Features:
- Wireless interface lets you enjoy PC multimedia--music, movies, and photos--on your TV and stereo system
- Easy access to Internet entertainment, including online music, movie trailers, photo collections, games (requires broadband Internet access)
- Offers composite-video, S-video, and progressive-scan component-video outputs; LCD lets you select audio content without turning on the TV
- New features, functions, and media formats readily available through Internet upgrades; WiFi 802.11g/b compatible for existing home networks
- Measures 17 x 3 x 11 inches (W x H x D)
Description:
If you've been hankering to integrate your digital media files with your entertainment system, the Philips SL400i Streamium WiFi-enabled audio-video streaming device offers a slick path toward exactly that end. Without bogging down your PC's resources, the SL400i gives you access to your complete library of digital photos, MP3 music, and computer- and Internet-based movies and video content--all wirelessly, provided your router or the supplied wireless adapter reaches your desired playback spot. Use it with PC, use it with Macintosh (Windows 98, 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, and Mac OS X). The supplied wireless USB transmitter is a blessing for anyone who doesn't have an existing wireless home network. If you plan to use the device with your existing network, make sure your hardware (router, wireless cardbus adapter, etc.) is WiFi-compliant (802.11g/b). While the product claims 802.11b compatibility, we strongly recommend using 802.11g or, with 802.11b, devices made in late 2003 and 2004; we experienced only intermittent success with a 2002 802.11b router. If all else fails, you can always connect a special crossover Ethernet (Cat5) cable, not supplied, between your computer and the SL400i. With broadband Internet access and a compatible wireless home network already in place, setup should be delightfully simple: plug in the SL400i, hook up the audio and video outputs with your TV or surround receiver, and turn it on. In our system, the SL400i found our network automatically and allowed us to get right to Internet registration (at my.philips.com) so we could listen to any number of Web radio stations while installing the Philips Media Manager software (or PMM) on our computer. You'll need to disable your Microsoft and/or other computer-based firewalls, relying instead on the firewall built into your wireless router. (Otherwise, open ports 49152 to 65535 for the SL400i.) The value of the Internet audio and video should not be underestimated. You can use the many theme-based radio stations from Live365.com, Andante, MP3.com, Playhouse Radio, or Yahoo's LaunchCast (among others) to sonically coordinate a dinner or dance party, and there's plenty there to entertain the kids, too. Yahoo and iFilm.com provide high-quality music videos and film trailers (up to 700 kbps). For radio, sound quality proved remarkably listenable, with most but not all stations broadcasting in stereo sound free of the swishy artifacts that plague much online audio. Online services also include Internet gaming. With respect to streaming your media files, the SL400i sees only the files or folders you've selected for it. Within the PMM--and right from your living room--you can sort music by artist, genre, album, or song, or select slideshow mode for viewing your JPEG digital photos. Full-screen mode expands JPEG images and video streams to literally fill your screen, a nice change from JPEG-friendly DVD players that render a digital photo as a tiny box with a huge black frame. For music listening, you don't even need your TV on--the SL400i's handy LCD lets you select audio files or Internet radio stations in peace, a feature we'd like to see worked into DVD players' menu systems. If you choose to keep your TV on while listening to music, the SL400i offers 2 different content-modulated visual patterns to choose from, a nice touch and a nice alternative to a blank screen. Philips is actively updating its services and its software, and the SL400i will periodically update its firmware--a cool feature designed to keep the unit technologically shipshape, running ever more smoothly and accommodating ever more formats. --Michael Mikesell Pros:
- Straightforward setup and installation when used with compatible hardware
- High-quality streaming audio and video
- Full-screen and slideshow options for JPEG image viewing
- Front-panel LCD permits music selection without having to turn on your TV
- Includes a wealth of online A/V content
- Supports music playlist creation
- Lets you search for next track while still listening to current track
- Fun, colorful, content-modulated screensavers
Cons:
- Finicky performance with some 802.11b hardware
- Incompatible with computer-based Internet firewalls
What's in the Box
SL400i, remote control, remote batteries, an SL400i user's manual, a Philips Wireless USB Adapter, a user's manual for the Philips Wireless USB Adapter, a USB cable, a quick-start guide, a composite-video/stereo analog audio interconnect, a stereo analog audio interconnect, an installation CD-ROM, a Philips Media Manager CD-ROM, an AC power cord, and warranty/registration information.
|
