Hauppauge MediaMVP

Since wireless networking became available in the home, there's been a lot of talk of integrating PCs with existing devices. The Hauppauge MediaMVP is one such product, allowing you to view digital media content (contained on your PC) through your television.

Setup is quite straightforward: just install the Hauppauge server software on the PC and plug the MediaMVP unit into a TV. It is essentially a fancy network adaptor that contains a Scart socket, phono-out for sound and an Ethernet port. It doesn't come with built-in Wifi, so you might want to invest in a wireless bridge to save running cables all over the house.

To view music, video and digital photos, first you must tell the MediaMVP which folders on your PC the data is contained in. Once this is set, you can browse the media files on your TV by using the remote control.

The speed at which you can access and play files will depend on your network connection. We tried the MediaMVP with 802.11b Wifi and, while MP3 and jpeg files were found and accessed quickly, the same could not be said of our mpeg1 and 2 videos, which flickered and jerked. After switching to a wired Lan, though, the video played, albeit with minor stumbles.

You can view photo slideshows while listening to MP3 files, and you can access other network drives and the CD-Rom drive to play files.

The MediaMVP's drawbacks are a limited amount of supported file types (jpeg, gif, MP3, M3U, mpeg1, mpeg2), and the fact that it only displays digital photos at their original size rather than expanding them to fill the TV screen, which means you have to squint at small images. For £100, though, it's not a bad way to access your digital media collection while sitting on the sofa.

Contact: Hauppauge 020 7378 1997
www.hauppauge.co.uk

Specifications:

• Windows 2000 or above
• mpeg2 video streaming (NTSC and Pal)
• MP3 and wma audio
• RGB output
• Stereo outputs
• Fast Ethernet port