| Linksys Dual-Band Wireless A/G Media Center Extender WMCE54AG |
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Model: WMCE54AG
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 23
Operating system: MS Windows XP Media Center compatible
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| Features: |
Connects your Home Entertainment Center to a Windows Media Center PC through a Wireless-A, Wireles
Watch home or downloaded digital movies and browse your digital pictures on your television. Also watch, pause, and record live TV shows
Listen to your digital music collection and Internet radio through your stereo system
Select entertainment from on-screen menus with the easy-to-use remote control |
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| Description: |
| The Linksys Dual-Band Wireless A/G Media Center Extender lets you bring the digital entertainment available through and stored on your Windows Media Center PC to your Home Entertainment Center, without running cables through the house. Using a Wireless-A, Wireless-G, or wired Ethernet connection, the Media Center Extender displays home-made or downloaded digital movies and your digital photographs on the TV for the whole family to enjoy. And your digital music collection is finally freed from those little computer speakers and can play in full glory through your stereo system. You can also watch and pause live TV shows, or record them digitally for later viewing. Finding something to watch is easy with the free on-screen program guide.The Media Center Extender sits by your home stereo and television and connects to them using standard consumer electronics cables. Then it connects to your home network by Wireless-A or Wireless-G networking, or if you prefer, it can be connected via standard 10/100 Ethernet cabling. Using the included remote control and the user-friendly menus on your TV, you can quickly find the digital movies, TV shows, pictures or music on your Windows Media Center PC. You can even chat with friends through Microsoft Windows Messenger while watching movies on the same screen.Let the Linksys Dual-Band Wireless A/G Media Center Extender bring your digital media out into the living room for the whole family to enjoy. |
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| User Reviews (23 total): |
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Roll Out The Red Carpet!!!!, April 13, 2008
By Electronics Guy (Los Gatos, Ca USA)
This is the most useful, cool, and slick looking electronic I have ever used. This works so great and FINNALY, Linksys came out with something people actually need. GOOD JOB Linksys and keep up the great work.
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Love it... but has limitations, December 31, 2007
By CK1 (Olympia, WA)
Short review since this product is discontinued. Really like and use this product often. The Media Center PC with this is really been a useful, affordable concept for us. We don't pay for anything extra like digital or some other DVR monthly service and we have way more to watch than we have time for. I really like to play music on it too, although I wish there were some added features like a better screen saver.
If you are considering getting this be very aware that you are extremely dependent on the PC working more than the Extender working. If you have PC problems you will also have Extender problems. Network problems, same thing. The Extender may be working perfectly well and not working at all for you if you don't have a powerful enough PC, have a week wireless router, or have too much running on your PC or want to upgrade (subjective) to Vista, etc.
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POS - DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT, June 18, 2007
By Patrick L. Coleman
I have one on my closet. I have never been so frustrated with a product. It plays my digital music collection very well, does photos very well, weather, and a lot of add on's, but it won't play 90% of HBO shows. Other than this it is a prety good concept. The Tv guide is faster and better than TIVO, but the fact that it won't play protected content HBO kills it for me. Mine is in the closet gathering dust and I now have a Tivo that plays any show I record. Now thats what it is supposed to do. Linksys support is terrible. I'll never own another product from them. I had 12 months of correspondence with them and they could never fix my HBO problem.
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Works with Issues, June 11, 2007
By SDF (Costa Mesa, CA)
I originally bought this to work with my Windows XP media center PC. Setup was relatively easy. I use a wired connection, as I've found wireless does not do too well with Media Center Extenders. Though it has component output, it cannot put out anything beyond 480P. It connects well; however, it can't play any item that is coming through the Digital Tuner of my Media Center PC, nor can it play any of those items. The remote that comes with it is the older RC-6 Microsoft designed remote, it's functional but not very pretty. I believe Sony makes this remote, it looks like the same remote that came with my Sony-XL2 Media Center computer.
It also cannot stream any DIVx or H264 items. We recently upgraded the main computer to a Vista PC with a cable card tuner. This box will not work with Vista. I think if you are serious about a Media Center PC extender, then get the X-Box 360. It's a better solution: it gives the capability of playing Games and DVDs, plus can output HD; and Microsoft is constantly releasing updates for it.
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Great Device -- Know Its Limits, May 23, 2007
By J. White (Washington, DC, USA)
I have two of these in my house, and by and large am very satisfied with them. They do what I want them to, but they do have limitations.
