Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys Media Center Extender

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

It plays our recorded TV, pictures, DVDs ripped to XviD (not DVDs in the player), and music from the other room with an interface that looks just like Vista Media Center. Wife acceptance factor = high. We are using wired ethernet (100) and a 1080p tv via HDMI. The supplied remote is good. Speed of menus is acceptable (even faster, if you turn off transitions in the setup). FF, rewind, pause, etc. are all fine for Live/Recorded HD TV -- looks perfect on our 1080p tv.
XviD files are a little slow to start up on the DMA2100.
I had realistic expectations and we are happy!

NOTE: This note is ONLY for people with a Linksys Etherfast DSL/Cable router. If you have that router, your computer will not detect the DMA2100 unless you also go into the router setup and set Filter Multicast to Disable (which is NOT the default). Thanks for wasting my time, Linksys. After the change, it works great.

In summary - the DMA-2100 is very much worthy of your $100. It's not perfect - but for the price, you won't come close to finding anything else this simple and effective.

Candidly speaking, I am pretty darn technical, so I am confident in my review. Moreover, I am approaching this review from the POV of someone that is not as technical as I am. As an adult male now outside the preferred marketing age group I find it a challenge to get unbiased reviews that are easy to understand and not written by either an over the top techno geek that only cares about stuff that engineers care about, or by a 13 year old kid that forgets I like my life easier these days - besides, I make things complex enough, I don't need my technology to help me in that category. And since this box is for all of my family to play with and enjoy - it has to be easy for them to use, but of quality design and performance that it meets my finicky needs.

First, let's talk about the setup: plug and play? No. Pretty darn simple? Yes. No need to be a cerebral giant to get this up and running. A) Make appropriate connections to TV...plug in...answer some questions about your video and network setup (you need a basic understanding of your connection types)...ask the closest 13 year old; B) install the software from the enclosed disk on your Vista computer, answer a few more questions C) let the Linksys sort through your media collection. Yes - IT IS that non-technical.

Overall, for the price points this Media Extender is now selling at (bought mine for right at $100), this is a superb deal and makes for a fantastic way to connect your big screen (or little screen) to your PC content with minimal technical knowledge required. Some Mom's and Dads will still want one of the kids to set it up, but shouldn't be afraid to try it themselves. Honestly, I know some people bought his wanting more from it. And let's be straight, there are boxes out there that are very high end (some as much as $20,000). But I am not trying to review this by contrasting to those boxes, or even by comparing it to the whims of all the things boxes like this could do. I am reviewing it based on the price point - what do you spend and what do you get for that $100? I think you get a pretty darn simple to use, better than good quality extender that will let you enjoy content from your PC with the whole family and friends without having to all squish around the PC screen.

This is the lowest priced item in my home's AV system and I am truly surprised at how well it functions and the resulting quality of audio and video, as well as it ease of use and more importantly, the price. One of the best purchases I have made in a long time (ok...maybe not including my Wii!)

If you can't sleep, belwo is my detailed review:
1) I installed this in less than an hour on Friday afternoon, by Friday night I was showing off family videos and picture streaming from my Vista computer to the big screen in the family room. If the neighbors didn't think I was a dork before, they surely do now.

2) I have a very large MP3 collection (over 22K songs, ~100Gig), nearly 200Gig of video from my digital camcorder, and over 50Gig of photos - on initial start up, it took the extender over 6 hours to find and sort all my media. It did play those files it found while it continued to search for more. But it did take longer to finish than I thought it would - not a big deal. The Media Extender keeps an eye on the PC folders for changes whenever it is on, so this cycle was not repeated when I added new content to my PC. I do recommend you spend some time organizing your folders to use the My Videos, My Pictures and My Music for sorting content on your PC. Not necessary, but certainly easier to minimize the number of folders you need to menu through to find the content you want. Then again, I am pretty OCD when it comes to keeping the PC folders organized so this could just a personal issue of mine...this also extends to my disdain of the wife for cluttering up the TIVO.

