Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Lot of DVD players have the capability of playing MP3s, but having to burn to a CD isn't the most ideal for me since I don't want to have to burn before listening and I have such a varied taste in music. Having the ability to stream music from my PC where all of my MP3s are stored to my home stereo wirelessly made this unit almost worth it solely by itself. One is able to select albums, artists, or playlists. The on screen display is pretty basic and boring (i.e. a few colors with straight lines and square boxes).
With recent firmware upgrades you can even have a picture slideshow (also streamed and one can specify the delay rate and this can occur while playing streaming MP3s).
This unit is basically the same as the ADC-220 from gateway, except it has a newer 802.11g vs. 802.11b network card) -- this helps with the problems people experienced in the past since the bandwidth of 802.11g is about 5x as much as 802.11b (11mb vs 54mb) and 802.11g router/access points are very inexpensive nowadays.
This unit is very similar to the GoVideo D2730 since they both use Digital5 as the PC client software. Current firmware is similar to the new standard for home networking UPnP, but I wasn't able to get MusicMatch's UPnP to work as of yet.
The device supports PAL and NTSC TV formats, so taking advantage of one the of best un-documented and un-supported feature I can play DVDs from the UK (and other regions) that I couldn't on other DVD machines (SETR9). Of course this also plays videos downloaded from the internet or homemovies that are archived on your PC. UK's BBC is starting to provide arhived video that should be supported since this player supports MPEG 1/2/4 and others (Microsoft Media Center, AVI). I haven't used the microphone inputs, but this is a solid DVD performer with 5.1 surround with optical out, component video, etc.
The only negatives are you can't fast forward PC based movies (you can forward to a time, but not like a standard DVD search where the screen speeds through while you watch, of course DVDs with this player search like any other on the market), the remote isn't as sleek as it should be (it's colorful and not very ergonomic -- looks like it was made for the Asian market).
The ADC-320 is about a 1/3 less than the GoVideo one (plus Gateway's comes with the 802.11g card, I believe GoVideo's is a wired version -- they have a new D2740 which has 802.11g). The Philips Streamium looks pretty nice too and that's fully UPnP supportable, but Gateway is still half the price of that one, if not more. This is a solid deal and I am just as happy with it as I was when I bought it about 6 months ago.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Gateway ADC-320 Connected DVD Player with Wireless 802.11g Card
Gateway's connected DVD player merges plug-and-play networking capabilities with the latest in home-theater technology so you can stream your music, photo, and video files from a Windows-based PC in the study right to your living-room entertainment system. The progressive-scan-capable player is fully compatible with DVD-Video, CD, VCD/SVCD, Kodak Picture CD, and recordable discs full of JPEG, MP3, or WMA (Windows Media Audio) files, so you can still enjoy its authoritative features even if you're not inclined to use the networking feature just yet. Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the Gateway player stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.
Gateway's connected DVD player merges plug-and-play networking capabilities with the latest in home-theater technology so you can stream your music, photo, and video files from a Windows-based PC in the study right to your living-room entertainment system. The progressive-scan-capable player is fully compatible with DVD-Video, CD, VCD/SVCD, Kodak Picture CD, and recordable discs full of JPEG, MP3, or WMA (Windows Media Audio) files, so you can still enjoy its authoritative features even if you're not inclined to use the networking feature just yet.
Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the Gateway player stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.
The player's rear panel sports a single PC Card slot (also referred to as PCMCIA) for wired or wireless access to a Windows-based home network. Basic networking requirements consist of a computer with a 700 MHz or faster Pentium processor running Microsoft Windows 98 SE or higher with a network connection, 20 MB free hard-drive space, 128 MB RAM, and Gateway's specially made 802.11g DVD card, which can be used in either a wired or a wireless configuration. The 802.11g DVD card, which comes with the DVD player, uses the 54 Mbps wireless networking standard, making it nearly five times faster than the widely used wireless-B products found in homes, businesses, and public wireless hotspots around the country.
Far more convenient but a little more complicated to configure is a wireless setup, which lets you place your hardware in separate rooms without need for lengthy cable runs. This option requires the additional purchase of a wireless networking device (a router if you'll have multiple network users or an access point for a single connection) to relay data between your PC and the DVD player's card. Access your Windows-based home network wirelessly via the ADC-320's PC Card slot and included 802.11g DVD card.
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