A home server is the logical conclusion to the growing media libraries that we’re starting to amass on our home computers. For those with multiple PCs on a network, having a central point from which to dispense audio and video is sensible; add in simple automated back-up and you’ve got Windows Home Server.

When Buffalo visited the TechRadar offices to show off this product its representatives confessed that they didn’t quite know who would buy the LinkStation Mini. A squashed down version of the company’s very successful LinkStation Live range, the Mini packs in two 500GB 2.5-inch laptop hard drives in a fanless casing.

With very little fanfare, Apple finally upgraded the last of its WiFi products still to be using 802.11g to the faster and wider-coverage standard, 802.11n.

An ingenious alternative is ‘powerline Ethernet’, which uses your existing mains wiring as the communications medium.

The DMP-1120w, which bears more than a superficial resemblance to the Mac Mini, jacks into a home network via Ethernet or 54g wi-fi. It will feed your display via composite, RGB Scart or component.

The new Devolo 200AV Easy Starter Kit consists of two dLan 200AV Easy adapters

The appearance of the PLK200-UK system indicates that it is manufactured by a networking company rather than a consumer electronics company such as, say, Apple or Sony.

If you live in a built-up area and suffer from a weak wireless signal on your home network, this directional window antenna is worth a look

The Slingbox Solo enables you to watch your TV wherever a computer with a broadband network connection is available. It can stream video to a computer on your home network, or a remotely located one connected to the ‘net.

This Netgear 'digital entertainer' isn't exactly pioneering. It's been three years since we had streaming of audio and pictures over 802.11b and two years since the first video streamers...

For such a compact little drive, Freecom's new Storage Gateway packs a mighty punch. The styling and finish are excellent, but the most obvious difference between this drive and its main rivals is the antenna that sticks up from the back

Providing a network bridge between an external disk and a home network is a welcome idea, offering anyone who has already invested in one or more USB storage devices a way to network their files, but Linksys' Storage Link is badly conceived

With the ever-growing number of memory card formats available, having a reader that is able to handle them all is growing increasingly necessary.

The Storcenter is beautifully compact, enclosing its two drives in a simple, understated solid metal body. There's support for Gigabit Ethernet, RAID 1 and 0 and uPnP for media streaming, as well as two USB sockets for networking a printer.

The interesting part about wireless technology is that it represents one of the few situations where technology has overtaken the hardware available. Home networks are coming under constant demands, having to deal with media streaming, home servers, high definition... and thick walls.

We've always been enormously fond of the Slingbox, which lets you watch a video from your own AV equipment (digibox, DVD player, Media Center PC and so on) via LAN or the internet

One thing that’s immediately noticeable about the Streamium SLM5500 is that it lacks an HDMI port, so you’ll need to use Component if you want HD output. The only other video output is SCART, and depending on your choice of outputs you’ll have to move a switch on the rear of the unit.

Yes, it's an external case for a hard disk, and, yes, it costs £350 without a single drive fitted, but we're still really excited about this product. To understand why, you have to understand the problems it's here to solve...

Other than the Xbox, which is really designed as a games machine, this is the only streamer to include a DVD drive. The drive is locked to region 2, but it's an interesting addition and the Linksys Kiss 1600 upscales your DVDs to 720p and 1080i

The updated version of the TVIX M-3000U now includes a digital HD output in the form of a DVI connection, but strangely, no HDMI. Connectivity is via wired Ethernet, although you can attach a wireless USB adaptor to the USB input.

Music servers are coming thick and fast at the moment and the Systemline, from a part of the Armour Home Electronics empire, seems like a typical enough example. It has a CD drive, an internal hard disc and just enough buttons and front-panel display to make operation possible without attaching a TV monitor, or using the remote control.

The case feels a bit cheap, but once installed, the drives are secure and protected. The twin-bay setup allows two 750GB hard drives to be installed for 1.5GB in RAID 0 or 750GB of entirely secure RAID 1 data storage.

DVD Maker is included with Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, or any higher version. Does this mean the other makers of DVD authoring software have something to worry about? Well, not really

Effectively a cross between an Mac Mini and a Philips Streamium, the Noxon 2 Audio is a digital media adapter that gives you access to 2,500 web radio stations. Its front is dominated by a large blue-backlit display