Loading extra codecs into media drive

[Dzuma]

Hello,

I bought a media drive (LaCie LaCinema Classic 301395KUJ Media Drive - 500GB, HDMI, USB, Black) and the formats it supports is as following:
Video: MPEG-4 AVI, XviD, DivX (3.11, 4.x, 5.x)
Audio: MP3, WMA
Subtitles: SRT, SSA, ASS, SUB, SMI

Play your movies on your HDTV in two easy steps: connect the LaCinema Classic to your computer via Hi-Speed USB 2.0 for easily storing movies and then connect it to a TV for instant playback. No configuration is required. Store hundreds of movies, thousands of songs and thousands of photos. A wide variety of video, photo and music formats are supported including DivX, XviD, JPEG, and MP3. Movies and photos look much better on your HDTV with HD JPEG 1080p upscaling. With no compromise on quality, the LaCinema Classic goes one step further by adding upscaling capabilities through HDMI output. This user-friendly drive is fanless for silent operation and comes with an easy-to-use on-screen menu and remote control. Compact and lightweight, it’s great for taking with you when visiting friends or family or on vacation.

My questions follow.
1. Is it possible to load up extra codecs (particularly h264)?
2. If it is, are they same as the ones used on computer (windows)?

Thank you.

[poisondeathray]

No.

Most media players use hardware based decoding based on a Sigma Designs chip. Your chip doesn't have h.264 decoding capability. Not even a firmware flash can enable this

Other models with different chips have more capability and support more formats, eg. WD Media Player, TViX, popcorn hour...

[Dzuma]

Thanks for the quick answers.
I guess I got what i paid for.

[lostlyric]

Hi there:

This is with reference to the long "Quote" above. I just wanted to make it clear to anyone reading the above quote that downloading movies to the LaCinema Classic from your computer is one step. The next step is to disconnect the laCinema Classic from the computer and hook it up with your TV to play the movies. Because according to the LaCinema Classic manual you cannot connect it to a computer at the same time as your TV.