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Review of the Portable MPEG Player - MG25

Started by johnblade · 8 months ago

Playing digital media on the TV is becoming more and more common these days. There are a few PVR solutions that allow you to record/play digitally essentially brining the VCR to the 21st century. The MediaGate MG-25 is not a PVR; it fills a gap where people only want to play files and [...%5 ... Continue reading »

54 comments

  • smeister

    4 years ago

    Great review. I wonder if the MG25 would work with an external battery box like the one at http://www.bixnet.com/usbbatterybox.html.
    I wonder how long it could run on 4 2300mAh NiMH rechargable AAs?
    Hooked up to an lcd screen or portable DVD player with video input it could provide lots of entertainment on a long flight. Even if you had to carry a few sets of batteries.
    reply
  • Faizul Hamid

    4 years ago

    Thanks for the review of the device
    reply
  • smeister

    4 years ago

    Just came across a 26 page review of the Unibrain iZak - a unit similar to the MG25. Includes pictures of the interface.
    reply
  • Quotes

    4 months ago

    Could you please share it with me, I will appreciate if you do! thanks and a good day to you.
    reply
  • smeister

    4 years ago

    reply
  • root

    4 years ago

    it supports srt subs, but not idx/sub file.
    reply
  • Gerd

    4 years ago

    Hi John,

    thanks for the review, I ordered this unit two days ago and it will be in my mailbox by tomorrow supposedly. I had been looking for this combination of USB harddisk with MPEG/DivX playback builtin just when I found the MG-25 on the web by accident. I had already bought a nice big 2,5 " Fujitsu 100 gig harddrive a few days ago - this will fit nicely...

    I also have a HUGE collection of MP3's, DivX's and VOB's (all legal of course :-). If this baby works as advertised, it'll be my dream unit. No more CD / DVD burning, no more DVD player that refuses read my CD's or DVD's, and all the sourround bang with the convenience of a remote control.

    *** This is it, folks: add a nice cheap 19" TFT monitor with S-video input (see Acer, IIyama etc.) and a cheap 5.1 PC speakerset with digital AC3 input (e.g. Creative digital 5.1 speakerset) ===> ready is the ultra cheap superversatile, semi-mobile home theatre !!!
    ___________________________________________________________

    For the battery question above: the Sigma chip used for MPEG decompression etc. eats DC current for breakfast. But if you can hold a soldering iron, try it out for yourself: buy 8 high capacity NiMH AA's (2500mAh), buy a battery holder that connects them 4-in-series & 2-in-parallel (providing a little over 5 Volts and about 5000 mAh), connect a power plug fitting in the MG-25's 5 Volt DC input (WATCH POLARITY!). I would guess the above battery pack will last about 3 - 4 hours max.

    I'll post another comment as soon I have my unit setup and tested...
    Cheers,
    Gerd
    reply
  • Mike

    4 years ago

    If you guys have any interest of the MG-25, the main supplier of this unit and distributor is selling to the public also at a great price. Go to www.microtronics.ca
    reply
  • Andrea Ciuffoli

    4 years ago

    Do you think that will be possible have a codec for TTA
    http://www.true-audio.com
    or other lossless audio compression format
    reply
  • Adrian

    4 years ago

    Hey mate thanks for the review, much help.

    Picked up my Mediagate mg25 yesterday - some comments:

    * Build quality is cheap but does the job. Since there are no moving parts and it is a hard drive after all (requires gentle handling) the unit should last well. Build quality of the remote is perhaps better than average - feels quite solid with nice button feel.

    * If placing an unformatted HD in the mg 25 - upon plugging it in to the computer via usb the HD is detected and one can easily format in win XP, as explained in this review. (I was woried the HD would need preformatting in a lappy or something)

    * I could not get the connector pins of the mg 25 to completely insert into the 2.5" HD connector. I got them about half in. Thus the screw holes for the HD do not line up with the screw holes in the mg -25. Still, the connection is sufficient and i used some cardboard to hold the HD firmly in place.

    * Works terrific as a portable HD, power is via usb and no drivers or reboot required, just plug in and you're off.

    * Out of around 10 .avi files i tested yesterday only 1 didn't work. Good enough for me.

    * At one stage I couldn't get an image to display on my TV, turns out the composite plug required twisting around in the mg 25. No biggie but again evidence of cheap build quality

    * the ability to display .jpeg images is a bonus, quite handy - show the family your photos by just plugging it into the TV.