3) I use the Component cables to connect to my TV and hard-wired Ethernet connection to the PC. Video quality is very good, superior to what I was expecting at this price point. As an avid AV buff, I am pretty finicky, so I speak with some grounding here. Some of my larger, higher quality videos take longer (anywhere from 3-7 seconds) to begin play (likley the buffering that helps keep the streaming smooth). Smaller files start almost instantly.

4) I also use the Digital Coax audio out and testing showed the box passes Digital Surround formats to my receiver with no issues. (I tested DD5.1) For those that care, I also have analog audio and video outs connected to a channel modulator for distribution to analog TVs throughout the house. The audio and video quality is obviously not as high as the HDMI or Component, but that is not a Linksys issue but is a function of the technology of those lower grade connection types. If you can use the higher quality connection, do so.

5) On my hard-wired Ethernet connection I never once experienced lock up of pixilation of video and audio. This was for HD content and for standard definition content tested. I also downloaded an episode of Chuck from Amazon Video on Demand (UnBox AVI format) and played the entire episode without problem. This is in contrast to the previous reviewer that said the video only played for 15 minutes - not so in my case, tested multiple times.

6) Does not play AVI files, so I had to download a freeware (small fee for full featured version) video conversion software (I used Any Video Converter - great stuff) to convert my AVI files to MPG2 format. The extender then played all compatible format videos with NO issues.

7) The remote is light weight and seems very breakable. I have high end Home Theater Master remotes, so I may be expecting too much...but if you have kids, this remote does seem fragile enough. Also, the remote is not backlit - maybe not a major item, but for those that like to download movies from Amazon or watch family movies on a dimly lit or dark room, this could be a challenge until you memorize the remote buttons. Since I have programmable remotes, I'll end up learning the codes and loading into my custom remote programs.

8) The menu system is somewhat slow. Not "go-get-somethign-to-snack-on-while-you-wait-for-the-screen-to-refresh" slow, but not as fast as the Media Center software on my Vista Machine or as fast as the menu on my TIVO DVRs. Having said that, for what I want to do with this (it's not my primary TV viewing source, it is simply a way to get content from my PC to the big screen for the family to share) the menu system is just fine. For those that have seen reviews about slow menu, let's not split hairs here...consider what you are paying...and how you'll use this device.

9) Overall video and audio quality: In my tests (subjective of course, but as I said, I am a high-end AV buff with pretty high-end AV gear and a self-designed HD home theater distribution system that feeds the entire house - so I feel I know what I am talking about) video quality is as good as the original source. This means if you download an HD movie from Amazon or from your own personal digital camcorder, the resulting image on your big screen will be HD quality. I was only able to notice some color wash and slight contrast variations. For the non-technical folks, this means the colors on some video looked less bright compared to the HD video coming from my DirecTV service. Also your mileage may vary - consider the length of your cable runs (remember i have a distributed system with longer runs than if you connected directly to your TV with the supplied cables). But then again - please consider what you pay for the Linksys Media Extender...my conclusion is that there is only slight video loss. Audio quality is decent; I did notice some bass response loss and overall the dynamics were flatter (not as much difference between highs and lows or soft and loud passages in the music) than CD quality. Here again, consider your source: MP3s ripped at 128K will sound more "tinny" than MP3s ripped at 320K (which sound more full and with richer bass". Audio from the videos varied with the type. The download of Chuck sounded very good, my HD movies with Dolby Digital sounded excellent, my home movies sounded fine (it is a camcorder microphone after all) and various video clips I downloaded from the Internet (remember you may have to convert format for compatibility with the Linksys) sounded good and bad but was consistent with the audio quality of the original. My conclusion is that there is very little if any audio loss.

10) There are some folks in previous review that want more native Video Codec support (a Codec is what takes a video image and makes it digital ad compresses it to save hard drive space - and there are too many of them for any one box to support them all). Linksys has provided support for some of the more common Codec's so you should be able to watch most of your content as it, but there may be some you cannot. My work around was to use the software noted above to convert the video. This is something you will want to pay attention to if you decide to RIP (copy to your PC) any of your DVDs. My guess is that Linksys can address (doesn't always mean they will), as needed (usually based on customer feedback) support for more Codec's.

