Customer Reviews

HP X280N MediaSmart Connect

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

August 3rd, 2008

I have been using a home built media center for about 1.5 years. It holds most of the kids movies (DIVX & XVID) and does recording of SD and HDTV. The main issue I had was that it was Noisy and generated a lot of heat in the media cabinet where system and other components were mounted. My goal was to move my MCE to the basement and use extenders in the house. I had a couple of requirements before I would switch this out for an extender.

1) WIFE Friendly

2) Support HDTV

2) Must play Amazon UNBOX Files

3) Must play DIVX (XVID) formats.

4) Must be able to schedule recordings from the Extender

Thursday I got the MediaSmart Connect and started with the install... When I first set it up, I installed the HP Software and went through the procedure for connecting the extender to the my Vista MCE system. Initially I was a little disappointed, it was slow and Amazon Unbox videos would not play. I also noticed that my MCE system was Locking up. I decided that this might be more due to my MCE system. So Friday night, I completely re-installed vista, MCE, but did not install the HP software.

Once the system was running (YOU MUST INSTALL SP1), my VISTA MCE system found the extender automatically. It worked GREAT... The MediaSmart Connect was much more responsive, MCE no longer locked up. And best of all Amazon Unbox video's will play through my MediaSmart Connect. I gave it the Wife test last night and she loved it... The with the Main MCE system moved to the basement and only the MediaSmart Connect visible, she was happy. No more noisy fans running and we can now close the doors of the media cabinet with out worrying about overheating.

A couple of Notes:

1) The Media Smart will Play Unbox videos from your MCE Machine, but if you move the storage of the Unbox files to somewhere other then the installed location you may have problems.

2) I am using a wired connection, I have not tested the performance of the wireless side.

3) I am not using the HP software, it is extender mode only.

If you are currently using a Media Center, this system is EASY to add on.... So far I am very pleased, will update this again with any issues I have after I have had a chance to run it for a week or two.

I've tried one other media streaming device to date. A Dlink DSM-750. I wouldn't recommend that product to anyone. I returned that device and purchased the HP MediaSmart Connect X280N.

I can recommend this device to anyone if they want something that works out of the box and doesn't require alot of tweaking. In my experience, it is pretty much plug and play. The UI is a bit slow and clunky, but it works and does exactly what it is intended to do without any problems. For me I wanted a few things (in no particular order)...

1) Netflix, Hulu, and some other Internet Streaming (via PlayOn and other Media Servers)
2) Windows XP and WMP11 compatibility (i.e. for media on my computers).
3) Media Center Extender capability (I do have one Vista machine dedicated to that).
4) Plug and Play (my time is precious and I'd rather be doing other things).
5) Handle all the formats/codecs for *my* media and the media I want to watch
6) At least 720p...sorry, guys, I can't really tell too much of a difference between 1080 and 720p. Sure, there is a bit, but I grew up with VCR's, so 720p is pretty darn good for me.
7) WIRELESS N capability. I hate wires.

If you want all the above, with emphasis on Plug and Play and Wireless N. I would recommend the HP MediaSmart Connect. As a point of reference, I spent two days fumbling around with the DSM-750, I spent literally 10 minutes with the HP.

Regards....

The spec's are great and it does what it says it does (sort of).

I have two major issues with this product. 1) Very SLOW response to buttons, sometimes it take 5-15 seconds respond to simple things. At first I thought it was because of networking, but it is SLOW even when reading from the internal pocket drive. and 2) On some files (WMV) is stops every 5 to 10 minutes with the error "failed to play media content". Pressing OK, Back, play, resume causes the video to continue from where it left off only to repeat the problem in 5-10 minutes. This is happening both from network file and files on the pocket drive. When trying to get support from HP the product is not on the IVR system and after 16 attempts (and 3 hours time) with many promises to "connect me to tech support" only to get lost or transfered to some other department I gave up. Then I tried to use the eMail support option, I received a confirming email stating the I would would get a response within 24 hours, that was 4 days ago. No response.

If the problems are fixed this is a great product, but until then I would have to rate this as a don't buy.

How I wrote my review:

Timing for this review: After one month of Daily use of the HPx280n

Background: I did not read any other review of this product. I'm trying to be the most objective I can.

