Comments on: LaCie LaCinema Classic 500 GB USB 2.0 Multimedia Desktop External Hard Drive 301395KUJ

By: Lucian Alexandrescu

Lucian Alexandrescu — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:50:57 +0000

I liked the Idea of a multimedia hard drive,which can be connected to a computer and tv,and the option of a HDMI cable.I like LaCie hard drives,i use it a lot for editing with my mac. But this product still has long way to go.

It can play only .avi and .mpeg4 formats.In a electronic world full of codecs this is not enough.At least LaCie should make available the popular codecs like mp4,wmv,.mov,and the related H264.What’s the point in making a multimedia hard drive if keeps you limited. Than you’re better of buying an apple tv.

Also the loading time of an avi takes way too long,it reminds me of the loading time of the first generation HD DVD players or Blue Ray,even those devices were faster in loading.

Such a great idea,poor software.Still needs a lot of improvements,and flexibility in formats,hopefully in the new updates to come.GO ON LACIE!!!!!

By: P. Cheng

P. Cheng — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:19:30 +0000

I bought it from Dell. It didn't work because of the TV standard was set to Pal by default and I got the rolling picture, couldn't get into their menu. the manual was referring to button of a different/obsolate model.Then I tried to call them. OMG, you are lucky if you can find any contact. After being forced to give out all the information, you are given a long distance number (no 1-800) and was put on long line. then I tried email, in 20 days, I've got only 3 responses, repeating the same thing as in manual. I returned it.

By: stealfire

stealfire — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:28:10 +0000

As a MAC user I’m a huge fan of LaCie. Everything I’ve purchased previously has worked seamlessly. Not the LaCinema, which must be designed for PC. Not only does it use USB 2.0, lacking the faster Firewire 800, what it said nowhere in the advertisement, is that external disks connected to it must be formatted in FAT32. While FAT32 is usable by both mac and pc, all my drives are natively MAC formatted. I would have to erase and reformat them. Also, USB 2.0 allows transfer of 4 GB or less. If I wanted to transfer a movie saved at full dvd resolution, I would have to chop it up somehow as a DVD holds 4.7 GB per layer. The user interface is cumbersome and inelegant, surprising for a something with such a beautiful exterior. The remote was difficult to push, I got a sore thumb from having to jam the keys, which usually caused the cursor to skip past my intended target. The remote is also very poorly laid out. Several times the machine simply froze up while playing, meaning that i had to disconnect and reconnect the power as there is no on/off switch and the remote was useless at this stage. Normally i would never pull the power on a hard drive, as mine had the built in 500 GB drive, but there was no choice. Oh yes, the default format was PAL, not NTSC. I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t persistently played with it, connecting it via the rca instead of the HDMI cable. I would have assumed it was faulty. When i uploaded the firmware update, it returned to the default PAL. I returned it and purchased the western digital. While not perfect, the WD works with my external drives in their current format, and plays many more formats. Also, the WD offers 2 sources of audio out, rca and optical.

By: AD

AD — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:52:27 +0000

I have some MP4 files created with various settings in Handbrake. I have a powerbook g4. I have both mp4 encoded with and without H264 and none of these will play on my TV. I have tried to contact them on the phone and it is virtually impossible for me to wait 45min+ just to talk to someone at LACIE. They have email support but they make you set up and do prod. registration. How can I register my product if there is a chance I will have to return it? Highly dissatisfied customer. It is unfortunate because I own three other LACIE drives at home and they work well. Think twice before you select this….