OTHER TECH

The VideoReQuest requires two more connections: an active Internet link through the supplied RJ-45 Ethernet cable and a connection to your TV so you can see the onscreen menus.

The box includes all manner of outputs, though not all can be active simultaneously. Your choices are composite and S-video, composite and interlaced component video (480i), progressive-scan component video (720p), or VGA. Since the VideoReQuest does no video switching, you might have to switch inputs on your TV or A/V receiver to view the ReQuest's menus and then switch again to go back to watching DVDs.

One VideoReQuest can control as many as four changers at once, but you'll need third-party hardware in the form of a home automation system or a standalone video switcher that accepts RS-232 control signals. ReQuest recommends any of three switchers from Key Digital, Zektor, and Sima, priced from $500 to $700.

OPERATION To accommodate 400 DVDs, the slot spacing on the Sony changer is very tight, requiring near-surgical precision to load or remove discs. I loaded it with a variety of new and old discs to test the VideoReQuest's recognition abilities, including some concert DVDs and multidisc sets.

Once the changer door closes, the carousel takes a spin around to check which slots are populated. The changer reads the discs' TOCs and sends the information to the VideoReQuest, which then goes online to the AllMovieGuide.com database and downloads things like title, director, actors, rating, genre, and a synopsis of the action. A second display page for each movie lists individual chapters. Lookup takes about 40 seconds per disc and requires zero effort on your part. Information is automatically collected until all DVDs in the changer are cataloged.

The real fun begins once you start browsing. Finding a disc in my collection was never so easy. In the mood for a comedy? Search by genre. Want to find all movies staring Jack Black? Sort by actor. You can also sort by directors or ratings, or just scroll through your movies. After a disc is selected through the VideoReQuest, the changer functions just like a regular DVD player.

I was a little disappointed that the controller didn't load any cover art with the movies. Instead, every disc displayed a large, black rectangle that said, "Video ReQuest." Company founder Steven Vasquez says the images will become available through automatic software updates as the company obtains rights.

Nonetheless, I stumbled across a little gem that isn't mentioned anywhere in the manual. Typing in the controller's IP address on my computer brought up a DVD Image Manager that walked me through finding and downloading cover art online and uploading it to the VideoReQuest.

PERFORMANCE The VideoReQuest got a perfect score retrieving movies, always pulling the correct disc. Time elapsed from pressing the play button to getting a movie onscreen was about 25 seconds, and the disc often jumped right to the film, bypassing FBI warning, previews, and menu screens - a nice touch.

There were a few hiccups, though. For one, a pair of fairly loud fans run all the time. This never bothered me during movie watching, but if you're sensitive to noise, check it out before buying.

Information was frequently missing from the All Movie Guide downloads. Blockbusters like Finding Nemo and The Shawshank Redemption returned no information whatsoever on director, cast, or plot. And many DVDs returned spotty information on chapters, or none at all. This was particularly annoying on concert discs where I wanted to select a specific song. Multiple-disc sets featured their own information gremlins. The Star Wars Trilogy , for instance, returned no information on the films, and all three movie discs were identified as "Star Wars Trilogy [4 Disc] Disc 1." ReQuest assured us that all these information problems had been addressed in a software update scheduled to be released shortly (it should be incorporated in any products purchased after this review appears).

Early in my evaluation I had a couple of problems that inexplicably cleared up while the VideoRequest was shut down during a two-week vacation. First, I encountered repeated lock-ups while trying to update disc information. Then I had a problem getting the VideoReQuest to find discs again after they'd been removed from the changer and later reinserted. After I returned from vacation and rebooted the system, both problems failed to recur during dozens of hours of use. I can't say whether the fix resulted from an automatic software update or whether the hard power cycling managed to clear whatever had been hanging it up before.

BOTTOM LINE If your shelf space is being overrun by shiny plastic discs and you spend more time looking for movies than actually watching them, VideoReQuest is an attractive solution. While the Kaleidescape has it beat in many areas - lightning-fast access time, the ability to stream multiple movies at once, built-in parental controls, and so forth - it costs more than ten times as much. For those with the means, Kaleidescape is the way to go. For the other 99% of us, VideoReQuest has a lot to offer.