Once the HD Theater was patched into my 42-inch plasma, it became clear that it's really two devices in one. Its first function is as an extender for viewing media stored on a computer. Like the HD100 Media Extender reviewed last year, the crux of this function is SageTV's included DVR software. Getting the software installed and converting my favorite home theater PC into a de facto media server was a cinch. Surfing through my networked media was easy enough using SageTV's plain (but customizable) interface, and even full 1080p playback was both brisk and clear. Also, since the HD Theater supports a ton of audio and video formats, it had no problems even when I threw it some tough file formats (MKV anyone?).
The HD Theater's second major function is as a web video player. Included in the interface is access to YouTube and array of video podcasts. Hulu was curiously missing, but SageTV has assured us that support is on the way. Thank goodness -- the only thing that gets me through my day is an ample dose of Tracy Jordan.
