| D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player, Audio/Photo/Video, 802.11g |
|
|
| |
| Features: |
Transfer Speeds Up to 54 Mbps
Supports all popular media formats
Allows you to access digital media content stored on your PC, browse your music files, watch your videos, and display your photos
Connects Wirelessly Using 802.11g or Via Ethernet
Compatible with Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 or XP |
| |
| Description: |
| D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player - The Wireless Media Player from D-Link merges your abundant digital entertainment collection on your PC, with the comfort and convenience of your living room. It's slim design fits into entertainment centers easily, and once attached to your TV, you can wirelessly stream your audio, photo, and video files. Navigation of your content is easy with D-Link's intuitive user interface and included remote control! Audio Compatibility - MP3, WMA, WAV,&Radio AOL Video Compatibility - MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, QuickTime,&XviD Image Compatibility - JPEG, JPEG2000, TIFF, GIF, BMP,&PNG |
| |
| User Reviews (143 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 of Total 7 Pages
|
Great product, plan to spend time setting it up, January 3, 2005
By Mike in Texas (Plano, TX USA)
I really like this device. Once you get past the firmware updates and the media server issues and the wireless signal strength problems, it works well and is an excellent addition to your home entertainment system. I have several gigabytes of digital photos and home videos stored on my PC and this device allows me to view them all on my large TV instead of having relatives crowd around my laptop when they visit or deal with hooking up cameras or finding picture discs, etc. Plays my MP3s as well. Once I figure out playlists, I may use it more for MP3s than anything.
Now, for the technical issues...I had trouble viewing photos properly using the D-Link Media Server software (all pictures were squished horizontally), but Microsoft just released Windows Media Connect that does basically the same things and maintains photo aspect ratios properly. I also had trouble updating the firmware but used a process I found through an online forum to update it from my local PC. I could not view video reliably at all via wireless until I read several articles on wireless signal strength and spent some time reorienting the antenna to pick up my network properly. When the strength is over 50 percent, video streams cleanly even at 8Mbps bit rate. As other folks have said, the remote is clunky and the software problems make you feel like the thing was rushed to market, but for the money I think it's an excellent buy, much cheaper than the new Media PCs and cheaper than the direct competition.
It's not for the faint-of-heart. If you are willing to fight through the setup issues and spend some time on it (I spent more than a couple of hours), it's a great deal IMHO. Otherwise, consider it a product that needs a little more fine-tuning before it's ready for the masses.
|
Great promise, disappointing results, January 1, 2005
By Tech Writer Mama (Louisville, CO USA)
I bought this player so that I could listen to the hours of music that I have stored on my computer in other parts of the house. The initial setup on my wireless network was very easy and straightforward (although the documentation is sparce... which might be a problem who is not somewhat technically savy). Unfortunately, after about an hour of listening pleasure, the music playback started skipping. At first this skipping was slightly annoying but bearable. However, it progressively became worse until the playback stopped completely.
The unit could no longer see my network (although nothing on the network had changed). Or, the unit could see the network, but the signal strength was extremely low. The wireless signal level fluctuated wildly from one moment to the next, even with the unit right next to the wireless router. Power-cycling the unit and rediscovering the network sometimes improved the signal strength, but it soon faded again.
After spending two days fiddling with the wireless network to improve the signal strength (adding a range expander), over an hour with D-Link's technical support, and several hours searching the web, I came to the conclusion that the design of the wireless receiver antenna is faulty. One user forum suggested opening the unit, disconnecting the internal antenna cable and reconnecting it to the AUX connector inside the box. Unfortunately, while this technique apparently works wonders on the wireless signal strength, it also voids the warranty.
