| NETGEAR Wireless Digital Music Player |
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Model: MP101NA
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 86
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), IEEE 802.3u (Fast Ethernet)
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| Features: |
Streams and plays MP3s and Windows Media format digital files from all of your networked PCs and Internet radio directly to your home stereo
Compatible with your existing 802.11b or 802.11g wireless home network
Remote control and vivid LCD interface for easy browsing of music collection
Listen through your stereo, boom box, headphones, or powered speakers
Compatible with Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000 or XP |
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| Description: |
| Finally, you can enjoy your digital music files and unlimited, worldwide Internet radio, together with your friends and family, in any room of your home. NETGEAR's Wireless Digital Music Player connects your existing home stereo to your home computer network so you can listen to your MP3 and Windows Media format digital music files ? with the great sound quality of your stereo speakers ? wherever you like to relax and entertain. You can also listen to thousands of streaming Internet radio stations for music, sports and news from around the world. The Wireless Digital Music Player is compatible with your 802.11b or 802.11g wireless network, and it's very simple to set up and use. Easy-to-install software automatically finds all your music files by title, artist, album, genre or play list on any networked PC. It then collects them into one complete database so you don't have to do the work. Sit back and put your feet up ? remote control and a crystal clear, four-line display let you select music without even getting out of your chair. |
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| User Reviews (86 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 5 of Total 5 Pages
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Great Purchase, June 23, 2008
By user (Eastern Canada)
I picked one of these up at a local computer store last week for $39.00 and love it. Took a little while to get onto my wireless network, but now streams music into my hifi system flawlessly, giving me essentially a 200GB MP3 player. User interface a bit primitive compared to latest colour screen portables, but it gets the job done and seems to have picked up the other playlists and favorite categories from my other media software. Output seems a little low compared to the line out on my portable, but that can easily be adjusted by volume. One of the big advantages is the ability to use higher bitrates for ripping music to maintain optimal quality. Not sure if they still make them but recommended if you can find one. Use the latest software which apparently fixed many earlier issues that put people off.
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terrible product, February 23, 2008
By user (cerritos usa)
Just a terribly designed product and it wastes your time,freezes up all the time, and you lose all your playlistS and songs and have to reload,their outsourced c/s dept is a joke and give out erroneous info,save your money and avoid this netgear product.
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Falls short on many fronts, July 14, 2007
By user (Solana Beach, CA)
About the only thing this media player was good for was connecting to Internet radio. It failed at streaming more than one song in a row from my PC. It also doesn't have WPA security for the 802.11b so you're best to hard wire it.
Since I don't think you can buy it anymore, I'm not sure what good this review is, but if you're thinking of getting a used one from somebody, I'd recommend you steer clear of the MP101. There are other alternatives that I'm told work much better.
Oh yeah, I spent about 3 hours on the phone with Netgear tech support (sure sounded to me like everyone I spoke with was in India) and they were unable to solve the problem.
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Decent nont wireless though, February 8, 2007
By user (McAllen, TX)
So I ordered this and surprisingly found this 250 dollar product for 30 dollars , i got standard shipping came in about 5 days, installed the cd to my desktop in my living room, which is where i have my roadrunner Cable modem, and my netgear Super g 108mbps wireless router, sothat all goes good, than i connect the player and i put the red and white audio cables in my reciever and i turn on the netgear, and it says found wireless network, it found it but when i tried to log on , nothing just this network not available, after finding it and putting the name of my network right there, so than i connect the short ole ethernet cable to the 2nd port on my router , and i connected the green audio cable that was going from my speakers to my computer , to the player. i turn it on, it says wired network found, bam it has my netowkrs name, and sure enough all the songs i uploaded onto the program they gave me, were there. i was so releived thihnking i had wasted 37 dollars. so i go online find the firmware 3.7 ithink and i do all taht jazz than when i turn it on it finds my laptop and all my music i have there. i was like whoa amazing, i forgot to include taht i had installed the program in my laptop as well. so i had songs there on my laptop, and my moms songs on the desktop. now i just need to buy a 50 foot ethernet cable to run along the wall to my receiver than i can put the player on top of my audio reciever and plug in the redwhite to redwhite and bam 5.1 surround. lcd screen is bright and easy to see, control is very handy, no buttons on player, so my suggestikon do not lose the remote.all in all worth 37 dollars.
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Works perfectly with other server software, February 1, 2007
By user (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Many of the problems that are being mentioned have to do with the server that netgear provides with the package. Don't bother to use the CD. Don't even bother to download the new version from the netgear website because it has issues.
The MP101 is a client that supports the UPNP protocol for streaming music. You can use any other software that can be installed as a server as long as it supports the UPNP. Two good examples are TwonkyMedia and Windows Media Player 11.
