Linksys DMA2200

[Murty]

Hey guys,
I am looking at getting a Linksys DMA2200. What are people's opinions of them?
I am assuming that it works by hooking up with another vista computer on the network and using the media centre setup to play movies etc. Then you can view TV this way as well (essentially streaming it). Is this correct?

Also, can anyone recommend a good wireless - n access point as well?

Cheers

[philzgr8]

Originally Posted by Murty

Hey guys,
I am looking at getting a Linksys DMA2200. What are people's opinions of them?
I am assuming that it works by hooking up with another vista computer on the network and using the media centre setup to play movies etc. Then you can view TV this way as well (essentially streaming it). Is this correct?

Also, can anyone recommend a good wireless - n access point as well?

Cheers

I have a DMA2200 and am reasonably happy with it. It's not perfect but for the money I think it's a pretty good solution as long as you don't mind the limited codec support and the slow start-up time. As far as networking goes I can recommend a really good solution... Stay away from wireless if you want it to be hassle free. While many have got wireless working, I have always found it to be a bit problematic and you will likely get far less problems with the Linksys with a standard ethernet connection.

[Murty]

thanks for that
what do you mean by limited codec support? i guess i am mainly concerned that it will play xvid encoded avi files (movies and tv shows that you would "obtain" from online).

also, i have considered wired, but its just not an option. do you have any wireless possibilities?

[philzgr8]

Originally Posted by Murty

thanks for that
what do you mean by limited codec support? i guess i am mainly concerned that it will play xvid encoded avi files (movies and tv shows that you would "obtain" from online).

also, i have considered wired, but its just not an option. do you have any wireless possibilities?

If you're only concerned about Xvid you'll be fine but you will find that if you want to play some DivX videos you will need to download an application to change the fourcc codes to Xvid before the DMA200 will play them.

As I said, I gave up on wireless a long time ago but if I was looking to support a Linksys extender I'd be considering the Linksys range of wireless routers purely from the point of view of support or alternatively look into networking solutions which use existing power cabling within a home. (The name escapes me right now but I've heard they are pretty good.)

[supafly]

Ive also been considering one of these, honestly which would be better? the DMA2200 or a 360 arcade pack?

[amilwain]

I have had no problems with wireless, I have used a Netgear WNHDE111 802.11n access point, mine is a about 3 rooms away.

I would highly recommend only running the linksys extender wireless and having the media centre wired if you want it to work well.

On the xbox360 vs dma2200/dma2100 I would prefer the linksys dma.

I have an xbox and used to use it as an extender now it is only used for games.

The xbox360 is noisy and hot (the newer models are better now)
Xbox360 can't play divx in the media center menu, you need to exit back to the xbox media blade or use transcoding software such as transcode360 which can be buggy at best
The Linksys extenders have 802.11n wireless built in

The only downside of the Linksys stuff can be that menu navigation is a bit slower and sometimes buggy operation(occassional dropout), maybe another firmware update from Linksys will totally elimate any problems.

Good luck

AM

[daz1970]

360
Pro: Interface duplicates that of the pc; reliability is high
Con: Louder; have to exit to media blade for avi files (as mentioned previously there are work arounds)

DMA2200
Pro: Smaller; quiet; plays avi from within media centre
Con: Tuner locking; network connection messages

This is based on a wired network. The same network wall port used previously by the 360 without issues occassionaly has network messages appear on the Linksys. The network chart tool in the linksys charts over what is required for HD content.

Overall I would highly recommend the Linksys but for it's 2 critical flaws, I would delay purchase of additional devices until satisfied with these functions:

1. Tuner locking
2. Network Connection Messages

There are videos which compare the visual differences in interface functionality. I would suggest you look at these prior to purchase as this may impact your decision.
http://thedigitallifestyle.com/cs/bl...s-dma2100.aspx

[supafly]

Yah I know what im getting myself into with a 360, I use to use one as an extender, use to own a game shop so I also have a bit of experience modding it to be virtually silent. Was just wanting to know which would be better, thanks for the feedback though guys. Used Transcode360 to overcome the media blade issue.

[Murty]

Well we got the dma2200 today and set it up with our new netgear wnhde111. it connected fine and connected to media centre very easily. straight away we tested the video and much to our dismay it did not play videos! but we found this software, and can easily change the format of the file to be compatible. (if someone knows of an easier way, that would be fantastic!)

the menu was a bit sluggish, but we updated the firmware and it was fine. apparently the volume buttons on the remote don't work, but i am yet to fiddle around with that.
music works fine, tv works beautifully, dvd's run great.

overall, fantastic purchase and very happy. now im off to go watch a movie! yay!

[Innie808]

Hi Murty,

Lets just see how you go for a couple of days. I thought my DMA2100 was the easiest wireless device i ever got working, until after about a day i got sick of the disconnections over wireless.

I'm probably going to have to go wired by running cat5e to the bedroom. I am using 802.11G only, maybe the devices are more stable on 802.11n. Will be interesting to see what you report...