2008-04-28, 01:49 PM
Well, after evaluating all of my options, I decided to take the easy route and give up on HD for the time being. It looks like there are many devices either about to come out, or already out but still expensive, so I picked up a used DSM-320RD and couldn't be happier.
I needed a dvd player too, so this really cleans things up. I am streaming wirelessly between the two rooms, and you can't even tell. I think it helps that I have a Wireless-N router, even though the device is only wireless G.
I think I'll end up going with an HD wireless-N device once they come down in price. The only thing close to what I really want costs $300 right now, but I only had to pay $80 for the D-Link. Also, I was hesitant at first because the D-Link product has negative reviews all over the internet. After reading many of them, you could sort of tell that a lot of reviewers didn't really know what they were talking about, and now I can confirm this. The unit is fantastic. It streams all of my movies, recordings, and music with any hiccups or slowdowns. People also complain about the remote, but its perfect- it has every button you could imagine so that you never have to stand up (perfect for me and most other Americans - I paid for my calories... why do I want to burn them? hehe). I'm going to pick up another 750gb hard drive and just load it to the brim with movies now. Also, it plays recordings from GBPVR very well. I use the video ipod transcode-at-night feature and delete the mpgs, and it still works great. Although, I did change the GBPVR settings to bump up the quality of the ipod conversion so that it would still look good on bigger tv's.
I thought about going with the popcornhour device, but it still seems too new. I love open source software and gadgets, and the popcornhour definitely gives that feel, but I wasn't really looking for something I'll have to work with, more of a plug in and forget about it thing, and thats exactly what the dsm-320rd was for me. Also the DVD player was huge bonus for me, since it really cleans up the installation.
So, in short, if you don't have one, you don't know what you are missing! The dsm-320 without dvd player is only $80 brand new now (and like $40-$50 used), and the one with a dvd is a better deal on ebay also around $80.
I needed a dvd player too, so this really cleans things up. I am streaming wirelessly between the two rooms, and you can't even tell. I think it helps that I have a Wireless-N router, even though the device is only wireless G.
I think I'll end up going with an HD wireless-N device once they come down in price. The only thing close to what I really want costs $300 right now, but I only had to pay $80 for the D-Link. Also, I was hesitant at first because the D-Link product has negative reviews all over the internet. After reading many of them, you could sort of tell that a lot of reviewers didn't really know what they were talking about, and now I can confirm this. The unit is fantastic. It streams all of my movies, recordings, and music with any hiccups or slowdowns. People also complain about the remote, but its perfect- it has every button you could imagine so that you never have to stand up (perfect for me and most other Americans - I paid for my calories... why do I want to burn them? hehe). I'm going to pick up another 750gb hard drive and just load it to the brim with movies now. Also, it plays recordings from GBPVR very well. I use the video ipod transcode-at-night feature and delete the mpgs, and it still works great. Although, I did change the GBPVR settings to bump up the quality of the ipod conversion so that it would still look good on bigger tv's.
I thought about going with the popcornhour device, but it still seems too new. I love open source software and gadgets, and the popcornhour definitely gives that feel, but I wasn't really looking for something I'll have to work with, more of a plug in and forget about it thing, and thats exactly what the dsm-320rd was for me. Also the DVD player was huge bonus for me, since it really cleans up the installation.
So, in short, if you don't have one, you don't know what you are missing! The dsm-320 without dvd player is only $80 brand new now (and like $40-$50 used), and the one with a dvd is a better deal on ebay also around $80.