We know that the Apple TV represents terrific value for money – but only if you live your life through iTunes. For those of us who have photos and video outside of Apple's walled garden, an Apple TV alternative such as the Iomega TV with Boxee we have here is a better bet.

But often in the past, these streaming devices have been rather lacking in ease of use. We looked at the original D-Link Boxee Box, and, while this Intel-powered Logitech box coped with all the media we could throw at it, there's still a major issue: price. There's no getting away from the fact it's twice the price of an Apple TV.

There are a few massive benefits with having a non-Apple box though. The first is support for 1080p HD video as well as a huge variety of formats (XviD for example), making converting files a thing of the past.

The second is the support for a huge amount of third-party video content from the likes of TED and The New York Times. Third, and most crucially, is the ability to stream from devices such as network storage drives, and not just your Mac.

There's also the ability to plug in and browse a USB hard drive containing video content you want to play. The box connects to your network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, while there's HDMI, optical audio and composite plus two USB sockets front and back for connecting up devices.

Boxee devices are shipped with a remote that also has a QWERTY keyboard on the back. It's not the best, but it sure beats the Apple TV's stilted text input using the Apple Remote.

The interface isn't as good as the Apple TV's and could be considered a bit buggy in places (a problem since the original Boxee devices), but what you get is the flexibility so lacking with Apple TV – if you're prepared to pay for it.

There's no doubt in my mind that the ACRyan VEOLO seemed like a good idea at the time. I could probably stop the review right there and you could extrapolate my feelings on ACRyan's Android-based media streamer from that one sentence, but I'm going to soldier on because I just have to get off my chest just how bad a device this really is.

Like I said, the core concept isn't necessarily a bad one. ACRyan has been making increasingly brilliant network media streamers for the last few years. They've been getting more powerful, with more functionality and, despite the limitations of the Realtek chipset, the GUI has come on leaps and bounds.

So when I heard ACRyan was using the Android OS to run its latest streamer, thoughts of an individually tailored interface, full web capabilities and the added bonus of a raft of apps and widget happily came to mind. Smart TVs all round then.

Obsolete Android

When I opened the box, I was still excited. It's a sleek, stylish bit of kit, perfect for sitting smartly, though unobtrusively, by your HDTV.

And then I realised it was running Android 2.2. Yeah, the rubbish version of the operating system that was rubbish on the early Android smartphones and was the darling of the rubbish cheapo Android tablets that almost killed the platform dead.

Have faith, I thought, ACRyan must have come up with a stylish interface built on top of the bland stock 2.2 version. And it most definitely must have come up with a way to have decent Flash performance so we can utilise the web to its fullest, with all the iPlayer and 4oD goodness we've come to know and love.

The first line of the VEOLO feature list gave me hope: 'Internet TV web browser, with HTML5, Adobe Flash and Chrome V8 JavaScript support.' But despite this, Flash definitely does not work – unless your definition of 'working' means playing iPlayer content for 15 seconds before crashing the browser.

None of the online video providers worked with either the stock browser or the generally Flash-happy Dolphin HD, and only the most basic of website animations actually functioned. Even ACRyan's own site doesn't work particularly well, covering up some menu options with its jerky scrolling images.

It's a shame – there are some decent points of interest in the VEOLO, but the OS completely hobbles it in terms of web content. The video playback is excellent; it happily zipped through different 1080p MKV files straight from a network hub. There was no issue skipping through movies or with different subtitle formats.

The controller is almost a winner too, riffing on the simplicity of the Boxee Box's dual-sided remote. It's got Wii-like functionality too, allowing you to wave it around to control the on-screen cursor. Unfortunately it's not particularly well made, with sharp edges and awkwardly-placed buttons. But that's as good as it gets.

We were hoping for a device to marry web TV with ACRyan's strong offerings in the network media player department. It could have been the death knell for the media PC. Sadly though, this device manages to make for an incredibly unpleasant user experience. Avoid like a low-rent Android tablet.

Overview

This second version of Apple TV (also commonly known as Apple TV 2) dumped its forebear's 40GB of local storage, chopped its footprint by three-quarters and halved its UK price down to £99.

But its real advance only became apparent when iOS 5 was released in October 2011, which is why we're updating this review, first published when Apple TV 2 was released in 2010.

iOS 5 has opened up Apple TV to a whole new level of functionality, which means that if you're an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch owner its well worth reconsidering Apple's little black box if you don't already own one, because it just developed a reason to exist.

