Verbatim - Mediastation Pro review

Verbatim is the latest company to follow in the footsteps of rivals like D-Link and NetGear by entering the streaming media market. Its MediaStation Pro offers wireless streaming, a range of format support and the option of an internal hard drive to store content locally, with the version on test supplied with a 500GB capacity drive pre-installed.

A selection of connectivity includes composite, component and S-video but we'd imagine most users would opt for the HDMI connection which offers the best audio and video quality and allows playback of HD media up to 1080p.

Populating the internal drive is simply a case of connecting the device via USB and dragging and dropping files into the relevant folders. There are full-sized USB ports on the back to hook up external storage for local playback and an Ethernet port and built-in wireless to give you a choice of network connectivity.

There are no wizards to help with setup but it's still pretty straightforward, allowing you to scan the local area and select your network before entering the appropriate security code. Instead of installing a front-end on your computer to help you choose which folders to share and adjust settings, Verbatim simply requires you to share folders through Windows in the usual manner. These folders will then be accessible through the network category on the main menu using the existing file structure.

It's a basic approach but quite effective, and while files can take a little while to load we were impressed by the smooth and responsive playback. You can adjust the aspect ratio of video via the remote, search to a specific point in a file and control subtitle size, position and synchronisation. In terms of file support you'll find AVI, WMV, MP4 and MPG along with the ability to store and play back ripped DVDs directly from the hard drive.

Additionally you can store or stream music and photos and there's a good range of file support here as well, though one complaint we have in this area is that the degree of control is quite poor.

Though there are additional features like access to Internet radio, basic playlist creation and password protection for folders, it's a bit thin on the ground in terms of extras. Switching between 'music', 'video' and 'photo' views, for example, simply invokes a file format filter that removes unnecessary filetypes from the on-screen display, and to be honest we can't see any reason why you wouldn't just search via the 'all-media' view all the time.

The overly basic interface isn't particularly friendly and the remote isn't particularly intuitive, with a range of context-sensitive buttons that only work when viewing certain types of media or browsing specific menus.

Overall we were a little disappointed by Verbatim's Mediastation Pro, because while it does perform well in terms of handling media, this market is old enough now to expect to see some interesting innovations from new devices. As it stands, the Mediastation is basic and capable but ultimately rather uninspiring and, though it may still be a good solution for beginners, there are more impressive solutions available from rivals.

Verbatim - Mediastation Pro features - Verdict

The Mediastation Pro performs well enough and is fairly easy to use, but this is mostly because it's quite basic and doesn't offer a lot of bells and whistles. As a local and networkable storage device aimed at beginners with a large collection of digital media it can still do a good job, but there are better options available if you're willing to forego the option of internal storage.