People have taken to storing a lot of their audio/video media--movies, music and photos--on external hard drives, which continue to rise in capacity while shrinking in price. Sure, they are easily transportable, but even if we can connect them to the TV or receiver, they typically don't offer the necessary decoding for the digital files inside. Enter the one-terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) ScreenPlay Pro HD from Iomega.

The "HD" stands not for hard drive but high-definition, with HDMI output and an included cable. Unlike some other digital media solutions, the ScreenPlay Pro HD plays back files in native 720p/1080i, not merely upscaled standard-def content, with a wide array of decoding options performed within the unit itself: MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (AVI/VOB), MP3, MPEG-4 (AVI/DiVX 3.11, 4.x, 5.x. 6.x, XViD). WAV. WMA. And Ogg are all supported, in addition to JPEG stills. It will even record/encode an incoming A/V signal via the one-touch button, complete with Dolby Digital audio.

This latest entry in the ScreenPlay line is also networkable, to not only store media locally but also connect to the PC over Ethernet, or it can accept a USB Wi-Fi dongle, sold separately.

Price: $299.99

More Information: www.iomega.com

Where to Buy:

• Iomega ScreenPlay Pro HD Multimedia Drive at Amazon.com