I am not unrealistic in my expectations. I didn't want this product to do anything except what the device was supposed to do. Unfortunately, I am disappointed at several aspects of the DMA-2100. I got a great deal on it. Instead of list price ($360) I got it for $150. When I opened the box I noticed the quality of the hardware was better than average. Many people say they don't like the remote, but I thought it was stylish and simple.

Soon after opening the box is when all the problems/bugs began: (I was using the latest firmware as of the date the review was written.)

1. I had problems connecting this device over HDMI. I ended up having to use a video component cable. It doesn't allow you to choose resolution with HDMI, only with component.

2. The device connected over wireless n without any problems. The CD that came with the Linksys installed 200 Megs of something, and then restarted my computer without warning, and there is no uninstall available in Control Panel. (Except for a Radio program that is only 3 Megs.)

3. The interface is sluggish at 720P and 1080i. It's smoother (but not smooth) at 480P. I was really disappointed at this because my Xbox360 interface is smooth, and at a similar list price the Xbox360 trumps this device in power and functionality. I ended up turning animations off, and it reminded me of the Version 1 extenders nobody liked.

4. I have an RCA LCD TV, the Linksys remote would learn functions from my TV remote and confirm with a green blink (red means unsuccessful). But my TV would never respond to the Linksys remote. The instructions in the menu are wrong, they start at Step 2 and refer to buttons the remote does not have. I got the correct instructions by looking at an updated manual online.

5. XviD codec will play on the device. DivX codec (even though it's an Mpeg 4 codec) will not work. You can hack the FourCC identifier embedded in the file to read XviD and then it will work. So this must be a software restriction imposed by Linksys. And I don't want to hack my carefully created DivX library.

6. Certain types of WMV files will garble after about 15 to 20 minutes. Specifically, WMV9 VC1 is the problem type. I'm really out of luck since I only backup my DVD's to WMV and DivX (Since the Xbox can play those).

7. XviD and MP4 video files will not rewind or fast forward. And if you press the skip forward and back buttons the video will freeze for about 20 seconds before it responds.

8. If you press pause too often it'll show you the RESTART/DONE/DELETE screen as if the movie has finished. And then there's no way to fast forward to where you were in the file.

9. The device would power up to the setup screen even though I set it to power up to the Media Center. This confused my wife who is not computer savvy.

10. My Music library is not huge, but it wanted to scan for changes every time I entered the music area.

I'll list some good qualities so that I'm not totally negative.
1. Live TV works well.
2. Wireless N works really well.
3. XviD is a nice touch. (I just wish is could rewind and fast forward.)

Overall the only two things that didn't give me problems were the wireless connection and watching Live TV. Since mostly everything else doesn't work I have to return it. I wasn't the only one with these issues. You can visit http://www.thegreenbutton.com/ forums and see that others had the same exact problems. In the future a firmware could be released that addresses all these issues. If that happens I'll see about updating/retracting this review.

I purchased two of these extenders in Januray to go with my two XBox 360's, and I am nothing but pleased. I ended up buying a QuadCore 6600-based PC to use as the media center, mainly because I didn't want to have to go through the hassle of upgrading my older machine to Vista. I am connecting it to a wired network; I haven't yet gotten a 802.11n router so I can't speak to how well it works wirelessly.

The interface is exactly like it is on the Vista machine. I don't experience any sluggishness - this might have to do with how powerful the PC is. It's easy to use, and my family thinks the interface is a big step up from my Time Warner cable box. This thing is really quiet too - if you get close to it when no one else is home you can hear some noise but I haven't been able to identify just what it is. Compared to the runway-noise level of the 360's, this is silent.

