Iomega's ScreenPlay HD Media Extender: A 500GB Hi-Def USB Media Player

Iomega, one of the leaders in helping you store your content, has released a Hi-Def media streaming hard drive to help with experiencing your media via your entertainment center. The Screenplay is a USB based hard drive streaming device that will allow you to store just about all of your videos, music and pictures in one place. There is no network with this device so you will have to load it up via USB with all of your content, but it does support HDMI which most of the media hard drives on the market do not support. This will allow you to play a bunch of different file types like:

• MPEG-1
• MPEG-2( AVI / VOB )
• MPEG-4( AVI / DiVX / XVid )
• JPEG
• MP3
• AC3
• WMA
• WAV
• OGG

With the Screenplay you will be able to view your videos at 1080i which should satisfy most people these days. Sadly there is no H.264 support as of yet. We couldn't find any info on their site as to what CPU they are using in there so it may be that they can't do H.264. Hopefully they are using the newer Sigma 8634 processor. That way H.264 can come via a firmware update later. If they are using a lower powered CPU then H.264 probably will remain a pipe dream. This is a device we may have to go out and get as this could be a very cool travel streamer. Going somewhere and want to take your media collection with you, bring the Screenplay. We'll hunt around for some hands on reviews in the meantime and see if this thing is worth your time.

via gadgets fan

available at Amazon

D-Link DSM-750 Finally Shipping

Well after a lot of waiting the DSM-750 from D-Link is finally shipping. This was announced awhile ago and those of you waiting for the latest media center extender can finally have your wish and own the newest extender on the market. The 750 sports the fancy new 802.11N wireless protocol so streaming hi-def content won't be a problem. We did read though that you can only expect to get 1080i via the HDMI cables so that is a bummer. The 750 can be used in one of two ways. Either acting as an extender for your Windows Media Center or as a standalone D-Link MediaLounge player. They have reduced the price down to $329.99 from $349.99 that they originally announced. It supports the usually bevy of media formats and should cover just about everything you could want( sorry, no FLAC ).

If you are in the market for a media extender to add to your new fancy Media Center PC then this might be a great addition. Covers the basics and adds ultra fast wireless N speeds. There are a lot of cool things you can do with these media extenders and we have definitely seen an upsurge in the amount that are getting produced. If anyone has been using one of these we would love to hear from you. Everyone has different needs and tastes and we want to hear what you think about media extenders in general.

via ehomeupgrade

Grab one from Amazon.

Inteset Vana VA6420-Si Media Extender Says Bye to HD DVD

Now that the format war is over, Inteset is releasing a new media extender that comes only with Blu-ray and ditching its old idea of a having both formats on the box. This is basically a PC that comes includes a remote and keyboard and acts as the hub for your entertainment center. It comes with a beefy 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor and a whopping 2GB of RAM. Those specs are a lot better then most peoples home computer. This will be able to grab your content from just about anywhere on your network and stream it to your TV over either DVI or HDMI. There is also room for a CableCARD if you need it. They don't list a price, but we have to agree with the people over at engadgetHD that this is going to be pricey. They will be offering a smaller version of this that we would hope is cheaper. They are located a few towns away from us so we will see if we can get some more information out of them as their press release is kinda light on the fine details. Stay tuned.

via engadgetHD

Press release here

DSM-750 Wireless N HD Media Center Extender From D-Link Review

D-Link continues to release more and more products to help us enjoy a fully networked house with all of our media at our finger tips. They are set to release the new DSM-750, a media extender to help you share your media throughout your house regardless of where the media is being served from. Media extenders are becoming much more popular these days as there are so many new devices that stream our media.

To quote the description from the D-Link site:

"high-speed, uninterrupted wireless (or wired) streaming and sharing of HD / SD video, movies, digital photos and music"

Yeah it does sound like typical marketing, throw in as many buzzwords as possible, but D-Link seems to be very committed to the media streaming segment so we are hoping that the DSM-750 is more then just marketing speak. We'll keep our eye on it and update you when it is released and more information is available.

UPDATE: Checking D-links site, it seems that you can now pre-order the DSM-750 and they expect to ship in March and it will run you $329.99.

SageTV HD Media Extender Details Trickle Out

SageTV, makers of the very cool Media Center replacement software is coming out with what looks to be a HD media extender to help you push your media all over your house. It is outfitted with all sorts of options when it comes to video, just check it out:

• HDMI
• component
• S-Video
• composite

This is a sweet line up of options with the highlight being HDMI of course. Now you can enjoy all your HD media streamed throughout your house with no lose in quality. SageTV has been in the home media market for a long time now and they have constantly improved their software and recently with the edition of hardware devices they are really making the push to position their media systems as the full solution for all of your needs. We will be sure to keep an eye on this and update you when a release date is known.

via engadget