Best Products to Stream Audio and Video With Ease

Photograph: Marc Simon

It's easier than ever to liberate your collection of audio, video, and photo files from the confines of a PC--so you can enjoy it at the level of comfort and quality that your home theater setup provides. Streaming media players, also known as digital media receivers, connect to your TV and surround-sound speakers and, via an interface on your television, let you stream multimedia files from networked PCs, hard disks, and (in some cases) the Internet.

Products Reviewed in This Story

For this roundup, we evaluated the following seven digital media adapters:

• Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000
• Apple TV
• D-Link DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player
• Ziova Clearstream CS510 High Definition Network Media Player
• Mvix Wireless HD MX-760HD Media Center
• Buffalo Technology LinkTheater Wireless A&G Network Media Player
• ZyXel DMA-1000 Digital Media Theater

Features Comparison Chart

For details about the seven streaming media players in our review matched head-to-head, see the features comparison chart, "Best Streaming Media Players."

Beaming and Streaming Without Screaming

Complementing our product reviews are brief discussions of several issues relating to streaming media. We cover the following topics in these sidebars:

• Beam Music Around Your Home
• Stream from Networked Hard Drives
• Restrictions on Cable TV Recordings
• You May Own a Streamer and Not Know It