After all of this, I decided to return the unit. There was no point in exchanging it for a different unit. The retail channel is full of the current hardware version (A3). I hope that D-Link fixes these hardware problems. When it was working, the DSM-320 provided exactly what I wanted: easy access to my music collection away from my computer. I'll wait for six months and try a new unit (unless some other manufacturer comes out with something better).
|
Windows Media Connect makes the DSM-320 sing!, December 28, 2004
By The Spot (Minneapolis, MN USA)
A lot of the reviewers are dissatisfied by some things that are now remedied. Windows Media Connect(downloadable at the Microsoft web site) replaces the media server provided by D-Link. It now allows playing of media downloaded from online stores supported by Windows Media Connect (alas, not I-tunes). Play order from ripped CD's is now maintained. Some minor glitches still remain, but I'm very satisifed with it.
|
Good product, but a few glitches are worrisome, December 26, 2004
By GP (Indiana)
I was reluctant to buy the DSM-320 given the not-so-glowing reviews here and elsewhere. But as someone who makes a living designing software for similar products, I could not resist the connection options and features or even the price after rebates, etc.
My network setup is all Linksys wired / wireless; a WRT54G with the high-gain antennas, two or three wired systems in the office, and two wireless for the childrens' computers. The media server machine is a homemade P4-2.4ghz machine with 200+ gb of empty space (rebates on hard drives are your friends :-)). Everything runs Win2k and uses WEP 64 bit encryption. The media room is in the same floor as the office but about 30 feet away, mostly walls, staircase, etc. I'm too lazy to go wired there at this time (the wire is there) so I decided to run wireless.
Software installation on the server was easy. Took a few minutes to connect the 320 to the stereo system. I could connect via digital coax or RCA jacks to the Denon receiver; for now I used the RCA jacks. Also connected to the Mitsu 55" HDTV via S-video (too lazy to go out and get component cables and fish them :-)).
The remote was nice but a bit 'lightweight'. Some keys did not make sense (why do you need a dedicated audio out? it's in the menu!) and the color coding for a few keys could be improved.
On power up the unit was good. The wizard found my network's SSID along with a few of my neighbors' SSID's but I was not able to select any from the selection list. I resorted to having to type the SSID manually. The way one moves between fields is not clear at first. Then I specify WEP parameters, the thing tries to connect to the DHCP server and has no luck. Horrors. I go back and try a second time, this time it works. I'm connected to the server!
I try out a few MP3's. It would be nice if the 320 equalized them; I have MP3's of LP's or cassettes I converted to MP3 and the EQ level is not the same as that of ripped CD's. One needs to be careful there. ID3 tag info was there but the system was not smart enough in a few cases to see it was the 'same artist' due to capitalization, etc. (if you have massive collections you need to spend some time with it to clean up ID3's). Music played fine once you selected what you need to play.
Now to showing pictures... I have a few gigabytes of pictures in neatly organized folders. All are 1-2 mb a piece (2 mp camera). None would show the first time, you could select them but they would not show (incorrect media type (JPG, are they kidding?)) BMP also same problem. Go back to media server on PC, re-scan the directories after changing permissions just to be safe. Now I can get thumbnails, but not images. Fumble a bit more, finally pictures work. (I did not change anything, they just work)
I tried video with a few joke AVI or MPG clips, they play OK.
I did not try radio AOL. Would be nice to stream regular Real streams.
It did realize it needs to update its firmware to 1.04. I'll do it next week.
Conclusions:
The 320 seems to work as advertised, with a few glitches. Wireless performance was excellent. The user interface was OK, the wiring connections are there, the features are there.
Suggesions to D-Link:
1. do not abandon the unit (like the AudioTron was dumped).
2. for future, consider adding an AudioTron like 3-4 line display so that we don't kill the romantic mood by running a 55" TV to select songs
3. The player's HMI needs work.
4. Would be nice to integrate GraceNote
5. Provide a server view of what the client sees (i.e. so that you can repair ID3 tags and such)
6. Provide a signal strength meter just in case.
|
Dlink product releases, December 9, 2004
By Yankee Fan (New Jersey)
First of all, I don't own this product. My review is of Dlink, the company, and their release practices. If you read many of the reviews about this product, there are always significant problems, and ongoing firmware releases, which usually fix some problems while sometimes creating others.
