All Media streaming devices Feeds

Solwise DMP-1120w

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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 audio connection options, meanwhile, are optical digital and phono stereo analogue.

Once it is installed, you're presented with a list of the available servers. Choose the one containing the content you're after, and you're into the audio, video, and photo options.

Highs:

Easy to install and use. I plugged the DMP-1120w into a wired home network, and thanks to DHCP auto-configuration was playing video clips within a minute.

The DMP-1120w benefits from good codec support. I was able to successfully play MPEG-1/MPEG-2, XviD and DivX files, JPEG photos and WAV/MP3/AAC/WMA audio files are also compatible.

Memory Stick/SD/MMC/CF memory card slots are a welcome bonus on a networked media player.

Lows:

The remote is a disappointment. Its buttons are too small and unresponsive. The DMP-1120w is resolutely standard-def only when it comes to video. Upscaling is not supported by the component output.

The user-interface is best described as functional, merely listing the contents of the current folder.

Slingbox Solo

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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. 3G mobile phones are also accommodated for, but you're expected to pay £20 for the privilege.

AV sources like set-top boxes can be connected via component (up to 1080i, although it's downscaled to standard-def internally), composite or S-video - you also get a common audio input.

Over a home network, sound and picture quality from a SkyHD box are good - a visit with laptop in tow to a friend yielded more variable results as the system attempted to optimise AV quality for the prevailing connection.

Be prepared for artifact-ridden pictures and drop-outs - still, better than nothing...

Highs
l. Never again miss a programme - provided broadband is available. No more boring hotel telly in languages you can't understand.
2. The free player software is available for both PCs (Windows XP/Vista) and Macs (OS X).
3. Very easy to set up - unlike earlier Slingbox incarnations, and the black finish is miles better than the salmon-pink Slingbox Pro.
4. You can remotely schedule recordings on PVRs (e.g., Sky+).

Lows
l. No wi-fi - the Slingbox Solo is resolutely Ethernet-only. However, Sling also sells 'Slinglink Turbo' powerline networking adaptors.
2. For the best picture quality, a fast connection is needed. This isn't guaranteed if you're in a different country - and AV might suffer.
3 .The Solo is incapable of 'learning' new handset codes.

Apple TV

tech.co.uk staff — 1206198583

For IPTV to really take off, more solutions are needed for distributing downloaded content to displays other than a computer screen.

Does Apple's leap from the bedroom into the living room mark a significant moment in this fusion of home entertainment and computing?

The Apple TV is a media streamer that's designed to show content from your computer on an HD Ready screen in the front room, with the added benefit of a hard disk that can store MP3s, digital photos, podcasts, TV shows and movie downloads.

The Fujitsu HDD is a measly 40GB, which is probably sufficient for storing media such as JPEGs and MP3s, but it's poor value when you take into account the low cost of storage.

A fruitless task

There are cheaper and more versatile streaming solutions out there, so why would anyone consider buying the Apple TV?

Certainly, Apple Mac and iTunes fans will enjoy the tidiness and ease with which they can watch slideshows and listen to music in the living room but, for the money, you really expect the TV and movie part of the deal to be significant.

Trouble is, there's virtually nothing worth watching on iTunes at the moment, and format restrictions prevent you from bringing other sourced content into play.

By the end of this year Apple will be offering TV shows on its UK service, but whether or not it will be stuff that you want to pay for is another matter, especially since the resolution of video on iTunes is less than UK standard-definition, 640 x 480.

What might save the day is when HD content is provided, but again there are format restrictions that will make anybody think twice about taking a bite out of this particular AV fruit.

There is no support for 1080i or 1080p. 720p is the best resolution on offer, which must be in H.264 format at a maximum of 5Mbps. There's no MPEG-2, no DivX and no XviD.

You'll need an 802.11g or Wi-Fi connection to stream video content wirelessly. Audio on iTunes videos is in Dolby Pro-Logic II while songs can be 320kbps AAC or MP3, plus Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV files.

One of the main selling points of the Apple TV is that it's easy to set up and operate. Indeed it is a pleasure to use, with a slick GUI and some rather nifty floating screen art that uses your photos or album covers to create dynamic screensavers.

