Let’s face it. Sometimes trying to get a video from your computer onto your television can be a cumbersome process. A product from Sandisk called "TakeTV" recently appeared on Buy.com’s website with the tagline, "The smart way to take your video from the PC to any TV!"
The basic idea here is that you plug an 8GB USB flash drive into your computer, transfer your video files onto it, and then plug it into a dock connected to your TV.
"Introducing the Sansa TakeTVTM video player! From the leader in flash memory, a new breakthrough device that gives you a smart, convenient, and affordable way to take video from the PC to the TV, where it belongs! Now enjoy your video on your TV instead of your computer screen.
Its as simple as using a USB flash drive: just drag files to your TakeTV player, slip it into the TV cradle, and press play on the included remote. No confusing WiFi set-ups, no waiting to burn DVDs. It really is that easy."
Here are some more specs…
- Vista, XP only (sorry, no Mac)
- Standard RCA outputs, although there appears to be an S-Video out as well
- Remote control
- DivX, xVid, MPEG-4 support (no word on WMV or other formats yet)
- NTSC and PAL support
- DVD resolution, up to 7Mbps bitrate
- 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios
- DivX Home Theater profile profile and DivX DRM compatible
It also works with a service called "Fanfare" (currently in BETA, of course) that "gives you access to a growing list of TV shows and movies that you can download and watch on your TV – whenever and wherever you want."
No word on pricing yet but given that the above specs aren’t necessarily super high-end (no HD, no component, no HDMI, etc.) I’d expect this setup to be pretty affordable compared to AppleTV and any of the myriad of wireless extender boxes on the market now. Perhaps no more than $99 or so? If it came in at $49, however, it’d be a no-brainer.
SanDisk TakeTV media player leaked [Electronista]