Media receivers bridge the gap between computer and home theater by letting you store your audio and video files in one room while you select and play them on an entertainment system in another room. The first digital media receivers were limited to streaming music stored on a PC over a wired network to your stereo. But hybrid products soon followed — like the Philips FW-i1000 Internet radio minisystem (reviewed in December 2001), which combined a CD player, speakers, and a cassette deck for recording AM/FM or Internet radio. The first of the Philips Streamium line, the FW-i1000 had an RJ-45 Ethernet port so it could deliver not only streaming MP3-based radio from the Net but also MP3 tracks from any computer on your home network.
Gateway ADC-320 DVD player/media receiver
Things got more interesting when Hewlett-Packard released its Digital Media Receivers (reviewed in April 2003). Both models received music and digital photographs and could stream them at the same time. By the end of 2003, more companies were offering both dedicated media receivers — many of which received video, too — and models that doubled as DVD players or video hard-disk recorders. As Wi-Fi data speeds have increased from the 802.11b standard, which worked fine for music and images, to the faster, video-friendlier 802.11g standard, newer media receivers have upped their specifications. But an “old-fashioned” wired Ethernet network is still faster than “g” and isn’t prone to interference from other wireless devices and networks.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering media receivers. First, you need a home network to use any of the products listed here. Second, you can have a number of receivers working off one computer and more than one computer serving up content to a media receiver. So, you could have one receiver in your family room and a second one in the bedroom. Third, pay attention to which receivers work with wired and which with wireless installations. And, fourth, you don’t need a degree in computer science to set up a media receiver, but the more you know about your home network, the easier it will be.
About the Chart
Media types refers to the kinds of program content the receiver can handle, getting it from your network and sending it to your audio and video gear. Basically, it comes down to music (M), photos (P), and video (V). Later in the chart we get into the specific formats for audio, images, and video, but the first question is just what kind of media receiver you’re dealing with.
The next question is how the receiver, also known as a “client,” receives content. Most have an Ethernet (RJ-45) port built in or as part of a PC Card (a.k.a. PCMCIA card) that slides into a credit card-size slot. You run an Ethernet cable, sometimes included, from the receiver to the multiport router that forms the hub of your network. The router also accommodates a cable from your computer, which acts as the “server” in which your music, photos, and videos are stored, and one from a cable or DSL modem. (You don’t need a broadband connection to transfer photos or videos from your cameras and music from your CDs, but the slow speed of a dial-up modem limits your ability to download from the Internet.)
Media receivers are increasingly Wi-Fi savvy, using either an extendable or embedded antenna, or a Wi-Fi PC Card that slides into a slot. A few receivers have a USB port so you can plug in a Wi-Fi accessory that has its own antenna. Outputs indicate how a media receiver can connect to your audio receiver and TV. Most models have onscreen interfaces, and all those have standard composite-video outputs, so we don’t list them; usually they also have S-video outputs, and we do list those. While component-video outputs are becoming common, VGA and DVI (Digital Visual Interface) connections are still rare. Since all media receivers have standard RCA-jack stereo outputs, these aren’t listed. Some models have two types of digital audio connections, so these are indicated. Models without video outputs convey information via a front-panel display, an LCD screen on a two-way remote, or synthesized voice prompts.
Audio, Image, and Video formats refer to the streaming formats a media receiver can handle. Virtually every model plays MP3 files, and many play Windows Media Audio (WMA) files as well. You’re less likely to find a receiver that can play WAV (uncompressed audio), mp3PRO or AAC files. (Receivers can play mp3PRO tracks as MP3 but without certain quality enhancements.) While a maximum or minimum bit rate will sometimes be given, receivers typically can handle music encoded at up to 320 kilobits per second (kpbs). Media receivers often recognize playlists you’ve assembled on your computer using popular song-management programs like MusicMatch. (We haven’t indicated playlist formats.)
All media receivers that support slide shows can handle JPEG images. BMP or TIFF files might be automatically converted to a format the receiver can output, but the net effect is that you can store them on your PC and view them on your TV. Media receivers often let you view slide shows while listening to music, but some let you call up a song on the fly while others make you first attach the music to the slide show.
Video formats supported range from the popular MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 to newer ones like MPEG-4, DiVX, and DVR-MS. Media Center PCs use DVR-MS for recording TV shows (see “Extending a Media Center PC”).
Dimensions vary from no larger than a thick, hardcover book, like the last Harry Potter novel, to the size of a standard, stackable A/V component.
Additional features/notes indicates if a media receiver is a hybrid component that, for instance, doubles as a DVD player. Some receivers also let you browse the Web. And some stream music from Internet radio stations or services like Radio@AOL or Rhapsody that typically require a monthly subscription. All of these receivers come with remote controls. Most of the remotes are infrared models, so make sure you can see the receiver’s front panel from your couch or bed.
Consider inviting a media receiver into your home to liberate all those pictures, songs, and videos you have trapped on your computer’s hard drive.
PDF: Media Receivers Listings
| Extending a Media Center PC |
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Originally pitched as an all-in-one remote-controlled entertainment computer with TiVo-like TV recording capabilities for anyone who doesn’t have room for a big TV, the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition PCs are about to escape their studio-apartment and dorm-room origins. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates demonstrated a receiver that lets you see and hear all the recorded TV shows, home videos, photos, and music you’ve stored on a Media Center Edition PC on a TV in another room.
On the other hand, Media Center Extenders do little to expand the use of content you can’t already share on a network, and computers in other rooms can already access media in shared folders. Of course, any media receiver that’s compatible with the music, image, and video formats stored on your Windows Media Center PC can be used instead of a Media Center Extender. So far, we know of only two, both hybrid DVD player/media receivers that play WMA and DVR-MS files, among other formats — the Gateway ADC-320 (photo on first page) and the Apex Digital AD-8000N. — M.A |