Perhaps we're being a bit harsh though – Apple TV has always been a darn good media streamer to use with your Mac/PC. You simply plug it into your HD TV via a HDMI cable and connect it to your Wi-Fi network using the on-screen menus and you're good to go.

But while Apple's 2010 refresh saw a welcome reduction in its price, it still wasn't clear what the point of Apple TV was.

The biggest confusion is that it still doesn't let you do what its name would suggest - i.e. watch TV channels over the Internet.

Instead its a device for streaming your media from iTunes on your Mac or PC for playback on your TV over Wi-Fi using a system called AirPlay, or for renting or buying movies directly from the iTunes Store, cutting your computer out of the equation altogether. That's all well and good, but it's only with the most recent update to iOS that Apple TV has really found its feet.

The first exciting feature that hooks up Apple TV and iOS 5 is mirroring, in which everything that appears on your iPad/iPhone/iPod touch's screen also appears on your TV as you use it.

This has many obvious applications - from a quick way to display photos from your iPhone to a teacher giving a presentation in a classroom, but gaming is the most exciting one.

Some iOS games, like Real Racing 2 HD or Modern Combat 3take simple mirroring to the next level, enabling you to use your iPhone as the controller for the game, which is displayed on your TV, effectively moving you into proper games console territory: There's you on the sofa, your iPhone in your hand as a controller and the game on your big screen TV with no wires getting in the way.

Anyone who has ever had any experience of doing anything complicated over Wi-Fi might be forgiven for thinking this is a venture doomed to be a laggy mess of bad connections and random error messages, but amazingly it's not - in true Apple style it just works.

Just watch this video of Modern Combat 3 playing on an iPhone 4S connected to an Apple TV 2 to see what a simple and elegant solution it is.

It's almost perfect, and games like Real Racing where you use the accelerometer to 'steer' your car work really well. The only problem is the lack of physical buttons on the iPhone mean you often have to look down at the iPhone's screen to make sure you've got your thumb in the right place to fire, which spoils the experience somewhat.

Next is Photo Stream. Photo Stream is part of Apple's free iCloud service - its designed to give you quick access to any photos you've taken on one device on all your devices.

So, take a photo on your iPhone and it automatically appears on your computer and all your other iOS devices automatically, without having to sync.

To make all this work you have a Photo Stream album connected to your Apple ID that lives in the cloud, and Apple TV can now access this album displaying your photos with ease. So, you can take pictures of the kids at your school's sports day, then watch them back on your Apple TV when you get back to the house without having to manually upload them somewhere, or go anywhere near your computer.

They just appear there as if by magic. And of course Apple present your photos beautifully too - the slideshows are gorgeous, with a large variety of styles from polaroid-like snaps to classy reflections.

iOS 5 also supports Airplay streaming from your iOS devices to Apple TV, so you can stream a movie from your iPad to your Apple TV, as well as from your Mac or PC. Again, it's as simple as could be - when you play a movie there's an Airplay button that turns blue when it detects an Apple TV on your Wi-Fi network.

Just tap this, select Apple TV and it throws the movie over to the Apple TV where it immediately starts playing. It works equally well with music from your iOS 5's iPod app.

Since we first reviewed the new Apple TV back in 2010 the menu system has changed quite a bit, and for the better we might add, but before we look at that let's recap the hardware.

The rear of the device now only has HDMI for video (but no HDMI cable in the box, so you'll need to bring your own), optical audio and Ethernet, though 802.11n wireless networking is built in. Dumping other video inputs makes sense, though it will annoy some as will the lack of phono audio outputs.

Inside is Apple's A4 processor, now one generation behind compared to the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, but still perfectly capable. It doesn't make a sound when its on either, so it won't distract you while you're watching a movie with whirring fans like some PCs can when used as a home media centre.

A shiny new aluminium Apple remote is included with the Apple TV, though you can also control Apple TV with Apple's Remote app available for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone.

Interface

Apple TV works seamlessly with any iTunes 10 install with Home Sharing enabled – all you need to do to set it up is enter your Wi-Fi password and then the sync is performed using your Apple ID. Once that's done all the content from your iTunes library will be available (so long as your computer is connected to the network and iTunes is opened, that is).

The inclusion of the A4 processor makes Apple TV absolutely zip through menus and, having used various media streaming devices, this is certainly the most responsive we've tested. The menus are extremely simple to use - the Apple TV controller only has a click-wheel style navigation buttons and a menu and play/pause button.