Specifically, windows media player 11 (that comes with Vista) has a built-in UPNP server. So when you have both the MP101 and the Windows Media Player (WMP) 11 on, the WMP will recognize the client and start streaming music to it. Then you go to the MP101 and acccept the WMP11 as a server. The interface is much better that the default server that netgear provides, since you can instantly see now whatever you have imported in the WMP library, including the fact that you can browse the music directories directly!
Users with Windows XP can also download WMP11 to enjoy these features.
Given this setup, I connected the MP101 wired to my router and using WMP11 I never had any problems browsing and playing my music. It also worked perfectly with my Rhapsody account.
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Gret performance and value..., January 21, 2007
By user (Cooperstown, NY)
This product works exceptionally well wireless in the configuration that I have. I have two PCs connected to a linksys B/G telephone router and am operating the unit via wireless connection on another floor of my house using both PCs as media servers. I did immediately upgrade the firmware on the unit, and had to enable mixed B/G mode on the router to allow it to connect, but once I figured that out, the device works flawlessly and at a fraction of the price of other units on the market...a great value, after testing it out, I ordered a second one for my other stereo!
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Very nice, January 21, 2007
By user (DSM, but wishing I was in Denver)
Was very easy to set up. I am very happy with it, except for one thing. I have spent a lot of time making sure that all the folders from one artist are all in one folder. The Netgear software was able to seperate them. So now when I look up the by the artist there might be four diffrent folders with the same musician.
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Does not work with Rhapsody or AOL Radio, September 4, 2006
By user (Seattle, WA)
If you look on the box it says that it works with AOL Radio and Rhapsody. I was using both, so I purchased it.
Since the time it was manufactured those players have changed versions and no longer work with the MP101.
You might be able to get Rhapsody to play a song or 2, but that is all I could get no matter what software or firmware I installed. AOL radio has a new version of DRM that does not work with the MP101 period.
Using the media server from Netgear that was made for the MP115 I was able to get internet streaming radio and mp3s to work perfect. Booting it up with the wireless is a little slow so I left it on most of the time.
After a while I gave up on it and ran a 50' extension cord under my house from my PC to my stereo instead.
In my old house I had a cheap gateway profile all-in-one PC that I used for my media. That worked much better and you can get one on ebay for under $100 sometimes.
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Lowdown on Pro's and Con's, April 17, 2006
By user (Denver)
If you have hundreds of CD's, it is certainly attractive to manage and play your music from your computer. This player gets you partially there.
Pro's
1. Obviously provides all the + and - of mp3's. Sound is pretty decent at 192 kbs sampling.
2. Server side library management & import software is good.
3. Ability to play and search music on the mp101 is good.
4. Radio1234 streaming service is worth the $20 to me. Other radio stations can be streamed, with some work, through Twonky.
5. Extremely low cost vis-a-vis buying a 60 gbyte mp3 player
Con's
1. Virtually/entirely useless as a wireless device with the 2 routers I have tried, however I have not tried w/ Netgear router
2. Unconscionable bugs and shortcomings on the client. As I added music to the server, the artist list was truncated on the client - bad news for listening to Yo La Tengo & Zakir Hussein. So the primary reason to use this device is partially defeated. Why are firmware programmers so sloppy?
3. Can't get Live365 to work regardless of online documentation.
Not being able to access my entire music library on the client makes this a "no-buy." Maybe future firmware upgrades will address this.
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It NEVER works....rip off, December 16, 2005
By user (Philadelphia)
Basically, its a piece of crap. The server never connects. When it does connect, the songs break up and don't sound right. The Media Server software always locks up. Its just an awful program. What a waste of $ this was.
How could Netgear release something that was so horrid? Beats me.
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Not Worth the Hassle!!!, September 27, 2005
By user (Norwalk, CT United States)
I puchased the MP101 and got it running for several weeks until, all of a sudden, I began having wireless connection problems. The MP101 found my wireless network but could not access the Server with all of my music files. Translation - it stopped working altogether! Shop around to find another wireless music player and avoid the headaches - I've wasted hours troubleshooting on Netgear forums and with their weak tech support.
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When it works, its great. But when it doesnt...., September 18, 2005
By user (Goshen, KY USA)
The MP101 is a great unit if you can get up and running. It took me quite some time to do so. The server software that ships with the unit is useless if you have over 300 songs. Download the Twonkyvision server software instead. It will coast you 20 bucks, but it is worth every penny.
And make use of the Yahoogroups MP101 page. Tech support from Netgear is almost non existant. You get what you pay for. If your willing to jump through some hoops, you will love it. If you are a techno-phobe, you might want to try another product.
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Good component for digital media system, September 8, 2005
By user
but wireless setup is kind of primitive and could be improved. Otherwise streams good..
