Hauppauge MediaMVP - any comments?

[RowanP]

Hi there,

I am looking at turning one of my older PCs into a media center, and connecting it to my Hi-Fi and TV. I would like to stream MP3, WMA, WMV, and DivX 5.1 videos.

The only product I can see that will do most of this is the Hauppauge MediaMVP.

Does anyone have any comments on this product? Or can suggest something else that does all of this (without breaking the bank!).

Thanks,

Rowan.

 

[umheint0]

The MVP, just like the SMC SMCWMR-AG - EZ-Stream Universal Wireless Multimedia Receiver or the D-Link Wireless Media Player, are all dedicated media players. They access a network for media (ie, music and videos), and process the signal and feed both video and audio outputs - like a computer with a NIC, sound card, and tv out, without the hassel of an OS or keyboard/mouse, etc.

These devices are great ideas. Instead of a bulky computer and such, you just have this box and a remove and a network and you can play media stored on your computer somewhere else, without needing another computer. The downside is that these devices don't have really any support for DivX or Xvid or other video codecs save MPEG1 and 2 (some support Xvid, Quicktime, AVI, and sometimes others - even fewer support DivX as well).

What you are describing however seems to be a computer with tv and audio-out. If that's the case, get a good video card with tv-out and that's what you need. If you are going with something like the MVP, do your shopping. This one seems to be the most complete package I can find: <A HREF="http://www.playattv.com/eng/" target="_new">http://www.playattv.com/eng/</A>. It seems to support just about all audio and video formats, so would work best, and be far more attractive and easier to use than a PC beside your tv.

umheint0's phat setup --> <A HREF="http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umheint0/system.html" target="_new">http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umheint0/system.html</A><--

 

[RowanP]

Thanks for the advise on the Play@TV from iCude. Looks like it is the device I'v been looking for.. The only question remains is 'when are they coming out with a better remote, and when is 802.11g going to be supported."

I am also going to checkout Dlink Wireless Media Player, as this looks a bit more polished.