Iomega ScreenPlay MX HD

With the ScreenPlay MX HD, Iomega is giving us its version of the minimalist media centre: no networking, no Internet applications, just playback of multimedia files via the USB port or internal 1 or 2 TB hard drive.

A standard interface

Compact and well finished, this centre contains an internal 1 TB, 1.5 TB or 2 TB hard drive - you choose on purchase. It runs silently and is piloted with a rather banal remote. You don't get the "Go To" feature, which takes you straight to a precise place in the film, on this remote, just the standard fast forward and back buttons.


The navigation interface isn't exactly innovative, in fact you get the same as you get with the competition. You view the files in list format or by thumbnail. Thumbnail photos are displayed in mosaic form or as a wall of film posters for videos. You have to add the posters manually however as they aren't automatically retrieved from the Internet.

Compatibility: DTS isn't decoded

While it plays Full-HD videos without flinching in spite of their weight, we were disappointed by the handling of Dolby Digital and DTS. Firstly, if you use your TV speakers you won't be able to hear DTS tracks at all as the ScreenPlay MX HD doesn't decode them.

Next, although bitstream - raw audio flow to an external amp - is supported, DTS HD MA and Dolby TrueHD formats aren't. With these formats, only the so-called "core" part is retained and sent to the amp. The sound is then comparable to Dolby Digital or DTS (DTS HD MA - 7 Mbps max - includes the simple DTS - 1.5 Mbps), like, say, on a DVD.


There's no 24p or 23.976 mode and some TVs will give a jumpy image on videos shot at these speeds. Finally, upscaling of SD videos is rather laborious, with a pronounced loss in image details.

Connectivity: no networking

Lots of audio / video outs. You'll find HDMI and components for HD TVs and composite for SD. The audio can be sent using the HDMI, via the analogue stereo outs or the coaxial.

Finally, you don't get networking here, not even as an option. To add files, you have to use the USB and link up the media centre to a computer (USB type B) or link up a peripheral to the single USB Host socket.