Chris Coleman checks out D-Link's new DivX streamer, the D-Link DSM-330, which is available now.
D-Link recently unveiled the D-Link DSM-330 MediaLounge, a media streamer that can wirelessly send photos, audio, Internet streams and video to a TV.
We liked the compact design of the D-Link DSM-330, but couldn't get excited over its feature set. We've seen other media streamers that were DirectShow based, such that if your host computer could play it, it could be streamed natively.
The D-Link DSM-330 seems only to natively support DivX and Xvid (itself a variant of DivX), while everything else is out of luck. WMV9 is technically supported, but it has to be transcoded before playback. Transcoding from one lossy format to another is like taking a rusty chainsaw to your video quality.
The same situation holds for audio formats. MP3 is natively supported, but WMA has to be transcoded. D-Link also claims support for M3U and PLS 'formats,' but honestly this is a bit misleading: neither are audio formats themselves, but instead are just files that contain playlists for other audio files.
Finally, the D-Link DSM-330 touts HD support and comes with both component and HDMI cables included in the sales package, but since it only truly supports HD DivX and Xvid encodes, this is a limited feature. The D-Link DSM-330 is available now at an MSRP of $300.
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