Our only gripe being that there's no easy way to go back to the top menu level - pressing the Menu button takes you back up one level, but if you've watched several YouTube videos, for example, you have to go back through each one a click at a time to get back to the menu.

In the US new Apple TV has expands on the UK's four main menus - Movies, Internet, Computers and Settings to include TV Shows, Music, Podcasts and Photos at the top level, but here in the UK we still have just the four menu headings, with Podcasts and Photo Stream hidden away in the Internet menu. As this suggests, there's no way of browsing or buying TV Shows and Music on the Apple TV in the UK - you're limited to purchasing Movies. Your only options for buying TV shows and music is to purchase on a Mac or PC, then stream them across.

The best thing about the Apple TV interface is that content is presented so nicely. The Movies selection is pretty good - it's current and you can view trailers for everything before deciding to purchase. iTunes rentals are available for £3.49 for HD films, £2.49 for SD – you have 30 days to start watching and then 48 hours to finish once you've clicked to rent. You can also view trailers for films in theatres.

The Internet menu is where the rest of the action is. The Podcasts selection again looks nice, and sensibly enables you to just browse all the video podcasts on offer - there's a Featured collection and a Top Podcasts selection, which is a great way to discover new content.

Another example of Apple TV's US bias is the MLB.TV option - that's Major League Baseball, in case you didn't know. If you have a (paid-for) subscription then there's an option to view live games. There's also an option to view the free Wall Street Journal Live for financial-related news. We'd preferred to see a BBC option here for a UK audience instead.

For video there's YouTube and Vimeo. Both of these are superb, enabling you to search for content easily and you can log in with your YouTube user name, so that your Favorites are easily accessible. The on-screen keyboard you use for searches is merely adequate for the task - there is none of that usual Apple inventiveness here, but then, Apple's determination to have a simple remote is the source of the frustration.

Actually playing video - whether from your own PC or Mac using AirPlay or from YouTube or one of the other Internet services - is responsive and the experience is, by and large, pleasant. You can do all the usual things like fast forward, rewind, pause and play.

There's also a Flickr option, but we found integration slightly sluggish. We've already touched on Photo Stream, but again, we should stress how beautifully everything is presented, and the only menu option really letting the side down here is the Radio entry, which is as terrible as it is in iTunes itself - just a basic category tree. Where is a decent search? Or a Favourites option?

From a UK perspective more could definitely be done though. What about iPlayer? Like the ITV and Channel 4 players, it's nowhere to be seen, and frankly, we don't really care about baseball - where's the cricket coverage?

Home Sharing

So, to the Computers menu. You'll need to enable Home Sharing in iTunes on your Mac or PC first and this works alongside your Apple ID.

It's a real shame that the Apple TV can't stream content from an iTunes Server on a network storage device. Some have managed to get this working by hacking Apple TV boxes in the past, but it seems absolutely crazy of Apple to restrict this. Why should you have to have your Mac or PC running to stream media? And also, why does it have to be in iTunes first?

Vast improvements have been made to viewing your own content on the Apple TV 2 from its initial release though. When it comes to music you get album art, although not the nice Cover Flow view you may have been expecting - why Apple hasn't included this great browsing method in Apple TV's software is anybody's guess, because it seems like such a natural fit.

And there's no visualiser or any groovy visuals to accompany your music, which is disappointing considering the efforts Apple has gone to when displaying photos. You could however start an album playing then head off to your photos collection and start a slideshow, but it feels like a lot of hassle to go to. We'd rather have an option right there to just have something nice to look at when playing music.

Your Movies are now grouped by either genre, alphabetically or you can go straight to anything that is unwatched. There's no search option - you simply have to scroll through a list, but unless you've got a massive movies collection that shouldn't be a problem. There's also a preview thumbnail of each movie to help you find what you're looking for. Your TV Shows and Podcasts use exactly the same menu system.

Finally there's the Photos menu - here you can look at any photos from your iPhoto album on a Mac with ease using great slideshows.

Despite its simplicity, Apple TV does have a lot of settings you can tweak, plus a screensaver you can change. You can use your own photos in the screen saver, too - providing they are synchronised with iTunes on your computer. There's also your Photo Stream which you can use as a screen saver.

Verdict

Apple TV is still one of the best media streamers you can get, and is holding off the challenge from Google TV well (we've still to see a Google TV launch in the UK, and Logitech has recently given up on it altogether And while we'd love it if it actually played TV channels the iOS 5 enhancements add yet another string to its bow, and turn it into a must-have device for iOS device owners.

