SanDisk hit the market this week with it’s latest release, the TakeTV Video Player, operating as a flash drive to take video directly from your computer to your TV without a ton of wires or equipment.
It’s a quick and easy fix to the connectivity issues a lot of us have been operating under (my own rig is a complicated set up of wires from my PowerBook to the entertainment center’s receiver, which means anytime I want to watch a something I’ve downloaded the computer is basically off limits and tethered to the TV). So now you can toss the USB solution, forget about fuzzy wireless, and go straight from your laptop to your TV without a lot of complication.
Just plug the Take TV into your USB port, drag and drop your video files, then drop the unit into its portable AV dock and you’ve got a direct line to your video from any screen or entertainment system.
The Take TV unit is about as small as a standard flash drive, and the dock and remote collapse easily for video on the go if you’re the traveling type.
SanDisk is also launching its own video download system to pair with the device called Fanfare with both free (if you’re not bothered by ads) or pay service for content from CBS, Showtime, and the Weather Channel. This may explain why the Take TV isn’t compatible with iTunes downloads, so don’t be surprised when those files don’t work when you transfer them — there’s no love in the competitive portable video market.
The 4 GB Take TV is well priced at $99 for about five hours of video storage, or you can take a step up to the 8 GB model for $149. Both products are available for purchase directly from the SanDisk website.
