D-Link MediaLounge High-Definition Media Player (DSM-510)

Average customer rating: 1.5

Do not buy!
Not ready for prime time yet

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D-Link MediaLounge High-Definition Media Player (DSM-510)

Manufacturer: D-Link Systems, Inc.
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B000LIDKJ4

Related Categories:

Networking & Online Communication

Networking & Online Communication

Product Description

Featuring a compact and stylish design, the DSM-510 High-Definition Wireless Media Player from D-Link provides complete digital home theatre atmosphere and streams high-definition video, music, photos, and slide shows from PC to Home Entertainment System. It is an Intel Viiv technology verified device that streams music, photos and high-definition (HD) videos to your home entertainment system from your Intel Viiv technology based PC using Ethernet or USB connectivity. It supports high-definition video in Windows Media Video 9 (WMV9), MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and DVR-MS formats able to connect to HDTV with HDMI connection and standard TVs with Composite Video connection. Additionally, the USB 2.0 port on front panel offers instant access to music, photos and videos stored on an optional & removable USB flash drives. Network Protocols Supported - TCP, HTTP, DHCP, IP Supported Audio Standards - MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, AIFF Supported Pictures Standard - BMP, JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, JPEG2000 Supported Video Standards - MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Xvid, WMV, AVI Encryption - 128-bit WEP, WPA-PSK (TKIP) System Requirements - Windows 2000/XP, 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 100 MB Hard Drive Dimensions - Height 14 cm x Depth 3.3 cm x Width 14.5 cm Weight - 272 grams

Customer Reviews:

Do not buy!.......2007-02-26

Like the previous review, I also think that Digital Media is the way of the future. I had high hopes for this device as it support DVR-MS format, except, it does not. Your home PC needs to transcode the DVR-ms files in order for the DSM to work. Said another way - you better have one fast PC.

Now to the problems. It looses sound quite often - easy to fix by just turning power off/on, but after the 10th time that gets old.

As reported before the screen goes blank every once in a while - only way is to un-plug power.

The quality is bad. First unit I got was DOA. Second unit worked for 4 weeks then started to default to Analog output whenever you power it down. So then you have to plug the analog cable in, change the setting to digital and never turn it off.

Customer Support. It only took me 1 hour to go through the normal service desks to be forewarded to their expert level support. But there is nothing to do. His advice - return it to the store as their service call take quite long.

This experience was bad enough that I'll most likley never buy D-link again - or at least until there are enough review to warrant oterhwise.

Stay clear!

Not ready for prime time yet.......2007-01-08

First off, I'd like to say that I firmly believe that digital media players similar to this one are the future of digital home entertainment. A simple and inexpensive device like that allows you to stream digital media to your home theater from your laptop, desktop or a dedicated media server located anywhere in your house. This is a great idea. This technology is here to stay. It's just a question of maturity. And, sorry to say, D-Link DSM-510 is not quite there yet.

I truly liked its design simplicity. There are no frills, but all essentials are there - WiFi, Ethernet, HDMI, optical audio and USB port. Exactly what I needed, no more and no less, in a small and neatly done package with clean and straightforward user interface.

However, the device is palgued by fimware bugs that eventually made me take it back to the store where I bought it.

First, the most obvious and the most stupid one is the absence of the on/off indicator. The blue light on the front panel goes on once the power adapter is connected and remanis lit whether the device is turned on or off. So you have to turn your TV on to tell whether it's on or off.

Second, there's no on/off or reset button on the front panel. Well... there's no buttons whatsoever, period. And boy, will you miss that reset button now and then. The only way to turn it on or off is by using remote control.

The most annoying thing is, the device's video output goes completely dark for no apparent reason once in a while and won't come back even if you power cycle it using remote. The device appears to be alive (you can ping it), but video output remains black no matter what you do. The only way to remedy from this is to physically disconnect power supply (there's no reset or power button, remember?)

I upgraded to the latest firmware version (1.01), but to no avail. By the way, firmware upgrade is done via Internet and went very smoothly, although at some point you're left wondering if it's hung up or what? Just be patient and wait for a couple of minutes for it to finish.

I'm really surprised and disappointed that D-Link's QA have not caught this nasty "black screen" problem. Hopefully, it can be fixed with a firmware patch. But until then, the DSM-510 goes back to the store shelf.

And D-Link, take note. If you want to enter consumer market, you have to change your attitude. Consumers are less forgiving than computer geeks you sell your networking stuff to. They won't tolerate bugs that require reaching behind the box and pulling the power cord.

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