I had this same issue with my Dlink Wireless G router (DI-624) last year. I initially had a very serious problem with the router rebooting often. I checked and double checked everything. I loaded the newest firmmare whenever it became available. Dlink tech support sent me on multiple wild goose chases to attempt to resolve the problem.
How was the problem resolved? Well, one of the firmware releases that came out a few months later finally fixed my problem.
It seems that Dlink is more than willing to release products to the public with very buggy firmware. They have no compunction about having their customers help them to debug their products. I strongly suggest that you consider this prior to your purchase of any Dlink product. If you have the strong urge to purchase one of their products, wait until it has been out for a few months or a year, so that the bugs would have been worked out of the product by Dlink with great help by other unsuspecting customers.
|
Good at many things, but new and buggy, November 26, 2004
By Don Anderson (Salt Lake City, Utah)
I like the feature set of the product it mostly does everything it says it will. It plays MP3s, does good slideshows of images and plays video files located on the PC or on a network drive connected to the PC. The set up was easy and I was up and running in less than 30 minutes. It works with both it's own media server software as well as windows media connect. In general the windows media connect is the better software for the server with the following exception notesd below.
When running the D-link software:
1. The product will not play all video files. I do not mean all formats, I mean all files. I am playing video from two sources, a sony digital video camera and a Hauppage PVR-USB2 video capture device. It will play some of the files from both of these devices, but not all and there is no clear reason for which ones it chooses to play. I spoke with tech support and they indicated this is a known issue on which they are working.
2. When you are playing a group of MP3 files you can switch to a slideshow. As soon as you switch to the slideshow it will continue to play the current song over and over until you manually stop it. If you stay in the audio area it will play the list perfectly. It is only if you go to the slideshow that it does not work. Again, tech support indicates a known issue.
Windows Connect:
1. It will not support content located on a network drive. It must be resident on the machine.
2. It will play all the vidoes that the D-link media server will not (I haven't found one it won't play), but you cannot fast forward or rewind. If you try to fast forward or rewind when you press play to stop it goes back to the beginning of the video. This was really frustrating the first time it happenend becuase I had been watching a show for 15 minutes. I fast forwarded through the commercials and when I pressed play again it took me back to the beginning of the video with no way to get back to where I was except re-watch the 15 minutes. Again, tech support indicated a known issue.
3. It has the same problem with audio and picture slideshows listed above.
Remote:
1. The remote is tricky and not very responsive. Sometimes you can't get it to work and other times it acts like you have pressed the button several times. Kind of annoying, but not a serious problem.
Overall:
1. Good Audio Quality
2. Good Video Quality when it plays
3. Good picture Quality
4. Easy to navigate screens
5. Easy to set up
When they fix the bugs I will give it a 4 to 4.5 stars.
|
Disappointing, November 26, 2004
By beefytummy (MA USA)
On reading all the negative reviews here and on other sites, I still decided to go ahead an risk the purchase. What a mistake. The product is unusable in real life. I had envisioned using this to view shows recorded with my pc's tivo like functionality. Here are some points:
1. Some videos worked and some didn't. All the movie files were in the same format. I think size has something to do with it. The ones around an hour didn't work, the ones around 1/2 hours did.
2. Fast forwarding was extremely slow - maybe double normal viewing speed - so 30 sec commercial took 15 secs - useless!
3. I do have to say, when the video did work, it looked really good. I used to burn the shows onto dvd and watch them, and the videos through the DSM looked a LOT better.
4. Many people have complained about the remote. I think the problem in the main unit itself. It doesn't have enough juice/horsepower to process video and respond to remote clicks in a timely manner. SOme videos, I tried to fast forward, and the unit would stop responding - I had to power it off and on again. Before I bought the product, I thought, if its broke, I'll wait for the next software update - not now.
5. WHen viewing pictures - the same song gets repeated over and over and over again. It's horrible. And if you try to switch the track, you loose your position in the slideshow and have to start from the beginning again.
6. I returned the unit within 24 hours.
It's clear to me that no one at Dlink has taken the product home to use themselves. If they had, it would have been a much better product. The product is unusable in everyday life.
