extenders
Gadgets
SanDisk Snuffs TakeTV, Leaves No Trace of Fanfare
10:29AM Adrian Covert | Poor TakeTV. This past Fall, it launched just ahead of the flood of media extenders that bring PC content to the TV. And while many felt it worked decently, it couldn’t keep up with the big dogs in the end as Sandisk confirmed today they killed the TakeTV line…in mid-May. Additionally, they shut down the Fanfare media portal attached to it. But with Slingcatcher supposedly around the corner, I have trouble getting too sentimental. [NewTeeVee] More »
Entertainment
Linksys DMA 2100/2200 Media Center Extenders Shipping Now
8:01AM Jason Chen | Those Media Center Extenders we told you about back in September (the ones that support DivX, XviD and WMV HD) are finally shipping now. Dell has both the Linksys DMA 2100 and 2200s up for sale, but a reader tells us that his 2100 doesn’t actually work with DivX or XviD, and the manual makes no mention of this. It could be user error on his part. Anyone have any experience with it? [2100 via 2200] More »
_
Fiber Optic USB Hubs Extend Devices 500 Meters
7:20AM Jason Chen | Wireless USB is all well and good if your house is free of things like walls, but for everyone else, this Gefen Fiber Optic USB Extender manages to boost USB connectivity up to 500 meters. You can use it for any device, such as USB hard drives, burners, keyboards, printers, or humping dogs—fiber optics degrade much slower than standard copper cabling. However, this kind of advanced tech won’t be able to be picked up at Fry’s on your way home from work—it costs $16,000. [Gefen via Everything USB] More »
_
HP MediaSmart TVs To Become Media Center Extenders
2:23AM Wilson Rothman | HP announced today at DigitalLife that its 42″ and 47″ MediaSmart TVs, with dual-band 802.11n, would be upgraded to be fully functioning Windows Media Center Extenders in early 2008. More »
_
Niveus EDGE Media Center Extender Does 1080p, is Whisper Quiet, But No Wireless N
1:58AM Brian Lam | The fourth and final MCE extender is by niveus is the best looking, has 3 USB ports which is two more than what you probably need for thumbdrive playback, and best of all passive cooling. The passive cooling, if it is like the type in the full sized Niveus Media Center PCs, it uses heatpipes that go from processor blocks to the finned, aluminium case that acts like a giant heatsink. It does not, unfortunately, have any wireless capabilities. At least it’s 1080p. [Niveus] More »
_
Hands On New Cisco Linksys Wireless-N Media Center Extenders (Plus: Tasty New N-Friendly Toys)
2:01PM Wilson Rothman | You may have heard about the new Media Center Extenders from Cisco’s Linksys division. The DMA2200 shown above is a high-def MCE with 1080p-upscaling DVD player and Dual-Band Wireless-N, priced at $350. The smaller $300 DMA2100 MCE is geared for bedrooms and kitchens, places where you’re going to want less clutter, though to be honest, the built-in DVD player is quite the clutter-reducer all by itself. Both MCE devices require Vista-based Media Center PCs, which means nearly every PC running Vista. One of the best things about the new interface, which looks almost exactly like the Vista MC interface, is that you can actually browse through the DVR schedule and order up shows to watch. It means you can really leave your big ugly PC in the den, but use all of its Media Center functions when you’re on your couch. This wasn’t really possible before, and especially not in high-def. More »
_
D-Link DSM-750 Media Center Extender 2.0 in the Wild
10:57AM Brian Lam | Like the Linksys leaked today, all the new extender hardware is coming out of the woodwork, and aside from the updated MCE interface and the improved support for video codecs like DivX and h.264, its interesting to see what each manufacturer is bringing to the table. On top of dual channel N support, this box has an HDMI and component output, ethernet, and a USB port for media playback. The box’ll also hit up uPNP and WMP 11 sources and cost a hefty bit of cheddar — $350. Um, isn’t that the price of an Xbox 360 that can do the MCE extension (minus new codecs), download HD movies to its HDD, plus play a whole lot of awesome games? This has to be less than $200 to work, I’d say. More »
_
Linksys RangePlus Extends your Wireless Network Range
12:51AM Addy Dugdale | Linksys has new home networking gear out today &mdash including the WRT100, a wireless router that uses MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) technology, and comes with Linksys’ Easy Link Advisors, which apparently “takes the consumer on an uncomplicated, illustrated journey toward secure home network setup.” And there’s more than just a router in the RangePlus family: more info, prices and press release below. More »
_
Superbooster USB Wall Plate Gives You USB Anywhere
8:20AM Seamus Byrne | Instead of running USB over USB and getting only a few feet of range, Superbooster Wall Plate lets you run USB over Ethernet and up to 150 feet of range. What does this mean to you? It means you can install one of these wall plates in your living room, kitchen or bathroom, and get USB connectivity all over your house (provided you run Ethernet cording through your walls). The setup is a bit pricey at $129 for one transmitter and one receiver, but we’re talking USB through your walls here people! [CablestoGo via EverythingUSB] More »
_
