Hauppauge MediaMVP Hands on Review
We received our MediaMVP today and we got right to the task of ripping it open and setting it up. We first installed the server software that came in the box. Nothing exciting there, just your basic server install. We then set to the task of hooking it up to our computer monitor for our first test. It has the standard connections you would expect on the back: ethernet, power, composite, s-video and digital coax.
Once we plugged the power in the MVP found our host server right away and downloaded the client software it needed to boot up. The MVP doesn't store its OS on the box, it downloads it each time it boots from the server( this opens it up to some great hacks we'll cover in a later article )
After it found the server it configured itself and then started the process of getting ready to finish booting. This is where the wheels fell off for us. It was stuck in an endless loop trying to contact the server. We couldn't figure out how this could be since it just found the server seconds ago to download its client software. Not to be daunted, we started changing the way we were hooking it up.
Maybe it didn't like our gig router so we hook it into a 10Mbit Hub. No dice. We read online that it likes to be hooked up to switches, so we hooked it up to a switch and guess what....no dice still.
At this point it had already failed our most basic test which is it should just work out of the box. We don't mind playing around with these things and searching online for the solution and staying up late trying to solve the problem, but that is not what mom and pop are going to want to, nor should the have to.
So we dug deeper online and found out that we weren't the only ones having this exact problem. We couldn't be sure if this is a hardware, software, or network issue. We tried a second version of the server software that came off of their support site, but that didn't help either. Everything we tried ended with the same result, endless loop, no application screen.
We were about to give up and then we saw on their site a batch file that allowed you to view on your computer what you would be seeing on the TV. So we downloaded this and ran it. You'll never guess what happened. The minute we ran this the damn box kicked on and we now were at the root menu. We saw the four main options, videos, pictures, music, radio. We have no idea why starting the client in this new mode somehow solves the problem, but it did. Again, not what you want mom and pop to have to do with a new product.
So now that we had it working( kinda ) we set about to get media streamed to it. Bundled with the software was a media search tool. It is a simple application that is used to find media on your computer. Once you point it at the right directories and add them to the MVP's search path you should be able to see them on TV. After adding our media via this application we went back to the device and decided to browse our picture collection.
The interface is clean, but lackluster. You see folder icons with their names below them. Using the supplied remote you can navigate your collection and pick which folder you would like to see. There are some serious limitations to viewing your photos this way in that you have no actual control over the files. If a picture was taken sideways you have no option to rotate it. Also the quality of the images were not what we were hoping for. The images just don't seem right, like they have been compressed or something. They lack the full detail you would expect to see viewing them on the computer( we know, computer monitor resolution is better then SDTV, but we are viewing these through a composite hook up on our monitor ). Browsing the pictures wasn't bad and it was relatively snappy, but like we said, something about the experience just didn't sit right with us.
Next we tried the video option. We pointed it to a directory that had some MPEG movies in it. We hit the play button and there was noticeable lag time before the video started playing and was displayed on the screen. The same delay was evident when trying to use any of the time shifting features. You really had to guess the right time to hit the play button in order to resume playing your video in the correct spot. Basically the MVP is not a worth while device if you want to be able to watch MPEG movies on your TV streamed from your computer. At any price the performance is just not there.
Next we jump to music and since this box was never meant to be a main music playing device( thank you Squeezebox ) we can forgive it for having a totally lacking interface. Album folders are displayed and you can navigate into each one seeing all the songs in that folder. As you hit the down arrow on the remote it will highlight the next song displaying some information about it at the bottom of the screen. But seriously folks, do us a favor and stay away from this box if you just need a music player. Call us, email us, anything. There are so many other options out there at this price point. A used Airport Express goes for like $70 and it is a far superior experience.
The last option was for listening to internet radio. Maybe we just aren't all that bright, but we were at a loss as to how this was supposed to work. The directions mention something about right clicking on an Internet radio station and selecting "Add to MVP Favorites Radio Stations". We don't have that option and can find no way of adding it. The radio station section reminds us of the rest of this product, confusing and non-intuitive. Since we were completely crest fallen at this point for having bought a product that doesn't seem to have one redeeming quality we gave up.
We did contact customer services by email and phone and we never got a response. We had read other places that they have terrible support so we aren't surprised. So our overall recommendation is not to buy this if you want to use it for, well just about anything. We know there is a large hacking community around this device and I'm sure there are a ton of very cool things you can do with it, trust us, after the experience we just had we are looking forward to hacking this thing. We will be sure to update you with anything we find in the future.
Read More in: Audio Streaming | Image Streaming | Video Streaming
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Posted by David Ficocello at March 8, 2007 8:03 PM
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