The one compliant I have is the on-screen instructions for setting up the learning remote are poor. They start at step two, and then are wrong. For example, they mention pressing the '?' key to confirm the IR code. There is no '?' key on my remote. Anyway, the instructions are on the DVD in the install guide, so it's not that big a deal. Once I found that, it was easy to set up.

This product just works. Nothing flashy about it, but that's what I want. I'd recommend this to anyone looking to build a home media distribution system around Vista Media Center.

I bought TWO DMA-2100 (no dvd drive) from Amazon and was able to hook it up and get it working on my new wireless N 5 GHz home network. I'm browsing through the elegant Media Center menus to find the reason I bought this thing in the first place - DVD PLAYBACK from my Vista Media Center P.C. -- only to find that FUNCTION IS MISSING!!! After Calling Linksys, SONY(the maker of my PC) and Microsoft... I learned that DVD PLAYBACK IS NOT POSSIBLE ON ANY WINDOWS MEDIA EXTENDER FROM ANY COMPANY DUE TO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ISSUES. Apparently there is an issue with streaming protected content (DVDs) over any network to another device. This upset me, because on the product description on Linksys website it clearly states for the DMA-2100: "With elegant and easy-to-navigate menu screens, you can play DVDs..."

NO YOU CAN'T, IT'S CURRENTLY ILLEGAL! AND THE FUNCTIONALITY IS NOT THERE!

This was the whole reason I bought it. Since connected to my SONY Digital Living System PC are two-200 disc DVD carousel changers (Sony VGP-XL1). I want to be able to watch any of my 400 movies and stream them to any TV in the house by using these Extenders.

Pros:
Easy to Set up. Works great for getting your pictures or other NON-protected content to your TV or monitor wirelessly.

CONS:
Does not Stream DVD discs or any other protected content over any type of network (wired or wireless).

I use this at 720P 2 floors up from my MIMO G router and it works pretty well with the exception of live HD video. Navigating the media center interface is not as fluid as when the PC is connected directly to the TV, and it takes a long time to update my large library everytime I turn it on. I think the dual band Linksys wireless N router would help here (a $250 upgrade).

A big disappointment is lack of DIVX support, but a free download called Nic's FourCC changer will adjust your DIVX files to appear to the extender as XVID, which it does support. In the end, this was not a showstopper for me.

You cannot play ripped DVDs with this product, which is another missed opportunity for Linksys and Microsoft. My extender does not work with the MCE 2005 keyboard, but does work with my HP MCE remote, which is superior to the remote included here.

This extender is small, silent and light. It lacks a remote dongle, which would be very useful for keeping the box out of sight, particularly in wall install scenarios.

I've wanted a product like this for a long time, and although it is far from perfect, I probably will keep it since at the moment there's nothing else available in this product category. I'd recommend it, although not at a $299 MSRP given the limitations I've pointed out.

Unless you are into the digital home as a hobby, it may be worth waiting for feature improvements, price drops, and competitive product introductions (such as the forthcoming D-Link box).

My family has been using the Linksys media extender for the better part of the last month. So far, it has been a good experience and we're very happy with the purchase.

We're running Windows Vista Home Premium with a Q6600 Quad-Core processor, 4 GB of ram, and an Nvidia video 8800 GT video card. We are streaming everything wirelessly on Windows Media Center a Linksys Wireless N router with absolutely no networking hiccups.

Both high-definition and standard definition content streams well. With menu transitions turned off in Windows Media Center, the interface is sufficiently peppy.

My only gripe with the extender has been a lack of native support for certain media codecs. Specifically, the extender will play Xvid files with AC3 surround sound, but not without dropping the sound every four to five seconds. Additionally, Divx files will not play natively without changing the file's fourcc code. DVD .vob files have also proved problematic. I used a D-link DSM-520 for a couple of years prior to this extender and was, perhaps, spoiled by the support for a wide range of codecs.

While I'm happy with the product, I think that, ultimately, I will just build a home theater PC and use this extender in one of our other rooms. While Windows Media Center has a couple of options for transcoding and converting the video to get past the codec issues, I'm not sure that I want to spend the time configuring, troubleshooting, and maintaining a system that relies on video conversion.

