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Microsoft's Windows Media Center might be great for recording TV, but if you only want to view your media, the ADS Media-Link might be a better bet.
It's an unassuming grey box, which won't look out of place underneath the television where it belongs. It connects to the TV using S-Video, composite or component video. Included in the box is a composite to Scart adapter, which should be compatible with most modern televisions. There's also a DVI socket, meaning that the Media-Link can be hooked up to a TFT screen with a digital input.
Present on the audio front are the familiar red and white phono connectors, an S/PDIF and an optical output. In essence, this device should be able to connect to most TVs and stereos one way or another.
The Media-link is a media-streaming device, which means it takes content from a PC and plays the results on a TV or stereo. Streaming devices are becoming very popular as they allow you to easily access music, photos and video files from your computer on other devices around the house without burning the content to a disc first.
The Media-Link supports the most popular image, audio and video media files such as JPEG, MP3 and MPEG4. You can connect it to a PC with an ordinary network cable, or by using the supplied Wi-Fi card, which slots into the side of the device. Of course, to benefit from wire-free streaming you need a wireless network adapter on your PC. These can be bought for around £30.
We had no difficulty getting the Media-Link up and running and, if the software is installed on multiple computers, you can browse the media on any connected PC.
If you have a broadband connection, the Media-Link also allows you to surf the web. However, the internet browser uses a very large font, so sites with lots of pictures looked cramped and we couldn't change this setting. You can access the 'favourites' folder from other computers, which is much easier than entering web addresses with the remote control. The remote is quite big with lots of buttons, which might be confusing, but it does support text input.
Our biggest disappointment was that you are unable to set up an automatic photo slideshow. You can create one on the computer first and then stream it, but this loses some of the spontaneity and takes time.
The ADS Media-Link is a good way to watch computer-based media on a television but it does lack the versatility of a Media Center computer.
Contact:
Datavision 01525 406886
www.adstech.com
Also consider:
Philips Streamium SL400i
See also:
All Gadgets
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