Rating: 
Summary: Great addition for ReplayTV owners
Review: If you own a ReplayTV then this is the thin client you've been waiting for. Out of the box this unit is able to play native ReplayTV videos when they are copied to a PC (I own a 5040 unit, so I'm not certain this would be true for owners of 4xxx units). To get things rolling, here's what you need.1. A ReplayTV unit connected to a home Ethernet network.
2. A PC on the same network running DVArchive (free software)
3. The MediaMVP connected to the network and to a TV Once DVArchive is installed, you need to configure it to download recorded shows from the Replay; a simple task that can be scheduled periodically. You then plug the MediaMVP in (power, network, and TV connections), install the software on your PC, and then set it up to point to the directory used by DVArchive to download the videos. The MediaMVP will find all MPG video files in the DVArchive download directory and present them on a menu on the TV. Pick the video and you're off and running. I have tested both Medium and High quality recordings and they play flawlessly almost 100% of the time. The few minor glitches I noticed were apparent 'stutters' in video playback. The only thing I miss on the MediaMVP (that is available on the ReplayTV) is commercial advance, variable speed FF/Rewind (only 2x is currently implemented), and 29 second skip ahead. But for the price, it can't be beat. Check back in a few days if the product is shown Out Of Stock as Amazon/Office Depot seem to keep a low inventory.
Rating: 
Summary: Does its job...Great picture/sound quality
Review: MediaMVP is a simple service that installs on your windows PC that streams video, audio, and pictures over your 100 mb ethernet lan to the MVP box which connects your TV/VCR/whatever. The PC acts as a file server, and the MVP box acts as a network MPG/MP3/etc decoder that produces excellent video and audio output.
You configure what directories to share on the PC, and using your MVP remote control select which movies or audio files to play from the onscreen menus. You sit in your living room and play movies from your PC upstairs.
Network usage is lite (2-3% on my 2.0 P4) and cpu usage is also lite (3-7%) with occaisional spikes on both.
Models differ by country (NTSC in the US/PAL in Europe). Firmware versions are D1, D2, D3, D3A, E1, E2). I understand the D3 is problematic while the D3A (mine) is just fine. If you get a D3 (you must open the box), then just return it.
Caveats
Its not wireless, use 100mb cat5/cat6 wiring.
Does not play DivX movies
Does not play PAL (25fps) mpegs on NTSC TV's
Menu loading can be slow
Remote is clunky and not straight forward.
Some problems with certain aspect ratios, overall
most are fine
Upright Stand could be better
That said, it does what it is suppose to. I'm impressed with the picture quality and sound. I listen to audiobooks downstairs as well as watch movies.
Be sure to get the latest software - in fact don't bother with the CD. There are mods and hacks for the box too.
I got tired of waiting for the LiteOn LVD-2010 to appear, so I got this. Problem solved.
*** Update 9/4/2004 ***
My enthusiasm for this unit has waned a bit and thought buyers should know. After extensive use I can say this:
Cons: 1) Problem playing some VCDs (mpeg 1), ie, artifacts and and occasional pauses - my computer and other DVD unit plays these same videos without a hitch. I attribute this to a poor mpg 1 decoder.
2) Some VCD's cause the MVP to lock up requiring a reboot - this is on the most stable firmware release. This does not happen with SVCD's.
3) Some mp3's are truncated (several seconds) at the very end - very annoying when listenting to an audiobook or audio lecture (the speakers main point get truncated).
4) No way to backup a little while listening to an MP3 from a lecture or audiobook.
5) Plays only NTSC mpeg 1 and 2 (US Models). No way to play PAL mpeg's which means if you want to watch a PAL on this unit you must convert PAL to NTSC (several hours on a good machine). A major inconvience since most internet videos are from Europe. Japan and Philippines are fortunately NTSC.
6) Does not play DVD's from your computer
Pros: 1) NTSC SVCDs play perfectly
2) Firmware updates continue to be rolled out (albiet at a snails pace). Updates (beta firmware) include DivX capability and Internet Radio. Howerver, the updates are usually unstable and its been a long time since the last stable release - maybe a 1 person development team.
