Seagate FreeAgent Theater: Move Media

We’ve looked at many ways to get your PC-based music, photo, and video files to your TV, and just when we thought the subject was wrapped up, Seagate unleashed its entrant into the field, the FreeAgent Theater. The most similar product we've reviewed is the WD TV HD. Both  it and the Theater are what we call media adapters—little boxes that perform whatever decoding tasks are necessary to take the files on attached USB devices and pipe them to connected home theater components. These adapters are more affordable and simpler than media-centric set-top boxes (D-Link, Netgear, TiVo, etc.), but their functionality tends to be more limited and they don’t offer network support. 

The Theater is largely a dock for Seagate FreeAgent external drives. Our unit shipped with a silver 250GB drive ($229.99 for this package), but any FreeAgent Go drive will fit. There’s also a version sold with no included drive ($129.99) and one configuration with a 500GB drive ($279.99). Of course, the first question that will pop to many minds is, “What if I want to use a USB drive besides Seagate’s?” Well, there’s a standard USB port in the front bezel just to the left of the IR receiver. Also, you can plug a mini-USB adapter into the back of the drive bay. Ultimately, if you like the product, you’ll probably decide that Seagate’s packaged drive arrangement is okay.