However, setting up computer peripherals can be a trying process. In my case the Apple TV lost its ability to find my wireless network and I resorted to using an Ethernet cable to connect to a BT HomeHub. Here on in, I had no trouble transferring a bundle of content from my Mac, by selecting the Apple TV as a device in iTunes and syncing in similar fashion to loading up my iPod.

Despite the absence of any HD content, I wanted to see how well it worked with hi-def, so I downloaded a clip of Walk The Line and some BBC wildlife footage from the Apple QuickTime site.

More hassle - QuickTime files are incompatible with iTunes and have to be converted to H.264 format. I used QuickTime Pro (an annoying £20 upgrade) and discovered copy restrictions are in place to prevent exporting of movie trailers, so I left Johnny Cash languishing on the desktop and proceeded to convert the BBC's footage of lions and elephants to 1280 x 720 using the Export to Apple TV menu selection.

This option is also available in Apple's iMovieHD editing software for converting home movies in HD to iTunes-compatible formats, and there is a growing array of third-party software appearing that can also do the job (eg. from Elgato). Maybe they should change the name of it to SlowTime Pro - it takes around 45 minutes to convert a four-minute clip.

When I finally got my HD clip downloaded onto the Apple TV, the resulting image on a 32-inch Sony Bravia LCD was excellent, much better than watching it on the screen of my 20-inch iMac. I could have been watching an episode of Planet Earth on the BBC HD channel, such was the clarity and resolution on show.

In fact, the quality of all the content was good. Watching my own JPEGs and a downloaded Pixar movie, One Man Band, it's evident that the streaming process works well, such that you are at the mercy of the original material (poor) and the quality of the screen it ends up on (good).

Sound-wise, the results are acceptable, although using either the optical digital or stereo analogue output you are again dependent on the quality of your amp and speakers and the original encoding used.

To spend time with the Apple TV is an exercise in frustration, if not futility. Operating the thing is a real joy (once you're up and running) but the restrictions on what you can and can't stream are simply too annoying.

Netgear EVA700 Digital Entertainer

tech.co.uk staff — 1205491200

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.

D-Link has already blazed a trail in this market, with its DSM-520. That model streams DivX and XviD - both oft downloaded video formats. However, the EVA700 supports only XviD and that's its first downfall.

We first saw the EVA700 demoed last summer and were underwhelmed from the outset. However, there was no sign of it actually coming to market - until very recently when it was sent to us as if no delay had ever happened.

Yet one word should, theoretically, make it succeed. That's Viiv. Intel's platform technology has hardly been a shining light, but digital media is its key focus. The EVA700 takes this a stage further, since it's Viiv certified.

Usually, Viiv certified hardware just means a sticker. However, the EVA700 has a full Viiv interface, with specific content to download. So if you have an Intel Viiv PC, setting up the Netgear is a pleasant experience, because it's helpfully designed to work with your machine.

For the rest of us...

However, for the other non-Viiv 99 percent of us, the setup is less than satisfactory. We found major problems in basic functionality with non-Viiv PCs - specifically with using the sluggish remote control - and the lack of recognition for our wireless network.

The menu system is relatively poor - especially when you compare the experience to something such as Windows Media Center. It must be said that Netgear is not alone in a poor user experience - other manufacturers fare just as badly in this sector.

The instructions provided by Netgear for non-Viiv PC users also aren't good enough - treating most purchasers like third-world citizens seems churlish to say the least.

However, we did manage to get past our setup difficulties and listen to internet radio through the EVA-700. The PC streaming was more difficult, since we couldn't get Windows Media Connect to agree with our PC and detect the EVA700 - though this shouldn't be seen as a slight on the box itself.

The EVA700 has the same footprint as a DVD player. It connects to your TV via Scart or composite. We didn't manage to get a brilliant-quality signal using Scart, though. For networking the box to your home setup, 802.11g wireless is supported (enough for any non-HD media streaming) as well as 10/100Mbps Ethernet should you wish to connect it to a wired network.

You can also attach music players or flash drives using the USB port on the front of the device as well as view digital photos from your digital camera.

The one saving grace for the EVA700 is that it should fall in price over the coming months; its successor, the EVA-8000 is on the way.

