Streamium Review 

 

Streaming is the ‘next big thing’ in wireless networking. It’s a well-oiled phrase, but it’s particularly applicable in this case. Last year, we witnessed the first mass-produced boxes to use wireless networking, for streaming digital music from your PC to your stereo. Digital photography also benefited from products such as the Linksys Wireless-B Media Adaptor.Now that 802.11g is established, we’re seeing more product in this home entertainment area. Both Linksys and Creative have produced media boxes, but now it’s the turn of the traditional electronics companies to enter the fray, which will definitely push the technology forward.Philips has brought out a whole range of products under its cunningly-titled new Streamium brand. The high-end of the range includes a full Wi-Fi enabled home cinema setup and a conventional hi-fi, while the lower end of the product line contains the SL300i. It’s designed for those who already have a wireless network, but want to stream media content across their network. You can buy the similar SL400i if your PC is not currently wireless enabled; that pack contains a conventional USB wireless adaptor.As well as 802.11g wireless connectivity, you can also hard wire the 300i to your network. However, the best thing about this box is that it has a SCART output. The reason for this inclusion is simple: it can stream video. It’ll handle MPEG2 with aplomb, and our test showed that it performed well at this task. But happily the box also supports most people’s digital video format of choice, DivX. MP3 streaming is likewise pretty painless, and there are phono ports for audio connection. While the main unit itself is plain, there’s a fully-featured remote. Ideally, you’d like a Creative-style display on the remote, so you could find out more about what you’re listening to. Content is streamed from your PC via a specific client that you have to install, and it’s testament to Philips’ well-worn thought processes that setup is simple and logical, as the client scans your PC for content as it starts. Obviously you’ll need to have your PC on when you’re streaming content, but the SL300i represents a good wireless home video streaming solution for a reasonable price. Dan Grabham 

Un'altra: 

If you're looking for innovative digital media hubs, Philips has them, from a semiportable CD jukebox (the MC-i250) through a complete home theater system (the MX6000i). Now add the two home-stereo companions reviewed here, the SL300i and the SL400i. 

 

The stylish SL300i (the simpler and more affordable of the companion hubs) has one of the least cluttered onscreen interfaces we've seen. The SL400i adds a small integrated display and digital audio output. But they're both missing a couple essential features. They need to be compatible with more music formats, and need a more functional remote. (Philips promises firmware upgrades that should solve most of these concerns.) These shortcomings make the price steep ($299.99 direct for the SL300i, $399.99 for the SL400i) compared with the competition. If you can find these units on sale for around $100 below these prices, they become a lot more attractive. 

 

The SL300i looks like a bit like a cable modem or home gateway; the silvery box measures 7.8 by 1.8 by 7.0 inches (HWD). It's easy to set up: All you need to do is hook a couple cables to your TV and stereo receiver (or powered speakers) and install a small applet, Philips Media Manager, on any PC with content you want to play. Both wired and wireless (802.11g) connections are supported. The same PMM applet works across the Philips line if you want to mix and match devices. 

 

The SL400i, shaped like an audio component (3 by 17 by 11 inches HWD), is more distinctive. It has a small built-in LCD that lets you play and queue music without having to turn on the TV set. Only one other hub we know of, the audio-only Rockford Fosgate OmniFi ($190 street), offers both an integrated display and an on-TV display. The SL400i also one-ups the SL300i, as it has coaxial audio output, progressive scan video, and component video output. 

 

Unlike many other media hubs, the TV screen interface on the SL300i and SL400i is as restrained as can be, with no space wasted on the manufacturer's name and no bouncing-ball screen savers (often with the maker's name there, too). With the TV display you'll see the name of connected PCs with multimedia folders. By navigating with the keys on the 36-button remote, you can choose photos, music, and videos. You can also play free Internet radio and premium streaming services by going through a personal Web portal, www.myphilips.com. 

 

However, the music you stream off your PC must be MP3 or WAV (uncompressed) files. Songs can't be Windows Media (WMA), rights-managed Windows Media (WMA DRM), or AAC files. (Philips says it hopes to offer a downloadable upgrade that should provide WMA/WMA DRM support.) And the remote has couple quirks, such as no volume control and no way to go directly from, say, photos to music without returning to the main menu. On the plus side, there is an Info button; press it and you'll get an e-mail with more information on the music currently playing. 

 

Both Philips players are fine for the basics: playing MP3 files, showing photos, playing PC-based videos, and streaming music from the Web. But there are others that deliver the goods for half to two-thirds of Philips' prices, albeit not always with such stable software and restrained user interfaces. Our opinion of the Streamium SL300i and SL400i would go up if they supported more music and video formats—and if their price was a bit more competitive. 

Un altra: 

Editorial ReviewThe Editors Desk:Though it may look like a computer peripheral, Philips's gleaming silver Streamium SL300i multimedia receiver is a perfect fit for your living room or bedroom. Amazingly compact, the hardcover-book-sized device is WiFi-enabled to stream audio, video, and Internet-based entertainment from your PC to your television, stereo, home theater, or other platform at a remove from your computer. Wireless transmission requires integration with a home network, but we found setup a snap. If you don't have an existing network, you can also run a special crossover Ethernet (Cat5) cable (not supplied) between your computer and the SL300i--an immediate and affordable alternative.  