    Overall, very impressed, would recommend.
    reply
  • David

    4 years ago

    I see on the picture it has the old Sigma 8500 series chip. I understand it does both divx rendering and 1080i upconversion, just like in, for example, Liteon LVD2001 dvd player. The problem with this chip (limitation) in the Liteon was that it cound not ff/rw divx files, you could only skip 1 min at a time. Has this issue been solved in this device? Is there a smooth ff/rw?
    reply
  • John Blade

    4 years ago

    The MG-25 doesn't have any problems with fast foward or re-wind, it does this fairly smoothly at 2x,4x,8x,12x,32x.
    reply
  • waynez

    4 years ago

    Hi, have seen all the comments on here about the MG-25, I have one and have been using it for a while, it's a awesome device, combining the best of a portable USB drive, with a functional media playing device. The only problem I have had, is using the playlist function, you can add media to a playlist, but as soon as the device is turned off, the playlists are cleared. Does anyone know if it's possible to save a playlist to the device ( m3u etc ) and have it read it. Alternately has anyone come across a support forum for this device?
    reply
  • gambling

    4 years ago

    Spent some great time in your site, really enjoyed it
    reply
  • nik1

    4 years ago

    It does NOT come with the car power adaptor, does it? I haven't seen one in any of the pictures I came across on the Net. Does anybody know how to get one or, as some of you are quite techy guys, help me over with some instructions on how to build one? By the way, this is a very helpful site. Thank you
    reply
  • poker

    4 years ago

    This is one super duper site
    reply
  • viagra

    4 years ago

    Great work with this one, nicelly done!
    reply
  • Templates

    4 years ago

    Great info! Many thanks.
    reply
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    4 years ago

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  • TT

    4 years ago

    I really like my MediaGate MG25 - very handy for showing photos, movies, etc and I've only had a couple of crashes - mainly when trying to display a JPG that's 1.5Mb plus.
    Sadly, there's no support for QuickTime AVIs so I'm unable to play movies from my Canon camera. Hopefully a firmware upgrade will be available to include QuickTime.
    reply
  • TTN

    4 years ago

    I got this device this week after reading your review. My device has the version 1.2.1, but it can't play wmv and asf files. So I do hope for a software update to have it in the future.
    Thanks!
    reply
  • patmc

    4 years ago

    just got this unit great unit but component and hd output wont work.
    anybody used component output.
    reply
  • patmc

    4 years ago

    component now working.
    red is green and green is red.
    reply
  • Brad

    4 years ago

    I purchased one of these a couple of months ago and they are are pretty good :) Just wondering if anyone knows of any support forums or sites that have any info or firmware mods for them. There is also a new update available from here it is version 1.2.8.

    http://www.airlinktek.com/english/atboard_view....
    reply
  • JOSE

    4 years ago

    AFTER READING ALL OF THE ABOVE , MY ONLY QUESTION
    IS THAT AFTER DOWNLOADING A VIDEO ONTO MG-25 ,
    I CAN ETHER , WATCH IT ON TV OR BURN IT ONTO A DVD-R,
    VIA THE S-VIDEO.IS THIS RIGHT .???
    reply
  • Bob

    4 years ago

    I'm looking at getting one of these nifty little wonders and was wondering if anyone know if MP3's on the MG-25 can be searched by ID tags or is searching only via the folders the music is stored on the HDD?

    If not I may have an issue as I store all my MP3's in quite long filenames with the naming convention of

    Artist-Album-track-title.mp3

    Filenames can thus be quite long ! eg:
    Counting Crows - Recovering the Satellites - 09 - Another Horsedreamer's Blues.MP3

    Will the MG-25 cut off the filename if it wont fit on the TV? if so how many characters will it fit on screen??

    Sorry for all the questions!!! (Great Site ;-)
    reply
  • baldrick

    4 years ago

    Just got me a 2nd mg-25 (coz the 80g hd i fitted couldn't hold enough data :)
    Excellent devices. My only real gripe is that I formatted the hd using win xp ntfs and the on screen menus show all file dates as 01/01/70 and it doesn't seem to be able to sort the filenames alphabetically all the time...
    I've had the first unit running virtually non stop for over a month with no hiccups though.

    I'm impressed enough to be hanging out for the release of the mg-35 (late march i've been told) so I can wack a 400g drive in it :)
    reply
  • Brad

    4 years ago

    I have found a support forum but its not very active. If anyone knows any others please post...

    http://p066.ezboard.com/bmediagatemg25

    BOB: It puts the mp3s in folder view so it would cut your song names short :(

    Baldric: I found if you format the drive FAT32 the timestamps are correct.

