Escient: making technology behave

Escient's FireBall media servers automatically store, secure, and catalogue your entire entertainment collection. There is no better way to enjoy your home theater than with a Fireball's ability to graphically organize and display your entire DVD, CD, and digital music collection right on your big screen! With the ability to manage 100s, even 1000s, of DVDs and CDs in external changers, Escient provides instant access to even the largest music and movie collections through an often-imitated, but never equalled, easy-to-use and intuitive on-screen interface.

So why am I yammering about that product in this product description? I'm glad you asked! (Although, technically, since "you," as I write this, cramped in my overheated cubicle next to several influenza infected co-workers, exist nowhere outside of my imagination, you didn't ask... I did. Never mind that.)

I rhapsodize about the Fireball line of media servers because the Escient MP200 allows you to extend that line's fantastic feature set to any number of rooms in your house for a fraction of the price of buying additional servers. The ultimate companion product to Escient's award winning FireBall line, the MP200 allows you to remotely manage, browse, and play DVDs, CDs, and digital music. The FireBall MP200 provides an independent on-screen TV user interface, remote control, and CD quality digital audio output to any room in your home. When connected to any of Escient's multi-zone FireBall Digital Media Managers and multiple carousel changers, you can even play DVDs in two different rooms simultaneously!

Getting more for your money

The MP200 helps you make the most of your DVD investment. The Escient FireBall MP200 works in conjunction with your multi-zone Fireball media server and Sony DVP-CX777ES 400 disk DVD/CD changers to provide both convenience and time saving features for every home theater such as instant access to any movie in your collection, automatic disc recognition, and efficient storage for your DVD discs. If you love movies, you're going to love what the MP200 brings to the rooms in your life.

Easy peasy features at your fingertips

All you have to do is load your CDs and DVDs into one or more attached changers and wait as your multi-zone Escient FireBall media server and MP200 team up to fill your house with entertainment options. The media server scans each DVD, then connects to either the Gracenote CDDB or Escient MovieDB databases to download information including: artist, song list, movie cast, MPAA rating, description, running time, even the jacket cover art. Next thing you know, you can see everything you'd ever need to know about your collection organized on screens in multiple rooms all over the house. Maybe you want to view lists of music by genre, movies by alphabetized titles, or, in order to recreate that music or video store experience, you can shop the whole shebang by viewing the cover art, waiting for something to catch your eye. What will definitely catch your eye is the way the MP200 provides a separate customizable graphical user interface for each room. Choose a "skin" that best suits your mood, or match it to the different rooms different painted accent walls. The choice is yours.

With a little help from its friends (at Sony)

All by its lonesome, the MP200 is no more that a $1000 paperweight, but that paperweight has some powerful friends. By getting them together, you can manage as many as 2000 DVDs and CDs. There is no safer, or more convenient, way to store your movie and music collection than to archive it permanently within a carousel changer . . . or five. That is the maximum number of Sony DVP-CX777ES 400 disk DVD/CD changers that can be hooked up to the top-end Fireball media server. So — do the math — if you have over 2000 movies or CDs that you require immediate access to at the snap of your fingers, you'll need to find another system. If 2000 has you covered, then you'll be happy as a clam with the expandable capacity offered by the MP200 and some further wear on your credit card.

Comparison Specifications

• MUSIC & MOVIE MANAGER FEATURES
• Remote video player/Network music player: all features rely on connection to an Escient Fireball media server (CD/DVD) and Sony DVP-CX777ES carousel changers (for DVD)
• Second room instant media access — view any physical DVD or CD in your collection (organized by genre, artist, title, or cover art) using on-screen guide
• Automatic CD identification — uses GracenoteCDDB for perfect CD matching
• Second room automatic DVD identification — uses Escient MovieDB for perfect DVD matching
• Second room automatic CD/DVD cover art retrieval
• Parental control through media server — block children's access to inappropriate programming
• Fully customizeable — create and edit your own movie groups and add your own descriptions and notes
• Free WMA and Shoutcast internet radio — uses the Escient RadioDB tuning service
• 100% digital music stream

Additional Specifications

• Independent user interface and control for each room with a MP200 unit
• Wired or wireless audio capabilities: built-in 10/10base T Ethernet networking or connect wireless Ethernet adapters
• Gapless audio playback for classical and live recordings
• Supported audio formats: PCM, MP3, FLAC, WMA, AAC
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• Minimum system requirements for music: Fireball music server (MX, AVX, E2, or SE-80) and TV
• Minimum system requirements for movies: multi-zone Fireball music server, Sony DVP-CX777ES changer (watching two different movies requires at least two changers), and TV
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Manufacturer Specifications

• CONNECTIVITY/INTERFACE/CONTROL FEATURES
• Back panel connections: digital audio (optical/coax) in/out, analog audio (stereo) in/out, video (composite, s-video, component) in/out, ethernet, RS-232, IR in/out
• On-screen graphical user interface with customizeable themes and personalized backgrounds (skins)
• PC or Mac file sharing using FireBall PC technology
• Web server and PDA interface — remote control and music streaming from any standard web browser or PDA
• Sophisticated control interface enables integration with Creston, AMX, and other home automation and third party remote control systems
• IR remote

Dimensional Specifications

• Dimensions: 17.5" W x 11.87" D x 4.64" H

Escient FIREBALL MP200 Warranty Details

One-year full warranty covering parts, labor, and telephone support