Pros:
-Able to access XP Media Center media from a TV (particularly helpful for me as I have a huge CD collection and huge home video library loaded on my computer)
-wireless
-simple menu
-access to online media
-quiet and sightly device -- will not add noise or ugliness to your home entertainment center
-great sound; decent video
Cons:
-Does not play all video file types (AVI's and MPEG2, in particular)
I found an update for my first extender that allows me to play
AVI's without any extra steps -- unfortunately I can no longer locate
this update, and must use an app called "Transcode 360" to play AVI's
on my second extender. This introduces extra steps and delay in
playing AVI's on the extender
-online media access can be flaky -- not all sites play well; media libraries at many sites are less than impressive; many sites require installation of additional software (on your Media Center PC -- NOT on the extender)
-setup CAN be simple, but there can also be issues that take a bit to troubleshoot
-will not work with Vista (important if you plan to get a new PC anytime soon)
-not high def -- decent video (just fine for 480i TV's), but not high def or wide screen
-periodically lose connection to PC -- sometimes when I turn one on, it won't connect to PC. May need to restart PC or extender. Eventually it works, but is a pain when it happens.
Overall:
I know I wrote more cons than pros, but I am getting what I want from this device, so am mostly happy. I would love to see it be more seemless for me, and perform a notch or two better in terms of video clarity and reliability.
This is a decent device that will allow you to access PC-based home media on your TV. If you are considering this for online content, your mileage may vary. DO NOT CONSIDER IF YOU HAVE OR WILL SOON GET MS VISTA. Know what it is you want it to do and be sure that is possible before purchasing. And finally, shop around -- this is a discontinued device and prices can vary widely at different retailers.
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Won't work with Vista, March 12, 2007
By Tudor ApMadoc (Farmington Hills, MI USA)
I've been using this unit for about 6 months, just upgraded my computer to Vista, only to find out that the WMCE54AG won't work with Vista. Argh!!!
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Not Bad, February 23, 2007
By Mark Harris (West Jordan, Utah)
I am always amazed at how some people cannot recognize the limitations of different kinds of technology. If this device has a lot of latency its because of these two problems. You are using a double hop wireless network (linksys states in the docs that this is not supported. Either your WMCE machine or the extender needs to be hard wired), or you have a WMCE machine that barely has enough processing power and memory as it is and you just added streaming video to the equation. I purchased this and while it is not perfect I find that it is a cheap alternative. It does not perform as good as the WMCE machine itself does but it is a lot cheaper then buying or building a new WMCE machine for a separate TV. If you download the new firmware update on Linksys's site it will resolve the protected tv content issue as per the release notes.
-Allows playback of CGMS-A protected TV content (e.g., HBO, Cinemax, etc)
Somebody made a comment that it takes a long time for the music to load if you have a lot of files. This only happens the first time when you tell it where to look for your music WMCE does the same thing when you first set it up. It appears to me that the new image updates are from Microsoft not Linksys so it is Microsoft that has failed in this regard not linksys. I would have to say all and all that this is not a bad device.
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Just What I Wanted..., January 20, 2007
By B. Mcallister (PA, USA)
It arrived in two days. It actually took me longer to hook it up to my bedroom tv than it did to connect it wirelessly to my pc. I turned on the extender and copied the serial code, went to the pc and popped in the disk, while it installed I used the remote to enter my wireless WEP code into the extender. Went back to the pc and entered my serial code. Went back to the tv and there it was! Hit the recorded TV button and up popped all my episodes of 'ER', 'American Idol', and 'The Apprentice'. It was that easy. So far I have only watched 3 hours but, not a flash, jump, pause, or lag yet ,of course my computer room is only at the end of the hall, that's where my linksys wireless g router is.\
For the price it is just what I wanted!
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Know what to expect, and be a bit technically inclined..., January 4, 2007
By N. Ross (Austin, TX United States)
Some of the previous reviewers have valid comments/concerns/complaints, but others appear to have specific issues not shared by all, do not have all the facts, or haven't put enough effort into getting the Linksys Media Extender to do all it can.
I've had the extender for at least 6 months and I bought it used on eBay for $150...not cheap, but I wasn't going to pay retail to stream what multimedia is possible and not knowing whether I may upgrade to an Xbox 360 or what lies in store with Vista down the road.
