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D-Link DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player

76

Good

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8 User Reviews | add yours »

Pros
Easy network setup
Great audio-streaming options
Cons
Blocky standard-definition video
Buggy video setup

$179.01 - $345.79
From 26 Merchants

User Reviews for D-Link DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player

Reviewed by: CaptainMonkeyPants

Duration of ownership: 2 Months

Strengths: Installed in 10 minutes, plays all my video & audio files seamlessly via 108mb wireless-g. So impressed I ordered a 2nd for another room. Using TVersity as a server - NOT the D-Link software.

Weaknesses: 1 sec or so delay on remote commands (expected since it has to talk to a server) No sorting of files - I'd be thrilled if it would simply directory-browse.

Overall Evaluation: All in all, it's great. Reasonable price with exceptional convenience & performance.
Reviewed by: gorillachicken

Duration of ownership: 5 Months

Strengths: No strengths. If you search DSM-520 and mediaservergui on google you will find a large number of people can't get it to work on their PC. The main reason I purchased it was to use it to watch recorded TV shows which requires you use 1.09 of their software..well this version constantly crashes with the error "mediaservergui application has encountered a problem and needs to close". I have tried it on several PC's with the same result. Tech support admits the version that works with .dvr-ms has a bug but can't tell me when and if they are going to fix it. So another weakness is bad tech support help.

Weaknesses: This will be a lousy product for most. I asked tech support when the bug would be fixed and they could not tell me....nor would they go find out when the next software release is. Tech support also kept telling me to go to menu items which did not exist which was frustrating. I felt Support wanted to get me off the phone not solve problems. The error "mediaservergui application has encountered a problem and needs to close". Will be a show stopper for those that get it....don't believe tech support when they say it's your PC's problem or you are the only one who gets it.

Overall Evaluation: If I were to make a random guess they probably compiled/tested it on a computer with some unique .dll's or libraries that most people don't have...and if your lucky to have those unique files it may work...problem is tech support has no idea what those requirements are. Again a guess is they did not test this on too many computers before shipping it out. I am making guesses because tech support had zero information on this error...hence this has led me to try a bunch of ideas and which led me to some guesses as what is going on. I tried this on a clean install of XP with SP2 and got the same error. I will be returning this product because I have no idea if they are going to fix this. If you get this error I suggest you return it too. Other companies have stopped selling and making media extenders so maybe the DSM-520 is going to be cancelled and that is why they won't fix this bug. Bottom line this bug prevents the product from working. Sincerely wish you luck, Logan
Reviewed by: deerfoot

Duration of ownership: 6 Months

Strengths: Now, with Firmware 1.04 and Media Software 1.09 the machine is great. Before, I had to downgrade mpeg videos to about 2Mbps to avoid skipping/jerking. Now I can run 720x480 mpeg2 at 6mbps flawlessly.

Weaknesses: Only one FF video speed and it's not that fast.

Overall Evaluation: Love it.
Reviewed by: ap1966

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Easy to setup wired or wireless.

Weaknesses: It has to be wired to play high def. Otherwise, you will see frame by frame

Overall Evaluation: This player is easy to set up either wired or wireless. If set up in wireless, the signal is weak and it take a long time to look for the files. The remote button is also confusing when you want to change Sound or Video modes. It doesn't show on the screen. If you want to use this player you better run a cat5e ethernet cable at your house. I had to return for an exchange because the first one stopped working after a few days. I called Dlink customer service and we tried to solve the problem. At the end they told me to send it back to get a new one.
Reviewed by: anrooh

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Easy to setup, works/streams nicely, USB port.

Weaknesses: Limited format capabilities, pricey, a little glitchy.

Overall Evaluation: This device fits in nicely with most people?s entertainment center, but if you're just looking for the ability to stream content, go elsewhere. For basically the same price, you could get an Xbox 360 and have a more capable media extender and also a HD gaming console! Granted this device is sleeker and generates no noise compared to the 360, but that's not something that I care about. If the price were lower this would be a great device, but at $200 or more, go with a something else.Seems to be very selective as to what it will play, would not play recognize video recorded with XP media center, but if I changed the extension, it played just fine. Wish the device had a "view all files" mode, but it only shows you the files it thinks it can play. Also very glitchy when it comes to recognizing media servers and folders. Had to reboot several times because it quit recognizing media folders off my desktop. Once I'd restart the device, the problem would go away.And I could not get it to recognize my other wirelessly connected computers at all, must only recognize devices/computers hard lined into the wireless router... which sucks because I have 2 other computers (1 XP MCE, 1 Vista MCE) that I'd like to be able to pull video off of. Will continue to troubleshoot that problem and update if it can be done.
Reviewed by: teixeirap_1164417990

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Super Easy setup. Dlink seems to listen to customers and have updated firmware to include requested features.

Weaknesses: None so far.

Overall Evaluation: Within five minutes I had the whole system setup and working; component to HDTV (awaiting HDMI cables to arrive), and optic TOSLINK digital sound to Surround System.Got it sharing WMP11 Library in 10 secs, worked like a breeze!Considering I had cordless phone and wireless speaker system, I decided to go with LAN cable.I think this is a great product!
Reviewed by: microg

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: Allows to share MP3s and movies from your computer to your entertainment center.

Weaknesses: Some features require the computer to be on and be Windows-based. Setup unwieldy. Only some movie formats are supported.

Overall Evaluation: Allows you to share your MP3s, movies and pictures from your computer to your entertainment center.Once properly setup (and it's not easy to do through remote and virtual keyboard on the screen), it mostly works. I am able to view standard definition movies over a 801.2g (54Mbps) wireless link from a DLink DNS-323 network-attached storage using uPnP. The movies play smoothly. Most movie formats are not supported though, but standard MPEG2 is.Unfortunately, some remote features are really lousy, for example the fast-forward only speeds up by about 25%...Also beware, this is the 2nd unit I used. I had to return the 1st one because it froze while upgrading the firmware - a deadly condition according to tech support.Other features include online radios (most for a fee) and online TV. Unfortunately, again, the online TV viewing requires your computer to be on... which is not what DLink suggest in its advertising.
Reviewed by: sbitton

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: HD capable; digital audio; low power; no need for internet-just a hub; fast easy setup working in minutes; clear quality.

Weaknesses: remote not very ergonomic; poor button placement; can't simplify menus down to just what you need/use; problems trying to upgrade firmware versions. No setting to autoplay next video in folder.

Overall Evaluation: It can only play paid internet content live like Rhapsody, what about a few free internet radio stations that are already out there. That would really make this much more awesome. Nevertheless if you have AVI or MPEG (and other) format video files this is a simple way to get them onto your tv and with a remote control. Now if only someone would build some thing like this with internal bittorrent! Of course that would entail much more expense so this is great for now.

D-Link DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player Review

by Lincoln Spector

- D-Link's DSM-520 Wireless HD Player provides exceptionally beautiful sound. It also comes through with a wide selection of music-listening choices. Not only can it stream protected .wma files purchased from subscription services like Napster (using Windows Media Player 11), but it can transmit audio from sources such as AOL Live, Live365, Napster, Rhapsody, and vTuner. Free sample versions of both Live365 and vTuner are included with the player. The DSM-520 HD isn't able to play back AAC iTunes music, however, whether the files are protected or not.

Read Complete Review »

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