But while we love Apple TV it still has three big issues.

When it comes to performance Apple TV is still the most reliable media streamer we've seen. But this reliability comes at a cost - and that's flexibility. Other streamers can take content from NAS devices and other sources, but Apple TV needs you to have your Mac or PC on, and the media to be inside your iTunes library to work effectively. It seems a bit draconian, but then again so is Apple. But the boons are reliability and speed - Apple TV simply can't be beaten here.

The second is to do with the UK. In the US, the box is compatible with Netflix, providing video on demand TV programmes and movies for a fee. In the UK, there is no such service available for Apple TV. LoveFilm would be an obvious partner, but it hasn't happened yet.

We also don't get the same menu options that are available in the US - we can't buy or rent TV Shows on the Apple TV yet, for example. We hope these things will be added over time, but right now US users are definitely getting a better deal. Some of the content - like the baseball channel - is obviously more suited to the US market too, and we'd love it if Apple would wake up and serve the demands of its UK audience and integrate iPlayer.

You can get iPlayer on the Wii for heaven's sake - how difficulty would it be to get it on Apple TV?

Finally, while the Apple TV can output 1080p, movies are only available as 720p HD – the lack of 1080p support remains bewildering and really marks the Apple TV as a poor relation to other streaming media boxes such as the WD TV Live – even if the Apple TV is a more polished user experience.

We liked

Apple TV is very quick and responsive, and that alone is enough to recommend it highly. The menus and photo slideshows look stunning, too. Last year's A4 processor is still holding up well and the Internet streaming video works very well - YouTube especially. Apple TV is also very stable streaming content from your Mac or PC. The integration with iOS 5 is top-notch, and mirroring can turn a mobile device into a games console with considerable ease. Airplay works like a dream from a Mac, PC or iOS device and Photo Stream takes all the hassles out of getting your shots onto your TV to display.

We disliked

The over-reliance on rentals and lack of a Netflix-like, or even an iPlayer, service is a problem. Apple also needs to loosen up its vice-like grip over the file formats that Apple TV can play. The lack of 1080p HD content is also unforgivable and is a real limitation for iTunes. There are also no cables included in the box aside from the power, so you'll need to buy them. We also need more UK content.

Verdict

The iOS 5 integration means Apple TV is really finding its feet at last. While it was once a curious enigma it now feels like part of the Apple family and integrates beautifully with your Mac and iOS device. The interface is fantastic and the speed and execution of playing media is great, the lack of 1080p is a big miss.

Likewise it's a pain to have to have your Mac or PC on to stream content directly from iTunes. It guarantees reliability, but it's inflexible. At least the price is now cheap enough that, like Apple, you can consider the purchase somewhat of a hobby.

Teufel's MediaStation 6 is huge, heavy and highly specified versus its rivals. The sturdy box is about half the size of a standard DVD player and features a built-in TV tuner and 1TB hard-drive recorder.

On the back are HDMI, component video out, composite video/stereo audio in/out, RF in/out, optical and coaxial digital audio out, and LAN sockets.

Power is from an external supply, and there are two USB Host and one USB Device sockets on the side, plus an SD card slot. If you opt for the Wi-Fi version, a dongle is supplied.

While there are some useful time-shifting and pause-and-rewind tools, there's only a single tuner and it's standard-def.

The operating system isn't too smart either; while you're recording, you can't browse other channels, and the program guide shows you only a single channel at a time. Timer programming doesn't offer a simple way to resolve programme clashes, and recordings are saved in folders by channel, not by title.

Meanwhile, Red Button functions aren't supported. Internet functions including YouTube, Picasa, Flickr, Youku, Weather and News are supported, but there are no UK catch-up TV services, and the Shoutcast internet radio option is poor on UK stations.

Media playback functions, though, are excellent, with comprehensive file support and superb play quality, while providing a useful BitTorrent client function. It's also well built, and playback quality is superb.

Also, it comes with a bundle of cables for all connection eventualities, a huge remote control and stick aerial.

However, This seems like a product designed for the German market which hasn't been properly configured for the UK broadcasting environment.

Back in September Apple released AirPlay, its streaming protocol capable of wirelessly transmitting your iTunes media to compatible hardware. Since then we've seen a handful of hi-fi stereos and speakers come with support for AirPlay's lossless audio component.