Previous experience with other streamers: I will try to compare my Experience with HPx280n to my experience with my other streamer: Netgear EVA8000 (I have used the EVA8000 for more than one year . You also can read my review about that device in Amazon.com).
Everything that is stated in the box that this device can do is true (not the same with the EVA8000).

It's important for you to consider at least 2 things :
1) The HP software is great but, for the best experience with this device you must have Windows Vista with WMC in your PC and..
2) If you are planning to stream HD content, try to get the most Speed an Band Width from your Internet Provider (I had to upgrade to Cable Internet) and go wired.

I remember when I made my review for EVA8000. All the cons I found to that device are not present in HPx280n. In fact both products can't be compared:

You can record your TV shows trough your PC and watch it on your TV.
You can watch Internet TV.
You can be connected to an UNPN server like ORB.
You can play the "new" Dvr-ms video format from Microsoft.
You will buy a product totally stable.
You can expect from your HPx280n to be the Center Unit of your Home Entertainment System

To make it simple: this product is excellent. Good bye, EVA8000.

Kudos to HP for the addition of the X280N Media Smart Connect to it's terrific line of home media products. The MediaSmart Connect is an extender for UPnP devices and Windows Media Server-equipped PCs. I've already got the excellent EX470 MediaSmart Home Server, jacked up to 2 terabytes of storage (and rapidly filling). The two work perfectly together and make for a very powerful combination.

Setup couldn't be easier, or more user friendly. It works across our 802.11n network flawlessly and I haven't yet seen the need to hard-wire it in. It easily found each of our systems (mostly Vista, some XP), including the MediaSmart Home Server. Speaking of which, as I've said we're filling it up and have already surpassed 1 terabyte. The MediaSmart Connect works so well that we're burning our entire music CD collection to it, adding home videos, and have already moved all of our online photos to it. Storing any of this in any other form has become unthinkable because viewing it in any other form is out-dated.

There are some things to consider:
1) video formats and their various associated codecs are a pain in the neck - not because of HP but because of uneven and/or proprietary standards across the Internet. When you receive (or make) videos, they could have been created by any number of means and there is no guarantee they'll play on anything, MediaSmart Connect included. You'll need to learn about these things - so don't blame issues on HP.
2) Organizing your media - be it photos, music, or videos, becomes important for ease-of-use. The best way to remedy this is to use descriptive names for your file directories, and make them hierarchical. Naming a directory "summer vacation photos" becomes obsolete with after next years vacation - use "2008 summer vacation photos" instead. I include the date in each directory of photos or videos in the form "YYYY.MM.DD" so that the directories sort in date order and so that I can quickly find what I'm looking for.
3) Your performance will vary across some home wireless systems. We're using 802.11n and that is working very well - response time in the MediaSmart Connect menus is excellent. It does take no more than a few seconds to load up large videos... and this is a bit faster than it would be using one of the older networks. You may want to setup an ethernet connection directly to the box. We're going to move the cable modem, MediaSmart Connect, MediaSmart Home Server, and Linksys WRT600n router all into the same case in our media room. And when it comes tro photo directories, showing photos in their original form of a couple of megs or more will perform poorly. So while we are storing all of our digital photos on our home server, I have put the original full-size images (or raw files) in their own directory, and use VSO Image Resizer to create a directory or much smaller images for viewing purposes. This only takes a few minutes, and it allows me to quickly moves guests thru large volumes of digital images with minimal delay.
4) You may want to rethink where you store your images, music, and video. Before we did this, we had them split all over several PCs. Now we're consolidating them all to the home server, and eliminating them from individual PCs. This makes it easier for everyone to find them, cuts down on needless duplication, and makes maintaining them easier. The home server also backs them all up to a single central location.

All in all, no exceptions, a great product!

This is my fourth extender. I also own three of the Linksys DMA2100 extenders.

The HP model is nicely constructed. It installed very nicely as a media extender without installing the HP software.

I highly recommend NOT installing the HP software. It made a mess of things on my test machine, and frequently caused the MCE to hang.

Using it as a straight media extender seems to work as expected. Picture quality is nice. The remote control is better than the Linksys boxes. It also boots much faster than the Linksys.

