Indeed, having Linux on the RangeMax right from the start means you can load unofficial firmware on the router out of the box. And the USB port means you can also set it up as a media server. Other features include a 480MHz MIPS processor with 8MB of flash and 64MB of RAM. Expect the WNR3500L to ship sometime this fall for $US140. [Netgear via Electronista]

Other features include: two full-range 3-inch drive units, an optional rechargeable battery, RF remote and a 3.5mm input for hooking up additional audio sources. Widgets like Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, weather and news are available now, but the lineup should grow over time. Plus it kind of looks like something the Jetsons would have. The Sensia will be available in Europe for the equivalent of $470, but there is no word on when or if it will ever be available in Australia. [Sensia via Slashgear]

Both of these wireless media players can stream 1080p media from the network to your TV and upscale standard def movies to 1080i. They also come with either 500GB or 1TB of internal storage. However, the Record has added DVR capability for anyone looking to ditch the set top box altogether. Exact pricing and a release date has not been made available, but it appears that prices will start at $US430.

LaCie Enhances the LaCinema Black Series:
LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD

* Easy-to-use wireless HD media players

* Play HD movies, photos, and music on your HDTV

* Access digital content on your home network

* Control your TV experience: play, pause and record

Image Bank | Product Page

Today LaCie announced the latest products to expand their range of Wireless HD media players – LaCinema Black PLAY and LaCinema Black RECORD, Design by Neil Poulton. The new LaCinema Black products are built to optimise how consumers access and play content right from their HDTV.

Access all your media
LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD provide the latest in home networking capabilities. Users can choose from a direct network connection, or use the built-in Wi-Fi connection, making it easy to store music, movies and photos from any computer on the local network. A built-in UPnP client player makes it fast and easy for users to access media content from a networked PC or Mac from anywhere in the home.

Built for High Definition
Designed with High Definition in mind, LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD allow users to watch downloaded HD movies and television programs directly on the television. Promoting a greater use of HDTVs, these new products are capable of decoding 1080p resolution movies, HD JPEG photos and 1080i upscaling of Standard Definition movies. Consumers can enjoy movies with more detail, clarity and sharpness, making the LaCinema Black products a vital part of their viewing and entertainment experience. Users can even enable surround sound through the optical audio output.

LaCinema Black RECORD features Digital Video Recorder (DVR) technology, which allows users to record, pause, and rewind their favourite TV shows with the support of a connected set-top box or cable converter.

“Now that families are beginning to consume masses of digital content, they need a multimedia device that will allow them to easily store and play their favourite content right from their existing home entertainment center,” said Patrick Salin, LaCie Multimedia Business Unit Manager. “With LaCinema Black products, users can access media over their network, listen to music, sort photos, record TV programs, and ultimately get the desired experience from their media collection – all from one product.”

Easy use for the entire family
With the help of an intuitive user interface, families can easily browse their media, creating photo slideshows or music playlists with the touch of a button. LaCinema Black products also come with a parental control feature to password-protect files, allowing parents to centralize and secure their multimedia content with confidence.

The LaCinema Black PLAY and RECORD are available starting at 500GB* and support a broad variety of file formatting options. They are capable of storing up to 710 movies, 165,000 songs, 500,000 photos, or 250 hours of recording**. USB ports for peripherals allow users to expand capacity, or store their photos and videos by directly connecting video and digital cameras.

Availability
The LaCinema Black is available through the LaCie Online Store or LaCie resellers at the suggested retail price starting at $429.99. For more product information, visit www.lacie.com.

[LaCie]

[XBMC]

The streamer has NFS and Samba support (with only Samba working correctly over Gigabit Ethernet, which is a bummer), and can stream 4GB ISOs “without much delay.” Fast forwarding through this didn’t cause a problem either, thanks partially to that Gigabit connection no doubt. Music, however, suffers, since there’s no ID3 tag reading and no cover art—it’s the bare minimum you can get in a networked music player.

What’s great about this player is that it’s got online content support, meaning you can watch YouTube and Google video. In theory. None of these videos actually played when NAV tested the streamer. That’s not so great.

But if you do have a BitTorrent fetish, you can use the Popcorn Hour to download torrents directly onto the machine. Unfortunately, this only lists XviD and not DivX as a supported format, so only a percentage of files you download off BitTorrent will play correctly.

Based on this, it seems that Popcorn Hour A-100 might be good for certain things, but lousy in others. If they can fix the bugs, this could be worth buying. [Networking Audio Video]

It looks like it can handle pretty much everything you throw at it, handling nearly every major codec and network protocol. It’s got a bevy of connections, including HDMI out, component out and S/PDIF coax digital audio out (although no gigabit Ethernet and no built-in WiFi is a definite drawback). For a mere US$180, it looks like it could be a great AppleTV alternative for people who don’t mind their products coming a little cheap and with a few quirks. [Product Page via Boing Boing Gadgets]

We have generally been very impressed with what Ziovia has to offer in the media streaming market, and their latest effort, the CS615, seems to be no exception. The new model will be able to stream a plethora of different media formats in HD, thanks to an integrated HDMI output. The ClearStream CS615 really has lots to boast about—jump for the impressive specifications.

Some of the file types supported, include MP3, WAV, AAC, MPEG-4 / H.264, WMV9,.JPG, GIF and pretty much every other file type in between. Disappointingly, it will not feature wireless connection to your network; instead, 10/100 Ethernet ports will allow wired connectivity. There is no DVD drive present either, but Ziovia has filled the gap with an internal HDD caddy and a USB 2.0 connection port. We think it looks great, and given how pleased we have been with Ziovia in the past, we’ll be surprised if this shapes up to be anything but a nifty piece of kit. The device will retail at $US329, and will be launched in March 2008. Expect a full review when it lands. [PR Release]