For a long time, people bought movies and music they wanted to listen to on pre-recorded formats and played them in the front room. 

Whether it was vinyl records, VHS cassettes or even Blu-ray DVDs, the standard pattern was to have one device for each type of media, and store it all separately.

Today, however, more and more people stuff their PC full of multimedia content--films, photos they've taken or been given by friends, MP3s, games--but enjoying it all on small computer screen sat at a desk is not always an enjoyable evening.

Burning DVDs

One solution is to copy the files that you want to watch onto a single disk and go and enjoy them.

DVD players that can read DivX files are an increasingly common sight in front rooms, and, although they're useful, they mean you have to burn any movies you have on your computer onto a CD or a DVD to watch them.

The problem is it's easy to lose the discs, or scratch them, and then you need to burn some more.

As a way to watch the files from your computer on your TV, it's not the most practical of solutions.

The Answer

For many people, an alternative is a multimedia hard drive.  

Based around a regular external hard drive, but sometimes approaching the dizzying heights of one terabyte of storage, these devices can hold photos, videos and music that you can enjoy on your TV from the comfort of your sofa thanks to a bundled remote control.

On the inside, the inclusion of a dedicated chip to decode common (and not so common) media formats means that you don't need to have them connected to a computer to enjoy the content.

These little media servers don't offer anywhere near the functionality of an actual computer, but they do give you speedy access to all the files you need without the need to boot a separate system.

Connectivity: HD or SD?

Given that you're already likely to own the rest of the equipment you need to complete your multimedia experience--a TV and some speakers, for instance--the choice of multimedia hard drive you make depends largely on what's already available.

If you've invested in a High Definition television, you'll want to make sure that your hard drive is compatible with HD files, and that it sports either an HDMI or a DVI input port so you can enjoy HD movies in all their glory.

On the other hand, if you plan on using your hard drive with a Standard Definition TV, then you will most likely be able to opt for a cheaper model, although there's nothing to stop you going for a HD hard drive that will eventually come in handy …

Other Functions

In addition to reading a whole host of different media formats, some multimedia hard drives distinguish themselves by offering a range of other functionality.

Some connect to your home network, for instance, either via Ethernet, or, more conveniently, over WiFi.

Although this may seem like a gimmick, remember that it means you'll be able to copy files onto and off your hard drive a lot more easily.

Still others feature mini LCD screens allowing you to navigate their content without even turning on your TV, which can be useful if you just want to play some music over your Home Cinema system's speakers.