PRISMIQ MediaPlayer

[Archived in $100 - $200, Digital Media Players, Products]

Manufacturer: Prismiq, Inc
Price at amazon.com: $199.99
Usually ships in 24 hours

New from $171.80

List price $249.95



Product Features:

• Present DVD-quality video in MPEG-1/2/4 and AVI*
• Play CD-quality audio
• Stream a personal library of PC-stored MP3, WMA, and WAV audio files
• Play Internet radio on the stereo
• Browse the web on the TV

Product Description:

Digital Entertainment the Way You Want ItPlay digital audio and video files, view photos, stream Internet radio, chat with friends, and browse the Web - all from the comfort of your home entertainment center. PRISMIQ brings the networked entertainment home of tomorrow to you today. What it does Designed to leverage and extend the capabilities of the Internet-connected home network, the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer sits atop any television, stereo, or entertainment center anywhere in the home, with a wireless or Ethernet connection to any computer on the home network. How it works The PRISMIQ MediaPlayer communicates over the home network with PRISMIQ's MediaManager Windows-compliant software, which runs on the networked PC to detect suitable PC and Internet files anywhere on the home network. These PC and Internet files are served by the MediaManager software to the MediaPlayer set-top box, to be played on the TV or stereo. Wired or wireless The PRISMIQ MediaPlayer includes an Ethernet jack for wired connectivity, as well as a PCMCIA/Cardbus slot so that you can easily add a wireless card to stream your media files to the MediaPlayer without wires. No service fees, free software upgrades Designed with a flexible architecture, the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer is software upgradable, providing future features and enhanced functionality at no charge. Optional wireless keyboard The optional wireless PRISMIQ Keyboard offers all of the features and functionality of the standard PRISMIQ MediaPlayer remote control, plus it allows you to more easily enter text while surfing the Web and chatting online with friends.

Description from Manufacturer:Digital Entertainment the Way You Want It
Play digital audio and video files, view photos, stream Internet radio, chat with friends, and browse the Web - all from the comfort of your home entertainment center. PRISMIQ brings the networked entertainment home of tomorrow to you today.

What it does
Designed to leverage and extend the capabilities of the Internet-connected home network, the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer sits atop any television, stereo, or entertainment center anywhere in the home, with a wireless or Ethernet connection to any computer on the home network.

How it works
The PRISMIQ MediaPlayer communicates over the home network with PRISMIQ's MediaManager Windows-compliant software, which runs on the networked PC to detect suitable PC and Internet files anywhere on the home network. These PC and Internet files are served by the MediaManager software to the MediaPlayer set-top box, to be played on the TV or stereo.

Wired or wireless
The PRISMIQ MediaPlayer includes an Ethernet jack for wired connectivity, as well as a PCMCIA/Cardbus slot so that you can easily add a wireless card to stream your media files to the MediaPlayer without wires.

No service fees, free software upgrades
Designed with a flexible architecture, the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer is software upgradable, providing future features and enhanced functionality at no charge.

Optional wireless keyboard
The optional wireless PRISMIQ Keyboard offers all of the features and functionality of the standard PRISMIQ MediaPlayer remote control, plus it allows you to more easily enter text while surfing the Web and chatting online with friends.Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: Prismiq Wireful Media Player -- Not Wireless Rating:
If you can get this to work with a Linksys WRT54G router and a Linksys WPC54G PCMCIA card, 50 feet away, through two walls, you're a better man than I am. I'm not so sure it'd work 5 feet away through no walls with any router or wireless card. BUT IT WORKS GREAT WITH 100 FEET OF CATEGORY 5 CABLE! Also, if you plan to try this wireless, make sure you read their list of supported wireless cards. It's a very short list. I think this unit is overpriced considering its wireless performance. Other than my disgust of having to run 100' of cable through my house, I like it.

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Comment: Unit was a failure out of box, No Support Rating:
I followed the directions and to my surprise the unit would do nothing but cycle over and over. I called the support number and was put in a que listening to the same 3 min track of piano music only to be transfered to a voicemail box afer about 10 min.
Looks Like I will be returning it.
days later and still no call back from support, I have returned the unit for a new one and it actually gives me the home screens etc. I hoped to get at least the ability to play music out of this device but find that even after firmware updates it gets more and more flaky.I can maybe squeeze a song or two out but expec to reboot the PC and this unit everytime you use it I am running a machine that is above specs for this unit and can get some use sometimes definatly wouldnt trust it at a party. I will be returning it for good
trying the Linksys product next.
dont waste your money unless you like the abuse and can return it fairly easily.

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Comment: This product should be a Beta. Don't buy it ....Yet. Rating:
I was so excited when I bought this unit. I have a had it over a year now. It has been sitting on my receiver turned off for the past 9 months, only to be turned on hoping the next update will "fix and improve" the unit. Every so often updates come out with so-called "fixes and improvements" but the main issues are still not taken care of. The user interface is awful. An 8-Track had better navigation between songs and organizational tools are non-existent. Don't plan on sorting 100's of MP3's with this unit. The unit has no DD 5.1 support. It only has 2 channel output. The unit cannot be controlled from a PC. It can only be controlled from the basic on-screen (TV) interface. The unit also has problems completing a video. The web browser is slow and only usable for the most basic of sites. You must also leave a computer turned on AND logged on for the Media server to work.The software that runs on the PC is massive (100Mbytes) and a resource hog but still has hardly any features. This unit has potential but is not ready for prime time. Don't be fooled by the reviews or wow factor. I thought the unit was cool the first time I used it only to be disappointed afterwards. It is up to version 4.1 as of this review and still has away to go. Keep an eye on the PrismIQ but as of April 2004 I would keep looking...

Posted at November 11, 2003 06:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)