Solwise DMP-1120w: Low-Budget Wireless Media Streaming Server

You might be able to watch movies, listen to music or browse your digital images archive directly on your personal computer, but the experience would be different on a large plasma television screen.

Picture this: a media streaming server allows you to connect your television set to a whole home network, be it wired or wireless. The DMP-1120w connects directly to the television, so all you have to do is pick a cozy spot on the sofa, then start browsing your media library with the included remote control.

You could listen to music, watch movies or browse digital photos on your PC, but the chances are that they'd look and sound a great deal better on a television screen. A media streaming device such as the DMP-1120w plugs in to the TV and connects to a home network (wired or wireless), so you can browse your media library from the sofa with the supplied remote control.

Don't let the device's looks trick you into thinking that it's an Apple Mac product. The stylish white casing with rounded corners surely looks like a Mac Mini, yet it can be used on all the generic personal computers. It will also bring a plus of elegance to the already existing home theater, so you can place it in open view.

Setting up the device is extremely simple. It allows the user to connect it to the computer via Scart, component or composite video, with analogue and digital audio also available. The device does not feature an internal hard-disk drive, nor a HDMI interface, so high-definition video content is out of discussion. However, the pricing is extremely convenient for what the device can offer.

The on-screen interface is mostly based on text, rather than on sophisticated graphics. Music lovers will be disappointed, since, unlike the Media Center interface, the device fails to bring up the album cover-art while playing its tracks. Moreover, the DMP-1120w can only play MP3, AAC and WAV files. There is no way you could enjoy the OGG or WMA formats, which is quite a limitation. On the video side, the unit can play MPEG, DIVX and XVID files, but it will refuse to render WMV streams.