Iomega ScreenPlay: Mobile movie machine

By Guy Cocker on 24 November 2005, 11:26am

Portable hard drives -- duller than a caravan holiday in Bognor, it has to be said. Which is why the Iomega ScreenPlay is the first one to register on our radar since the Mvisto pocket DivX player. Movie enjoyment is a simple three-step programme with the ScreenPlay -- plug it into your computer, transfer your DivX movies and then watch them all back on your TV downstairs.

We're sure a certain projector manufacturer would have something to say about the ScreenPlay name, but the hard drive is a funky piece of computer equipment. The unit itself is tiny, with the silver chassis housing a 60GB laptop hard drive, and the package comes with S-video/composite video lead, Scart adaptor, power lead, USB cable and remote control. You don't actually need the remote -- there are buttons on the hard drive itself, but we found navigation slow and confusing. We like the way you get previews of the show when you hover over the video though, and the fact that it will play MP3 music and JPEG photos when you get bored of all your archived Simpsons episodes.

You need to plug the unit into the wall when you're watching video on your TV, but it's powered directly from USB on your computer. On our gorgeous Panasonic LCD, onlookers said that a recent episode of Peep Show looked as good as the original broadcast -- a testament to both the TV and the ScreenPlay. It's available now for around £130. -GC