Still, that's fat use if you already own an otherwise perfectly decent home stereo setup. Apple's answer? Buy an AirPort Express.

Not so fast: Scandinavian company Audio Pro thinks it has a better solution. The WF100 wireless audio system works by way of two USB dongles – one transmitter, one receiver – whose setup couldn't be simpler.

Attach the transmitter to your Mac; then using the supplied USB AC power adapter and RCA Y-cable (or mini jack), connect the receiver to your stereo amp. There's no fiddling with drivers here: simply choose USB sound output in your OS X preferences then watch the dongle LEDs rapidly turn blue to signal they've paired – leaving you to enjoy crystal-clear, delay-free audio from up to 50m away.

Audio Pro's proprietary protocol is universal and offers system-wide audio streaming, which trumps AirPlay's iTunes-only limitation. You can even expand your wireless setup by adding extra receivers, but coming in at £85 a pop, this rears the ugly head of expense.

At £150, the WF100 set feels pricey for what it is. But if you're eager to mate your Mac with legacy audio equipment that still shines, the benefit might just outweigh the cost.

Netgear NeoTV 550: Overview


Despite the ongoing march of Blu-ray into homes across the country, there's been no let-up in the number of media devices that enable you to get all the media you've collated on your PC – whether movies, music files or photos – and access them on your TV in another room.

These boxes of joy can deliver the goods stored on your PC in a variety of ways: by having a built-in hard drive that you can put your files onto, like the D-Link Boxee Box or the Western Digital WDTV Live Hub; by simply plugging an external hard drive into the device, as the AC Ryan PlayOn! HD2 Mini does so well; or by streaming them from your computer over the air, like with the AirTies 4420, which is capable of punting full HD movies from one place to the other.

The Netgear NeoTV 550 takes the latter approach, but it also doubles up as a network-attached media player, allowing you to stream content from the internet, such as YouTube videos, or listen to radio stations. The NeoTV also caters for those wishing to get their media kicks through a locally-attached storage device.

You can plug in a USB memory stick and a hard drive at the same time via the two USB slots, you can stick in an SD card – which is ideal for photographers or those using a handy cam – and there's even an eSATA connection – brilliant if you're connecting a large hard drive with lots of files on that you want to access quickly.

So, then, nearly all the important boxes are ticked – however you want your media to be served, the NeoTV can manage it. But does it do any of it particularly well?


Netgear NeoTV 550: Specifications

You get a lot of media player for your money with the Netgear NeoTV 550, although it seems to have come at a slight cost – it's a little on the big side, and it's not really much of a looker, either.

It's not a great surprise, given that Netgear is more at home producing slabs of networking plastic called routers. But really, how hard is it to make the thing look half decent? The NeoTV isn't something you would want on show in the lounge, so it's yet another device that will have to be resigned to a cabinet for the rest of its life.

Although there's no built-in hard drive, it's probably no great shakes for the majority of people because there are a multitude of ways of accessing your files either using the aforementioned plug-in external storage, which can be connected in many different ways, or streaming media over your home network.

Sadly there's no built-in wireless, so if you want to stream media from a network-attached PC, you'll have to do it over Ethernet. So, you'll need to put the NeoTV 550 right next to the router, which will in turn need to be near your TV.

Alternatively, you can use the Netgear Universal Wi-Fi Internet Adapter, which allows you to stream with a little more freedom – at an additional cost of about £35.00. You're probably better off sticking to Ethernet anyhow – if the majority of your streaming will be in HD, it'll cope better.

There's plenty of video and audio connectivity at the rear of the NeoTV 550, with both analogue and digital covered. There's an S/PDIF output that, combined with the player's DTS support, means you can connect it to a DTS hi-fi and blow the cobwebs off the ceiling in movies that support it.

HDMI is also included in this line-up, but oddly there's no HDMI cable present, which is something you might expect to see at this price point.

Netgear NeoTV 550: Performance

After a brief firmware update when the Netgear NeoTV 550 is turned on for the first time, you're taken through a pretty thorough configuration, including an audio check and video options, which is good to ensure that everything looks and sounds correct before you start using it.

You then have to select your country as well as the city you live in, the result of which is an on-screen weather app within the main menu – a neat touch, if a little pointless.

If you get stuck at any point here, then you're in trouble – the NeoTV really is that easy to setup.

It'll then try to set up a network share, so that it can access your media files for streaming playback. If you've got a NAS device or another kind of network-accessed media share, then you'll have to manually enter the network details to add it.