PS - if you do buy this product, and you have MAC address filtering turned on on your router, make sure you add the MAC address of the DSM to your allow list - I forgot all about this. Also, I had no problem getting this working over WEP.
|
Great idea, badly executed in MANY ways., November 22, 2004
By Riding the bleeding edge. (Chicago, IL)
I really liked the idea of a media server. I thought of building my own but the positive reviews for this product in a couple places convinced me to give it a try.
What a mistake.
First of all, this unit is NOT possible to get to work with Linux. Don't bother trying. I really hate when companies invent yet another proprietary protocol for something that could have been just as easily (or even more easily) using STANDARD protocols that already exist. Bad, bad, bad...
So, then I got it working with an XP box and even then it was very SLOW. I know some people complained that it was slow with large amounts of files. My media library isn't that large yet.
Even beyond that I found it cumbersome to use as I ALWAYS had to have the TV on. A product like this should be useable on it's own with the TV. It should have a small display on it and it should take less than 5 button presses (each with a pause between them) just to play music. I should be able to hit one or two buttons such as PLAY then SHUFFLE and it should just play all my music shuffled. Even though the remote is pretty good there should also be buttons on the box. Even the most basic DVD players have buttons to at least play, stop, pause and skip to next on the panel. I have kids who stash my remotes in places that take me a while to find. In that case this unit is IMPOSSIBLE to use.
After a weekend of messing with it I found it extrememly frustrating and it's going back.
|
RunMan, November 4, 2004
By Run Man (Phoenix, AZ)
The server software really stinks. I'll say it agian, the server software really stinks. The remote is slow, small and really stinks.
The only reason for the two stars is the fact the I got the unit up and running in short order..... It then took several hours of additional work to get the video portion of the unit working.
After fighting with this thing all weekend long, I gave up on the unit Sunday and took it back.
|
D-Link is quiet about Firmware updates, October 28, 2004
By F. Grant (New York, NY)
How do you know what these firmware updates are fixing, or breaking, when Dlink does not seem to post firmware information on the website?
I've given this product a try before, but I was not waiting for "future" fixes for features that were prominently displayed on the box. If I could see what these firmware updates were doing, I would be more inclined to give this product another shot.
I really hope that Dlink improves the server software. It was a real pain to have to manually force a rescan of the directories whenever a change was made to the file structure, or files were added to the existing directories, and the interface was terrible. I could have written better software and I'm in pharma-research.
|
|
|
Perfect Media Center, October 27, 2004
By Schnack Harry (To far from Maine)
My Situation: I've been online a while and collected a number of downloads. Xmass pictures from friends and family, video footage from the war in Afghanistan, by own attempts at editing home movies and 1000's of JPG's that I've taken with my digital camera. I have a large CD collection and I've started to copy the songs on to my hard drive so I could use them on my MP3 Player and I've down loaded some songs from the Net as well from some of the smaller independent bands that I know.
The Problem: I wanted to hear my MP3s on my nice new home theater system but I didn't want to have to burn CDs and I wanted to put most of my CDs back into storage. The video I have looks ok on my computer but I wanted to see how well it would play on my "TV." Also my office is always a total mess and hate bring people into it to show them my JPGs.
The Solution: The DSM-320 - Aka The Media Lounge. On my computer, which needs to be running, you just load the Media Server software from DLINK. You find all the files you wan tot view on your TV and the only other thing you need to do is use the "refresh" button if you new media to those files.
Then ON my TV, I installed the DSM-320 connecting it to my Home Theater and my TV. I just have a 20 inch normal TV; I don't know how things would look on a really big Plasma but it looks great on my TV. I view my trip photos as slide shows, the video looks really good and I can here it fine through the theater system. The best thing is the MP3 files. The DSM-320 takes advantage of the playlists that I've created and also allows me to view each folder or by artist, etc. The playlists are created in WinAMP. Not every file I have has all of the data in it that the DSM-320 needs but that does matter much when make my own playlists; I know what songs I'm putting in there.
