Behind the MediaSmart Connect's fold-down front panel is a USB port and a slot for an optional removable hard drive.
(Credit: HP)Hewlett-Packard's line of MediaSmart TVs includes the built-in ability to stream digital media from your home network and the Internet straight to their screens. But for the vast majority of us who don't own an HP TV, the company will soon have a second option: the MediaSmart Connect. The little black box connects to your home network (via its built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet) and streams a wide variety of digital audio, photo, and video files--including content from compatible Internet services (including Live365, Vongo, CinemaNow, and MovieLink).
The MediaSmart Connect should be able to pull digital files from any UPnP and DLNA compliant storage devices on your home network--beyond standard Windows PCs, that includes network attached storage devices such as HP's own MediaSmart Server and Media Vault. It can also double as a Windows Media Center Extender when interfacing with Media Center-enabled versions of Windows Vista--allowing the streaming of live or recorded TV at HD resolutions. The MediaSmart Connect doesn't have any on-board storage, but users can use the box to pull compatible media straight from an HP Pocket Media Drive (found on the company's PC desktops) or a standard USB flash drive.
The MediaSmart Connect will be available later this summer for $349, and is now available for preorder. (If it looks familiar, it's because HP has been teasing us with it since January's Consumer Electronics Show.) It'll include a learning remote that can control up to four other devices, an HDMI cable, and a $20 CinemaNow coupon. To drum up publicity for the product's launch, HP is offering a trade-in program where 100 people can exchange their old digital media adapter for the MediaSmart Connect. The company is also teaming with Microsoft to offer a series of four online "webinars" to demonstrate the product's features over the next few weeks. Feel free to check them out, but don't be surprised if you're just getting an infomercial for the product in question.
We'll be doing a detailed hands-on review of the MediaSmart Connect once we get a final production sample in July. (Also on deck: the similar Linksys DMA2200.) Until then, the floor is open: do you have any interest in the MediaSmart Connect, or in Windows Media Center Extenders in general? Is the whole idea of streaming media in the home just a niche market that will never go mainstream? Or would you prefer to go with an Xbox 360, which handles nearly all of the same media streaming functions, and adds game playback to boot?
New MediaSmart TVs will sport full MCE functionality
(Credit: HP)HP has updated its MediaSmart TVs for the new year. On the surface, the new SL4282N (42-inch) and SL4782N (47-inch) are very similar to their 2007 counterparts: full 1080p resolution LCD flat-panels with 3 HDMI inputs, built-in high-def and analog tuners, and--the big differentiator--the ability to stream digital video, audio, and images via their built-in 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networking connections. But the big upgrade for 2008 is the inclusion of Media Center Extender functionality, which offers easy connectivity to PCs running most flavors of Vista. Prefer a non-HP TV, but want those same media features? HP's got you covered there, too: the company's external MediaSmart Receiver x280N attaches to any TV and delivers the same functionality.
HP's MediaSmart Receiver x280N streams media via a home network, or from an optional internal hard drive (shown on the right)
(Credit: HP)HP likes to hedge its bets. In addition to a couple of big-screen flat-panel TVs with built-in Media Center Extenders, the company is now offering a set-top box as well. Like the MediaSmart TVs, the MediaSmart Receiver x280N has the ability to stream a wide variety of video (including MPEG-2, DivX, WMV, WMV-HD, and H.264/MP4 files), audio (MP3, WMA, WMA-Pro, WAV, AAC/m4a), and images (JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PNG photos) from networked PCs to your living room TV via its wired Ethernet or wireless 802.11a/b/g/n connections. Local media playback is also available via plug-in USB drives or HP's own proprietary Pocket Media Drive (also found on many of the company's desktop PCs). The box boasts HDMI and component video output at HD resolutions up to 720p and 1080i. The MediaSmart Receiver x280N will connect easily to PCs running most flavors of Windows Vista--and will go head-to-head with very similar models from Linksys and D-Link when it becomes available later this year.
A pair of Linksys Digital Media Extenders will hit stores in November.
(Credit: Linksys)
Linksys is tossing its hat into the 2007 Media Center Extender ring with not one but two models. The DMA2100 is a small form factor MCE, while the larger DMA2200 offers a built-in upconverting DVD player. Both models attach to a standard or high-def TV to stream a variety of digital media--live and recorded TV, video files, music, and photos--from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. Like the rival D-Link DSM-750, the Linksys models offer dual-band 802.11n wireless connectivity (for optimal streaming of HD video) and HDMI outputs. Interestingly, the DMA2200 has the same overall look and feel as the KiSS 1600, a European model from Linksys' European-based sub-brand.
