Apple Airport Express, D-Link DSM 320, Netgear MP101, Philips Streamium MX6000i, Pinnacle Showcenter 1000G
When we first caught a glimpse of wireless multimedia streaming devices last year we were impressed with the potential of this technology, but were left with mixed feelings about the effectiveness of the devices available at the time. Limited to 11Mbits/sec 802.11b, most of those devices were fine for audio streaming, but simply didn’t have enough bandwidth to cope reliably with the heavy demands of high-quality video streaming.
Fortunately technology has progressed in leaps and bounds since then, with more products now supporting the newer t and faster 802.11g standard. With a theoretical bandwidth of 54Mbits/sec, in theory there should be enough headroom in the new crop of appliances to stream your DVDs and MP3s without tears. We had hoped to make this an exclusively 802.11g round-up, but as the audio-only devices out there are still mostly 802.11b, we felt it would be incomplete if we didn’t include these.
We’ve reviewed five of the latest models from top-name vendors, with a range of capabilities, from audio-only boxes to those resembling a standard DVD player with added wireless capabilities. But do they now live up to their promise? Find out over the next few pages. We’ve also investigated a couple of practical scenarios for setting up your wireless dream home, and taken a peek into the future to see what multimedia tricks wireless networking has up its sleeve.
Apple Airport Express
Apple’s Airport Express is the most compact digital media streamer here. Unlike many of its rivals, it is a discrete affair that connects to a three-pin mains socket.
Given Apple’s success in the digital music market, it’s no surprise that this is an audio-only device, and it’s the only such unit here offering 802.11g speeds. It includes a 3.5in audio jack – enough to connect a set of amplified speakers or a pair of headphones, but it lacks digital outputs, which may disappoint some audio enthusiasts.
Options for connecting the Airport Express to a PC are more abundant. It has an integrated Ethernet port, as well as a USB port that can be used to share a printer. There’s a built-in NAT (Network Address Translation) firewall plus WEP and WPA encryption for securely sharing your Internet connection via an ADSL modem.
Installation is easy in principle. Connect the Airport Express to the mains, attach it to a Hi-Fi and configure the software, which includes the iTunes media player.
You’ll need a wireless adapter for your PC. The Airport Express is only fully compatible with those that can be controlled via Windows’ network management tools. Some wireless adapters give you the option of using proprietary software to control your PC’s network settings, so check whether they will relinquish control to Windows before making a purchase.
Given the price of the Airport Express, we were disappointed that a wireless remote control is an optional third-party extra. Without one, you’ll need to return to your PC to adjust your track selections.
These gripes aside, the Airport Express is a strong product. It lacks the bells and whistles of its larger counterparts, but is the only digital media streamer available that supports music bought through iTunes – a factor that should make it hugely attractive to iPod owners.
Price: EUR*129
Contact: www.applestore.ie
Verdict
Lacks the features seen on rival devices, but is ideal for iPod owners
D-Link DSM 320
Price:
Contact: www.q2k.com
The D-Link DSM 320 is one of the more attractive products here. Its design is reminiscent of a home DVD player, but is slimmer and has a more solid feel than the Pinnacle Showcenter.
Setup is straightforward; it can be used over a wired Ethernet connection, and incorporates an 802.11g wireless chip. Configuration is handled by an automatic setup wizard, but if you plan to add the device to an existing wireless infrastructure (rather than an ad hoc network), you may need to brush up on your wireless networking knowledge.
Supported audio and video formats include MP3, WMA, MPEG4 and JPG, but there is no support for WMV or DRM-protected audio files from iTunes. The DSM 320 does, however, support protected wma files such as those bought from the Napster music store.
The bundled Media Server software is incompatible with this service, though, so you’ll need to download Windows Media Connect software and the Microsoft .Net Framework (available via Windows Update) to enable this feature.
We tested the DSM 320 using a variety of formats. It handled audio streaming without breaking a sweat, but video streaming was often unreliable, despite us using a high-speed 802.11g wireless network.
The problem lay in the fact that video would often remain perfectly smooth, but the accompanying audio often became desynchronised, which made our test videos look like badly dubbed foreign films.
D-Link plans to release a firmware upgrade which it claims will alleviate many of the bugs found in our review sample, but this was unavailable at the time of writing. In its current state, the DSM 320 is a likeable and feature-rich machine. Unfortunately, it does not deliver on all its promises.
Verdict
Has great potential thanks to its impressive feature list, but doesn’t fully live up to the hype.
