CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 10/22/2007
- Updated on: 06/09/2008
- Released on: 10/22/2007
Editors' Note: As of spring 2008, the Fanfare video service has been shuttered, and the TakeTV hardware will no longer be sold.
Once a niche category, there are more products now available that can stream downloadable digital video files from a PC to a TV than ever before--everything from Apple TV to Netgear Digital Entertainer HD to the Xbox 360, just to name a few. More often than not, however, they're either somewhat pricey (at least $300 or so) and usually involve some convoluted setup routine in order to get them working on your home network. Neither of those problems apply to the SanDisk Sansa TakeTV (which was originally called the "USB TV" when it debuted at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show). Basically just a USB flash drive with a video-out docking station, the TakeTV makes watching downloadable (or home-ripped) videos a plug-and-play affair--literally. And if you don't have a source for videos, SanDisk's got you covered on that end, too: Its new Fanfare service is an online store that offers similarly easy one-click purchase and downloads of current TV shows. The TakeTV is available in 4GB and 8GB flavors for $100 and $150, respectively.
About the size of the original (nonvideo) iPod Nano, the main module of the Sansa TakeTV is little more than a flash drive, complete with USB plug. Plug it into your PC (or Mac), and it'll self-install as just that. Once it does, you can drag and drop any one of three video file types--DivX, Xvid, or MPEG4--onto the TakeTV. Alternately, you can install the Fanfare application, which provides access to the aforementioned online video store (currently in beta). There, you can download episodes of TV shows from the likes of CBS and Showtime (current pricing: $2 for TV episodes, $5 for movies). Downloads go straight to the TakeTV, so it's a one-click operation--after you've signed up for the Fanfare account. One note: If your Windows PC isn't upgraded with Microsoft's full .Net framework, Fanfare installation will be drawn out with a few rounds of Windows install-and-restart follies. (SanDisk says it's working on a Mac version of the app.)
Once you've got all the videos you want on the unit, just unplug it from the PC and walk over to your TV. There, you'll have already plugged in the TakeTV "docking station"--a USB receptacle that has composite, S-Video, stereo audio outputs (and the requisite AC adapter as well). It's basically like a horizontally oriented iPod dock--which isn't bad, considering the alternative is yet another box taking up space under your TV. Connect it permanently to a free input on your TV or AV receiver, or--if you plan on taking it on the road often--opt for a quick and dirty hook-up to the front-panel inputs on the TV, VCR, or DVD recorder instead. (SanDisk hints that it may offer additional dock-only kits in the near future, so you could move your TakeTV among multiple TVs with even greater ease).
Flip to the correct input on your TV, and the TakeTV menu screen pops up as soon as it's docked. Use the included remote to scroll to your choice, click play, and you're good to go--any compatible file you've downloaded or transferred is available for viewing. Pause and slow-mo options are available, as are rewind and fast-forward. TakeTV includes a decent selection of aspect ratio control modes--such as letterbox and fill--so you shouldn't have any trouble watching shows as you prefer on a standard or widescreen TV. Moreover, NTSC and PAL video output is supported, so it should have no trouble connecting to TVs throughout the world.
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