The 8000 handles High Definition video and also supports XviD but, if what you want is to view family photos on your TV and stream the odd video, then the EVA700 will do the job. Just don't expect it to be very easy. Dan Grabham

Apple TV

tech.co.uk staff — 1205161672

Apple TV takes the idea of a media streamer a bit further in that it allows you to store content on its 40GB hard disk, which you can then quickly access on your TV.

This means you don't have to switch your computer on to watch slide shows or movies or listen to your iTunes music collection.

In some ways it couldn't be simpler to operate. If you are using Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), you connect the Apple TV to an HD Ready TV using HDMI (no cable provided), plug it into the mains and follow the onscreen installation instructions.

Key in the access key to your wireless hub and after pairing the Apple TV to your computer you simply select Apple TV as a device within iTunes to start synching your media files.

Making a connection You can't connect the Apple TV to a CRT unless it has component video inputs as there's no Scart or other analogue video output. You can at least connect the sound to an amp using the analogue stereo or optical digital audio output. There is also an Ethernet port, if you're using a wired network rather than a wireless one.

The onscreen menu is a model of simplicity and the graphics are all clear and simple to follow.

Synching content with your computer is similar to synching an iPod to iTunes and you can manually select what files you want to copy over or leave it to automatically suck up everything until it fills up. As well as the auto-sync function that works with one computer you can stream iTunes content from up to five additional computers.

In terms of formats, the Apple TV supports MP3, AAC, WAV and JPEG files and it's relatively easy to convert to these from other audio and photo formats respectively.

Things get a bit tricky on the video side because the maximum resolution on iTunes is 640 x 480, which isn't even as good as VHS. The only video available in the UK are video podcasts, music videos, movie trailers and some Pixar short films.

In terms of performance, the Apple TV itself works superbly. Image quality of photos is excellent if you have a decent HD Ready screen. Sound quality is limited by the sound system being used.

Video from a home-shot movie can look superb, but the problem is showing VGA-quality video on a high resolution screen doesn't make much sense and this is the best you can expect from the content available on the iTunes store.

Converting other HD sources to Apple-friendly material can be done but it's a time consuming process that makes you think twice about the idea of spending quite a hefty sum on what is otherwise such an alluring product.

Pinnacle PCTV To Go Wireless

tech.co.uk staff — 1204721302

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.

Equally, quite why it hasn't been picked up by the masses as a really neat bit of kit has always escaped us. Pinnacle evidently feels it might have the answer, by solving several of the flaws with the Slingbox in one fell swoop.

For a start, there's this wireless edition, which is a godsend if you don't happen to have an Ethernet or Powerline connection next to your home entertainment setup.

The Pinnacle box also lets up to five people view the stream over a LAN simultaneously rather than just one - though because of rebroadcasting laws only one online viewer is allowed at a time.

Finally, and most impressively, the PC TV To Go software fools Media Center into thinking the networked video is a standard TV tuner, meaning you can actually record from the stream and timeshift either in MCE or Pinnacle's own software. This is an inspired addition and something that's not possible with any of its competitors.

It's certainly an intelligently designed and innovative bit of kit, but it does have flaws that need addressing. For a start, the viewing software can't be installed separately from the setup component, meaning a lengthy install on every PC you want to use to watch TV.

A low profile standalone download would be ideal if, say, you wanted to catch a programme from a friend's house or web café.

Also, while Slingbox has versions of its software for PDAs and mobile phones, PC TV To Go is strictly PC only. Quality wise, though, it's back-pats all round, with the MPEG-2 stream over LAN beating the Slingbox hands-down and the MPEG-4 net stream perfectly adequate as well.

A quick polish on the software side and PCTV To Go will have its main competitor on the ropes.

Philips Streamium SLM5500

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One thing that's immediately noticeable about Philips' 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.

Presumably, unless your TV has an S/PDIF input - and we've not seen any that do - you'll need to route sound through an amplifier because there's no analogue output.

Streamium's Sluggish streaming

Although the Streamium has both 802.11g and Ethernet connectivity, it's bereft of USB ports. In addition, the supplied software wouldn't install under Vista, so we had to use an XP machine instead.

Once connected to your network and the server software is installed, the Streamium can play back items from your media library. Image load times aren't the slowest, but compared to the Xbox they're positively sloth-like. Image quality isn't that impressive, either.

