Verdict: Attractice, simple and easy to use
Paris Hilton is ample proof that people like simple, pretty things. The M-Play 202 is just such a thing: a two-line, 20-character, Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) that shines brightly in a rather attractive shade of blue, and is designed to look good.
The M-Play comprises a VFD and an IR receiver in a sleek, Perspex-fronted, black-framed 5.25in bay insert. It's compact - less than an inch deep - and connects to the PC using a single USB cable. The M-Play isn't as brainless as Paris though, because as well as having an IR receiver, there's also an IR remote control in the box. Cunning.
The remote is the weakest part of the package. It's ugly and, unless you live in a 100ft-tall Gundam robot made from cheap grey plastic, it won't look like anything with which you could feel at home. Its functions are far more conventional though. There are no laser guns; instead it has a host of media buttons, including an MCE button of sorts, and shortcuts for the common Media PC software sections, such as Live TV and Videos. The remote can quickly launch up to nine different programs and is preconfigured to work with Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center and iTunes.
Good as all this is, however, the remote doesn't have all the buttons that the MCE remote has, so it isn't an ideal replacement.
The VFD is also MCE-compatible, as long as you install the bundled Media Home Center software. It gives the usual feedback that MCE displays provide, including information such as channel, programme name, play time and radio frequency.
Unlike Matrix Orbital's displays, the M-Play's display doesn't work out of the box with third-party LCD control software such as LCDC, or LCD Smartie. The control software that VLSystems supplies with the M-Play is pretty good though. It can access a spread of information such as time, details of your PC's hardware, network usage and the song currently playing. The default configuration is good too, automatically cycling through a wide selection of information.
The software can also recognise other applications and automatically siphon data to the VFD from them. Other than the aforementioned Media Center, there's support for Windows Media Player, Winamp and SpeedFan, as well as a POP3 email checker, which can monitor up to four accounts simultaneously. There's no support for third-party plug-ins, though, which means you won't be getting user-created software to display RSS feeds such as news and weather reports. It's a shame that this is missing, because we've come to expect this kind of flexibility from Matrix Orbital and IMon's range of displays.
While this might limit the information you can display, the information that can be displayed looks superb. The VFD is everything you could hope for: it's bright, large enough to be readable from a distance, and it's fast and responsive, with no ghosting when characters move or change.
In addition to the control software that can integrate with other applications, there's also a simple custom character creation app called CgBuilder. This allows you to make your own logos and static displays for the VFD. It is, of course, difficult to make anything that looks decent, because you have to draw your creation pixel by pixel. I'm just not that good at art and should have got Ben to draw some of his fantastic creations (www.russell-crow.com). CgBuilder does come with 23 logos to save you from Windows Paint-esque hell, though, including Pentium 4, AMD and Unreal Tournament. You can also use CgBuilder to customise the standard screens used by the display, so if you think any of the graphics are below par, you can spruce them up to the best of your ability.
CONCLUSION
At just over £50, the M-Play is cheaper than the most recent Matrix Orbital, the MX610, and it comes with a usable remote control too. While it isn't a match for Microsoft's MCE remote, it's just the thing for controlling MP3 playback from the comfort of your sofa or bed.
It's a shame that the M-Play isn't compatible with third-party applications such as LCDC, since it means missing out on having RSS functions. Plus, unlike a Matrix Orbital display, it can't control your PC's fans. The M-Play might not be the most useful device in the world, but it's good-looking, easy to install, and the software is a breeze to set up - you can have the whole thing done in 20 minutes or so. It's a fun package and is reasonably priced too, which is more than you can say about Paris Hilton.