Linksys is highlighting the software "plug-in" functionality of its Media Center Extenders, which will enable additional future features, such as DivX and XviD support, as well as interactivity with other networked devices in the home. But high prices will remain an obstacle to mass market adoption: The DMA2100 will retail for $300, while the DVD-enabled DMA2200 will cost $350. The latter price is the same cost as a 20GB Xbox 360. The Microsoft game console doesn't have built-in wireless, but it, too, can double as a full-fledged HD Media Center Extender--not to mention play games and HD video downloads from Xbox Live Marketplace. Both Linksys models will compete head-on with the Xbox--and Media Center Extenders from rival manufacturers--when they hit stores in November.
UPDATE (9/28/2007): Since this post was originally published, a Linksys spokesman contacted us to clarify that both the DMA2100 and 2200 will support the streaming of DivX and XviD videos straight out of the box--no additional downloads necessary.
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The three antennas should help guarantee smooth audio and video streaming.
(Credit: D-Link)
Networking companies are beginning to deliver the new Vista-friendly Media Center Extenders that Microsoft outlined earlier this month. D-Link's entry in the race is the DSM-750. Like competing models, the DSM-750 attaches to a TV (standard or high-def) and streams live and recorded TV, video, music, and photos from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. An update of the older DSM-520, the 2007 model adds dual-band 802.11n wireless (which has the speed and bandwidth for optimal streaming of HD video) as well as compatibility with the popular DivX and XviD video file formats. Unlike similarly equipped products from rival Linksys, however, the DSM-750 will also offer access to active-TV, a service that provides access to more than 200 "channels" of on-demand Internet video content, including free (ESPN, YouTube, AOL Video) and premium (CinemaNow, MovieLink) services. (Owners of the DSM-520 will also get active-TV access, thanks to a forthcoming free firmware upgrade.)
The wireless-N speeds and active-TV content are a nice step up for the D-Link streamer, but the DSM-750 will have its work cut out for it, thanks to a whopping $350 price tag. That's the same cost as a 20GB Xbox 360. The Microsoft game console doesn't have built-in wireless, but it, too, can double as a full-fledged HD Media Center Extender. And unlike the D-Link, it can also play games (Halo 3, anyone?), DVD movies, and HD video downloads from Xbox Live Marketplace. The D-Link will go head-to-head with the Xbox and Media Center Extenders from rival manufacturers when it goes on sale in November.
Microsoft plans another go at the media center extender concept, but it's unclear whether the new features will be enough to lure more buyers than it did with the first go-around a few years back.
As in the past, the devices are designed to connect to a TV in one room to access music, photos and video from a computer in another room. It's the same idea as the Apple TV, which even Steve Jobs says is more a "hobby" for Apple than a real business.
A real question exists as to how many buyers are interested in these products. Microsoft notes that it has shipped more than 60 million copies of Windows Vista with media center abilities--that is Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate. But, of those, how many are actually being used as media centers, storing the kinds of video and TV shows that would make one want one of these extenders?
More importantly, for those that want this feature, Microsoft already builds it into every Xbox 360, meaning that for as little as $279, you get a full fledged game console that can also download and store movies and TV shows, something these new extenders can't do (The $279 console doesn't have a hard drive, but the $349 version includes a hard drive). Also, the Xbox can serve as an extender for Windows Vista or Windows XP machines, while the new devices work only with Vista.
That said, the new devices, which will come from D-Link, Linksys, NiveusMedia and others, have a couple of features not found in the Xbox incarnation--Wireless 'N' and support for the DivX media format. Plus, Microsoft says, their sleeker and quieter than the Xbox.
Microsoft is promising the devices will be "low-cost," but isn't offering pricing details. More details on the devices, the first of which are due this holiday season, is expected to be announced at the Digital Life trade show later this month.
Longer term, Microsoft also hopes the extender feature will start getting bundled into other products, such as TVs.
When Microsoft released the first crop of devices back in 2004, they were none too popular. Among those lined up by Microsoft the first time around were Linksys, Hewlett-Packard and Dell.
A lot has changed since, argues Hakan Olsson, a senior product planner for Microsoft's eHome group.
"Last time the media center extenders came around, in addition to (the fact that) HD wasn't that prevalent, it was not that common consumers enjoyed video over the internet," he said. "When we launch these extenders, we will also be launching a new feature called Internet TV."
The new Internet TV option is something that is being added, not to the extenders, but to Windows Media Center. Code-named Newport, it adds a selection of Web-based news and entertainment content to the Media Center's remote-controlled interface.
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