The Price: $299

The Verdict: The Mediasmart Connect is a decent video player, Media Extender and photo viewer, but it doesn't shine in any area other than video quality. We compared the Mediasmart Connect to an Xbox 360, streaming the exact same episode of Entourage from the exact same Windows Home Server and the video quality was noticeably better on HP's unit. Great, except you wouldn't really notice the difference unless you had them side by side like we did.

One other problem we noticed is that browsing speed (browsing a folder file system) is pretty damn slow. Paging down takes upwards of seconds to refresh, forcing you to hold the down button one by one to save yourself from the delay. The same "page down" action on an Xbox 360 is near instantaneous, so we know it's not a server issue.

It does, however, have features that other extenders or media streamers don't. For one, there's the ability to aggregate videos from various networked sources, including DLNA-capable servers. Again, nothing spectacular, but it's a feature that's nice to have. 802.11n streaming (a/b/g are also there) is another nicety for people who hate wires. More bonuses are YouTube, Snapfish, CinemaNow and Live365, services you may or may not use and want on your set-top streamer.

Compared to the Xbox 360, both can act as Media Center Extenders, both can play back DivX and XviD files and work as a photo viewer, but only one can play a donkey-load of video games. On the other hand, the Mediasmart Connect does have on-board storage, which is great if you want to dump a bunch of videos onto it and delete them out of your BitTorrent folder on your PC.

At $299, it's hard to recommend the Mediasmart Connect over something like an Xbox 360 because of everything else the 360 can do. If extras like YouTube and CinemaNow (as well as media aggregation over all servers), built-in 802.11n wireless, DLNA compatibility and better video quality appeal to you, this may be your ticket to streaming video anywhere in your house. [HP]

Denver, CO – CEDIA EXPO 2008 – September 4 – 7, 2008 – Booth #410 – When you take the best possible options for high definition entertainment and combine them into one seriously powerful media server, you’re going to need a new name for the experience you create. Life|ware™, makers of whole home automation and entertainment solutions, have done just that, unveiling a new “High Density Television™” initiative that brings in more high definition entertainment and distributes it around the home more effectively than ever before.

“High Density TV reinvents how we will move and/or view high definition entertainment around the home,” said Seale Moorer, Life|ware’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is the first solution to provide a whole house entertainment server that provides unparalleled capability in terms of HDTV tuners, HDTV streaming and Digital Media management for consumers.”

Life|media™ 810: 8 TV tuners, 10 Extenders, 12 TB of Storage
Several new Life|media units highlight the effort, headed by the company’s new Life|media LMS-810, which has 8 HDTV CableCARD™ tuners and can support up to 10 Media Center Extender devices.

“The 810 is a very powerful Media Server,” said Moorer. “It deftly handles the high-definition feeds from eight CableCARD tuners and provides HD streaming to ten extenders over the existing home network.”
The 810 provides an incredible 12 terabytes of RAID 5 storage which provide the disk space for a huge digital library of recorded TV, movies, music, photos and videos.

“The Life|media LMS 810 is the centerpiece of a digital entertainment solution as we all envision it,” said Pat King, senior vice president of Seagate’s Consumer Solution Division. “Seagate’s Pipeline HD hard drives are designed specifically for this type of scenario. With HD video optimization, exceptionally quiet acoustics and power management, Pipeline HD drives enable the LMS 810 to provide a reliable way to enjoy digital entertainment.”

Life|tuner™ provides more video options
Also being unveiled at CEDIA is the Life|tuner series of HDTV CableCARD tuner devices that work with Life|ware’s Life|media media servers, allowing the addition of up to six additional HDTV tuners to the Life|media experience.

“Life|tuner is another product that makes life easier for our dealers,” said Moorer. “Obviously, TV tuners themselves are nothing new, but this product allows the easy addition of two, four or six CableCARD tuners to our Life|media servers.”

Life|media media servers feature two CableCARD TV tuners. By adding the six-tuner Life|tuner unit to a high-end Life|media, a consumer has a remarkable 8-tuner DVR solution.

The Price: $299

The Performance: Fantastic. We were able to stream live 1080i over-the-air (OTA) HDTV with no glitches for the most part, and whatever glitches we did see were due to the fact that OTA reception in our area isn't great and we had a small antenna. But when we watched pre-recorded content in both 720p and 1080p, there were zero glitches or dropouts. We tested this both with the wired internet and the Wireless 802.11N network via Linksys's WRT600N Router, and it was super smooth even over Wi-Fi.

Its DVD playback was fine, and is convenient if you want to use this in a spare guest room or a bedroom to stream HDTV off off without hooking up HDTV connections or getting another DVR. The DVD is just a bonus. Also, this extender handles XviD files (but not DivX), meaning you can grab TV shows you missed off of BitTorrent and watch them as well, without having to transcode anything.

The Verdict: Did the extender do everything it promised to do and do it well? Definitely. Streaming perfect HD over 802.11n Wi-Fi isn't a small feat, and doing so when supporting XviD and DVD playback is impressive as well. But is it worth $299 when you can get an Xbox 360 that does pretty much the same thing for the same price? Yes, if you want 802.11n Wi-Fi streaming and XviD playback inside the Media Center interface. If not, then you're better off getting an Xbox 360 and getting gaming out of the deal as well.

Update: The 2200 looks like it's not shipping quite yet (1-2 weeks), but the 2100 is.

Update 2: Turns out the Linksys systems only support XviD and not DivX. [2100 via 2200]

Unless that PC is an official Media Center Extender (MCX)—such as the Microsoft Xbox 360—you may not be able to snag digital cable content on a CableCard-equipped PC and then stream that video over your network to any another PC.

Hey! Hey! Wait a doggone minute....

Without that extra-special MCX voodoo, protected HD content won't be viewable on anything but the PC on which the CableCards reside. It's a closed-loop system to keep those pesky pirates at bay.

This streaming thing might seem like a small detail, but it will make it less convenient and sometimes impossible to move video around your house unless mommy says it's okay. That's right, the owners of the content get to decide how you use it, not you. That stinks.

Before long, there will probably be lots of third-party devices with embedded Media Center Extenders (the MCX technology is code-named Pika), especially non-recording devices such as DVD players and keypads. But all those devices will give the content owners control over us, dictating what we can do with our video. This can't be good. – Charlie White

Another MCE CableCard Shortcoming: No Streaming to Other PCs [CEPro]