I'll address some complaints from previous reviews by commenting with my personal experience:
NETWORK CONGESTION: I have the extender in my living room connected to my 52" HDTV, digital optical audio out to my stereo and connected to my wireless G network. One user reported the EXTENDER to be plauged by network congestion. Hello! Network congestion is not the fault of the extender, it is YOUR network. I've personally had very little network congestion issues and my MCE PC is upstairs, extender is downstairs.
IMAGES: Another reviewer stated that the extender locked up every time they attempted to view photos and made it sound as if you could not direct the extender to locate image files in particular folders. My extender has NEVER locked up when viewing images and you CAN specify folders for images, video, music, etc. just like you can directly in Media Center. I do not know what this particular reviewer was talking about, but they don't have their facts straight.
VIDEO: While it's true the extender does not natively support a large number of video types, this is not a fault of the Linksys extender as it is Microsoft's. Even the Xbox 360 has the same limitation, thus the reason transcoding software (such as Transcode360) was developed by users much more intelligent than I. I have a mid-sized movie/video library and using transcoding software that works with the Linksys extender I've been able to stream many of them to my living room TV with satisfactory results, both with image and audio quality. Just as with the necessity to download codec packs to your PC in order to play many video types, you need to spend a little effort to successfully stream more than the base video types supported by the extender. It's well worth your time.
PC CONNECTIVITY: One previous reviewer stated Linksys has not kept up with Windows updates, etc. This is very much the case, and since Linksys is no longer shipping their extender don't expect any updates down the road either. This is unfortunate, but it certainly hasn't prevented my extender from functioning and I just upgraded to a new PC with the most current XP and Media Center updates. You do have to check that the appropriate Firewall ports are open on your PC or the extender will not be able to connect to it. Also, note that installing some applications will reset the properties of these ports and the extender may not be able to connect until you renable them. For example, I installed Windows OneCare Live and it apparently reset the ports used by the extender...it could no longer connect to the PC even though it was on my wireless network. I re-enabled the appropriate ports and connection was re-established. The previous reviewer either had this or a similar issue, or a bad unit.
DVD VIEWING/INTERNET/ETC: True, you cannot put a DVD in your PC and stream it to the extender, but again, this is a limitation of Microsoft's own extender as well (though it has an internal DVD drive). It's a SOFTWARE issue. The extender doesn't allow you to natively browse the Internet - again, SOFTWARE!!! You cannot browse the Internet in Media Center, can you? This is a MEDIA CENTER EXTENDER people. However, you can find Media Center plug-ins on Microsoft's web site that will allow you to do much more than the base system, so look around and try some things out instead of just complaining or having unrealistic expectations. Now, I will say that it's pretty sad that Linksys couldn't even add a USB port to the extender so you'd have the option of hooking up a wired or wireless keyboard. Doesn't take a genius to think of that!
The common theme here is that many reviewers either are not spending enough time/effort or do not have sufficient knowledge to get the most out of the extender OR the issues are actually not the fault of the extender.
Overall, I've been quite happy with the extender's functions WHEN it works. I'll be perfectly honest in that I've had a number of issues with the extender appearing to completely reset itself...it loses all configuration settings and setup has to be done from scratch. I've spend an extra couple of hours reconfiguring the extender again after it had been working fine for weeks or months. VERY frustrating when that happens, but as I said...when it's working it's well worth the price you can find them for on sites like eBay.
Oh, and one last comment - a recent reviewer stated this is now "old" or "outdated" technology that's soon to be replaced by extenders to work with Windows Vista "right around the corner". Granted, Vista is set to roll out to the general public any day now, but it's unlikely to be something everyone will jump ship from XP to move to quickly...same for hardware and software. If you do not have a very beefy PC it's unlikely Vista will even run on your system, or if it does it will suck up huge amounts of RAM and not run as efficient as possible without 64-bit support from a dual-core processor. I bought a new system with an AMD x64 dual-core processor and 2GB RAM, but I won't be planning to move to Vista until it's well established (e.g. SP1). And what will the first extender units to work with Vista be? Xbox 360's. If you're hoping to wait for a new extender to come out from anyone other than Microsoft in the next 6-12 months, then best of luck. Otherwise, stay with XP Media Center for a while and watch these Linksys extenders fall to $99 (or less used), then pick one up - or splurge for the Xbox 360. Either way, I think they're worth the $. Of course, another option if you have the original Xbox is to search on eBay or elsewhere and find the Microsoft wireless extender add-on & turn your Xbox 1 into a media extender...that's a <$99 option, but you'll also want the DVD Remote/IR sensor to make use of the extender functions.
