Product Description

pExperience the high-definition difference with the D-Link MediaLounge Wireless HD Media Player. Stream music, photos, and high-definition videos to your home entertainment system with the DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player. The DSM-520 connects to your existing home network using either 802.11g wireless technology or via Ethernet cable./p

Product Details

• Brand: D-Link
• Model: DSM-520
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 3.75" h x 16.25" w x 19.50" l, 9.00 pounds

Features

• Effortlessly streams your media from your computer to your home entertainment system
• High-definition video playback with digital surround sound
• Enjoy Internet radio and downloaded content from premium online services
• Access media directly from USB drives
• Supports Windows Connect Now technology

Amazon.com Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description All your videos, photos, and music on the big screen. Sound like a good idea? The folks at D-Link have made it easy with the DSM-520 MediaLounge Wireless HD Media Player. And when it comes to video, this device kicks it up a serious notch by supporting HD video streams

Good looks on the outside, and the power to deliver all your media -- including HD video -- from your computer to your home entertainment system. See a detailed view.

The DSM-520 is ready to handle most major media formats.

-- delivered directly from your computer to your home entertainment system. Enjoy all your digital content from the comfort of the living room with the DSM-520 -- and do it all wirelessly, as the device supports high-speed 802.11g wireless technology. Of course, you can also use a wired ethernet connection if you like.

Formats Galore
Thanks to the DSM-520's support for a wide range of media formats, it's ready to handle virtually all of your media, including high-definition video in either Windows Media Video 9 or MPEG-4 format. Enjoy videos with resolutions of up to 1080i from your high-definition television for the best picture quality. Plus, D-Link has partnered with premium online service providers to offer access to a vast array of online radio stations and music download services. You can use the Windows Media Connect feature of Window XP SP2 to playback files protected by Windows Media Digital Rights Management (WMDRM) on the DSM-520. Or, access your entire library of premium downloaded songs and videos directly from the device.

The DSM-520 integrates seamlessly into your home network and entertainment system. View larger.

Picture Perfect
For compatible television systems, the DSM-520 features a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connection. HDMI offers a pure digital connection for both audio and video. Other video connectors include component, S-video, and composite output, ensuring compatibility with virtually all televisions. Meanwhile, optical and coax audio connectors provide clear digital output and support surround sound when used with a compatible A/V receiver. Enjoy your entire music library in high fidelity from your home entertainment system, rather than from your PC speakers.

Good Looks and Expandability
A sleek 17-inch black aluminum chassis with smoked mirror front panel houses the DSM-520, and the stylish unit blends in perfectly with your other home entertainment devices, making your home theater setup complete. Plus, the DSM-520 includes a USB 2.0 port in the front panel for instant access to music, photos, and videos stored on removable USB flash drives or hard drives. Simply insert a USB drive filled with photos into the DSM-520 to showcase them on your home entertainment center. You can also attach a USB hard drive to expand the storage capabilities of the DSM-520. Your stored files on the USB drive can be easily accessed from the unit's user-friendly interface.

Easy Setup
A built-in Setup Wizard makes setting up the DSM-520 simple. Configuring the wireless settings is made even easier with Windows Connect Now. Simply run the Wireless Network Setup Wizard from Windows XP SP2, and transfer the wireless settings to the DSM-520 using a USB flash drive.

What's in the Box
DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player, remote control (2 AAA batteries included), ethernet cable, A/V composite cable, S-video cable, detachable Antenna, CD-ROM with software and manual, and quick installation guide.

Customer Reviews

Excellent for video playback on your TV
I was a bit apprehensive after reading all of these negative reviews, but I thought I'd give it a try myself, and return it if it didn't work out.
Turns out I am as pleased as can be. The main thing I bought it for was to watch downloaded AVI movie files on my TV over my wireless network, and it does the job perfectly. I was surprised at the quality of the picture. No video pauses or skipping issues. I haven't had it lose the network once.
It was simple to set up. For a while it wasn't detecting my wireless network, but then I realized it wasn't the units fault, it was my wireless network. I just needed to reboot the router. After that it was effortless.
If the main thing you are purchasing this for is video playback, then buy it. It works great. But if your main objective is music or photos, it is somewhat sub-par. Its not unusable, it just could use some improvement in those areas and I'm sure there are better units out there for a music player.
I think a lot of the negative reviews are the result of people having setup problems and giving up, or people who wanted to use it mainly for photos or music.

Not a bad machine, if you understand the limitations
The DSM-520 is an great media server given its modest price with a few limitations.

The HDMI out works VERY well. The video quality is outstanding, as long as the streaming video file is done well. The audio out work perfect from the optical or coax.

