A while back, I mentioned that we were in the process of fully refurbishing our home, which we moved into back in May. We’re about two thirds of the way through the work, which has been a hard slog, but the work is really starting to pay off, with big chunks of the house now looking like they belong in 2007 rather than 1981!
A couple of weeks ago, we completed work on our lounge, and one of the major additions to this room that we’re all completely loving is a digital media receiver (sometimes also called a “network media player”) – basically, a “set-top box” that is connected to our home server by ethernet, and therefore can play all of our music, videos and photos over our home cinema setup.
Having had various adventures with beta testing Windows Media Center in the past, this provides all of the media functionality we had with Media Center, in a much neater form factor (which is important when you’ve just spent weeks redecorating the room!) If, like me, you’re building up decent sized collections of mp3s, videos and photos, a digital media receiver (DMR) is a great addition to your home server powered home.
So, in the lounge, here’s how it looks:
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Here’s the kit I installed in the lounge:
 | NETGEAR EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD (UK Link)  This is the model I’ve been using – it took a little bit of setting up to work with Windows Home Server (basically, it needs to be set up as a guest on your server), but it can play pretty much any file format you want to throw at it, and automatically keeps track of new files that are saved to your server. It’s fully HD compatible, with both HDMI and Component connectors, so you can view your videos in full HD.So what can it do? It can:
The unit’s firmware can be a little tempremental, but it does get updated every couple of months, and Netgear are pretty active on adding new features and media formats to the unit. Right now, I reckon this is the best DMR on the market right now. More Info: Netgear | Hands On Review | Newegg | Amazon (UK) | |
 | NETGEAR HDXB101 HD Powerline Kit (UK) The original plan was to run ethernet cable into the lounge, from the under-stairs cupboard (where I now have my router and home server set up). We’d run a lot of cable all over the house, but hadn’t got to the lounge with it at that point. The issue was that at the time we were doing the lounge, the carpets running through to the lounge hadn’t yet been taken up, so it would have been a lot of hassle ripping up carpets all over the place to get the cables in.I then heard about Powerline networking, which is relatively new networking technology. Basically, it turns any electrical socket into an ethernet networking point, making a data connection using your electrical wiring in the home. I was initially a bit dubious as to whether this would actually work, but I bought Netgear’s kit with the thought of returning it if I couldn’t get a connection, or more likely, I could get a connection but it was either really unstable or slow (which would be a big problem for video). The way it works is that you get two largish adaptors (see left) and two ethernet cables. Plug one into a power socket near your router (it has to be a wall socket, not a power extension cable), and connect the ethernet cable from the plug to a router port. Then take the other plug, insert it into a socket near the DMR, and attach the ethernet cable between the plug and the DMR. And, erm, it works! Whilst you never get the speeds advertised by the manufacturers (200 mbps in this case – yes, whatever, Netgear) the connection easily handles MP3s, AVIs, DIVX/XVID videos and photos no problem, without stuttering.As you can imagine, a lot can depend on the quality of the wiring in your home, but our wiring here is well over 25 years old, and the network speed is absolutely fine. So in short, this was a complete revelation, and saved a lot of hassle with carpets – whilst the EVA8000 can handle wireless connections no problem, Ethernet does provide a much more stable connection and higher speeds, so the HD Powerline kit was perfect for me. The kit is a bit on the pricey side ($160/£130) but for a specific need, it does the job. You can then buy single adaptors More Info: Netgear Website | Newegg | Amazon (UK) | |
to extend your ethernet network into other rooms - I’ve now got CAT5 in most rooms, so isn’t necessary for me, but workth checking out if you want your home ethernet-enabled, but want to avoid the cabling hassle! So, that’s what I’ve been using at home for the past few weeks, and it’s really helped me make the most of having the home server. There are alternatives also available – let’s take a look at a few of them.
Audio, Video and Photo Streamers
| D-Link DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player (UK) This is D-Link’s competitor to the EVA8000. It plays Music, Photos and video up to 1080i and comes with a HDMI connector.
More Info: D-Link | PC World Review | Newegg | Amazon (UK) |
 | D-Link DSM-320RD Wireless Media Player with DVD and Card Reader (UK)
The DVD player supports DVD playback as well as SVCD, VCD, CD-R, DVD±RW, CD-RW, CD, and MP3 discs.Like the Netgear EVAs a plethora of file formats are supported. Here’s the full spec:
More Info: D-Link | Newegg| Amazon (UK) |
 | NETGEAR EVA700 Digital Entertainer (UK) This is the cheaper, lower spec brother of the EVA8000. It has broadly similar functionality, but lacks the HD connectivity of the EVA8000 (no HDMI connector). The UI is a little more basic, and some of the higher end features of the EVA8000 are missing. It can play HD video up to 1080i (EVA8000 plays up to 1080p) and misses out on SMB networking, WMV10 and FLAC support.On the upside, it still features bith Ethernet and 802.11g wireless, so for basic streaming of music, video and photos, you’re fine. It’s a great budget option, but if you want full HD video, the EVA8000 is a better bet. More Info: Netgear | Small Net Builder Review | Newegg | Amazon (UK) |
 | D-Link DSM-510 High-Definition Media Player The D-Link DSM-510 is a small footprint media player (and the little brother of the DSM-520 above), which will fit neatly under your TV. It looks a little like a router than a piece of consumer electronics (like a DVD player), and depending on your set-up, it’s white and black colour scheme may look a little out of place.That said, it’s pretty well specced:
Right now, the product is only available in the USA. More Info: D-Link | Small Net Builder Review | Newegg |
 | Buffalo PC-P3LWG/DVD LinkTheater High-Definition Wireless Media Player Similar in function to the D-Link DSM-320RD, this is a digital media receiver, bundled with a DVD player. Compared to the D-Link machine, is lacks the card reader, and the lack of HDMI is also a missing. It’s getting a bit long in the tooth but it’s still a competent performer.
More Info: C-Net Review | Newegg |
| Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P4LWAG Wireless A&G Network Media Player (UK) The PC-P4LWAG is a newer system from Buffalo, coming without the DVD player but offering dual band wireless (A & G) for less interference. A wider range of video formats are also supported, up to 720p.
More Info: Buffalo | C-Net Review | Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) |
 | Kiss 1600 Media Player / DVD Recorder The Kiss 1600 Media Player has recently been picked up by Cisco to be sold under the Linksys brand. It’s the daddy of all digital media receivers, offering an upscalining DVD player (at 720p and 1080i) as well as being able to play most media formats out there.
More Info: Linksys | PC Pro Review | Amazon (UK) |
| Xbox 360 Elite (UK) Not to be underestimated as a digital media receiver. Unfortunately, it won’t strea, some of the more interesting video formats (DIVX/XVID) from your home server, but it works well with mainstream video, audio and image formats and unlike the other devices here, has a great set of kick-ass games to go with it!
More Info: Microsoft | Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) |
| PlayStation 3 (UK – 60Gb Version) Like the Xbox 360, the PS3 is powered by Windows Media Connect so can stream some of the more basic file formats, but lacks support for others. The PS3 can upscale DVDs up to 1080p and of course, comes with a Blu-Ray drive for high definition video.
More Info: Sony | Amazon (US) |
The D-Link DSM-320RD is a wireless media player loaded up with a DVD player and 5 in 1 card reader (supporting SD, Memory Stick, MMC, and Compact Flash (Type I and II)).
So, as you can see, there’s plenty of choice available when it comes to selecting a digital media receiver for Windows Home Server. But what if you just want an audio streaming device, or maybe a digital photo frame? We’ll be taking a look at these devices soon.
