Hands-On Review: D-Link's DSM-330 DivX Connected HD Media Player

dsm-330-1(2).jpg In an era where "connected" defines the best of the best home theater technology, D-Link's DSM-330 DivX Connected HD media player fits squarely into niche of connected devices that every home entertainment enthusiast must take a seriously look at. Not only is the DSM-330 capable of streaming HD video from your PC to your TV wirelessly or by way of a home ethernet connection, it's the first DivX Connected home entertainment device to hit the North American market. Intrigued? You should be, and if so, should consider taking a look at our hands-on review after the jump.

Design

dsm-330(3).jpg Everything from the DSM-330's packaging to the device itself is attractive yet simple. Upon unboxing, you'll of course find the silver and black DSM-330, an HDMI cable, SCART cable, ethernet cable, power adapter, WiFi antenna, and analog audio cables. Plus DivX Converter for converting files to the DivX format and instructions for setting up the DivX Connected software on your computer, all on an included CD.

The first thing noticeable when you take a closer look at the DSM-330 is the variety of connection options on the back of the device. You'll find ports for HDMI, SCART, composite, S-video, component, ethernet, RCA analog audio and coaxial and optical digital audio outputs, plus the 802.11g wireless connection option. With a such a selection of connectivity options, the DSM-330 will work with virtually any TV model even those that don't support HD video, like say from 20 years ago.

On the front of the box is a USB port and a power button, not surprising given D-Link's history of simple design. A blue light signifies the power is on and two separate flickering lights signal data transfer through either your ethernet or wireless connection.

The wireless antenna simply screws onto the back of the device, keeping everything nice and compact.

Setup

Setting up the DSM-330 is ridiculously easy. For this review we hooked up the D-Link to a home ethernet network for simplicity sake. We connected the DSM-330 to a Samsung 26-inch LCD TV via the included HDMI cable and then went ahead installing the DivX Connected software onto our Windows PC. The installation disc will direct you to the DivX Connected website from which you download the server and PC client. From there all you really have to do is transfer your video, audio, and picture files to the DivX Connected platform and it'll be readable by the DSM-330. Moving over to the television, you'll be run through a quick series of setup screens asking to pick your language of choice, whether you're using a wired or wireless connection, and the run through a quick tutorial to configure the D-Link's interface to your TV's screen size. If you do choose the wireless option, you'll be run through a few more screens in order to configure the D-Link to your private network.

We had absolutely no problems setting up the DSM-330 using a home ethernet network. It's probably one of the simplest media streamers or extenders we've ever set up.

Performance

Once the DSM-330 is setup and ready to go, it quickly finds either your wired or wireless network and if you've transferred your multimedia files to the DivX Connected platform on your PC, you're ready to go. All of the DSM-330 playback functions are controllable using the included remote and the on-screen interface is easily navigable and quite attractive also.

IMG_8714(2).jpg You'll find on-screen icons like in the picture above pointing you to your various files and also a options for plug-ins and services.

The video playback was actually a little better than what you'd get if you were to download a DivX video off of the web and burn it onto a DVD, not to mention a whole lot easier. Each video file displays its time length and native resolution and the DSM-330 successfully streamed video content up to 720p resolution without any image problems or network transfer lag. It also allows you to jump scenes by splitting movies into chapters. Images tested were crisp and clear and music playback didn't suffer from any playback problems, although we didn't have a dedicated sound system hooked up the Samsung set.

One of the biggest problems with the DSM-330 is its lack of newer file format support such as Matroska (.mkv/.mka), but being "connected" and all we're guessing that the streamer will receive firmware updates in the future only becoming a better product with time (if you''ve got some programming skills we found a hack that'll allow a DivX Connected device to play virtually any file format including .mkv).

Other Features

One of the best features the DSM-330 offers is its compatibility with 3rd party plugins. Basically this means you can scale the DSM-330 infinitely and customize it to work anyway you could possibly think of. You can download a wide variety of plugins developed using the DivX Connected SDK from the DivX Labs website. Want to know what the weather forecast is in New York City right now? Try the US Weather Maps plugin. Feel like browsing YouTube vids from your bedroom TV? You can do that too. Heck, you can even mess around on Facebook without sitting in that uncomfortable computer chair ever again! A variety of services also come bundled with the DivX Connected software you'll use with the D-Link DSM-330 including a variety of internet video shows as well as games you can play right on your TV screen.

Verdict

If you consume internet video content at such a ridiculous pace that you spend more time burning DVD's than anything else in life, the D-Link DSM-330 HD media player is a hugely recommended purchase. It's so simple to just download a film off of the internet to your DivX Connected Server and play it on your TV without any other funny business. It's ease of use and extensive customization options make the DSM-330 more than worth the $250 purchase price when it hits North American shelves next month. In the meantime, you can preorder the DSM-330 now at Amazon for $250, ensuring you'll get yours the second they're available.

June 30, 2008

Hands-On Review: D-Link's DSM-330 DivX Connected HD Media Player