Feed: Best Media Player - AggScore: 45.6

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Gary Dunsford is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

D-Link Boxee Box Digital Media Player

Boxee was ahead of the game so to speak on the Internet TV revolution, as many users became familiar with the open-source media-streaming platform due to the ease that functionality could be added to first-generation Apple TVs (although it was through an unauthorized online hack). However, despite the head start, the newly released Boxee Box by D-Link is already having to play catch-up in a product category crowded by other media such as Apple and Google TV, Roku, connected Blu-ray players and online game consoles.

Although the user interface is appealing and it supports playback of almost any kind of digital media file, it does not at present (Feb 2011) support any of the more popular streaming-media services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Vudu. However Boxee say these functions will be added soon. The D-Link Boxee Box Digital Media Player also does a capable job of trying to put together all of the free video content available online but the information can often be outdated or inaccurate. It also comes with a number of its own apps, to make your media streaming experience even easier.

The Boxee Box Looks Cool

The Boxee Box’s exterior design is like no other home theatre gadget you’ve seen. It looks like like a cube with a corner cut off, this gives it it the impression of sinking into your TV cabinet. Its glowing green Boxee logo and clean, sharp edges, give it a geek-chic charm that’s great for those who like to show off their gadgets, but for the purists out there, those same qualities will make it appear over-the-top to those who want their tech to blend in. There’s no denying that it’s a head-turner but it is relatively tall @ 4.6 inches and obviously cannot stack due the wacky design, making it less practical for cramped home theatre spaces.

For those with older TV’s, the Boxee lacks analog video outputs. The ports which, are located around back, include HDMI, analog and optical digital audio outputs. There are two USB ports available at the back too, allowing for connection to a portable hard drive full of content. There’s an Ethernet port available but, as there is also a built-in 802.11N Wi-Fi you won’t need Ethernet connectivity in your living room.

Double-sided remote with qwerty keypad !

The remote control is included and is as unconventional as the Boxee’s cubelike cabinet. The front side is pretty much standard, with a directional key pad, play/pause button and a menu button. Turn the remote over and it has a fully functional QWERTY keyboard, making onscreen searching much easier.

Boxee Box’s remote control

The two-sided remote is a great idea but there are drawbacks.

Every key except one of the keyboard buttons are the same size and all aligned in a grid, which means all important buttons like Enter, Menu, and Delete aren’t easy to see at a glance. The lettering on the buttons is also a darkish shade of grey, which makes it difficult to see in a darkened home theatre setting. Backlighting, glow-in-the-dark or even just white lettering would make a big difference.The remote is RF-based, not infrared, meaning it doesn’t need line-of-sight for operation. A great idea but it also means the Boxee Box can’t be controlled by a standard universal remote.

All in all, the boxee box is a very capable, funky looking bit of kit. If you are happy to live with some of the minor drawbacks, you may want to consider this as an alternative to the other media players.

More information on the Funky Boxee Box can be found here

DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player by D-Link

The DSM-520 Wireless HD Player by D-Link, provides the listener with exceptionally beautiful sound quality and also comes with a wide selection of music-listening choices. It is extremely versatile, being able to stream protected (.wma) files from subscription services such as Napster (downloaded using Windows Media Player 11) and can also transmit audio from other sources such as AOL Live, Live365, Rhapsody and vTuner. It is supplied with free sample versions of both the Live365 and vTuner . However, one drawback of the DSM-520 HD is that it isn’t able to play back AAC iTunes music, regardless of whether the protection status of the files.

Unfortunately however, the video capabilities of the DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player, are less impressive. Even basic standard-definition clips looked a bit blocky/pixely, whilst High Definition (HD) videos (e.g .wmv, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 files) fared a bit better. The DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player, can also output video at resolutions up to 1080i over HDMI.

The DSM-520 however, exhibits no Wi-Fi setup trouble and using the DSM-520 with a D-Link router provides no advantage. There are a a couple of password entry options available i.e. entry via a point-and-select screen or a remote-control phone pad. Alternatively, you can skip these options and set up the network with a flash drive prepared in Windows’ own Wireless Network Setup Wizard instead. None of the other players offered this excellent option.

Setting up the DSM-520 on your TV however,is another matter. If you choose an input like (HDMI), you cannot alter the resolution at which it outputs video to your TV; with the option just being frustratingly greyed out. In order to get around this, you have to change the output to component, alter the resolution and then change the output back to HDMI, an annoying process which you don’t want to have to repeat indefinitely. D-Link however, say they are working on a fix for this.

Despite these glitches,once set up the DSM-520 exhibits an eye-pleasing menu system. The remote control however, needed a bit of getting used to, sometimes having to press the button several times.
The unit also comes with its own server software and the D-Link CD contains an excellent 122-page .pdf manual with one of the best cable guides on the market.

For:-

Easy network setup

Great audio-streaming options

Against:-
Pixely standard-definition for video

Buggy video setup

The DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player by D-Link may not be for everyone but it is great value for money over at Amazon.

Best Media Player

Finding the best media player for you can be difficult. Streaming media players are all the rage nowdays. With the internet so accessible, it is easier than ever to stream data from your PC and then download it to various different media and formats. The choice of streaming media players though is vast and choosing the best media player for you,  is dependent on a number of features, some of which you may or may not require. They also range in price from a few pounds to hundreds, so choosing the best media player for you is vital.

On this mini site, you will be able to see reviews of some of the top streaming media players and accessories on the market.

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