The Streamium coped with most video formats we tried, including DivX and XviD. However, large files streamed over the wireless link do tend to pause as the buffers stream empties.

Philips offers internet radio

It's not a problem isolated to the Streamium - after all, you really need 802.11n to view HD - but because there are no USB ports you can't even plug in a removable drive.

There's some Internet content in the form of Radio stations and picture libraries, although these are very American in tone and you end up wondering what the point is.

Overall, the Streamium SLM5500 is easy to use, but its lack of features means that it's outclassed by many of its peers.

Linksys Kiss1600

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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. Image quality is pretty good, although you may notice some artefacts if you look closely.

Wireless streaming

One downside to the Kiss 1600 is that its menus are rather basic. In addition, the 802.11g wireless is going to struggle with HD content; our test clip would pause every so often, presumably as the stream buffer emptied.

Still, you can attach an external hard drive to the USB port or even play HD files using the DVD drive. Let's face it, there's not a lot of HD content to be seen currently.

Although the Kiss 1600 is a UPnP device, it does need either its own PC Link software to be run on a PC, or use the media-sharing facility of Media Player 11.

This means that you can't connect it to a NAS. The PC link software is easy to install and set up: you simply choose which files or folders you wish to share.

This is just as well because no matter how we tried, we couldn't get it to detect our Media Player 11 shares.

Internet radio

There's also no shuffle or repeat facility, nor is album art displayed. Furthermore, while it played back video without problems, pictures took around a second to draw on screen, which was painful to watch.

The Kiss 1600 can also access a number of Internet services, currently covering simple games, local weather, news and Internet radio.

The Kiss 1600's odd size means it won't fit with your other hi-fi components and although it's well-specced, it's just not one of the better devices out there.

Dvico TVIX HD M4000P

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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. Its odd size is to accommodate a standard 3.5-inch hard drive, and depending on whether you buy the P or S versions, it'll take IDE or SATA hard drives.

Download wirelessly

A VFD display provides basic information about the files that you're playing, and the remote has glow-in-the-dark buttons for operation in low light.

You can either add media to the hard drive before you put it in the M4000, or you can transfer content by USB and FTP. Even with the latest firmware the FTP service is pretty flakey, so USB is your best bet.

Two USB host ports enable you to attach memory sticks or external hard drives, but you can't copy content onto the internal drive from them. Setup and operation could be improved. For instance, to change source you press the number keys, whereas an input button would have been more useful.

DivX compatible

However, it runs virtually all media with aplomb, handling MPEG 1, 2 (great for ripped DVDs) and MPEG 4, using Divx and Xvid. There's no H.264 support, but you can set bookmarks on videos, enabling you to stop them and then come back to them later.

One of its most interesting features is the ability to add an optional TV tuner, so that it can then act as a PVR, complete with Electronic Programme Guide.

There's also basic server software supplied, enabling you to host content on a PC on your network, but sadly there's no UPnP support. Still, it's simple to use with bags of features and so is a great choice.

D-Link DSM-330

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Here's an example of a manufacturer thinking outside the box.

Unlike most proprietary systems, the D-Link DSM 330 uses a rendering engine that's based on Firefox, and can be used with plug-ins in much the same way as the browser to expand the unit's functionality.

Mega media server

Its large form factor means that certainly richly served on the connectivity front, offering a wide range of analogue and digital connections. The D-330 doesn't employ Windows Media Player or its own software, but instead uses DivX-connected plugins.

So, as you'd probably guess, it supports DivX out of the box. The software is simple to use and the D-330 is also an easy device to set up, connecting to our server straight away.

Excellent DivX support

Although the unit picked up our video and music folders, for some reason it wouldn't display any of our pictures without adding each folder manually. A small glitch granted, but annoying none the less.

Extra services come in the form of the aforementioned plug-ins that you'll need to find and install manually, and access to DivX's Stage 6 video service.

DivX movie playback was flawless: even fast forwarding at 60x and then resuming playback didn't appear to result in the audio going out of sync. Music selection is logical and album art is displayed while your tracks are playing.

Overall, this is one of the better performing units we've tested. Other manufacturers should strive to make their own units as easy to use.