Otherwise, if your media is stored on a networked PC, then you'll have to install the software included on the disc that comes with the NeoTV 550.

Annoyingly, if you've got a number of machines then you'll need to install it on every one. It's quite easy to install, though, and once done the NeoTV 550 will immediately see your network attached PC and allow you to access files on it.

When external storage is attached, the Netgear NeoTV 550 will tell you that it's connected and ready to use via a handy pop-up at the bottom of the interface. Selecting the storage is simply a case of pressing the source button on the menu, choosing it and searching through the files until you find what you want. This is a great feature when you have multiple drives attached to the device, because it'll always be clear which one you're using.

The interface is clearly laid out and very easy to use, and the NeoTV 550 responds to inputs without any delay using the included remote control, which is full-featured and well laid out.

The menu is very configurable too – there's a wide range of features available to customise the experience; you can change the font used in the menus or download a custom skin for the interface, for example.

Searching through available content is simple – just browse to the device, whether it's attached or over the network, and browse to the right folder. If, for example, you want to choose another movie during playback, the NeoTV conveniently keeps a preview window showing in the corner so you don't miss anything.

Although the standard menu system lists files, you can view them as thumbnails at a press of the button on the remote using the cover art option. It makes for a much more natural way of searching through your files.

Crucially, when 1080p movies are streamed over a wireless network – albeit a Wireless N one – they played smoothly and with absolutely no stuttering whatsoever. They looked stunning too – crisp and colourful.

The only minor problem the Netgear NeoTV 550 threw up was an occasional delay when fast forwarding or rewinding videos, when it gets ahead of the speed at which the data is coming from the network share. As a result, it's advised that you don't use the full speed of the forward and rewind functions because it can cause the NeoTV 550 to almost freeze when it gets lost in the data stream.

The NeoTV 550 is right up there with the best of the media players in its format support – it will happily play pretty much anything you throw at it, including AVC HD files and MKVs, and it'll even play ripped Blu-ray movies with the film's menu structure intact.

It doesn't stop at just the files stored locally either – the NeoTV 550 also has access to online content through its selection of built-in internet apps. They're pretty slick to use, but aside from a standard offering of YouTube and Flickr, there's not much to choose from.

That puts it at a significant disadvantage to something like the D-Link Boxee Box, which has a BBC iPlayer app, among others.

Netgear NeoTV 550: Verdict

The Netgear NeoTV 550 desperately wants to be the media player to do it all – to be able to play all types of media content and allow you to access them in as many ways as possible. And it comes so close. Only a couple of things hold it back from being the best media player/streamer you can buy.

Don't get us wrong – this is still by far and away one of the finest of those out there right now, and for £125 it's excellent value for money, given everything it can offer.

We liked

It's simple to set up and very easy to use – your grandma could probably even just about figure it out. It also supports a huge range of video, audio and photo file formats, including all the major HD movie files. There's a plentiful number of ways of viewing these files on an external storage device or over a network, and 1080p content plays perfectly.

Finding content is also very simple, and the cover art option makes viewing all your files – movies especially – that much more like you're browsing your shelf in the front room. The internet apps are a nice idea, but until there's more support, it'll just remain a nice idea and nothing more.

We disliked

A lot more thought could have gone into the design of the NeoTV 550, but it seems that Netgear has instead decided to go the anonymous route and make it look like one of its routers – in fact, Netgear makes marginally better-looking routers.

The lack of built-in Wi-Fi might also upset some people, but not that many other devices on the market do have it, probably because HD streaming is such a demand over the airwaves – the AirTies 4420 would be a better bet if this was something you wanted.

Final verdict

While there are certainly cheaper media-playing offerings out there, there aren't many that have the breadth of abilities of the Netgear NeoTV 550, as well as the ease of use and the quality of its functionality.

If you're willing to pay just that little bit extra for one of the best methods of satisfying all your media needs, then this is well worth a look.



AC Ryan PlayOn! HD2 Mini: Overview

A trimmed-down version of the AC Ryan PlayOn! HD2 networked media player, the HD2 Mini is almost identical in terms of specs with one obvious exception: there's no internal hard drive.

The HD2 Mini is a pure streaming device, which finds videos and music from local computers and NAS boxes via UPnP, network shares or from a selection of internet sources, and puts them on your TV.

