Hands-on Review: Sansa TakeTV

I usually think of pricey set-top boxes like the Amazon Unbox-compatible TiVo or Apple TV when it comes to watching video downloads on our TVs. Then SanDisk had an interesting idea: Why not make a cheap USB stick, transfer video downloads onto it, and then plug the stick into to your TV? The result is Sansa TakeTV, a simple (if rough-around-the-edges) approach to bringing Net video to the living room. It's not perfect—the selection of TV shows is a little weak, and the remote could be better—but the $100-to-$150 price tag sure sweetens the deal.

TakeTV comes with three main components: the flash-based TakeTV memory stick ($150 for the 8GB version, $100 for 4GB), a remote, and a cradle with standard RCA-style plugs (plus an S-Video output and a power cord) for your TV. Here's how it works: You plug the TakeTV stick into your PC's USB port, then log on to Fanfare, an iTunes-like video store. Pick the shows you want to watch ($2 each, and DRM'd, naturally), and Fanfare downloads and transfers them to the TakeTV stick. You then unplug the TakeTV stick, take it to your TV, plug it into the cradle, and select a show using the remote. Easy as pie.

I tried the TakeTV on my 42-inch Westinghouse HDTV over the S-Video input, and the shows I watched looked pretty good—softer than DVD-quality video, mind you, but better than some of the videos I've watched on my Apple TV, and free from the murkiness and blocky artifacts I was expecting. The settings menu lets you adjust the video output for standard 4:3 sets or 16:9 wide-screen HDTVs, and the stick also supports Divx and Xvid video files—just drag them onto the TakeTV using Windows Explorer.

Pretty nice, but as I said before, the Windows-only TakeTV isn't without its drawbacks. I found the smallish buttons on the remote devilishly difficult to press, and my taps often didn't register unless I aimed the remote at the TakeTV cradle in precisely the right way. A volume control on the remote would also have been a nice touch. And I was bummed to learn that if you stop watching a show partway through, TakeTV doesn't let you pick up where you left off—instead, you must fast-forward to the appropriate spot.

TakeTV—or more specifically, the Fanfare video service—also has a ways to go in terms of selection. When I tested Fanfare earlier this week, only a handful of shows were available. While there was a decent selection from Showtime and CBS (including "CSI," "Survivor," "Dexter," "The L Word," "Brotherhood," and "Sleeper Cell"), the pickings from such sources as Smithsonian Networks, Jaman, and TV Guide were pretty slim. That said, NBC just announced that it's bringing shows such as "Heroes," "30 Rock," and "The Office" to Fanfare, so the selection looks to be improving.

I'm not sure I'd pick up TakeTV for myself—I'd rather stream my video over a set-top box—but it could make a great gift for, say, grandparents with PCs who want to watch video downloads without futzing with complicated network setups. It's also tough to argue with the $100 retail price for the 4GB TakeTV (which holds about half-a-dozen shows).