On the down side, I have had several problems with non WMV files. Specifically, lots of videos on the internet (Geek Brief, Videographer, Buzz Outloud) videos that work fine with the Linksys have no audio or sometimes no video with the HP unit. Haven't been able to work out what is going on there.

Another issue is the unit detects when your TV is turned on, and appears to automatically turn itself on. While not that critical, it will leave itself on after turning the TV off.

The HP specific download content is expensive and not very well stocked. I really wish the unit was able to download RSS feeds directly. As of yet, there is no other use for the built in hard drive for me.

Its a good enough unit, but expensive. I have it 3 stars mostly for the buggy playback of some video, plus a waste of a hard drive unless you wish to pay a lot for premium content from HP. Since the unit is nearly twice the price of the Linksys, I would recommend the Linksys DMA2100 instead.

Can I tell you something? Don't even mess with a Linksys Media Center Extender. I had one and was terribly disappointed. Wireless N was awful. Since I read so many good things about this HP Media Smart Connect, I thought I'd give it a try. After hooking up my first one, it wasn't 48 hrs before I needed to add to my collection with a second. this thing works exactly as you'd expect right out of the box. Setup took all of about 3 minutes. Found a nice workaround for my DVD collection (Combine .vob's and rename to .mpg), so now all home video and movies are accessible. Some response lag with the buttons, nice 1st attempt with the universal remote too. (some features with universal remote do not work). So glad someone actually knows what they are doing with these extenders. Nice Job HP!!

The HP MediaSmart Connect is a quality product. It performs as stated in the product literature. Set up went prettly smoothly. The only challenge was configuring the security settings on my home network. With the help of an internet query, I was able to get the security setting set up. Once the network was set up, everything has worked perfectly.

Access to my pictures, music library and video library are great. Viewing TV from my PC tuner is excellent plus you have the benefit of using the PC DVR capability. Built in access to online internet video is fair from the standpoint what is currently available to access. Hopefully future software upgrades will add access to more internet video sources.

I initially had the Media Connect setup via wireless g and although I could get most features to work this way, it was intermittent. After running a cable through the ceiling and going through the wired setup, things improved 100%. As per the manual, there are many features that are not supported under wireless g, so product does function as advertised. Now, with this device, my living room HDTV has fully functioning DVR, plus I can stream recorded movies from my office PC as well as my Media Vault. When we have friends or family over we now show them pictures of our adventures on the 55 inch HDTV rather than us all gathering around a laptop or huddling in my office. We also were able to get rid of the stereo system in the living room and now steam music from one of the 4 family members PCs. This device single handedly brought all the PCs in the house together for a fun, useful family entertainment experience. This is the PC/Internet appliance that I have been waiting for. I also recently purchased an HP Pocket Media Drive, which the Media Connect has a bay for in the front. I think this will be a great way to continue the experience when we travel.

I did only give 4 stars mostly because I think there are still some improvements to be made in terms of speed of the device when searching through pictures on a remote PC. Pulling up a directory with a lot of pictures does require some wait time. I have also had to reset the device a couple of times when it stopped responding. This is easily done via a button on the back of the unit, but still a slight inconvenience. It would also be nice if the device worked with Netflix Watch Instantly.

Summary: It was easy to set up and provides plenty of great content that wouldn't otherwise be available in my living room.

I wasn't sure how well MediaSmart would work, but it has exceeded my expectations. That's not to say it's perfect, but I am glad I have it. Overall, it was easy to set up. A couple kinks were soon resolved with online help. It's very quick to navigate some content, but other areas have delays mentioned by another reviewer. I am using a wired connection which might be a few seconds quicker. In some aspects, MediaSmart is quicker than my cable company's Tivo-like device and MediaSmart also displays 14 days of television programming versus 3-7 days.

I can set recordings for television programs, play a slideshow of photos on my television when having people over, listen to iTunes and watch Podcasts (after converting file formats), etc. It appears any audio or video that MediaSmart pulls from the Internet or that will play in a Microsoft format can be displayed through my television. (Not everything viewed on the internet can also be viewed through MediaSmart.) YouTube is planned to become available. Renting movies from MovieLink was simple. The main downside is that HD and Dolby 5.1 content is a little scarce so far, though I'm sure more will come soon. Overall, this technology is in the early stages, but already extremely promising. It's great today and I look forward to watching as it only gets better.