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Installation & Testing
The
M-Play was installed in my HTPC, built in a Silverstone LC-13 chassis. The
first problem with the setup was that the door would cover the IR receiver
and not allow the remote to work with the door closed. This could also be an
issue with some cases that have built in bay covers, that won’t allow a
standard 5.25” bay device.
The VFD display is bright and easy to read, unlike some LCD models. I made
sure to take a photo of all the main screens.
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I
spent a few days working with my Media Center Edition 2005 box with just the
MPlay remote. As long as you’re staying in the MCE interface, it works
flawlessly. The remote is also fairly intuitive, and I didn’t need the
manual to figure out what the buttons did.
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The
software will be pretty familiar if you’ve read any of my previous VL System
reviews. It allows for a lot of control over the various menus and options,
and even allows you to create some custom graphics. If you’ve never seen the
software before, check out the next section. Otherwise, skip on over to the
last page.
Software
The
VL System Software package for the M-Play covers just about every item you
could think of applying to a VFD. I’ll cover the highlights here in this
section.
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One nifty feature that the M-Play supports is
an alarm. The software allows for three separate alarms, and you can either
stay with the stock sound or pick one of your own.
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The Auto User menu controls the order, type,
and timing of the various displays that can be displayed on the VFD when it
is not otherwise in use.
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This is the CG builder, which provides the
ability to come up with your own custom graphics for the display.
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Although the M-Play does work with Windows
Media Player, it requires a custom plug-in, and can’t be minimized while at
work. Even with the latest release of the software I wasn’t able to get this
feature up and running, although I have had it working with the L.I.S. LCD
on the same system. In VL System’s favor are their frequent software
updates, so hopefully they’ll iron out this wrinkle.
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The M-Play can monitor the irreplaceable
Motherboard Monitor software, and will display the data on the VFD.
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The display can also show network activity.
This is a useful feature to have if your HTPC serves out a lot of media to
other computers on your home network.
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