Laptops UK
Pinnacle ShowCenter - Digital Media Player for the Home | |
Brand: Pinnacle EAN: 0613570211198 Label: Pinnacle Systems Manufacturer: Pinnacle Systems Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Pinnacle Systems Release Date: April 05, 2004 Sales Rank: 222697 Studio: Pinnacle Systems Pinnacle Systems See more information on Pinnacle ShowCenter - Digital Media Player for the Home at Amazon UK or at Amazon.com Average Rating:  Rating:  - Software lets it down badlyI bought this so that I could serve movies and mp3's from my PC upstairs to watch on my TV and home cinema surround sound unit in my lounge. At first I thought this really lived up to my expectations after a bad experience with a Linksys Media Adaptor (which was utter rubbish, don't buy!). This product however appeared to be the business. I record movies onto my PC with a DVB card and watch them back on the home cinema unit in the lounge. Great.Or so I thought.. After a week I realised that a lot of my 5000+ mp3 tracks weren't listed on the Showcenter. It just cannot import them for some reason due to the flaky software and Pinnacle are not easy to contact for customer support. There are fairly regular software updates so if you are thinking of buying I'd be inclined to wait until the price comes down and the software that streams the files from the PC actually works properly. Rating:  - A good product, still in its infancy, but developing quicklyMy main objective in buying a Showcenter was to remove the DVD and VCR from the living room, and store all my media remotely on my PC. Currently my selection of media is limited to a few ripped DVDs, loads of MP3's, and about 1000 photos. The software installation was smooth, and effortless, hardware as a little trickier, due to the fact I had never configured the Ethernet card in my PC, but it was quickly up and running. The user manual is generally sparse, and I've since found quite a few "hidden" features by reading the support forums. I ripped DVDs to XVid using AutoGK, and they look 100% on the TV. MP3 playback is good too, and it's great to browse jpeg pictures on your TV. The remote control is plasticy, badly laid out, clumsy and unresponsive. The box itself is very nice looking, but it has two bright blue LEDs on the front, which can be a little annoying. On balance I still think it is an excellent product, although all its functionality is limited, and there is lots of "would be nice" things, lets remember that this is only release 1.5, and it has come a long way since release 1 (November 2003). On my setup the menus work quickly, and I see no speed issues, although others complain that they are slow. Most of the criticism of this unit on the web has been regarding the Wireless connection, but I have a hard wired LAN, so didn't need to dabble in the 802.11b. For all us tekkie ... Read More Pinnacle_ShowCenter_Digital_MediaPinnacle ShowCenter - Digital Media Player for the Home | |