Thats it - still using the unit, generally happy, just sometimes I must watch a movie (mpeg 1 vcd) on the computer/tv upstairs if this unit chokes on it. Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: Does its job...Great picture/sound quality
Review: MediaMVP is a simple service that installs on your windows PC that streams video, audio, and pictures over your 100 mb ethernet lan to the MVP box which connects your TV/VCR/whatever. The PC acts as a file server, and the MVP box acts as a network MPG/MP3/etc decoder that produces excellent video and audio output. You configure what directories to share on the PC, and using your MVP remote control select which movies or audio files to play from the onscreen menus. You sit in your living room and play movies from your PC upstairs. Network usage is lite (2-3% on my 2.0 P4) and cpu usage is also lite (3-7%) with occaisional spikes on both. Models differ by country (NTSC in the US/PAL in Europe). Firmware versions are D1, D2, D3, D3A, E1, E2). I understand the D3 is problematic while the D3A (mine) is just fine. If you get a D3 (you must open the box), then just return it. Caveats Its not wireless, use 100mb cat5/cat6 wiring.
Does not play DivX movies
Does not play PAL (25fps) mpegs on NTSC TV's
Menu loading can be slow
Remote is clunky and not straight forward.
Some problems with certain aspect ratios, overall
most are fine
Upright Stand could be better That said, it does what it is suppose to. I'm impressed with the picture quality and sound. I listen to audiobooks downstairs as well as watch movies. Be sure to get the latest software - in fact don't bother with the CD. There are mods and hacks for the box too. I got tired of waiting for the LiteOn LVD-2010 to appear, so I got this. Problem solved.
Rating:
Summary: My digital media is freed!
Review: My wife gave me this for Christmas, and I love it. We look at our hundreds of digital photos on the TV, listen to MP3's, and watch mpeg videos (both home videos and those recorded by snapstream PC-PVR) in the living room. It's simple, and it's easy to install and use. I wish it had better FF/RW/Skip controls while watching MPEG2s, but I understand that this capability is coming soon in via a software update. Overall, I love this gadget, and highly recommend it to all.
Rating:
Summary: Great Price; Surprised by Performance
Review: Paid $60 AR at CC. I was pleasantly surprised at how well video and audio performed on the unit. Setup was a breeze. It would be nice if the MediaMVP supported ID3 tags on MP3s and included a search function. The new software updates solved many of the problems mentioned in other reviews. Hopefully, future versions of software will take care of the lack of ID3 tag information and search features. But, these are minor gripes considering the great price.
Rating: 
Summary: Great idea but needs work
Review: This product is in what I would call beta stage but will hopefully get better as Hauppauge releases new firmware and software for it.
It is missing vital features:
1) It does not have the ability to fast forward and rewind MP3s.
2) It will play an entire folder of MP3s or one MP3 at a time but it is missing is the ability to pick and choose MP3s you want to play. You have to go to the computer and create play lists, then the MVP will play those playlists.
Bugs I have found:
1) The MVP server software that runs on the computer and allows access to shared media has to be restarted once a week or more before the MVP will find the server.
2) When playing videos (mpg, avi, etc) you can fast forward and rewind but often after doing so the audio gets out of sync with the video.
Conclusion: Good, fair-priced device (under a hundred dollars) but it definitely needs some improvement. Also, be wary of wireless "Media Receivers." I have done some research on them and their biggest complaint is that they only work well when wired. That is why I bought the MVP, it is wired (only) so you are not paying for the wireless feature.
Rating:
Summary: It was a breeze to set-up and performs marvelously.
Review: We were skeptical about this product before we purchased and tried it. It is a great concept but we did not think that something that costs a mere $90.00 would be able to do all that it claimed. We were wrong!
The product works wonderfully. We now have a way to tie our computer to our home entertainment system.
