Think of it as a babysitter for 400-disc DVD "mega-changers" (like Sony's $800 carousel-type DVP-CX777ES). Fill up to three changers with movies and plug them into the FireBall. It identifies each DVD then goes online, through a home broadband connection, to download pictures and information for the movie. Where you once had a DVD player and a pile of DVDs now sits a totally remote-controlled interactive video library.

Even a single changer can benefit from the manager, since the changers themselves only supply a list of the DVDs. Most DVDs come with a text label that players can read, but many do not; on the changer you'd have to enter that yourself. There are, however, DVDs that the FireBall can't identify. I loaded a changer with 100 DVDs and connected the FireBall, and 13 discs were labeled as "Unknown." Most were very new, and were collections of TV programs (The Tick, Tenacious D, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, South Park's third season). On a few occasions, the recognition should really have been better: it recognized three of the four BBC Blue Planet discs, and two of three Marx Brothers DVDs from the same collection.

If the FireBall can't recognize a movie, you can manually check Escient's database. If it's not there, you use the included keyboard to enter as much info as you can. You should go back and check the database several weeks later, because Escient uses the information you enter as a guide to updating its own database. Soon, your obscure titles should be in there, too.

The biggest thing missing from the FireBall is the ability to sort and search by directors or actors. Right now, you get just two views — a picture view and a text view — both listing movies alphabetical by title. If I have 100, 400 or 1,200 DVDs somewhere, I want to find the ones directed by Woody Allen in an instant. A product manager for Escient tells me that this is in the works for an early summer upgrade. Good news, yes, but in order for me to afford the changer and FireBall, I may have to stop buying DVDs.