Egreat EG-R1

The eGREAT EG-R1 is perfectly compatible with all HD video formats. Network connectivity means it should play files from your computer. Is this enough for it to lay claim to a place in the competitive multimedia box sector?

The box looks nice from the outside. Its brushed aluminium shell is robust and well finished. There's no control screen at the front so you'll have to turn on your TV to listen to music.

Interface: basic Realtek

The remote that comes with the box is made of cheap quality plastic. Nevertheless it handles quite well and the buttons are well positioned, though the navigation interface is poor. Once again, its the standard interface we've seen so much on products based on Realtek chips. The manufacturer hasn't put anything extra on top and you're left with something that doesn't make the most of an HD TV.

What's more it's impossible to display photos in a folder in miniature form. Nor can you display a video jukebox (individual film cards and series with jacket and synopsis). A very basic, wooden interface overall.


Compatibility: a good chip but watch out for big files

The chip used is the entry level Realtek HD chip, the RTD1073. While it offers plenty of compatibility it's sometimes limited with larger bandwidth video. Upwards of 30 Mbps and you get jumps and glitches.

Most codecs are recognised: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP (DivX, XviD), MPEG-4AVC (H.264, x264) and VC-1 (WMV), all in both SD and HD. There's also support for the following codecs: AVI, DIVX, MP4, MKV, WMV, MOV as well as MTS and M2TS. Multi-audio (several audio tracks within a single file) and subtitle tracks are well supported and easily accessible. You can't however adjust size, position or amount of time for which they're displayed. DVD back-ups (RIP and ISO) are supported with menus, subtitles and audio tracks intact. It's almost as good for Blu-rays for which you get rare subtitling support as well as multiple audio tracks. You lose the menu but a generic back-up takes its place.

On the audio side things are even better with MP3s, AACs, WMAs and OGGs. No problems with DTS and Dolby Digital with stereo downmix functional (sound is decoded by the device, transposed into stereo and sent to the TV speakers). You can also use the bitstream mode to send audio to an external amp.

Connectivity: USB, Ethernet and optional Wi-Fi

Connectivity is pretty good with HDMI, YUV, RCA, coaxial and optical connectors. There are also two USB hosts. They're placed on the side of the device for maximum accessibility for linking up your USB keys and hard drives. An eSATA socket is also available for hard drives with this connector. An SATA socket (+ power) allows you to link up a 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive. As far as we're concerned, this is still a compromise: placing a hard drive on top doesn't look great and isn't very safe either. An Ethernet 10/100 Mbps takes care of networking with Wi-Fi optional via a USB dongle.