Review: MediaGate MG-450HD High Definition Digital Media Server

A few months ago we introduced the MediaGate MG-450HD High Definition Digital Media Server to you. Since then we've been working on a review of the MG-450HD that we wanted to share with our readers. In case you missed it, you'll want to check out our unboxing of the device we did in May.

We'll start by telling what makes the MG-450HD such a powerhouse. The device is a media streamer that connects to you home theater in ways that most devices can't. Besides wireless and wireless connections you also have the ability to connect to multiple drives like to the hard drive of a networked computer, an attached USB device, or an optional SATA internal hard drive. Without the optional drives you can stream HD video, photos and audio from any PC on your wireless or wired network to your TV. Once you add one of the optional drives you can then store media locally.

Let's look at the basic specs:

• Supports HDMI.
• 802.11g wireless connection
• Time-sliced dual-band 11a/g upon request
• One 10/100 Ethernet port
• USB2.0 host port. Thus USB storage devices can be attached and the stored content can be played directly
• USB2.0 slave port - an alternative way to download digital contents from the PC
• Supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4, ISMA MPEG-4, MPEG4 and over MPEG-2 transport and streaming.
• Can be configured with: Web-based movie distributor as a media gateway to access, play and/or legally download movies from the web
• Downloading without a PC
• Optimal OEM/ODM solution in high-performance DMA
• Supports HD MP2, MP4
• Supports MP1/2@HL (720p/1,080i), MP4@L5 (720p) and MP@ML (720p)
• Supports composite, S-video, component video outputs
• Supports stereo L/R, optical/coaxial digital audio, analogue 5.1 channels
• Supports JPEG/BMP/GIF/PNG still picture
• File-surfing from multiple sources on TV using a remote controller

What comes in the box:

• IR remote
• Detachable antenna for the WiFi interface
• USB cable
• Standard A/V cables
• Power adapter (110-240VAC, 50/60 Hz)
• Removable Base

We want to note that the MG-450HD does not come with an HDMI cable so you'll want to purchase one separately. The device also does not come with an internal SATA drive so you should consider purchasing one when you purchase the MG-450HD.

Setup

We started by hooking up the device to our home theater system with and HDMI connection which was pretty quick and easy. The device is pretty sleek and fit nicely between the TV and the theater system. One thing we really like is the nice blue LED glow that came off of the device.

Once we had the MG-450HD hooked up we started the initial setup. This is where we had some issues. There is a quick-start guide that didn't really help much. To set up the device, you'll have to use the manual which comes on the included disk. We'll say that while we we're able to get through the setup, the interface isn't the most intuitive or user-friendly streamer that we've used. In fact, the MG-450HD was probably one of the hardest setups we've had with a streaming device. In fairness to MediaGate we'll say that the device was harder to set up than most mainly because the device was more complete and offered more features than most devices we've tried. The manual on the CD was complete and helpful but we can see it being overwhelming to a new user. So our advice is that if you're new to media streamers or you're not the patient type, sit down and read the manual before you attempt to hook up the device. This is definately not the type of device that you can ditch the manual.

We initially set the MG-450HD with a wired Ethernet connection which was pretty easy. We had a hard time getting the streamer to recognize our wireless network even after we removed the encryption. Eventually after we pulled out a hammer (just kidding!) we were able to use the device as wired and wireless.

Performance

We started with streaming without a hard drive and found while the quality was excellent, we were pretty limited in what we could do with the device. Even though the MG-450HD comes configured for Shoutcast radio stations we found that we couldn't use them without a hard drive attached. Overall the streaming over wireless was choppy as with most devices but over the wired connection we had no buffering issues.

Eventually we installed an 80GB SATA drive into the device and we're quite impressed with the results. The playback was excellent and high definition looked spectacular. Overall the quality was excellent all the way around with the MG-450HD.

The remote was a little too simple for our tastes and while it did the job we'd like to see more buttons and options on the remote.

Final Thoughts

Overall we really like the MG-450HD. We think the interface needs some work and the overall setup was tougher than we're used to. We think it would be beneficial for MediaGate to add more content to the quick-start guide and also consider a printed manual. If you're the type that skips CD manuals you'll probably be beating your head against the MG-450HD after about 30 minutes.

Once we got through the setup, we we're quite impressed with the device. We'll say that to get really experience the device you'll need a SATA drive as you just won't get the most out of the MG-450HD without it.

At a $299 retail price we highly recommend the MG-450HD as a great addition to any home theater setup.

MediaGate Product Page

MediaGate MG-450HD at Amazon.com

Read More in: Audio Devices | Audio Streaming | MediaGate MG-450HD | Video Streaming

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