The AOpen MVP is a video, photo and music player that looks like a memory card reader on steroids. It comes in two parts: a hard drive caddy, and a dock that connects to a TV via S-video or composite connections. Integrated into the front of the dock are slots for five memory card types.

What sets the MVP apart from other multimedia devices is the caddy that supports 2.5in hard disks (the type found in notebooks). Unfortunately, AOpen doesn't supply one, so you'll have to shell out a bit more: £60 for a 20Gb model, for example.

Once fitted, you can connect the caddy to a PC via USB2, download media content and plug it into the docking station for viewing on your TV. The MVP Player supports JPEG image files, MPEG and DivX video and MP3 and WMA music files.

It's a novel approach at the home integration market that's easy to use and reasonably priced.

Contact: AOpen (no UK number)
www.aopen.com