09.27.2007 — Details have finally been revealed about the first three Media Center Extenders coming out from D-Link, Linksys and Niveus. We revealed a few weeks ago that consumers will finally have an alternative to Microsoft's own Xbox 360 when it comes to distributing Media Center content and functionality to multiple TVs in the home.

Today, we know more about the products available, but first the basics. Each Extender "will do everything the Xbox does, except they will be completely quiet and cool running," says Hakan Olsson, senior product planner, Microsoft eHome business development.

For those familiar with the Xbox … not so quiet, not so cool.

What the new Extenders have that the Xbox doesn't is support for additional audio and video formats including DivX and Xvid. Say goodbye to kludgy transcoding software.

Also, the new Extenders will feature dual-band 802.11n for improved quality of service. The Xbox only supports 802.11 a/b/g.

And the Products Are

The D-Link and Linksys products are fairly similar. They all feature dual-band-N, and the usual outputs including HDMI.

Linksys is offering two Extenders, one with a DVD player (DMA2200) that includes upscaling technology, and a smaller product without a DVD player (DMA2100). Expected to ship in November, the products should sell for about $350 and $300, respectively.

D-Link's MediaLounge Media Player (DSM-750) is not unlike Linksys's DMA2100 (no DVD player), but the company is touting the product also for use with non-Media Center formats. In other words, you can easily use it as a high-def digital media adapter to stream content from Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Connect and other Universal Plug and Play media servers. (Read the DSM-750 press release.)

Niveus, known in the custom channel for its high-performance Media Centers, will deliver a higher-priced product with "better fidelity, better picture quality in the menu system," says Olsson. "That needs more graphics power, which makes it [potentially] run hotter."



In true fashion, though, Niveus's EDGE Extender is just as quiet as its lower-cost counterparts with passive cooling for "near silent operation," according to the company.

The company's Companion software and Control Server software come bundled with the product, enabling network control from any computer (laptop, UMPC, Tablet PC, etc.).

VP of marketing Brian Paper says the EDGE product is expected to be ISF certified by the time it ships in November. ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) certification ensures that products achieve extremely high-quality video performance.

Niveus is not naming a price yet, but the products will be available only through custom installation professionals.

UPDATE: HP has just announced that its MediaSmart TVs will support Extender via a software download, available next year.

What Took So Long

We've given Microsoft enough grief about the interminable delays in delivering third-party Extenders. The Xbox just doesn't cut it.

As we reported earlier, and to no one's surprise, Microsoft had to work to reduce the cost (and the noise) on the Extender technology (also known as Pika). An Extender simply doesn't need all of the processing power that goes into the Xbox.

The newer version operates at about 200 MHz and is “a really economical platform,” says Scott Evans, group manager in the Entertainment and Devices eHome division at Microsoft. Although the Xbox version of Extender is “ridiculously powerful,” he explained in a previous interview, “you can barely tell the difference” in performance between Xbox and the Pika products when used as Extenders.

Olsson also explains that Microsoft was shooting for a "quality experience with lower-cost hardware," but he adds that the Pika delay was tied to the delay of Vista.