    Does anyone know what changes were made in the latest firmware upgrade?
    reply
  • RV

    4 years ago

    the reseller's website says it supports HDTV? is that true? Also, how do u hook it up to a car??pls advise...
    reply
  • Online Pharmacy

    4 years ago

    Interesting article... Haven't heard about it yet.
    reply
  • John

    4 years ago

    Yes, it supports HDTV via component output.

    To hook it up to a car you'll need a portable TV screen in your car first, and then you can use any of the supplied cables in the same way as connecting to a TV in your house. You will also need to get a power connector that plugs into the cigarette socket.
    reply
  • SM!LeY

    4 years ago

    Is it possible to update the mediagate with the "izak" firmware? http://www.unibrain.com/iZak/iZak_Firmware_Upda...
    Looks very cool to my german eyes :D
    reply
  • wadba

    4 years ago

    Calling all Mediagate MG25 users - there's a very little used forum that's been setup to use and voice our likes/dislikes/opinions.
    Not sure if it's monitored by AlTech but would be good to make it the primary source of all things MediaGate :)
    reply
  • wadba

    4 years ago

    MediaGate MG25 Forum is
    http://p066.ezboard.com/bmediagatemg25
    reply
  • Alice

    4 years ago

    Just posted a piece about this on my site. If you ever want to write more for us, let me know. Great stuff!

    http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/1258
    reply
  • Stewert

    4 years ago

    If this uses the same sigma chipset that the Unibrain iZak uses, are the user interface configurations configurable like the iZak? Please respond, as I'm looking to purchase the MG25 or the Lacie Silverscreen (iZak clone) soon. Thank you.
    reply
  • Stewert

    4 years ago

    Check out iZak customization here:
    http://www.unibrain.com/iZak/iZak_Custom_Images...
    reply
  • SM!LeY

    4 years ago

    I think it will work - the iZak uses a Sigma chipset. :D

    http://www.sigmadesigns.com/news/press_releases...

    "iZak is available worldwide under the iZak brand name and as an OEM product from MacPower under
    the Moviestar and Mvisto brand names."

    Can someone test the "iZak" or the "LaCie Silverscreen" firmware on the Mediagate?
    reply
  • Damien

    4 years ago

    I think unlikely that an iZak firmware will work. The unit is not just the chipset. Sounds like a good way to kill an MG-25 though.

    Anyone know what the MG-25 firmware updates address anyway? There is no documentation.

    Damien
    reply
  • SM!LeY

    4 years ago

    Any updates or news? :)
    reply
  • Peter

    4 years ago

    First, thanks for a great review!

    Does it play dvd-movies with menues like an ordinary dvd player or does it only play the .vob files?
    Can it handle dvds riped to .iso files?

    Thinking of buying a MG25, Sarotech Aivx or the slightly bigger Tvix M-3000U. Anyone tried one of the others?
    reply
  • John

    4 years ago

    Yep, it plays the DVD menus if you have them. As far as I'm aware it doesnt play ripped ISO files.
    reply
  • Propecia

    4 years ago

    reply
  • SM!LeY

    4 years ago

    LMG-100 Firmware version 1.3.3

    (1) To be able to change subtitle color
    - Press key, 4 & 6 to change. Key 5 for return to default

    (2) Error messege on GMC/QPEL files

    (3) Support Subtitle on MPEG file

    (4) Volume control by up and down key during play

    (5) Correct clock(time)
    - In case of no information of time, it shows `__/__/__`.

    (6) Support playing MP3 on photo mode
    - Users can see photos listening MP3
    / Playing MP3 in a row in Music directory

    (7) Support changing background screen(wallpaper)
    - Make file name as `mybg.jpg` to make background image.
    Put key number 1 in order to make text on screen darker

    (8) MP3 automatic playing
    - /music directory

    (9) Subtile sync control by +/- key
    + : slower showing by set time / - : faster showing by set time

    (10) Music files can start again from stop file
    - After power off/on again, it play last music file automatically in case
    to put `play` button

    (11) MP4 codec playing
    - support only playing, no rewind, forward, searching supported