I recently purchased the LinkSys DMA2100 to stream content from my Media Center PC to our HDTV. Setup of this unit with Vista Home Premium media center was quick if instructions are followed. It was easy and seamless.

I was able to configure the netflix media center plugin (vmcnetflix) to work with this media center extender to view streaming video from netflix (Watchnow) . It works great, it took several attempts to get this plugin working on extender. The best way is setup the vmcnetflix is to religiously follow the instructions on the vmcnetflix website. Anthony Park's netflix plugin as of this review does not support WAtchnow on media center extenders, where as VMCnetflix does.

The remote control is ok, could have been better. Its a learning remote, I am still trying to figure out how to make it learn from other device remotes. the keys are small but is functional.

network: supports both wifi 802.11g/n, and ethernet port
outputs : component, s-video, hdmi, composite video, digital audio.

note the mac address for wifi is not the same as the mac address listed on the bottom. If you use mac-address filtering, it would be best for your router to discover new mac -addresses to add to its allowed-list.

In a nutshell you will not be dissappointed if you want to leverage media center features on your TV. The unit is very responsive and fast. Go for it.

I bought this product with the WRT600N dual-band gigabit router with storage link (the gigabit router had its own issues - I will write another review for it). The media center extender locked up consistently or would lose its connection to the network (using 2.4 Ghz band on the WRT600N as the WRT600N didn't seem to be able to handle both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz devices operating simultaneously). This may or may not have been an issue with the WRT600N, but I guess I wouldn't have expected it to lock up such that I needed to power-cycle it. I have since returned the product back to Amazon. It's pretty expensive to not work reliably at least 90% of the time.

I was excited when I say this product for sale for just under $100 and I thought that for that I would give it a try.

The concept seems good, but I think Linksys jumped the gun on their release of this product. As it is not able to play all the files that it is supposed to be able to play, that is it might play 1 avi file and not another or even weirder was the fact that I was able to play some files part of the time and then when I tried to play them again it would give me an "Unsupported Codec" error message.

This would be fine and easy to fix, I mean just download a new codec right? Not so simple, as Linksys does not provide the user with any way to transfer these to the player nor a way for the player to recognize they are on your PC. When you look at all the technical support on both Microsoft and Linksys' website (By the way Linksys has one of the poorest Support site I have ever seen, and when you call their tech support hotline they will tell you they know nothing about this product and give you a second number to call to get a hold of their advanced department.) what you are told is that in order to ensure you have the correct codec installed you must open the file in either your Windows Media Player or in the Media Center on your Computer. By doing this you are supposed to be able to then reopen the file on the Linksys extender using the newly downloaded Codec; this does not work!!

Honestly I only tried this with my Video files, and those that worked looked great on my HDTV. And with that being said, I was unable to use/open over 70% of my files through the extender (even thou the majority of these were compatible file types that according to Linksys).

What their customer support will advise is that you convert all of the files you desire to play over to MP4 files, but to do this is not only time consuming but it also affected the quality of the output file. Also both support people I talked to said they have been receiving a lot of complaints very similar to mine and they are not able to figure it out, and one even implied that the product was released without proper testing and advised me to return it and wait for a more reliable version to be released as they would consider it a defective product.

So I did end up returning mine to Amazon, and found an XBOX 360 (the simple Arcade version) for $159 on Dell's Website. And after the 360 as my Media Center Extender, I am pleased that I went this route. And for those files that don't play through Media Center, the XBOX lets you play the videos directly off of your computer without going through the Media Center Program and it will download the necessary codecs itself. I don't even plan on really using the gaming system, but I guess now I have it anyway.

My Conclusion/Recommendation : There is a reason that this product is so heavily discounted, so avoid it. The next cheapest extender I could find was the XBOX, so get it instead! If you don't want to go this route there are a number of other Brands available, so I would spend the extra cash and get something that is reliable and works well.