That means it's cheaper than the full PlayOn! HD2 and also smaller. Smaller than, say, an Xbox controller. And its glossy black lines are sleek and uninterrupted, save for a glowing logo on the front and a selection of connectors round the back.

These include ethernet and HDMI, as well as surround RCA audio jacks, optical SPDIF and USB ports for attaching portable hard drives full of films or an optional Wi-Fi adaptor.

It's silent, and the picture quality is good. If you've got a lot of videos on a networked drive, what's not to like?

AC Ryan PlayOn! HD2 Mini: Performance and verdict

Just like the PlayOn! HD2, our biggest complaint with the HD2 Mini is the lack of polish that's gone into the interface. It's even worse here, though, since the main menu has lots of redundant options carried over from its bigger brother.

Selecting 'Video', for example, tells it to search a hard drive that isn't there. So it does nothing. Getting to a film held on a UPnP share, meanwhile, is just as tedious as on the HD2. There are no less than six levels of menu to cut through - each of which takes a few seconds to load - before you can get to the file you want to play.

What the HD2 Mini should be about is navigational polish and speed. But boot times from standby are just as slow. The litmus test for a separate media-streaming device must be that it's quicker and simpler than firing up a laptop and plugging that into the HDMI input of your TV. The HD2 Mini isn't and that's a problem.

We'd also like to see a UPnP server built into both the HD2 and HD2 Mini for when USB drives full of files are attached.

If all this sounds negative, it's only because the HD2 Mini is so likeable in almost every other way.

It's a charming size, can stream almost every codec known to man and the picture quality is very good, especially over Ethernet. But it's up against a lot of competition for space by your TV, and there's definitely room for improvement.

We liked

The PlayOn! HD2 Mini is tiny, silent and a cinch to set up. As well as HDMI out and gigabit Ethernet, there's a full suite of analogue and digital audio connectors, USB ports and a Wi-Fi option, too. Most importantly, it finds files on the network easily and playback quality is great.

We disliked

It's slow to start up and the selection of internet sources is very limited, but the main problem is that the interface just isn't as well-thought-through as it should be. Redundant options and a long-winded process to get to a shared drive let down an otherwise peerless player.

Verdict

Almost excellent, but the simplicity of design is held back by a clunky menu system.

Most new TVs, Freeview, Freesat and even Sky boxes are no longer just TV receivers; there's usually an Ethernet port for networking features. The problem is that most internet routers are somewhere far from your TV, entailing long Ethernet cable runs or using a Powerline network extender.

As Powerline gets faster, however, so increases its tendency to interfere with other radio users. Wireless connections would be ideal, but typical domestic 802.11g networks aren't fast enough for HD video, and the 2.4GHz spectrum they use is getting very crowded.

A new standard, 802.11n, offers a way forward. It's a more robust and efficient use of Wi-Fi spectrum, but it off ers higher speeds as well, and can operate in a chunk of less congested 5GHz spectrum. Most Wi-Fi-n devices are also backwards compatible with 'b' and 'g' devices.

The Airties 4420 is a simple Wi-Fi-n network extender that uses the new standard to bridge the gap between your router and TV.

The two small units connect to standard Ethernet cables at each end, and are paired together with a simple press of their Airtouch buttons. The 4420TV version also has a USB 2.0 port for flash drives/HDDs, with a built-in UPnP/DLNA server for playing back music, video and photo files.

The 4420s also support Mesh networking, so they can daisy-chain to extend the network's total coverage.

A setup utility isn't for straightforward links, but gives you access to advanced features like Quality of Service settings. There are no off -the-shelf presets for these, though, so you'll need to know your networks to get the best out of this.

Initial setup was easy, and using a Slingbox/Slingcatcher combination we measured speeds above 8Mbit/s – easily sufficient for HD streaming.

However, the ability to penetrate building materials reduces at higher frequencies and at 5GHz we found the 4420's range severely limited, even by concrete and wood. With some difficulty we reset to 2.4GHz, taking a greedy 40MHz slice for Wi-Fi-n only, with better results.

The Airties 4420 is competitive on price and performance with lower-speed Powerline devices, without their interference issues, but an easier way to access the QoS settings is needed.

Available with terrestrial or satellite tuners, network tuners jack into your home network and stream channels to any PCs loaded with the included software or mobile devices with the necessary app installed. Elgato was one of the first vendors of such products but it no longer has this market to itself.

The new kid on the block is the attractively styled HD HomeFree Duet from AVerMedia. Like Elgato's EyeTV Netstream DTT, this boasts a pair of digital terrestrial tuners – and so you could watch different programmes on two computers or record the same channel on both simultaneously.

