D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520

Summary: Reviewed 4 different Media Centers & Dlink 520 is the BEST

I have tried the Media PC (Dell), the Linksys (Cisco) , Xbot and Dlink and the Dlink is the best

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Summary: Reviewed 4 different Media Centers & Dlink 520 is the BEST

I have tried the Media PC (Dell), the Linksys (Cisco) , Xbot and Dlink and the Dlink is the best media center by far. However, if you are mainly a game player, go for the Xbot.
Dlink-520 = 9
Media PC = 7 (High Price ? too much functionality for need)
Xbot = 6 (Fair Media Center and GREAT game center)
LinkSys = 5 (High price not much functionality)


About 1.5 years ago I tried the Dlink DSM-320 and I kept it just under 30 days and returned it for a full refund because it had many deficiencies. As such I didn?t expect much from the DSM-520 but to date I have been truly amazed and I plan to keep it.

Pros:
1) You can stream radio from many different internet sources & most are free.
2) System is pretty much plug/play. If you have media on your computer it will play on your TV through the 520.
3) I back-up all my DVD?s into DIVX format and 520 can read this format. However you must rename extension from .divx to .avi.
4) 520 increases the quality. I have a HD TV and with an HDMI cable quality is better then normal DVD even though with DivX a movie is compressed from >5GB to <700MB.
5) You can set up different media centers on different computers. As a result your entire family can log their media onto the 520.
6) Buffer ? Evidently some buffer is present. I rebooted my computer during a movie (accidentally) and the movie continued to play for over 3 minutes. Once it stopped it picked back up where it left off once computer was restored.

Cons:
1) Fast f