As an added value the DSM-320 works with AOL Radio, Naspter and other online media. I've used the AOL offering; it works great, sounds great and there is currently a free 6 month trial which I'm making full use of. These ONLINE media work even when your home computer is off as long as your network is on/up.
I've seen some review that said the remote control didn't work well. I just keep fresh batteries in it (Rayovac Rechargable) and it seems to work fine. The only big figure I find missing is some type of wake-up timer/sleep timer so I could use it as an alarm clock and/or fall asleep to it.
|
A lot of potential, but does not meet expectations..., October 14, 2004
By Stein Ingvaldsen (New York)
I have had the DSM-320 for six months. It does NOT play DIVX (only some XVIDs with the audio out of sync), but the radio functionality is great!
Firmware updtates are done every fifth to seventh year, so don't buy this mediaplyer in expectation of having a working product in the near future. It has still got more bugs than an African youth hostel. If you need AOL radio it is a great buy, but for anything else it is slooooooow, unreliable and very, very annoying...
Check out this forum before you buy it: //p214.ezboard.com/fdsm320frm13
|
It does SOME things, but not all..., October 8, 2004
By bettorworse (Chicago)
First, a lot of my problems may be solved by an upgrade to the firmware, but I can't GET an upgrade to the firmware because this unit is not, and never will be, connected to the internet. I upgrade firmware on about 6 products on a regular basis and this is the ONLY one that requires an internet connection?? Why??? Nobody knows. It's very poor customer service, though. They should make the firmware download available and fix it so you don't need to hook this unit up to the internet to upgrade the firmware.
As it stands, the only thing that consistently works is viewing photos. I have never been able to get the music to work (other than playing one track at a time, which is a real pain) and the movies work occasionally, but they are always distorted by the screen width.
As for the AOL connection, who cares? Even if I had an internet connection for this unit, I certainly wouldn't hook my computer to allow AOL any access. Spam, spyware and ads are all I ever got from AOL.
Needs a lot of work.
|
Found One that Works!, September 12, 2004
By Todd G., Florida (Florida)
First, let me say that the entire field of "Networked Media Devices" can be grouped in the "Not Ready for Prime Time" as people often indicate, but IMHO, this one is the best out there. I've returned a Hauppauge MVP and a Prismiq because they were just too unreliable. The DLINK works consistantly. Power it up, it finds the network, finds the server, and works everytime. I've had no network problems, meaning that it streams my previously recorded video files (recorded using a Hauppage WinTV PVR USB2)with no problems. Sure, there is the lack of DivX support, but that may change with future Firmware upgrades. The AOLRadio options is excellent (if you already have an AOL account). If you do not have an AOL account, simply build an internet-based radio station playlist in WinAmp. The user interface is very simplistic (even a little unimpressive for my taste) and "wife-friendly" (as mine is not very technical). I will keep this one and will remain hopefully optimistic that DLink will provide continued support and development to improve the interface and file support. Oh, one last thing, the remote control only functions in a "straight line of site" fashion.
|
POS, August 31, 2004
By Chazz (Iowa)
This is the worst piece of electronics I have ever bought. The install is not easy. It couldn't play my MP3's without breaking up. It tried to download a firmware update and locked up.
Don't waste your money!!!
|
New Firmware solves Problems, August 26, 2004
By Jack the Hack
I first had this media player from D-Link a month or so ago. I've seen, I believe, two firmware upgrades and they both solved some small things, and I heard there is a big one coming soon. So updates will always be made to this media player with very little interaction by you, the user. Basically it updates automatically, you just say Yes, as long as it is connected to the Internet. Which you usually have setup by default because you want the Radio@AOL features right?
I really enjoy the features and abilities of this device. Surround sound, Component video, S-Video, networkable, plays digital music, video, photos, etc. It looks nice in my entertainment center, has a cool remote, and it works.
Well with most features it does. At least all the important ones.