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Could be better, but it does what Netgear offers, August 16, 2005
By user (Chile)
Since mid 2004 I`ve been waiting for the second generation of devices like the Netgear Wireless player. Tired to wait, and after re-reading the customer reviews of this and similar devices, I decided to buy Netgear`s one.
In brief, it does what the manufacturer advertises. No more and sometimes less.
Some hints, already covered by other reviewers:
- First and even before you open the box, go to Netgears web site and download the last version of the server and player software.
- Install the last version of the server software and upgrade the player`s firmware.
- After this, throw away Netgears server software and install TwonkyVision Music Server
After all of this, enjoy your music, but be prepared to go through sporadic long reboot cycles. Perhaps the reboot cycles could be avoided with a wire connection instead of using wireless.
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Great inexpensive way to stream music through house, August 13, 2005
By user (Atlanta, GA)
This device can be had for very little after rebate if you find the good deals.
Used the wired configuration to initially upgrade the firmware and set up streaming. Once this works, then transition to wireless if you'd like.
I also suggest that you use TwonkyVision versus the supplied software. I acutally bought the mediaplayer instead of using the free musicplayer. The mediaplayer lets you install the server software on the Linksys NSLU2 and other embedded devices.
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Decent Hardware for Price. Unacceptable software., July 29, 2005
By user (Greenwood, SC USA)
Not bad for the price, if it worked as advertised. The hardware is not bad. Sound quality not so hot, but acceptable. I was happy with it .... but the killer was the server software. I had a lot of problems with it... slow operation, and worst of all, my database would disappear often, forcing me to spend much time reloading it. Found out why. I have 6000+ songs. It will load these, ONCE. When you try to update anything after that, it goes nuts and does weird things and eventually clears out database on it's own. Called tech support.....they said THE SUPPLIED SERVER CAN ONLY HAND THREE HUNDRED ENTRIES. Stupid.
So, if you want to keep this, you are limited. You can also use a third party server, but why?
I have also tried the Linksys product, which will NOT work on WIN98SE. I also have the DLINK DSM320...best of the bunch. The DSM320 is a keeper, this Netgear, NO.
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Did not work and had to return, July 28, 2005
By user
I had major problems wih this unit. It did not work at all and after calling Netgears tech support and being on hold for 45 minutes I had an almost useless tech tell me to update the firmware. I updated the firmware and it played a bit but was very, very choppy and had lots of interference even if it was hardwired.
The tech support was useless so i returned it.
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Works, but .... !, July 28, 2005
By user (San Jose, CA USA)
This player works, and probably offers value for money, but this player, and I think the whole field of music players still has to mature. I will start with the problems:
- Don't use supplied software. Get something like TwonkyVision Musicserver (free). This will read your Itunes database as well.
- GUI is bad. Browsing through artists/genres is very slow.
- Searching is appalling. If you search for "stones" it will not find "the rolling stones" because this artist does not start with the string "stones". If you don't know the exact spelling of your artist you can't find it.
- Wireless connection does not always work, use wired instead.
What works OK is just listening to a list of songs in one genre (so you don't have to search for other songs because that is too slow), or listening to internet radio, which is possible through Twonky.
Regards,
Simon
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Great product - just don't use their software, July 15, 2005
By user (Milwaukee)
I am using this on my wireless 802.11g network. Setup was a little tricky because there are about 6 wireless networks visible in my apartment, but I figured it out in a hour or so. When using the included NETGEAR server software, the music was choppy and would speed up at times. I was just about to send the product back when I downloaded the free TwonkyVision software. Just copy the single executable file to your My Music folder, run it, and you are all set. No more skipping at all. Don't use the NETGEAR software again, except to upgrade the firmware. Once it's working - this product is great, especially for the price (after rebate).
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Ok for music - but web streaming is mediocre, July 7, 2005
By user (Bay Area, CA United States)
I returned my MP101 because it had too many quirks. I do recommend Twonkyvision - which is significantly better than the Netgear software. The wireless capabilities are limited, but worked reasonably well. My real complaint was with streaming music and radio off the web. Many stations, even on the AOL "premium" service, were "unavailable", and waiting for a station to start streaming sometimes took a very long time. The other major frustration was the inexplicably dropped communications between the MP101 and the server. Sometimes the system would need to completely reset after losing communications - not exactly the "easy listening" experience I was hoping for. As someone else noted, it's not like you can just ask a guest to go turn on the music. It's a neat tech toy, but it just isn't quite ready for prime time.
UPDATE - I have recently purchased the Roku M500 - what a difference! The Roku device works wonderfully. Now that I know what these things are capable of, I'd downgrade my MP101 rating to about a 2 and would recommend that buyers check out the Roku products.
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