Review: Oneforall PC Media Kit media streaming device

Most of us have a glorious gaggle of multimedia content housed on our PCs, so being able to watch or listen to it through a TV or stereo in another room seems logical.

The majority of today's media streaming devices use wireless networks to stream this content, so Oneforall's alternative method sounds appealing. Like the all-in-one remote controls it makes, the OneForAll PC Media Kit uses RF to beam information from one device to another.

In the box you’ll find an RF transmitter and receiver, the former of which is designed to be hooked up to a computer's graphics and sound card. The latter connects to a TV.

Install the Simplecenter media software onto the computer and you can then use the supplied remote control to browse photos, videos or music files on your PC from a television in another room. It’s certainly a nice idea, but we’ve probably made it sound far more straightforward than it actually is.

Firstly, the graphics card will need composite or S-video outputs and you'll need to know what is what to get everything connected. Due to the nature of RF technology, other electrical appliances and power cables will interfere with the signal, resulting in an image that looks like a poorly tuned TV. This is difficult to rectify and although picture quality was good when streaming content in an empty room, this isn't a real-life situation.

On a positive note, any photo, video or music file that plays on your computer, will also be compatible with the Oneforall PC Media kit. This includes downloaded music with DRM encryption as well as the common formats such as Jpeg, Divx and mp3.

If you’re looking to stream movies, music and photos over short distances and your PC and TV are in the same room, you’d probably get good use out of this reasonably priced device. Realistically, though, most of us will want to fire off media to varying parts of the house and that's where reception will be a problem.

If you really want this sort of functionality at home, fork out a little extra and opt for a wireless streamer that uses your home network, such as the D-Link Medialounge.

Vista compatible: Yes

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