The Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link is a top idea, but falls short on a couple of fronts. While small in size for a media streamer, any notion of portability is ruled out by the whopping power supply and slew of connection cables.

Iomega has included an HDMI out port on the TV Link, for connection to HD displays. It handles up to 720p files and can upscale to 1080i, but slips up on file support: the system will happily play AVI files, but is completely incapable of even recognising MPEG or MKV video files. The latter are fast becoming the standard for high-definition downloads, yet playback will require these files to be re-encoded.

If you've got a huge archive of AVI movie files and a 720p television, the TV Link is probably the cheapest way to get at them on your telly, and its £63 price tag makes it an attractive option.

However, the software doesn't seem future-proof or well thought through. We can only hope for a downloadable patch in the coming months.