Rio D2730 Networked DVD Player

Reviewed by: oregonmike

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: versatility, overall quality, all 5.1 analog surround outputs (bult in decoder), size, looks, the missing link between computer and home entertainment! easy setup!

Weaknesses: Need to have tv running to operate networking browser.The Belkin wireless network card that is mentioned in the manual as compatible was not working in my unit.Unit comes with a wired network card

Overall Evaluation: This DVD is the missing link I have always waited for. I have thousands of my digital photography pictures, and my home videos on my PC's harddisk and always wanted to look at them on my TV without the hassle of greating Picture CD's, slideshows, Video CD's or hooking up my digital camera to the TV. I already had a wireless network installed in my house. After hooking the unit into my existing entertainment system and installing the wireless PC card everything worked fine on the first attempt. The D2730 found my existing network and setup of the server software on my PC was really easy. The server software scans your PC for existing media files and automatically creates albums from existing directories or imports existing albums and playlists from a variety of software media players and picture management software. If you already have all your media organized on your PC the automatic scan creates good results. With the server software up and running on your PC you can start browsing your digital media from the convenience of your couch with the touch of a button. It is a lot of fun and the quality of the pictures and movies is so much better than on my PC. If you add more media frequently you can set up the server software to rescan your computer for new stuff after a certain time. So your D2730 is always up to date. I absolutely love this thing!!!!!