave port and is upgrade-ready for the fast PCIe WiFi kit that will be available as an optional aftermarket upgrade kit. The Mede8er fully supports the very latest video codecs such as MKV-H264, BDMV, BDISO, and M2TS for seamless playback of all supported media files. You can now pass full HD Audio streams via HDMI to your amplifier for a full 7.1 surround sound experience.

Still finding it hard to understand? Here’s an even simplified version:

• The Mede8er MED500X2 is a control friendly media player where you can easily play back movies without the long pauses or “hanging” that you normally experience from a conventional multi-media player.
• The MED500X2 can accommodate advanced ports much similar to the port where you insert your regular memory stick on the side of your laptop. It also means this equipment is adaptable to almost any type of media source.
• Codec stands for “coder-decoder” and since video files come in different formats like, MPEG, DivX, MKV, H264, BDMV, etc., the MED500X2 was made to adapt and read every single one of them for your viewing pleasure.
• HDMI stands for High Definition Multi-media Interface. This is the connector that delivers digital audio/video information. All other connections like co-axial (the cable at the back of your TV where you get TV signals from cable a company), D-terminal, and S-video connectors are analog and will not provide a full HD output. Thus, to enjoy full HD viewing pleasure, you have to have an HD source like the MED500X2 via HDMI. You just connect this to an amplifier for the sounds and to an HD TV (LCD, Plasma or LED) for the images to get the ultimate HD experience.

2. The MED500X2 internal hard drive capacity can hold up to 3TB (SATA2) of data.

• This means it has a memory capacity of 3TB or 3 Terabytes. That’s 3000 gigabytes of data storage capability! In more tangible terms, one terabyte is equal to 128 DVD movies or 20 Blue Ray movies. The SATA2 simply means Serial Advance Technology Attachment. It’s a type of hardware or hard drive.

3.  Hard Drive spin down function

• A modern hard drive spins up to 7,200 rpm (revolutions per minute). When not in use or during standby mode, MED500X2’s hard drive has the ability to automatically spin-down to conserve energy as well as wear and tear. After all, inside these hard drives are mechanical moving objects.

4. Built-in view manager in five levels and has a special feature to pick your favorites

• The MED500X2 can display your movie list like a menu in five different levels or ways. It can be viewed as window icons or thumb-nails so you can view short clips of the movies stored in your hard drive; or it can be displayed in a folder type form. There’s also a “favorites” manager that allows you to pick certain movies from different folders and view them on the screen as a separate display.

5. Movie XML Med data with alpha search capability in X2’s Media library

• Another special feature of the MED500X2 is the link feature to Movie XML. It is a website where additional information about a certain movie is downloaded to the MED500X2’s media library. There, you’ll find information such as movie statistics, ratings, box office revenue, etc.

• MED500X2 furthermore allows you to navigate and perform quick searches of certain details about the movie stored in your media library.

6. Internet media streams and social media with built in web browser

• This allows you access videos via YouTube or an internet television with much faster streaming or loading. The MED500X2 furthermore enables you to access social media networks like Facebook or Twitter using a provisional keyboard attachment to make surfing the net easier and much faster.

7. Mac FHS+ compatible

• The MED500X2 is adaptable to the MAC operating system. Mac FHS+ stands for Macintosh File Hierarchical System.

8. Video wall with full metadata search, parental control and watched indicator

• This particular feature of the MED500X2 allows the user to search for a more specific context of a data file or a movie (for instance, if a movie is rated PG), or even more specific contents of a movie. A user can even lock and unlock certain movies or folders for parental control. It also allows users to isolate movies they already watched.

9. Network – Ethernet 10/100/1000* Mbps port ,Optional Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n up to 300Mbps), Optional PCIe Wi-Fi * and  Internet Radio (SHOUTcast)

• The MED500X2 has several ports for internet source. Either through Local Area Network (LAN) or through wireless fidelity (most commonly known as WiFi). Through Ethernet or LAN, loading speed can be up to 3000 mbps or megabytes per second. Through WiFi, loading speed can run up to 1000 mbps.

10. Samba server – NAS storage

• It is a free-software for storing files compatible to Microsoft Windows users for NAS or Network Attached Storage. This is a data access storage that can be accessed by multiple computers.

11. Photo grid picture view and photo slide show with background music. Accessible through SD card slot or Sony Pro Duo Card slot.

• Photo grid viewer is an image viewer that allows you to view several pictures at one time in thumbnail sizes. On the side are folders of pictures where a user can pinpoint a particular folder to view. The SD card port or slot is very much the same as the one you use in a digital camera.

12. Subtitle: SRT, SSA, SUB, SMI format

• These are subtitle formats of movies. The MED500X2 has the ability to read all of them.

13. Plasma mode – Prevent screen burn in

• Screen burn in only happens to plasma screens or other phosphorus material screens like tube rear projection. If the user’s TV is the latest LCD or DLP, burn in will not occur because it only happens when a particular video size is too small to fit a bigger screen and results to black vertical bars on both side of the screen. Nevertheless, if a user’s TV is a plasma, the MED500X2 has the ability to adjust the brightness of lighted areas of the screen to prevent burn in.

Here are more specifications you may want to know like the MED500X2 processor is Realtek 1185-256MB SPi flash with DDR2 SDRAM. The MED500X2 is housed in a sturdy black matte aluminum alloy metal casing which guarantees durability and light-weightiness. But then again, I would prefer to spare the non-tech readers the “nose-bleeding” jargons that describe other features of the MED500X2.

For some, they may simply accept that all these features simply show that the product is that powerful and amazing enough to comprehend each and every techie detail. When it comes to its style and looks, the MED500X2 is so compact that it comes with a stylish carrying bag for portability. Bring it and hook it up to a friend’s entertainment system when you come visit then let him drool in envy all day long.

If you are a multi-media entertainment aficionado who has experienced using other brands, I’d bet it won’t take too long before you’ll become generous and give your old equipment to a friend because you’ll be rewarding yourself for being such a nice guy by getting a new Mede8er Med500X2 .