LINKSYS DMA-2200-CA Media Center Extender with DVD Player

Pros: WIRED: Works great with Windows Vista and 7. My house is wired with ethernet with a regular 10/100 network switch, and I have never had a problem with network connectivity. Also, [especially with 7] it has worked well with most avi files and audio codecs.

Cons: There is no way to install codecs to play more video files.

Other Thoughts: Again, I have never tried a wireless connection with this device. Wired, the device rocks.

Pros: I gave it 4 eggs because of the restrictions on codecs. Other than that it does what it is supposed to do.

Cons: If you connect it via componet cable I had isseus with dvd playback scaling down. Hooked up to HDMI and I get 1080i out.

Pros: Easy to setup with Vista. Will play WMC recorded tv in HD without a glitch. HDMI out is great with a HDTV(HD programs and DVD upconvert). Costs less than building another computer for my bedroom.

Cons: The remote does suck. I would suggest getting another media center remote. Any MC remote will work with it. I'm currently using a spare ASUS from my second tuner card. Won't play many file types. There seems to be no firmware update coming to add codec support. The unit will play XVID freely, and if you use an AVI FourCC Code changer, change DivX to XVID and most will work. For other files(MKV or M4V) there is a WMC plug-in called transcode 360 that will convert and stream to the 2200. With all files but DVRMS, you cannot fast forward, so you must skip through the file, but if you hold the button down, you end up at the end. It is a bit slow, but you do get what you pay for, and if you're just going to veg out and watch a show, why the hurry?

Other Thoughts: I have a HTPC in my living room that records over the air TV. I don't have cable or dish. The HTPC solution has been wonderful as we don't have to watch a show when it's on. The Dma-2200 as limited as it can be has been great for viewing the programs we record. It plays at 1080i in the bedroom, and you can even watch the same program on it that is playing on the HTPC at different times in the show. I've read that if you use a wireless network, HD playback can be intermittant, but with a wired network, I've had no issues. I don't use the DVD player at all, because I've ripped all my discs into XVID and can watch them all on the 2200. I would give it five eggs if Linksys would offer upgrades to the firmware for playback compatability. I would like to get 2 more of these for other rooms in my house, but I guess I'm too cheap to pay $170 for one of these. If I had more money, I would just put a PC in every room in my house and setup a network tower with all of my media on it.

Pros: Excellent Display on my 42" 1080p television with the HDMI connection. It does exactly what i wanted it to do... play my movies in the other room.... has no problem with my large library of movies.

Cons: the movie stutters if the file size is large (>6gb) just something i've noticed, but it only pauses for a few seconds to re-buffer.

No netflix... yet...

Other Thoughts: great buy, i'm very happy with it (using windows 7)

Pros: Connects easily to Vista Ultimate. Connection options and DVD playback is quiet. Nice looking device.

Cons: Unfortunately many. Price for starters - even on sale this device is too expensive. I decided to take the plunge though and have been disappointed with it's performance and compatibility. It is very slow to power on, slow to change applications, slow when streaming videos that stream to the MCE fine, and just generally slow. Second issue is lack of compatibility with applications. Many apps available for MCE simply don't work on the extender. Also the remote seems unable to consistently communicate with the device.

Other Thoughts: MCE is Vista premium on Core2 duo with 4gb ram, Vista ultimate x64 so the MCE should not be the problem. Connection is 100 base Ethernet. 7Mb Cable internet.

Pros: Setup was simple and works very well with a wired ethernet connection. It didn't work very well over wireless g, but that's expected. It' very quiet and boots up fast.

Cons: The only issue that was seen involved the DVD player. It wouldn't recognize that the disk was in the drive. After talking to customer service, we got an RMA and sent it back. Got a new on that works great.

Pros: Very small. HDMI connectors. Low price.

Cons: Can't handle HD if the bitrate is anything close to decent. This was no better than my 3 year old DSM-320rd. Very sad.

Other Thoughts: Just get the WD Player for 99 bucks and enjoy full HD with no stuttering.