Certainly room for improvement and reliability on the Linksys...thus the 4 stars.
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Do NOT buy this product!!!! You will regret it if you do., December 23, 2006
By Conspicuous Consumer (Pennsylvania)
If you have any sense at all, you will not buy this product. Linksys support is the most pathetic organization you will ever come in contact with. They have 2 resolutions to any problem. The first is your device is defective and needs to be repaired or replaced. The second is that the problem is with Microsoft's software or operating system and you should contact them.
If you don't believe me, read the reviews of the Linksys WRT55AG Dual-Band Wireless A+G Access Point + Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch.
I purchased this extender in 2005, but apparently Linksys has not kept up with Windows updates and service packs, and it no longer will connect. I have spent hours on the phone with Linksys support to no avail.
They do have some products that work, such as their simpler routers and switches, but if you ever get anything more complex like a remote video camera, dual-band router, or Media Center Extender, you will ultimately regret your purchase, and like me, pulling your hair out in frustration.
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Smoke and Mirrors, October 13, 2006
By Gadget guy (Seneca, SC United States)
This device seems to be cool, but has a lot of drawbacks.
1. It does not allow you to watch your DVDs
2. It will not be compatible with Windows Vista
3. You cannot browse Internet using it
4. It does not support Dolby Digital 5.1
5. There is a USNB port that is not supported (kiss your keyboard good bye)
It does a great job for watching pictures, recorded TV shows, having a glance at your email, weather, news and watching live TV, though.
My recommendation is not to buy this device because it is already obsolete (can you believe it?!?). Wait for the next generation, compatible with Vista that is right on the corner for launching.
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Almost, but not quite, September 7, 2006
By T. Kranz (New York)
It is telling that Linksys is no longer shipping this item. I have wrestled with it for a couple months, giving it every chance to perform as it's supposed to. Bottom line: it works to about 70% of its advertised potential. As a wireless device,even on a "g" network, it's really useless, much too slow. I have it in the very next room with all doors open and video just doesn't move quickly enough. Wired is much better. However, even with all the updated firmware and patches installed from Linksys and Microsoft, the box locks up constantly; it does NOT display my photos without locking up every single time; live and recorded TV do work but the picture quality is so-so; music is about the only thing that actually works flawlessly. I spent a lot of time on the phone with a Linksys technician trying to figure out why my pictures would not display (the box locked up while scanning for photographs, evidently trying to display non-picture files-- it should be made so you can SELECT which folders on your computer it should scan for pix). Complicated by the technician's thick and mysterious accent, it was a frustrating and unfruitful conversation. Windows MCE 2005 and a decent TV tuner, both of which I have, make a great and cheap alternative to TiVo and other paid recording services. But viewing in another room is still problematic-- hope they come up with something better and, pretty please, CHEAPER, than this thing.
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Perfect, June 30, 2006
By Dan
I use it everynight. It works great! I have no problems with it. Picture is very clear and audio is great.
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Plagued by network congestion, March 24, 2006
By Honest Abe (Concord, MA)
A great concept, but the reality is that it constantly pauses or hangs, complaining of network congestion. I'm using 802.11g; I tried the dual-band Linksys router, and results were worse on 802.11a.
Not ready for prime time.
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Very Disappointing !, January 22, 2006
By Tech Enthusiast (San Jose, CA)
A great idea, but a disappointing execution. I feel that I have been mislead having purchased a Media Center 'Extender', advertised to bring the Media Center experience to my living room, only to discover that the majority of the Media Center experience of interest to me is not supported by the Extender.
I have a library of video files, mostly taken from my consumer video camera, edited and saved in various formats. All these files play fine on Media Center 2005. Great, now I want to play these in my living room. However, none of my video files except the large MPEG.avi files will play on the Extender. Similarly, I have a large .jpg library of pictures and love the 'animated' slide show feature of Media Center. Unfortunately the animated slide show is not supported on the Extender either. Many other Media Center features are also not supported.
Potential buyers should look into the limitations carefully. In my view, the Extender does not bring the Media Center experience to the living room, it brings only a disappointing sub-set of media capability.
I consider the Extender at a 'prototype' level of implementation. A great idea, with the foundation of a good user interface, and with reasonably smooth setup, but not up to par with expected capabilities and still a little lumpy in navigation and experience. Hopefully with Microsoft and Linksys behind this product we will see a more mature version some time soon.
