4. The User Interface

The MG-350HD's user interface is functional, but basic and not what I'd call nice to look at. Unfortunately, customizations such as skinning, color changes, or customizable folder icons are not offered. While I give Mediagate credit for branching out from the color blue, which seems to be prominent in media center interfaces; the varying shades of green ended up being a little depressing as color schemes go. I would have appreciated a way to change the coloring to fit my tastes. Since the MG-350HD is a standalone device, fan-created mods and customizations are unlikely.

The folder navigation is standard. Sub folders can be created to keep the files organized and they can be opened in an explorer-like fashion using the directional keys on the remote. The sources listed on the far left stay on the screen as you navigate throughout the interface to let you know which source you are currently connected to and the text is large and easy to see on any screen. I tested a 16x9 widescreen HDTV using a DVI-to-HDMI adapter, a 4X6 Standard definition TV using an S-video cable, a 4x6 LCD computer monitor using a DVI to VGA adapter and a 16x10 computer monitor using the DVI connection directly. All worked well enough, but I found that going between displays with incompatible resolution settings created problems.

Case in point: I pulled the MG-350HD from my HD widescreen display at 1080i, to put it on a monitor with a maximum resolution of 1680X1050. When I tried to prepare the MG-350HD before the switch by setting the resolution to something within range of the monitor, Before I knew it, I had lost video output on the HD display and to my dismay I found that I had chosen a resolution that was not compatible with any of my displays. After about a half hour prodding at the remote blind attempts to reset the resolution settings from memory I had a lucky streak and was able to get it to work again. I found out later that there is a reset button, but it's located on the system board inside the case under the hard drive mount. Would it have been so hard to wire the button to the outside of the case?

The UI performs some of its tasks very slowly. Depending on the quantity of files and subfolders contained in a shared network folder here are a couple of average wait times:

43 seconds to boot the system 11 seconds to access the wireless network 8 seconds to access wired network 2 seconds to access USB and HDD. 42 seconds to access a shared DVD drive Anywhere from 45 to a whopping 62 seconds to open a root shared network folder (Wired or wireless) Once the network folder has been opened; navigating within the subfolders is very fast, but if you move out of the network folder and try to return, you're in for another long wait

File Format Checklist

I tested the following files on the MG-350HD

Standard Definition Video
File Type	Functional	Result
MPEG2	X
Quicktime		UI did not recognize file
WMV	X
DivX	X
AVI	X
VOB	X
MPEG1	X
Xvid	X
OGM		UI did not recognize file
Real (RM)		UI did not recognize file
DVR-MS (Windows MCE recordings)		UI did not recognize file
High Definition Video
File Type	Functional	Result
.TS (HD MPEG2) 1080i	X
.TP (HD MPEG2) 1080i		System froze (Multiple tries)
WMV-HD 720P-1080P	X
DivX-HD 720P-1080P	X
Quicktime HD 720P-1080P		UI did not recognize file
Audio
File Type	Functional	Result
WAV	X
WMA		Horrible screeching noises (possibly due to DRM)
MP3	X
OGG	X	Surprising!
M4A (AAC)	X
M4A (Apple Lossless)		Player freezes up
AIFF		UI did not recognize file

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