Back in April, we profiled a SATA hard disk drive dock from Brando that not only allowed you to easily access any old internal SATA drives you had laying around but allowed you to do it via USB. It may not sound like much, but it meant that your laptop could quickly connect to your old drives, too (not just your desktop). The other nice thing was that this SATA HDD dock also came with a four-port USB hub built-in.
What could be better than a USB hub? How about a composite-RCA, component-RCA, S-video output and media-playing capabilities? Brando now has available a new version of it’s old HD dock that allows you to play your favorite media directly into your favorite TV (assuming your favorite TV has some sort of RCA or S-Video inputs, that is). Brando’s “SATA HDD Multimedia Dock” also has a SD-slot and can support 2.5 inch SATA drives as well as 3.5 inch variety.
However, there’s even a bit more to this seemingly miraculous gadget…
What’s really nice about this thing is that it still allows you to access your SATA drives via USB. It’s not like you have to pop your drive out of this puppy and plop it into one of their older models. The only thing to be really concerned about here is that Brando isn’t exactly Sony.
The SATA HDD Multimedia Dock prices in at $84US on their website, but for that kind of price, for all of these great features, you might wonder just how reliable the thing is. It’s not like it’s easy to just ship it back to Hong Kong (where Brando is located) if it doesn’t work.
Sure, the web page says the device can play MPEGs 1/2 & 4, XVID, Divx3.11/4 & 5, along with MP3, WMA and WAV files, but, hey, can they play them well? Since there isn’t a “reviews” section on Brando’s product page for the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock, it’s just a crap shoot. Granted, Brando couldn’t stay in business if it didn’t sell products that worked, but at least one commenter over at Engadget.com did get stung when the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock he bought didn’t not function as advertised.
Still, a device like this is clearly a great idea (especially considering it even comes with a remote). So, perhaps its existence will prove to the big names in electronics that there is a demand for such a product. Until then, it might be a better idea to just put your $84US toward a 160 gig iPod Classic. At least then you know you can play what it says you can play.