I'd get it if I didn't have it even with the knowledge I have now, just because it will be upgraded. I've bought several networking products through out the years from D-Link and they seem to get better and better with product updates and firmware fixes. This product still gets 5 stars from me, because of who makes it and what it can do.
|
5 Stars for Effort and Innovation, August 19, 2004
By Cursed Man
I have to give this product 5 stars because of what it can do, not a lower score because of what it can't do.
Yes there are quirks that need to be worked out. But if you look at this product with an overall view and compare it to other products out on the market like it, this D-Link Wireless Media Player, DSM-320, beats them all hands down.
I can watch my downloaded movies, MP3 files (along with the few other format music files I have), DVD VOB files if I want, all of my digital photos from my Nikon CoolPix camera, and listen to Radio@AOL for free. The Radio@AOL has been great for those times when I look through my music collection and just can't decide because I've heard it all millions of times. Know what I mean?
I have little fits when I can't rewind a certain movie or play a weird encoded video file, but again, overall I am very impressed and pleased with this product.
I'd like to Thank D-Link for this reasonably priced product that I am sure will get more TLC with new firmware, which updates automatically BTW. :)
|
Very Easy to use and Setup, August 16, 2004
By Royce P. (Michigan)
I was able to set this up in about 10 minutes. Plus it in to the TV like a VCR, or DVD Player and install the software on your PC and your done. Enabling the DSM-320 to view and read my files (video, pictures, music, and even online content) was very easy. I can now listen to my MP3 collection on our home entertaiment center with surround sound. It is very nice. All this with the ease of a remote control, which doesn't get the best signal, but I have used worse remotes.
There are little things like scrolling through long lists of songs that gets annoying, but I've solved that by making playlists on my PC of the groups of songs I like most. Then I just play those playlists.
Some downloaded movies I have play without a hitch, but some have a weird codec so the media player doesn't play them. But then I got a new firmware upgrade and now they play fine. The firmware upgrade was very easy to get. In fact all I had to do was say OK to the firmware upgrade and the DSM-320 went out on the Internet, found the newest version and installed it itself and rebooted itself too.
I like this wireless media player and hope others can find the good in it that I do.
|
Great concept. Poor implementation., August 5, 2004
By Tyree Jackson (MO, USA)
The D-Link DSM-320 is a great product in theory. However, the actual product leaves much to be desired. Basically, this is just a confirmation of what everyone else here has been saying. The remote buttons are barely responsive, it is unable to play 90% of the files of each of the formats that it claims to play, shuffle is useless without setting up a playlist, and other "basic" functions are missing. This product was definately released to early. An as an early adopter, I got burned this time. I will be returning this thing tomorrow.
|
There is alot to like despite..., August 4, 2004
By dstidham (Sugar Land, Texas United States)
...some of the poor reviews and some of the very real issues.
Bottom line I like the unit. I think the biggest problem I am seeing is a remote control that is very difficult to operate. It really is cheap and can be very unresponsive. They goofed on this. Probably a result of not researching and testing it out before getting the unit out the door. If I keep this unit I hope I can get an upgraded remote control if they ever (and I am sure they will) release a better one (the play button on this, for instance, is very small with a dark green arrow on it that you have to HUNT for in a dim living room or not so dim for that matter). Most of the buttons on the remote are half the size of the Red Hot candies you get from ferrara pan.
I have a dlink 108 xtreme wireless hub and it streams everything well from all areas of my home (expcept one). I am streaming XVID rips and they are generally pretty good streams.
I have had no problems with detecting the wireless network and the media server software. I have had no problems with the files I have been playing (I have been playing mpg-1's, some vob's, and some mpeg-4 xvids and of course jpg photo files.
I did upgrade the firmware first thing...
I wish there was a status display that showed what kind of connection 9quality -wise0 you are experiencing with your hub. Also it would have been cool to have some info upfront onhow to increase your range since this unit will find its place many times far away from your system. It comes with ONE antenna at the back of the unit...it would have been nice to have an optional extension cable or even to give you some options for an antenna booster.
|
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 of Total 7 Pages
|
|
| Copyright 2001-2007 WiFiReview.com |
|