Despite the name, it's not HD at all – certainly not over here because the tuners only support DVB-T and don't cater for the DVB-T2 system that carries British HD TV channels.

On board are an aerial input, a socket for a power supply and a network port. You must connect the latter to a router for streaming over Wi-Fi.

Installation wasn't problematic. As well as the core AVerTV 6 application, you get HomeFree Manager, a utility that looks after network settings and firmware updates. Chances are that you won't need to run it, as the system is self-configuring.

Don't forget to tell your firewall software to pass the necessary 'traffic', though. However, one manual aspect of installation is inescapable – the channel scan feature of AVerTV, which searches for and stores channels. This needs to be done for every computer, as channel data isn't stored in the box itself.

The tuning process is surprisingly fast, considering that it covers the entire UHF band. A side effect of this is the duplication of channels, as ones from secondary transmitters might be found. You'll have to manually delete any unwanted channels, especially unreliable 'fringe' examples.

Timeshifting and recording

AVerTV gives you all of the functionality associated with UK PVRs, including MHEG-5 red button services (which were, alas, non-functional). Live TV can be timeshifted, your computer's HDD being used as a temporary buffer. The basic EPG will schedule timed recordings, while manual recording is another possibility.

UK TV services are captured in MPEG-2 format – and because the video and audio are 'snatched' directly from the off -air transport stream, recordings exhibit no loss of quality.

Picture and sound quality could not be faulted on our Yoyotech quad-core Vista 'reference' PC. However, viewing on a dual-core XP machine wasn't so enjoyable; live programmes and recordings alike being spoilt by random break-up.

We were more successful with a Wi-Fi-connected Samsung notebook running Vista. The simultaneous use of multiple PCs proved that different programmes can be independently received.

AVerTV cannot record one channel while viewing another on the same machine, even if the software isn't running elsewhere.

Another disappointment is the lack of open standards. You cannot, for example, use other software like VLC Media Player top operate it.

The AVerTV application is for Windows only; the only other option offered is a TV 'client' for streaming to an iPad. But that's something you'll have to purchase separately via the Apple app store.

There's no shortage of multimedia hard disks available, and they're handy for storing photos, music and video files and playing them on a TV or music system.

The Toshiba Stor.E TV+ is a neat little black box that sits alongside your TV. Two versions are available: the one reviewed here with a 1TB internal hard disk and a 2TB model at £200. This is cheaper than rivals such as the popular Western Digital WD TV, which costs £199 for a 1TB hard disk.

Specialist hard disk manufacturers produce most of these devices, and they aren't always as user-friendly as they could be. So we were curious to see what additional expertise mass market brand Toshiba would bring to its Stor.E TV+.

Features

A glance around the back reveals two USB ports – one for connecting to a PC, the other for attaching a memory stick, external hard drive or camera. These sit alongside an Ethernet port for network connection and HDMI port that provides 1080p output for your HD TV.

There's also a composite video output, analogue stereo and coaxial connector for 5.1 audio. On the right-hand side of the unit you get a third USB port and a memory card reader.

We were a little disappointed when we powered up the Stor.E TV+ to find a decidedly functional onscreen interface. Its Home screen consists of eight icons, which enable you to browse the contents of the internal hard disk, connected USB devices or memory cards, or to adjust network and other settings.

One option that did catch my eye, though, was the 'External DVD' icon that lets you connect a USB DVD drive to the Stor.E TV+ to play discs. You can control playback using the standard remote control provided, which also includes an 8x zoom for video playback, 32x fast forward/back or 1/16x slow motion.

The Stor.E TV+ can also play a good range of audio and video file formats. It handled my mixed iTunes library of AAC and MP3 audio files with no problems, and produced good results with a number of HD video test files. Supporting Universal Plug and Play (uPnP), it can also play media files stored on games consoles on your network.

Limitations

The Stor.E TV+ does have some rough edges, though. There's no support for DivX or Xvid formats, and MP4 files from iTunes with the .m4v suffix had to be re-labelled as MP4. The files played perfectly well, but renaming is tedious work.

You can browse individual folders on the internal hard disk, but the device won't let you check your music library by artist, genre or album title, as per the WD TV.

Toshiba boasts that the Stor.E TV+ can store thousands of hours of media files, but it needs to provide more efficient browsing options to help you find what you want more quickly.