Review of EMAGINE – The Online Video Browsing Device

There’s been quite a buzz over the local Internet scene ever since the release of this device, some loved it, some hated it – others are undecided. Perhaps with this review, you can decide better on which side you’re on but seriously, there’s no reason to hate this device at all.

Review of EMAGINE - The Online Video Browsing Device

This Intel powered device comes with a LAN port, HDMI output and 3 USB ports. Yes, 3, there’s 2 in this photo and 1 more on another.

Review of EMAGINE - The Online Video Browsing Device

Here’s the other USB port, and there’s an SD Card slot too.

Review of EMAGINE - The Online Video Browsing Device

And here’s the remove control. The one on the left works quite like any other remote control. The buttons are rather tough to press. The one on the right is new, and said to be available in the future. 🙂 Very much easier to type on this Qwerty controller.

Review of EMAGINE - The Online Video Browsing Device

So what does this device do anyway?

User Experience

Setting up was easy, just plug in the cables and you’re set to go. You can use WiFi for it as well. I used a homeplug for my setup, connected it via HDMI to my LCD TV.

Usage wise, it’s just a matter of browsing around the channels available. It’s not linked to your Youtube account so your Youtube favorites and playlists will not be loaded here.

It’s an RM 399 package to browse online videos.

The tagline says REDISCOVER TV – well it’s not exactly that, when we say TV, we’re often talking about channels that are on broadcast. And for TV broadcasts, all you need to do is to select the channel number and view what’s on the broadcast.

This is not the case with EMAGINE. You have to actively browse content, meaning you just can’t sit back and watch the show like a TV. The remote control will be actively presses as you navigate the contents. The contents are added periodically (no idea how often) but I do see new videos added.

Here’s a rather long video to give you a brief experience of the Emagine.

The Verdict

If sitting back, relax and watch whatever is shown is your idea – EMAGINE is not for you. If you’re looking for a device to Karaoke (limited) and watch the videos prepared by others for you, then this could be the device for you. You could create your own playlist and subscribe to channels on Youtube as well but as I said, it’s not linked to your Gmail account so that’s double work for you.

While the Karaoke is limited in the sense that you’d probably find only a few songs from a particular singer on the list, what’s great is that there’s quite an extensive range of artists listed on the system. What I find lacking from Emagine are children sing-along songs, I mean really – this device would be a hit among parents if their child could benefit from it.

At RM 399 – this could be a device you’ll grow to love.