The remote is fair and functional, however unit is a bit slow to respond.

FF and RW are pretty much worthless, and unit does NOT support chapters. However the search function (allows user to jump to a time) works well, but can not be enabled at the same time as the FF/RW. Not really sure why?

Limitations: will NOT play video files over 4GB correctly. This is NOT just a limitation with this player, but others will suffer from this problem as well. Most video will play, but stop at the 4GB point.

Unit does NOT currently support 5.1 audio via optical OR coax on Nero recode MP4 files, even when encoded with the . It will play audio out via HDMI or standard stereo outs on Nero recode files. My advice (based on HOURS of my own trial and error)stay away from Nero recode, and try out Dr. Divx (FREE !!!). Video file take MUCH longer to encode, but quality is excellent once encoder settings are set up correctly. (BTW... I am NOT affiliated with ANY software company.. just my own experience)

Nero recode video quality not as good as a high quality Divx file (a bit grainy... and unit WILL play 5.1 audio via optical on Divx files...

HD video's look incredible, though I have experienced a few skips while using the wireless connection, but is truly expected. When connected via LAN cable, unit has streamed EVERYTHING I've thrown at it flawlessly.

MP3 and windows media audio works well and sound quality is top notch (assuming the MP3 was encoded at a decent bitrate.

D-links media server is not the greatest, and will NOT stream videos with a divx extension; but it is functional. I've had great luck with Tversity (and it is FREE !!!), but don't care for it's interface much (nit-picking).

Rhapsody works AWESOME (as is free to Comcast cable subscribers). Audio quality is excellent (best streaming audio quality I've heard) as long as you pick a station with a higher bitrate.

OK.... short and sweet:

The good-
-HD Video looks excellent via HDMI (I am sure component video would look just as well).
-wireless connection works well, but wired MUCH prefered for flawless connection.
-Great support for Divx, Xvid, MP3, and even playsraw VOB files (as long as they are less than 4GB)
-Price is very fair, given units performance.
-Works very well with MANY upnp server's on the market, both free and not
-Once PC is initialy set up (not hard to do) the D-link player is easy enough to operate for my 7 year old to power up, and play movies
-Rhapsody support is excellent

The bad-
-Will ONLY play video files up to 4GB in size
-D-links software that unit comes with does not support divx files
-FF/RW function is POOR at best
-Does not support chapters
-Nero recode files (asvertised to work well with unit) have audio limitatins that can NOT be overlooked
-D-link customer support has been un-supporting


I HIGHLY recommend this product to anyone that wants to put their media collection onto hard drives or NAS. Makes it MUCH easier to organize and play your media files.

Unlike previous model (DSM-320) this one works great!
About a year ago, I received a Dlink DMS-320 as a birthday gift. It had LOTS of issues with video and wouldn't work correctly on a wireless network. It worked OK with wired Ethernet, but not via wireless 802.11g. Even in the wired setup, it was extremely picky about which files it would play. Some worked, some didn't. I finally gave up and used it for music only.

Fast forward one year: Dlink had introduced the DSM-520, so I (skeptically) decided to try it out. Good news: this one is the real deal! It worked out of the box on the same network.

It streams video across the network without breaking a sweat, even when the network is bogged down with other activities. As a test, I started streaming a movie, then initiated a giant (10 Gbyte) file transfer, then started surfing the web. There were absolutely no glitches. Very cool.

I'm generally using DIVX and XVID encoded AVIs, but I've thrown a bunch of different file formats at it, including some of my wife's ipod-flavored .mp4 files. No problems whatsoever.

Oh yeah, it plays music just fine, too.

My main complaint: the fast forward and rewind features are weak. You can move forward and back smoothly, but at a fixed speed that isn't nearly fast enough. If you stop watching a movie partway through and shut off the unit, it might take you 1/2 hour next time you power-up to find where you left off. That blows. Some sort of bookmark or resume feature would be handy. In the meantime, you can "bookmark" a video by leaving the unit on while your TV is off, but that's a pretty lame workaround. This is what kept me from awarding a perfect 5.

By the way, ditch the included software and buy a dedicated Network Attached Storage unit with media server software. (Or roll your own if you're a linux dude.) I'm using the Maxtor Shared Storage Plus. Plug it in, put your files on the drive, then you can use the Dlink even if your computer is off. This is a much better solution and it works wonderfully.

I suspect that a lot of people having trouble with this unit are really having trouble with the included server software, which isn't the greatest. That's why I went with the attached NAS.

Would I buy another? You bet...I just bought a second one for a different room. Eventually I want one at each TV. Yeah, it's really that cool.