Seems like every day brings some new gizmo that promises to stream high-definition (HD) video from your PC or the Web to your TV. They range all the way from USB sticks and flash cards that plug directly into certain new HDTVs, to network-attached hard disks, to stylish set-top boxes that also let you rent movies.
To help make sense of the options and what they can do for you, we've divided the streaming landscape into five distinct regions. We've also limited it to solutions that offer HD playback of at least 720p. Most support up to 1080i or 1080p.
Streaming Appliances--For Experts Only
If you're a tech-savvy video hound who likes to download movies using BitTorrent or to rip all your DVDs to hard disk, a new category of streaming appliances is designed just for you.
These networked streamers make a point of supporting nearly every major video codec and streaming transport container, from MPEG-1/2/4, AVI, and H.264, to DivX, XVid, Matroska (MKS), MOV, and VOD.
Many also support DVR-MS, the file format that Media Center PCs use for recorded TV shows. If these sorts of geeked-out media streamers don't support your particular favorite now, they probably will soon, through one of their frequent firmware updates. The devices do not, however, play files with any form of DRM protection.
We reviewed three brand-new 1080p and HDMI-capable players, all of which have a 3.5-inch drive bay for notebook-sized hard disks and dual external USB ports for adding internal or external storage, or both. The USB ports are very handy for playing back files quickly copied to a flash drive from your PC. You can even attach an optical drive to play back video, music, and photo files stored on CDs and DVDs.
Popcorn Hour A-100
The Popcorn Hour A-100 was our favorite in this category, thanks to its low price ($179 as of 05/28/08), wide format support, built-in BitTorrent client, and ability to stream from many popular Web video, photo, and music sites such as YouTube, Metacafe, Flickr, Picasa, Live365, and Shoutcast. (But be warned: Like the Nintendo Wii, it's hard to get.)
Full Review Popcorn Hour A-100
Mvix MX-780HD & MediaGate MG-450HD
The Mvix MX-780HD and the MediaGate MG-450HD also support many formats, but they are more expensive, lack the BitTorrent client, and can't play back Web video. They do add 802.11g Wi-Fi, which the Popcorn lacks, but we don't recommend trying to stream high-def video over 802.11g wireless--it's simply not fast enough in most cases.
On paper, these Popcorn, Mvix, and MediaGate streamers should be great, with their laundry lists of playback features and their multiple storage options.
But all three were absolute nightmares to set up properly, and they have seriously immature and often-buggy interfaces. With each device, we spent hours on the Web reading tutorials and checking user forums for answers to basic questions that should have been covered in a user guide, or simply designed intuitively in the first place.
Constant firmware updates kept changing the status quo, as well, making it hard to know exactly what the boxes did or did not support. If you're the type who likes to build Linux boxes and tweak Registry files, you'll have fun with these devices, but the plug-and-play crowd should look elsewhere.
High-Def Media Center Extenders
Media Center extenders are good solutions for those who want more than the limited streaming options of their game consoles and who already have a Media Center PC (Media Center comes with Vista Home Premium and Ultimate).
Extenders are exactly that--they connect to your MCPC and put the full functionality of the Media Center interface on your HDTV, including access to Microsoft's many content channels, a DVR interface (assuming you have a TV tuner and capture card), playback of files protected by Windows Media DRM (digital rights management), and much more.
HP is building extenders directly into some of its MediaSmart HDTVs, but most buyers will probably prefer to purchase a separate box.
At this point, you can find high-definition Media Center extenders from Linksys and D-Link.
These products have very similar capabilities, although the $300 Linksys DMA2200 that we've previously reviewed includes an upconverting DVD player. If you don't need the DVD player, the otherwise similar Linksys DMA2100 costs $50 less. The D-Link DSM-750 Extender also costs about $250.
Some media extenders use their own PC software, instead of Microsoft Media Center. SageTV's HD Media Extender is one example.
Ad Choices