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Every once in a while one of those products arrives in the TrustedReviews offices that makes you stop for a second and go – yes, this is why I’m doing what I’m doing. The AOpen MVP Player might not seem that impressive at first glance, but plug it in, switch it on and you’ll realise that you’ve just got hold of something that no-one has done before.

Ok, so it’s not going to cause any revolutions in the PC market and there are many similar products available, but it is the first unit of its kind to be this small and versatile. So what is the MVP Player? It’s a very compact video, image and sound player, although it doesn’t have a built in screen. The main device looks like an overgrown memory card reader and is available in black or orange. The front of the MVP Player has a slot for Compact Flash Type I/II cards as well as one for SD, MMC, Memory Stick and Smart Media, with only XD missing.

The reason for incorporating memory card readers is so that you can view your digital pictures and videos on your TV, monitor or projector. Big deal you say, several other devices can do this, but the MVP has a trump card up its sleeve. If you look closely you’ll spot a docking port at the top of the casing and this is where you attach the included hard drive enclosure.

AOpen supplies a 2.5in drive enclosure for a laptop size hard drive, which you have to purchase separately. A 20GB drive would set you back in the region of £60 and although this adds to the cost of the MVP Player, you do get the added bonus of a removable hard drive. With a hard drive fitted the MVP Player is capable of playing MPEG 1, 2 and 4 files, including DivX and XviD as well as MP3 and WMA files and of course JPEG images.

Getting the files onto the hard drive is very easy as the drive enclosure connects directly to your PC via USB 2.0. The USB 2.0 cable supplies both power and data connections, but you need two free USB ports on your PC for it to work with some hard drives. It is good to see that AOpen has supplied foam pads for the bottom of the hard drive as well as a foam insert in the rear end of the drive caddy as this cushions the disk and protects it from accidental damage. There is also a carry pouch for the hard disk that helps protect it from scratches when carrying it around with you.

Once you’ve installed a hard drive inside the caddy, downloaded your movies onto it and placed it in the docking port at the top of the MVP Player you’re ready to go. Just be careful when you insert the hard drive into the MVP Player and make sure it is switched off – there’s no support for hot swapping of the hard drive, not even in standby mode. That’s as complicated as using the MVP Player gets and you can now enjoy your movies on the display of your choice. This has to be one of the easiest ways to get your movies across from your PC to your TV.

The MVP Player could do with some tweaking though, but there are only minor issues that could do with some attention. Having a look around the back you’ll find a power switch, an NTSC/PAL switch, a power connector, a D-SUB connector, S-Video and composite video out and a 3.5mm audio connector. Most European readers will notice the absence of a SCART connector, but you could get a converter from the D-SUB connector if you want to use RGB. Personally I would have liked to have seen a USB connector on the main unit as well, so that you could use the card readers with your PC as well as your TV.