Netgear MP101
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Netgear’s MP101 is an 802.11b audio-only device and it fares well against today’s competition, thanks in part to its straightforward configuration procedure. You just install the Media Server software, connect the device to a power supply and amplified speaker system, and choose between wired LAN or 802.11b wireless connections.
Confusingly, Netgear proclaims ‘802.11b/g compatible’ on the box, which means it is not a ‘g’ product, but will work on a ‘g’ network. However it will not give you the speed benefits of this standard.
The small footprint of the MP101 makes it more practical for installation in awkward locations. Analogue RCA audio and 1.5mm headphone jacks are included, but a set of digital outputs would have been good.
A bright four-line LCD screen helps during the configuration process and lets you easily select tracks and playlists from a reasonable distance away. The infra-red remote control is well laid out and has dedicated buttons for choosing a playlist, genre, artist and so on.
We weren’t completely happy with the MP101’s compatibility with audio formats. It can play standard MP3 and WMA files, but cannot play DRM-protected audio from iTunes. Although you’ll find a free 30-day trial of Listen.com’s Rhapsody music service and Radio AOL advertised in the data sheet, these services aren’t currently available outside the US.
It’s affordability so you can install multiple units combined with its ease of use and solid performance, means that we highly recommend it.
Verdict
Lacks compatibility with some audio formats, but works well and is great value for money.
Philips Streamium MX6000i
Price:
Contact: www.philips.ie
Inside the Streamium MX6000i’s rather substantial packaging is enough equipment to make the most ardent of technophiles giddy with anticipation. The main decoder unit is a chunky affair that incorporates a five-disc CD/DVD changer, FM/MW radio tuner and a media receiver that decodes streaming video, audio and still photos.
Unlike the other devices here, the MX6000i package also contains a powerful 6 x 75w (RMS) surround amplifier and a stylish 5.1 speaker set. As a result, it can be seen as a replacement for your existing AV installation, rather than a simple add-on.
Whereas some of the products in this group test were difficult to configure, we were able to get this device up and running over both wired and wireless 802.11g networks in a matter of minutes.
Like most products of this type, streaming high-quality MPEG2 videos can result in jerky playback, particularly if there is a lot of interference from other wireless devices. The MX6000i wasn’t quite as impressive as Pinnacle’s Showcenter, but in our tests it delivered video with fairly consistent frame rates.
It can access Internet radio stations and stream online video content but the selection of providers if fairly limited if you have an Internet gateway. Unfortunately it lacks support for Windows Media (WMA/WMV) or iTunes’ AAC formats.
For those who don’t have a wireless network, the MX6000i includes a PC Link wireless adapter for your PC, and multimedia content is navigated using the remote control and TV interface.
Philips’ experience in consumer devices seems to have paid off. The MX6000i may be the most expensive unit here, but if you’re planning to upgrade your audio/video setup and want strong digital multimedia support, it’s the best solution we’ve seen.
Verdict
An ideal solution for those who want to bring their living room into the digital age.
Pinnacle Showcenter 1000G
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The Showcenter 1000G is the latest incarnation of Pinnacle’s well-known digital media receiver. The most notable difference between this edition and its predecessor is the inclusion of an 802.11g PC Card that allows wireless connectivity between the Showcenter and your PC, but you’ll need a wireless network adapter to enable this.
The rest of the unit remains largely unchanged. Inside, the device is mostly hollow, but the large case has a good range of digital and analogue output ports at the rear. You’ll find S-video, Composite, Scart, and S/pdif jacks, as well as an Ethernet port, should you prefer a wired connection.
We had mixed feelings about the Showcenter 1000G’s ease of use. Despite Pinnacle presenting it as a new product, we were disappointed to see that it uses the same firmware as its predecessor. This makes its menus difficult to comprehend, and it was only after finishing the convoluted setup procedure that the product upgraded itself to the latest version.
Fortunately the updated interface is slightly more user friendly than its predecessor. We were able to stream digital images, video and audio without much fuss, and frame rates remained consistent throughout full-length movies.
The Showcenter Wireless G is compatible with MPEG1, MPEG2, DivX and Xvid avi videos, as well as MP3 and PCM audio formats. All incompatible files are converted and played on the fly. This is the only device here that can stream TV broadcasts, but you’ll need to install Pinnacle’s PCTV Pro card.
On the whole, the latest incarnation of the Showcenter did enough to satisfy our desire for faster streaming of digital content. It’s still not quite perfect, but it stands out thanks to its solid performance and gets our top award.
Verdict
Still one of the best digital streaming devices available, but it could be easier to use.
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