After a rather uninspiring effort in the media jukebox market with the LaCinema Rugged, Lacie is back with a vengeance with the release of the Black MAX, an all-singing, all-dancing media centre with a built-in DVB-T tuner, wireless streaming and internal hard drive.

The sleek black box is attractive enough and although the high-gloss finish collects fingerprints with ease, it should sit nicely alongside a home cinema setup. A wide range of connectivity includes HDMI alongside older standards such as SCART and Component and for network access, 10/100Mbps Ethernet and built-in 802.11n wireless. There's also an antenna input/output for connecting an aerial and two USB ports for attaching internal storage.

Considering the versatility of the Black MAX we were pleased to note that setup is straightforward. A short wizard walks you through the essentials including scanning for channels and setting up a network, with the supplied TwonkyMedia software required on a host PC to act as a UPnP server.

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Sadly, one area that has not been improved is the interface, which still takes the same dark and foreboding approach to media access with simple icons to illustrate video, music, photo and TV playback.

Though it's fairly well structured and easy to browse, a small window that only lists 10 files at a time makes browsing large collections a bit of a pain. The good news is that the interface is by far the worst thing about the Black MAX, which offers some seriously good performance elsewhere and a well-considered approach to media control.

Kicking off with video, we found format support to be what is best described as ‘above average', while streaming performance across a wireless network, even in the case of HD content, is excellent. There's a decent amount of control over files with aspect ratio, subtitle and audio track support and the ability to queue multiple items to a list for consecutive playback.

Even audio control is very good, with similar queue functions and on-the-fly playlist control along with repeat and randomise functionality. Photo browsing isn't quite as easy, though, since no thumbanils are displayed on screen and although slideshows and transitions are available, access is a little unresponsive and loading and controlling playback of images can take some time.

Moving on to the DVB tuner, this is one area where we think Lacie has excelled. Other media streamers have tried integrating PVR functionality before, notably the TviX series from DVICO, but rarely are they this easy to set up and use.

A full EPG and channel list make it easy to browse programmes and schedule recordings, with favourites, programme info and manual recording backing this up. This can also be initiated immediately by pressing the record button on the remote. Full time-shifting (up to three hours) is available and all of these features work extremely well, being just about as responsive and intuitive as the basic functionality on offer from Sky.

Recordings are stored on the internal hard drive and can be manipulated just like regular video. Our main issue with the DVB-T is that by using an antenna input, quality isn't quite up to scratch with digital services like Sky+ and Sky HD, though you can expect similar performance to that found through a standard tuner on a TV.

What was initially perceived as a big problem with a component of the Black MAX has been left until last and will now be understated due to the fact that it rarely became an issue. The supplied remote control is best described as 'extremely basic', with no numeric keypad and a very limited set of controls. As it happens, the layout and behaviour of the interface is clever enough for this not to ruin the experience, but it's hard not to think that a more conventional design would have improved things further.

We were pleasantly surprised by the Black MAX and if it weren't so expensive we'd be offering a stronger recommendation. At around the same price as the NetGear Digital Entertainer Elite, the Black MAX offers DVB-T functionality at the expense of online media access and a handful of other convenient features. Performance and usability aren't quite as impressive, and it's a shame a bit more attention wasn't paid to the interface, but if Lacie's device ticks all of your boxes for home media access, it's certainly capable of delivering.

Lacie's LaCinema Black MAX is a big improvement over previous devices with better format support, media control and versatility. Despite the overly basic interface and remote control, performance is pretty good and, with a strong turnout from the DVB-T tuner that'll help the device double as a PVR, there's plenty to like about the newest addition to Lacie's home media range.