I recommend this only for early adaptors who are fully aware of the limitations and expectations. Mine is going back to the store.
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Best way to watch computer recorded shows, August 12, 2005
By Shannon (West Irondequoit, NY)
The Media Center extender was easy to set up and has a clearer picture when you record the show than the cable gives you when you watch it directly from the tV!
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Beat Expectations, March 27, 2005
By R. W. Stemple (Bay City, MI United States)
This macine operates much better than I thought it would. Set up is pretty simple. I was expexting it to be an ordeal, but it was done in only a few minutes.
For best results on streaming video or TV content, run it on the dual band A/G wireless router. The a-network runs video very well. 802.11b is not really sufficient.
It can't stream protected video content and that's my only complaint. It seems like there could be license mgt to allow this rather than just deny it completely.
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Disappointed !!!, March 27, 2005
By Wannabe Geek (Albany, NY)
If you are buying this thing to stream video from your PC to another location, please read this!!!!!
First, the Media Center Extender does not support many common movie or video formats such as .Avi, DivX, Xvid or .Vob. The only supported formats are MPEG-1, MPEG-2 or WMV (standard definition only, not high def). In addition, it will not work if these videos have AC3 or Dolby Digital Audio, only 2 channel audio works. See details from the Microsoft Website below:
Video file formats supported:
* Windows Media Video 9 main profile
* WMA Standard audio
* Max resolution 720x480
* Max bit-rate 4Mbps
* WMV content may be Windows Media DRM-protected
* MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 standard definition
* MPEG-1 layers I and II audio
So, if you have a big video library on your hard drive, you may not be able to watch them with your Media Center Extender without first transcoding them to a supported format.
Second, you cannot put a DVD in your PC and play it on your Media Center Extender. You would need to rip it to your hard drive (in one of the few supported formats above) before you can play it.
If you want to watch video in another room, I suggest you go out and buy a cheap (about $50-$70) DVD player that will support most of the common video formats.
Okay, now for what the Media Center Extender did well.
Photos- were easy to navigate and had several settings for displaying your pictures.
Music- streamed my play list with good quality sound.
The Live and Recorded TV options worked well but HDTV is not supported.
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Good idea, but useless in my case., February 28, 2005
By Sefan Jessen (Iceland)
This Product is a great idea, but I never got it working right. Im living in Europe and this product does only support NTSC, so this product is not useable in Europe. If you live in a concrete house, you might have to use Wired-Ethernet-connection between your extender and your computer, because when using Wireless connection, the extender has to be nearly on top of the router to get all the wireless connection it needs.
In the user-manual it says that the extender can operate @ 100-240V but the technical support doesn't believe you can use 240V.
And for those who don't know: MS Media Center 2005 does not support DivX.
So in my case, this product is not worth it, but I give it 2 stars for the idea.
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Great Idea - Still Some Features Missing, February 23, 2005
By dwswager (Alabama,United States)
First, if your going to buy a Media Center Extender, you do need to have a Media Center PC running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 to extend! This obviously eludes some of us.
Please review Microsofts website MCE area for info on MCE PCs and detailed specs for the extender.
Observations:
1. 480i output via Composite, S-Video or Component jacks. No Enhanced TV 480p nor HDTV 1080i or 720p at this time. Not sure that a software only update could fix this.
2. Recommend Wired connection for both the MCE PC and Extender connected via a switch not a hub. You can do a/g wireless, but video over wireless is tough trick and will need to be tuned for good signal strengths.
3. Audio - Great playback via the extender. Provides ability to play recorded music in a number of formats.
3. Video - Over a wired connection it is great. You can watch TV via the TV tuner or recorded shows saved to the MCE PC hard drive. You can also play videos and view slideshows of pictures. Playback of pictures is limited at this time. Most likely you be reduced to using JPG and other lesser formats. Not support for RAW camera files or Adobe's Digital Negative Format (DNG) yet. Unfortunately there is limited choices for video as well. You'll really need to have your video files in MPEG-1, MPEG-2 or Windows Media Format.
3. While it doesn't make sence to extend the "Play DVD" function since the DVD drive is somewhere else, they could have included a local DVD drive in the unit and this precludes playing DVD content ripped to your hard drive.
All in All this is a great idea and executed pretty well. The whole concept of the MCE PC is still young and functionality is being defined and the Extenders are limited by that changing functionality. One concern is that the extender won't/can't be upgraded to work with MCE 2006 when it is released.
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