LaCie has updated its LaCinema line of multimedia servers to include the LaCinema Black Play and LaCinema Black Record, each designed to connect to a user’s home network (via Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and provide access to videos, music, photos and more stored on either the LaCinema itself or on computers throughout the home…then push it out to a connected high-definition television. The LaCinema media players will handle 1080op video, an upscale standard-definition material to 1080i—and the LaCinema Black Record also includes DVR functionality to record standard-definition television.
“Now that families are beginning to consume masses of digital content, they need a multimedia device that will allow them to easily store and play their favorite content right from their existing home entertainment center,” said LaCie multimedia business manager Patrick Salin, in a statement. “With LaCinema Black products, users can access media over their network, listen to music, sort photos, record TV programs, and ultimately get the desired experience from their media collection—all from one product.”
The LaCinema Black Play is available in 500 GB and 1 TB configurations, while the LaCinema Black Record offers 1 TB of storage. Both units sport a UPnP client to connect to networked computers throughout the house, along with a USB 2.0 interface, HDMI, component, and composite video output, 100Base-T Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi, and support for a wide variety of audio, image, and video formats (including AVE, MPG, MP4, WMV, MOV, WMA, MNP3, JPG, PNG, TIF, and many more). The LaCinema Record can be used to digitize standard-definition video content.
The LaCinema Black home media players start at $429.99, and are available not from LaCie and resellers.
