OT: Netgear MP115 Media Server (MPEG4 Support?)

[pmk]

A bit off topic but during a surfing session I have come across a new media server from Netgear the MP115.

It has a massive supporting list including MPEG4 (I assume this means AVI, XVID etc) although it does list DIVX4 and 5 separately.  I was wondering if anyone has any experience of this device even though I think its only just been released.

I am interested to know if the MPEG4 support is hardware based?  It says minimum requirements of a Pentium 500Mhz which seems very low to support MPEG4 without some hardware based help in the box?

http://www.netgear.com/products/details/MP115.php
http://www.netgear.com/pressroom/press_r...php?id=239

TIA

[bgowland]

There is a discussion on it starting here...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NetgearMP1...ssage/1611

I think you can read the posts even without being a member of the group.

The MP101 was the first media streaming product from Netgear (its how I got into this whole media thing in the first place). A lot of people have had a lot of problems with the MP101 and Netgear have been pretty slow in fixing some of them. The main problem is that the software is licenced from Digital 5 and getting feedback to them has been tricky (they have also given out misleading or conflicting info in the past). There is a guy on the list called Brian Tarricone who is our man on the 'inside' at Netgear - he has done his best to help us out with problems but with this stuff having to go on to D5, it hasn't been easy. The main worries on the group are that D5 are still in the mix and that bugs and documentation errors will be slow to be fixed as with the 101.

Personally, other than the lack of WMA playback with GB-PVR through the MVP, I'm pretty happy with my setup and the MP101 handles my music needs.

Anyway, if it does something that you want at a price you can afford then go for it - be warned about the 'mediocre' support from NG and D5 though.

Cheers,
Brian

[pmk]

Thanks for the information.  I will keep this in mind if I decide to purchase.  Hopefully there will be some reviews soon.  I will make my decision then.

I can't see why more companies are not releasing a MediaMVP type device with hardware AVI support however.  The ones you can find are all software based.  You can't be building a PC for each TV in the house.  There are numorous DVD players that support AVI files even from the big manufactures so the chips must be readily available.

TIA

[aegisx]

That looks really promising. It costs as much as an MVP + wireless bridge (Hope it supports WPA). But it also has component outputs! I wonder if sub will pick one up

[aegisx]

Its a little more ideal for the wireless case, save plugs and space. Would be great if it could be supported some day.

I've seen 802.11(pre n) cards start to be advertised, no i yet.

[aegisx]

the pre-n router.... looks like its available now (but no bridge yet)

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPa..._Id=184316

[lif]

What about D-Link DSM-320 / DSM-320RD? This seems to be Xvid compatible in hardware (is also supports S/PDIF coax + optical). Anybody knows how to use this with GB-PVR?

http://www.dlink.com/products/category.asp?cid=75&sec=1
http://www.dlink.com/products/category.asp?cid=75&sec=1