    3. Additional functions
    In setup,
    (1) Power-On AutoPlay : on/Off
    (2) Repeat Mode : in directory(On/Off)
    (3) Screen Saver : off/30sec/2min/5min

    http://www.lgnetwork.com/lgnetwork/download/dow...
    reply
  • EZX12

    4 years ago

    Because scrolling through thousands of MP3's is TEDIOUS when you're forced to press NEXT, NEXT, NEXT... for each screen full of songs, I decided to drop all my tracks into ARTIST folders. I figured this would spare me (and the abused NEXT key) from key presses. HOWEVER, every time you select a song within an ARTIST folder, and return up to the ROOT, you are constantly returned to the BEGINNING of the list. EXAMPLE: Press NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, a "million" times until you get to an Artist name that begins with letter "S", then select that Artist folder and start playing a track within that folder. Now return UP to the ROOT folder. You will not be at the folders that start with the letter "S". You are returned to the BEGINNING OF THE LIST!... (e.g., Artists that begin with letter "A"), and must press NEXT, NEXT, NEXT a "million" times once again. Does anyone know of a firmware upgrade that fixes this quirk? Does anyone know where to obtain an SDK for the MG-25?
    reply
  • EZX12

    4 years ago

    Has anyone tried using the LMG-100 Firmware on the MG-25 (a/k/a AirLinkTek MediaGate MG-25)? If it worked, can you provide the firmware version THAT WORKS? For example, did the LMG-100 Firmware version 1.3.3 referenced in the thread (above) work in the MG-25?

    There are so many UNUSED functions on the remote (e.g., NO direct access by track number or alpha, even though the remote includes numeric keys, in addition to other unused buttons). Have you ever tried scrolling a track list of hundreds/thousands of songs on this thing? It's NUTS. There is no FAST-scroll... you have to scroll one screen at a time, and repeatedly press the DOWN button or NEXT button. I would definitely appreciate info regarding a more recent firmware upgrade (or better yet, an SDK).

    Also, has anyone actually TRIED the UniBrain IZAK firmware as an upgrade to the AirLinkTek MediaGate MG-25?
    reply
  • SM!LeY

    4 years ago

    A user from http://p066.ezboard.com/bmediagatemg25 flashed his MG-25 with the LG firmware and it worked perfectly. There's now a little LG logo in the top corner, and all the things mentioned in the release seem to work.

    He also tried the background picture and it worked too. Nice.
    reply
  • noobie

    4 years ago

    Just picked up one of these - only annoying thing is having to disconnect it to the main computer for downloading all the time - is there any way of hooking it up wirelessly?
    reply
  • naru

    4 years ago

    How can i take files from Mediagate & burn them to DVD-r is it possible what are the things needed & steps :)

    thanks!!!!!!
    reply
  • Rich

    4 years ago

    Does this device worth with the USB Master boxes such as the Delkin USB Bridge or Sitecom CopyBox, to allow data to be transferred from a digital camera to this hard drive without using a computer (eg if on holiday)?
    Thanks!
    reply
  • Irwin AR

    4 years ago

    Have you / anyone successfully able to play HDTV source capped from tv with this device?
    Especially those with high bitrate content
    (18-19mbps).It maybe in the form of Xvid, mpeg-2,
    WMV etc as long as it maintain the original bitrate as mentioned.
    reply
  • mimoore74

    4 years ago

    EZX12, I flashed my MG-25 with the LG firmware without any problems. It works fine, but I don't really see the difference between the MG-25 1.3.2 firmware and the LG 1.3.3 firmware (besides the LG logo).

    All I can see is the 3 additional functions in the setup screen (which I don't think i'll ever use). Changing the background image and making the text darker works fine in the 1.3.2 firmware.

    As for HDTV,the MG-25 seems to play it fine however my TV is only SD, so the image is all funny as HDTV is a higher resolution.

    So far I'm more than happy with my MG-25. It does everyting I want. I can record digital TV on my PC, copy it straight to the MG-25 and hit play. Even DVDs play perfectly with DTS 5.1 sound and everything.
    reply
  • JaybeeOz

    3 years ago

    I have an MG-25 and I'm having a strange problem. It works great on several TV's but when I plug it into a Rear projection TV, I only get a B&W picture. Have tried all the different settings on the Mg-25, settings on the TV, tried different inputs on the TV, upgaded the firmware to the LG one, Tried composite, Component, S-Video, Pal settings, NTSC settings.....nothing will give me a color picture on the Rear Projection. Anyone have any Idea's?? BTW Video Player, PVR, DVD Player, Camera's, Both Still and Video, work fine on the Rear Projection. Have even tried unplugging everything from the TV except power & MG-25.
    reply

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