I got my Micca Slim about a week ago and felt really compelled to write a review for this awesome gadget. HDD media players have been around a while but they have not been all that popular, most people bump into them while looking for an external HDD enclosure. Recently, HDD media players have gotten pretty powerful and newer models like the Micca is even equipped with an HDMI output.
The Micca's build quality is decent. The center frame is made from translucent purple plastic, and the top/bottom plates are made from black anodized brushed aluminum, which should be much better in terms of cooling than all-plastic enclosures. The main board spans the entire internal dimension of the player, and the HDD sits right against the main board. The whole assembly is held together with only 2 screws, but everything feels solid and flex/rattle free. Even with a 500GB HDD installed, the player is very light and feels like it's half empty. All of the player's connectors are on one end and the IR remote sensor is on the other end - a very logical layout that helps keep everything tidy and neat.
In my opinion, the HDMI is the "killer app" feature for HDD players because even though there are PMPs like Archos and various iPods with AV-out, they only have a composite video output, rendering whatever high quality video you may have essentially pointless. Having a built-in LCD sounds nice on paper but no one realizes just how silly a 4" or smaller screen is until they try to watch something longer than 10 minutes on one. I used to have an Archos 605, which has one of the biggest and nicest LCDs ever built into a PMP, but most of the time I was wishing that I could output the video onto a larger display like a TV or computer monitor while retaining the quality. The HDMI connection on the Micca allows this while also providing the added convenience of carrying both audio and video on one cable.
Also, due to the poor codec compatibility of the Archos 605 I owned, which is a common affliction of PMPs, I constantly had to recode videos just so they would play, which meant keeping two copies of the same video. In all it was just not an elegant solution.
My experience with the Micca Slim has been just the opposite. It handles just about all of my videos coded for playback on my notebook without issues. Other than a few H.264 videos, I didn't have to recode the videos for them to playback on the Micca Slim. And the playback quality was at least as good as from my notebook computer. So now I only have to keep one copy of videos on the Micca Slim, which can then be played back any which way I want. My coworkers gave me a blank stare when I showed them the Micca Slim, one remarked "this doesn't have a screen." But their faces lit up when I connected it to my 20" work monitor and they saw the quality of the playback. "Try that with your iPod Touch."
In the end, it's not just that the Micca does all these things, but that it does them so easily and unobtrusively. I need a portable hard disk drive anyway, and I need a large one to hold all of my media files. So a portable HDD that also plays back all of the media files stored on it is just such a natural function to have. Micca Slim Portable Digital Media Player with HDMI and 2.5-Inch HDD Bay - Plays MPEG1/2/4, DivX, Xvid, RMVB, AVI, MOV, MP3, MP4
The Micca, simply put, does it all! A solid, well designed Media Player and portable USB Hard Drive case. Full function 'real button' remote control and on unit control buttons as well. (So if you forget to grab the remote you can still operate the unit.) But you'll remember it as the remote gives you far more operating choices.
Video, Music, Pictures and even Text files display clean and sharp, even via A/V output. (Check the specs for the supported file type list. Impressive!)
Video modes abound, so regardless of the Video screen format you can pick a screen display to match your display style. 2X, 3X, 4X Forward & Reverse, Zoom (4 levels) on Video, Stop, Pause and Play. Subtitles toggle, several each of 16:9 and 4:3 modes. Supports NTSC and PAL.
Play a single file, repeat one or pick a starting point in a folder and play them all. And it will restart video right where you left off! (A neat feature for longer movies.)
Music (MP3) playback features a menu/file selection screen with detailed Tag Info and with the song in play, a simple graphical EQ display. Settings allow you to choose play one, repeat, repeat all. Good clean output. Handles any size file (so far), even 1 hour+ radio shows and megamixes!
Picture (JPG) playback supports Zoom with scroll, Rotate, Slide show mode and a host of Special Effect fades, wipes, doors... you name it. Some neat stuff!
Text file display on a TV screen (4:3) is clean and sharp. Easy to scroll or page through. Text reading is a bonus. Try to find another Media Play with this feature. Nice if you have a text file of notes to go with a video or song lyrics.
A needed feature? Not really, but nice to have!
Lot of other little goodies. You can plug in a USB drive, SD/SDHC card plus install a hard drive and menu select your media from any device. (You do not have to install a hard drive to use the unit.) You can even Copy/Delete files between devices with the remote control.
I have been looking at various similar type Media Players for quite some time. Each had their failings. The Micca has them all beat and does it in a compact unit with a great menu system and real remote. Money well spent. I'm happy! ;) - Micca Slim - Multimedia Player - Jpeg - Media Player'
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