LG XF1 Multimedia External Hard Drive
An aesthetically pleasing form factor is as important as a variable format support, for a portable External Hard Drive. LG had launched its first mobile multimedia hard drive which is tagged as XF1. External USB Hard Drives are handy and are of great help for transferring music, movies and photographs back and forth, but LG XF1 adds one better point by squashing in media player potentialities also.
Design:
The LG’s first mobile hard drive measures 20.8mm in thickness. LG XF1500GB External Hard Drive is blessed with a splendid glossy black finish and smooth curves. The XF1’s sleeky mirror finish is making it more eye grabbing design.
Design compared to Other Models in Market:
The most beautiful effect of XF1 is increased by its upper curve. The navigation buttons, the camera menu button and stop button are also placed in the upper section. The buttons are very sensitive, that just the touch of your finger makes them react. The buttons are also back lighted in blue colour.
Rear End Connections:
You will find a HDMI connector, a power plug, a composite AV output and a mini USB jack on the back. Dissimilar to WD TV HD, the LG Drive bears on-board touch sensitive buttons for navigation when you forget to bring remote along with you. Sound and Video codec compatibility is not very grotty. Including OGG Vobis and AC3 for audio and the deficiency of H.264, WMV and MKV is really backdrop of XF1, even though it can playback MPEG-2, DivX and MPEG-4 in HD resolutions, up to 1080i. If you choose Lacie Rugged Hard Drive, the LG drive will be battling an acclivitous conflict if the mistake is not amended by them.
Retains Jaunty Design of LG:
Continuing LG’s jaunty design, the navigation through the menus is done by the small remote included in the pack or through the touch sensitive buttons present on the device’s front edge. The on-screen interface is a clean and unadulterated.
USB 2.0 Connection:
Raw data is transferred at high speeds because of the advanced USB interface. It is also compatible with USB versions 2.0 and 1.1.
Snappy LG XF1External Hard Drive:
For a generous media collection and transferring files very easily, just like dragging and dropping music, video, photo and audio files using Windows Explorer, the internal 500GB drive furnishes adequate storage. The transfers are very snappy too.
Outflanking Plextor MediaX PX-MPM320U:
When it comes to the point of looks and support for some of the HD media files, LG XF1Portable Hard Drive may outflank the Plextor MediaX PX-MPM320U, but it is a disappointing shade of the new LG model.
HDMI Single Cable Connection:
Plextor has to be connected with a Component output to connect HDMI to compatible TV’s and projectors where as LG XF1 can do it just with single cable connection. However the new device makes it more appealing with its simplicity in use and ability to up scale standard definition video. Internally it has a 500GB and Codec Decoder which reads particularly FAT32 and NTFS. In result, it is not as Mac-friendly as anyone would expect.
Performance:
Read & Write Speed:
The LG XF1 External Drive reads and writes small files at speeds of 23MB/sec and 15MB/sec, whilst large files are read and written at even more speed such as 30MB/sec and 27MB/sec respectively. The speeds of transfer the device offers keeps it significantly in advance of its rival, the Plextor MediaX PX- MPM320U.
Video Supported Files of XF1:
Though you can play the DVDs that are ripped into a folder on the drive, there is a limitation on the video support to files encoded in DivX, XviD and MPEG1, 2 and 4 formats. As the common DVD menus remain integrated, if the user have the patience to copy all their DVDs to the first place, LG gives you an extremely attractive compact travel support.
Breaking Copyright Issues:
If the DVD bears the copyright issues, first you will definitely need to approach a third party software of dubitable legality to copy the DVDs and strip of the protection offered by copyright.
Audio Supported File Formats:
The XF1EHD from LG traversing formats like MP3, WMA, OGG, AAC and WAV does an excellent job in providing impressive audio support. But there is a limitation on photos formats to JPEG and bitmap flavours.
Drawbacks of the New Design:
Common to any new device, LG Drive also holds its on complaints. Similar to Plextor’s MediaX PX-MPM320U the new XF1 also does not support WMV and there is a lack of progressively famed MKV container which is putting it down. Even though the high definition video of 1080p is downscaled to 720p or 1080i, the XF1 denies to playback it.
Detectable Gleaming Edges:
Though the 1080i files are played easily without any complaint, the poor de- interlacing leaving detectable gleaming around the edges of on-screen objects says the quality is to be still improved. As a matter of fact the video quality was just average, and the test files played look detectably soft and unclear.
Letting down factors of the Remote:
The sulky, now and then illogical interface and less sensitive buttons drawing it far from ideal individuals makes it sure that exasperation shortly kicks in. Even the remote makes us to be worried, because of its lack of committed shipping buttons for play/pause, fast forward/rewind and hopping between audio tracks.
Hot To Touch:
The LG XF1 gets very hot to touch, becoming its last groan. The warnings encrypted in the quick start guide like “Do not use the product for a long time without cooling it down” or “DO NOT PLACE THIS PRODUCT WHERE IT CAN BE REACHED BY CHILDREN. THE PRODUCT MAY GET HOT WHILE WORKING. IT MAY RESULT IN BURNS,” evokes the user to be certainly worried as it is designed to play feature length movie.
When Connected to A Computer:
The LG XF1 actually comes in two sizes such as 520GB and 500GB. When the 500GB drive is connected to the computer to test the capacity, to our surprise only 465GB is available in Windows. However, it is instantly recognised by the operating system.
Key Features of XF1:
Full HDMI connectivity, supports MPEG 1/2/4, AVI (MPEG4, Xvid), MOV (MPEG4), 500GB storage capacity, play and play USB connectivity, great looking ultra-portable design, Attractive mirror finish, the benefits of High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and high resolution are some of the key features of the bluray disc player.
Power Consumption:
The LG XF1 multimedia drive consumes less than 5 watts in standby. It consumes around 6 watts in browse mode. We should also appreciate the small appetite of the new model, which just consumes 9 watts in audio playback, photo or video more generally when selected from different options.
Package Particulars:
The package of the new model comes in a cardboard box making it look classic, which includes XF1 external hard drive, AV cable (phone jack type), USB cable (Y type), Installation CD, Remote Control and Quick guide.
Warranty Information:
The LG XF1 External Hard Drive is provided with 2 years warranty.
Verdict:
LG XF1’s design can only told as the most attractive part of the new model. It is handy, sleek and shiny design making it more occupying. We should appreciate the original design, HDMI output connectivity, preview of the images and videos, consumption rate and the stability of the storage media. The let downs of the device are the lack of USB host, side interface is average and no digital audio output. A shopper looking for sleek eye grabbing design and features at an affordable price LG XF1 is the best choice for them but if you are really worried about the above said disadvantages, you can choose Maxtor OneTouch 4 external hard drive.
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LG XF1500GB, USB 2.0 Hard Drive - Technical Specifications, Features
| Manufacturer | LG |
| Model Name | XF1 Multimedia External Hard Drive |
| Model Number | XF1 |
| Product type | Multimedia External Hard Drive |
| Type of the Drive | Portable |
| Size (L x W x H) | 153 X 94 X 21mm |
| Colour | Black |
| Interfaces | XF1 HDMI 1(1.1), USB 1 (2.0/1.1), DC in 1, Composite A/V |
| Power (DC) | DC 5V (USB self powered) |
| Density Option of hard Drive | 500GB/520GB |
| Format | NTFS |
| Pack Details | XF1 external hard drive, AV cable (phone jack type), USB cable (Y type), Installation CD, Remote Control and Quick guide. |
| Warranty | 2 years |
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