D-Link DSM-320RD Wireless Media Player, PS DVD, 5-in-1 Card Reader, 802.11g, 54Mbps

Average customer rating: 3.0

Excellent overall with minor technical glitches
Good, but not great
Good Idea, bad execution
Don't waste your time
D-Link DSM-320RD

Similar Items:

D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player, Audio/Photo/Video, 802.11g

D-Link DSM-320RD Wireless Media Player, PS DVD, 5-in-1 Card Reader, 802.11g, 54Mbps

Manufacturer: D-Link Systems, Inc.
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B0007A6P2K

Related Categories:

Networking & Online Communication

Networking & Online Communication

Network Media Players & Storage

Product Description

The DSM-320RD is a gatway that connects your home entertainment center to an existing network, allowing you to wirelessly stream music, photos and videos from your Windows PC to your television and stereo system, all without running cables through your home. Using 802.11g wireless technology, the DSM-320RD streams media content at a maximum wireless signal rate of up to 54Mbps. You can also stream media content via Ethernet at speeds of up to 100Mbps. The DSM-320RD integrates seamlessly with your existing wired or wireless network. Using progressive scan technology, you can watch your favorite DVDs in high resolution (for high-definition and HD-ready TVs) with theatre-like sound. In addition to DVDs, this DVD Player will also play SVCD, CD-R, CD-RW, CD, and MP3 discs. The DSM-320RD also features a built-in 5-in-1 card reader, which provides a fast and convenient way to view and share digital photos, music, and videos stored on a memory card. Insert the memory card into the card reader and your media content becomes just a click away. Popular memory cards, including XD Card, SD, Memory Stick, SmartMedia, and Compact Flash (Type I and II) are supported. Get access to thousands of songs right from your living room. D-Link has partnered with premium online service providers such as AOL, Napster, and Rhapsody to bring you a large collection of CD-quality, commercial-free radio stations and PC music downloads. And now, with support for Windows Media Connect (WMC), all Windows Media Digital Rights Management (WMDRM) protected files can be seamlessly streamed from your PC to your living room.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent overall with minor technical glitches.......2007-05-21

It's actually pretty plug and play.
The only hurdle was after I thought I did it all and it wasn't working and I was starting to panic, a simple reboot of the pc made the media player see the newly created media server.
Apart from that, occasionally it doesn't see the media server, so you actually have to walk all the way to your pc (mine is a couple of rooms away but I'm pretty lazy) go to the server window and re-apply it's name (no you don't actually have to change the name, just re-apply it) and voila! the media player sees the server again.
The annoying bit is, you're supposed to have access to online radio stations and the like, right? Well, only if you have a valid windows edition you do. Let me explain...
To access online media, you have to install a software which used to be free but that now microsoft has decided to buncle with Windows Media player 11 which in turn needs a valid windows edition :-(
But again, overall, great product especially since Wowwee has yet to release Scoty :-(((

Good, but not great.......2007-03-31

It took me about 30 minutes to get this out of the box, set it up, and start playing music. The biggest obstacle was that I forgot to tell Windows Media Player 11 that this device was friendly and could be trusted. Took me a couple of trys before I actually paid attention to the very clear error message, which was something like (device is not yet authorized).

Great! But now come the gotchas, in order from the biggest to the smallest...

(BTW, I am using Windows Media Player 11, rather than the supplied D-Link Media Server software. Windows "Connect Now" technology is included in 11, so no separate download is required.)

1) I had the variable output level (volume) of the DSM 320-RD set to 8 or 9 (out of 10) and the distortion was HORRIBLE! I was ready to take the thing back, but everyone seems to rave about sound quality, so I figured something wasn't right. When I dialed the unit's output back down to 4 or 5, I could crank the volume up to max on the tuner and it was crisp and clear. Whew! Bad sound was a deal-breaker, so disaster avoided.

2) Network settings. Shortly after getting things working, I kept getting "SERVER NOT FOUND". The network settings it picked were bizarre, and in fact I have no idea how it ever worked. I ended up setting a static IP address, and have had zero problems since.

3) It plays songs on an album in alphabetical order, period. Setting ID3 tags had no effect. I had to put things into a playlist (one per album) to get songs to play in the order. Luckily this is easy to do with WMP 11.

4) NO ALBUM ART! COME ON, PEOPLE! ARG!!!!

5) Photo scaling (and D-Link "tech support"). None of the photo scaling and aspect settings have any observable effect on the display: photos are always stretched and distorted. Tech support told me that I should use WMP 11 to control the display settings of the DSM-320RD. It was at this point that I decided I was alone in the wilderness on this one.

6) Maybe applicable to all of the above...the DSM-320RD is a much newer device than the original DSM-320, with different firmware, and it appears that the 320RD is behind on some fixes (current version is 1.04, and the current firmware version of the 320 is 1.09). Still, you'd hope that if they fixed something long ago on the 320, it would be reasonably translatable to the 320RD, and that it should follow soon. Doesn't yet seem to be the case.

Overall, I'm glad I bought it, and based on some of these reviews, I expected it would be 2 weeks or more before I had it working reliably. I'm already there, and now dealing with the smaller items.

Good Idea, bad execution.......2007-02-07

The idea behind this product is wonderful, but the product itself is lackluster. The software is terrible, the remote response is slow, and the user friendliness is not there.

Don't waste your time.......2007-02-02

I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this player for 149.99. It plays just about any file you throw at it. It accepts media through a card reader, a cd/dvd drive, wireless, and 10/100.

Setting up the player is easy. Connect the cables in the back. Install the software on your PC. Select the media folders to share. Turn the unit on. Set up the wireless connection. Update the firmware.

Everything worked great during the first few hours. The unit streamed audio and video without a hiccup. Navigation was simple.

Now for the problems.

1. The remote sucks. You need to point it directly at the media player. It is slow and unresponsive at times.

2. The fast forward feature sucks. It takes a good 20 minutes to fast forward threw a movie.

3. The unit sucks. Why? Because it turns itself off whenever it wants. I was watching an XviD movie on an SD card. Half way through, the unit powered off. I had to cycle the power 2 or 3 times. Add that to problem #2 and you get an unacceptable product.

This unit is everything I've ever wanted in a media player. Unfortunately, the software/firmware kills it. Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't buy this product.

*I'd happily pay $100 more if this thing actually worked.

D-Link DSM-320RD.......2007-01-15

The unit sounds better than it is. I have it connected wirelessly, it may work better connected hardwire. Set-up was relatively easy, it found my media server, but any server interruptions require me to go back and search for the server again - not as user friendly as I hoped. My biggest complaint is the operation of the remote. I am not sure if the remote signal is weak, or if the unit needs to "think" between buttons. Either way, it is frustrating to point the remote pushing buttons with nothing happening.

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