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gadget — Episode 057 – Sansa TakeTV
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Want a no-hassle way to view videos from the web? Tired of “no-brainer” multimedia products that are unusable by anyone who doesn’t have advanced knowledge of TVs, monitors, protocols and network equipment? Are you looking for that super-simple solution for getting video off your computer and on to your TV? If so… then Sandisk may have the answer for you in their Sansa TakeTV! The Sansa TakeTV is a stand-alone portable video playing unit that comes with 4 or 8 GB of onboard memory. It’s compatible with Mac OS, Windows, Linux, and just about any operating system that can recognize USB storage devices. The TakeTV supports DivX and xVid MPEG-4 formats and can display files with a resolution up to 720×576 and a bitrate of up to 7Mbps. In other words, it can display the most commonly shared Internet video formats at or above their native resolutions. The Take TV is actually comprised of three devices: the storage unit, the dock and the remote control. When away from the dock, the storage device can be coupled with the remote to give both units a modicum of protection and to make sure that your pieces don’t wander way. The dock provides power to the TakeTV while also giving you RCA audio leads as well as both TheTakeTV supports subtitles and both NTSC and PAL video formats, giving the unit some added flexibility. Using the TakeTV is unbelievably easy. Plug the TakeTV into one of your computer’s USB ports. To your OS, the TakeTV looks like any ordinary Flash drive and you can move files onto and off of the device just as easily. |
| Once you’ve loaded up your TakeTV with the videos you want to watch, you dock the TakeTV with its cradle and turn it on.
Navigate the menu with the remote control, select the video you want to watch, and enjoy. It’s really that simple. The setup menu on the TakeTV is deliberately sparse so as not to make the user experience overly complicated. Pressing the Setup button on the remote will allow you to change the video aspect ratio between 4:3 and 16:9, config the unit to display in Fill/Original/Letterbox or Pan and Scan modes, Toggle the TakeTV between NTSC and PAL formats, change subtitle settings, and check your DivX Video-On-Demand code. Video and audio quality with the TakeTV was quite good. We tested the unit with a few episodes of Pure Pwnage, Diggnation, DL.TV, and just a few movies that we had backed up from our own personal collections. Not once did the video freeze or skip, the audio stutter or the playback otherwise get marred. The device even passed the acid test for ease-of-use: We gave the TakeTV to one of our “elders” asked her to load and play one of the videos from the laptop we gave her, then sat back and watched as she figured it all out within minutes. The Sandisk Sansa TakeTV is available NOW. The 4GB version will cost between $90-$100 and the 8GB version should top out at ~$150. |
