Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys Wireless N Home Audio Touchscreen Remote Controller

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased the entire product line of Cisco Linksys Audio products. Purchased 2 Directors (DMC250), 1 Conductor (DMC350), 2 Players (DMP100), and 1 Wireless Remote. The ONLY reason I bought the Cisco system (as opposed to the many others out there), was because I trusted the brand and name, "Cisco." I am so disgusted by this system. a couple of grand down the drain. It borders on unusable. Very unstable, constant error messages, will not play from my iPods the majority of the time (even when it does, it will disconnect randomly), Rhapsody is totally unreliable, USB device connection makes the Conductor and Director freeze up. I have spent several hours on the phone with Linksys Tech Support... a joke in itself. I cannot believe that Cisco would put their name on such low quality garbage!!

DO NOT BUY this, or any other piece in the product line. When I purchased, there were virtually no reviews available. Now, go ahead and research before you buy. You'll find that I am being kind.

I purchased the Wireless-N Music Extender (DMP100) and the Wireless-N Touchscreen Remote (DMRW1000). I attached the DMP100 to my Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver. I use this receiver in my home theater and to drive my zone 2 speakers which cover my patio outside. I used a hardwire LAN connection for connectivity to my home network. I do have a wireless network in my home as well, but have extensive wired infrastructure in the house and went ahead and used it for connecting the DMP100.

All of my Rhapsody music is stored on a Cisco Media Hub (NMH410). I have been using Rhapsody for the last 2+ years and love the service.

Setup for both the DMP100 and the DMRW1000 were incredibly easy. They have a software app that comes with them to help ease the setup of the products into your wired and/or wireless network. Both products were configured and running in under 10mins. It me longer to download the latest version of the software app than it did to get both products configured and fully operational!

During the installation, the software app asks you for your wireless SSID and any encryption key information. All of this is transferred to the device while it is connected to your computer via USB. The screens during the setup process are easy to follow and understand. The DMRW1000 connected to my current Wireless G network without any issues. I have purchased the Linksys WRT610N (Wireless-N Simultaneous Dual-N Band) router, but have yet to integrate it.

After setting up my receiver to zone 2, I walked to my patio and used the DMRW1000 to select my songs. The DMRW1000 was able to see all of my songs, playlists, favorites, etc stored locally on my network attached Cisco Media Hub. I then used the DMRW1000 to go to Rhapsody's online music service to search for songs by Michael Jackson (the wife felt compelled after his recent death). The DMRW1000 has a touchscreen keyboard (QWERTY) to type information. The connectivity and searches were easy to do and the response from Rhapsody were fast.

Another VERY cool feature is once you purchase more than one Wireless-N Music Extender (DMP100), these show up on the remote. Therefore, you can choose to play Michael Jackson on one DMP100 in the kitchen while you have your favorite playlist running on the other DMP100 that provides music to the patio. This gives you complete command of your whole home audio!

Battery life is pretty good, but could be better. I got about 6 hours. Granted, with a new toy, I was playing with it more than under normal use ;-).

Complaints - really none. I did notice that the music dropped twice. Each time though, connectivity to my wireless G network had dropped. I expect this to be resolved once I install the N router (I'll update my post once this happens).

Overall, two thumbs up for both products.