Without bogging down your PC's resources, the SL300i gives you access to your complete library of digital photos, MP3 music, and computer- and Internet-based movies and video content. Use it with your PC or Mac (Windows 98, 98SE, 2000, ME, and XP and Mac OS X; Mac wireless networking available starting fall 2004). If you plan to connect the device to an existing network, make sure your hardware (router, wireless cardbus adapter, etc.) is WiFi-compliant (802.11g/b). While the product claims 802.11b compatibility, we strongly recommend using 802.11g or, if 802.11b, devices made within the last year or so; we experienced only intermittent success with a 2002-vintage 802.11b router.  

With broadband Internet access and a compatible wireless home network already in place, setup should be delightfully simple: plug in the SL300i, hook up the audio and video outputs to your TV or surround receiver via composite- or S-video jacks, and turn it on. In our system, the SL300i "found" our network automatically and allowed us to get right to Internet registration (at my.philips.com) so we could listen to any number of Web radio stations while installing the Philips Media Manager software (or PMM) on our computer. You'll need to disable your Microsoft or other computer-based firewalls, relying instead on the firewall built into your wireless router. (Otherwise, open ports 49152 to 65535 for the SL300i.)  

The value of the Internet audio and video should not be underestimated. You can use the many theme-based radio stations from Live365.com, Andante, MP3.com, Playhouse Radio, or Yahoo's LaunchCast (among others) to sonically coordinate a dinner or dance party, and there's plenty there to entertain the kids, too. Yahoo and iFilm.com provide high-quality music videos and film trailers at up to 700 kbps. For radio, sound quality proved remarkably listenable, with most but not all stations broadcasting in stereo, free of the swishy artifacts that plague much online audio. Online services also include Internet gaming.  

With respect to streaming your media files, the SL300i sees only the files or folders you've selected for it. Within the PMM--and right from your living room--you can sort music by artist, genre, album, or song, or select slideshow mode for viewing your JPEG digital photos. Full-screen mode expands JPEG images and video streams to literally fill your screen, a nice change from JPEG-friendly DVD players that render a digital photo as a tiny box within a huge black frame.  

Unlike the pricier SL400i, the SL300i has no display, so you'll be dependent on your TV and the unit's onscreen display for navigating to available content. But you can manage, right from the well-designed remote, all Internet content and even programming from multiple networked PCs. Coolest of all--while one person is remotely accessing content from a PC's hard drive or the broadband Internet connection, the home PC remains fully usable by other members of the household. A total of two analog stereo audio outputs lets you feed a tape deck or CD recorder in addition to your TV or audio receiver.  

Philips is actively updating its services and its software, and the SL300i will periodically update its firmware--a cool feature designed to keep the unit technologically shipshape, running ever more smoothly and accommodating ever more formats. --Michael Mikesell  

Pros: 

Affordable  

Straightforward setup and installation when used with compatible hardware  

High-quality streaming audio and video  

Full-screen and slideshow options for JPEG image viewing  

Quiet operation  

Includes access to a wealth of online AV content  

Supports music playlist creation  

Fun, colorful, content-modulated screensavers  

Emits cool blue light when powered  

Cons: 

No on-unit display  

Finicky performance with some 802.11b hardware  

Incompatible with computer-based Internet firewalls  

 

Un'altra Review: 

Media streaming is about to become all the rage, if you believe the manufacturers. The reason is that since so many of us have huge amounts of music, pictures and video files on our PCs, surely we would be happier if we could play them through our TVs and hi-fis rather than be restricted to the computer. And wouldn't it be even better if we could do it all wirelessly, with no need to string unsightly cables all over the place? 

The Philips Streamium SL400i accomplishes most of these things extremely well. The silver box with its understated front panel would certainly not look out of place in a hi-fi rack or under the TV. It's easy to set up: just plug it in to the television and the mains, and fire it up, at which point it will look for a network. You need to choose between internet and PC-link modes at this point. 

In internet mode, you can download media content from a selection of providers (the list is built in to the player, which can update itself over the net). This includes music videos, film trailers and other such files. The quality is not brilliant, but it's certainly watchable. 

In PC mode, the Streamium will look for any computer on a network that is running the Philips Media Manager software (which is supplied on a CD). You need to install it on at least one PC and make sure the appropriate firewalls are open so that the Streamium can see the PC, and vice-versa. A USB-wireless adapter is supplied, if your PC isn't already equipped with USB. 

The Media Manager scans your computer's hard disk and collates a list of your media. You don't need to run the full program all the time, but you do need to leave the smaller sub-program open in the System Tray. 

The Streamium will list all of the PCs on the network that are open for browsing, allowing you to access pictures, music and video. You can do this on-screen or by using the front panel display, and it's a fairly intuitive process. The Streamium did wrongly categorise iTunes AAC files as movies, but there was no problem playing them. 

The quality of sound is very good, and video quality is spectacular - much better even than on a good PC. It even plays highly compressed DivX files with similarly stunning results. However, it won't play WMA or WMV files, which is a huge shortcoming when so many content providers are switching to these formats. 

The fact is that the SL400I is very impressive but it's also very expensive, and it is let down by a couple of major shortcomings which simply can't be overlooked. 

 

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