We use this product for
(i) listening to MP3s on our home entertainment system;
(ii) watching the still pictures and AVIs stored on our PC that we take using our digital camera; and
(iii) watching TV shows that we record on our PC using WinDVR.
The product works perfectly for all three functions.
It was a breeze to setup and continues to perform marvelously. If you are considering buying it, do it. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: A great gadget at an extremely affordable price!
Review: While I'm sure much of the information has been covered, let me give you a little idea of how I use it in my household. I live in an apartment with a hybrid netword of wired and wireless boxes all hooked together to share internet. On a quick jaunt to the (now closed in Omaha) Circuit City, we happened to pick up this handy little box for about $100 after rebate. Upon opening the box, we were a bit surprised. It is about the same size and weight as an external DSL modem or Cable modem, came with the MVP Server software, power adapter and cables to connect it to our home stereo or TV. Upon further review, I was pleasantly surprised to find the software driving the unit is based around Linux - the geek in me was proud! Don't get me wrong, the server software is Windows based, but the box itself uses linux from my understanding..... We hooked it up and wired it into our network via a Cat5, wired connection, installed the server software and went on about our task. The server software is fairly simple and easy to setup. The interface is straightforward and easy to use. Adding new folders to the mix proved a tad difficult, but not having anything really to do with the Media Center. If you use a firewall, or have had Zone Alarm installed, be sure it is fully removed and the registry cleaned of the additional entries that the Zone Alarm software places there. While it may seem that it would be overkill to have a firewall behind a router's firewall, I'm sure some users have, at some point in time, had a software firewall installed on their system. If you are networking multiple computers and wishing to share multiple folders, you will need to fully map the link for the server software to "see" the intended folder. And if you have had Zone Alarm installed, as we did, you can map it but no files will show up. Setup aside, the interface is very straight-forward. At times it can drag a bit, but this is wholy due to how you organize your music. Organization is the key! If you are like me, I just dump everything into one single folder. When the MVP unit attempts to access the folder, it will take a while to poulate the list of songs. Organizing your music by style or artist will save you, and your little MVP a lot of time when playing music. With a little knowledge and pre-planning, adding this unit to your household is a great investment. If only they had a wireless version on 802.11g!
Rating:
Summary: A great gadget at an extremely affordable price!
Review: While I'm sure much of the information has been covered, let me give you a little idea of how I use it in my household. I live in an apartment with a hybrid netword of wired and wireless boxes all hooked together to share internet. On a quick jaunt to the (now closed in Omaha) Circuit City, we happened to pick up this handy little box for about $100 after rebate. Upon opening the box, we were a bit surprised. It is about the same size and weight as an external DSL modem or Cable modem, came with the MVP Server software, power adapter and cables to connect it to our home stereo or TV. Upon further review, I was pleasantly surprised to find the software driving the unit is based around Linux - the geek in me was proud! Don't get me wrong, the server software is Windows based, but the box itself uses linux from my understanding..... We hooked it up and wired it into our network via a Cat5, wired connection, installed the server software and went on about our task. The server software is fairly simple and easy to setup. The interface is straightforward and easy to use. Adding new folders to the mix proved a tad difficult, but not having anything really to do with the Media Center. If you use a firewall, or have had Zone Alarm installed, be sure it is fully removed and the registry cleaned of the additional entries that the Zone Alarm software places there. While it may seem that it would be overkill to have a firewall behind a router's firewall, I'm sure some users have, at some point in time, had a software firewall installed on their system. If you are networking multiple computers and wishing to share multiple folders, you will need to fully map the link for the server software to "see" the intended folder. And if you have had Zone Alarm installed, as we did, you can map it but no files will show up. Setup aside, the interface is very straight-forward. At times it can drag a bit, but this is wholy due to how you organize your music. Organization is the key! If you are like me, I just dump everything into one single folder. When the MVP unit attempts to access the folder, it will take a while to poulate the list of songs. Organizing your music by style or artist will save you, and your little MVP a lot of time when playing music. With a little knowledge and pre-planning, adding this unit to your household is a great investment. If only they had a wireless version on 802.11g!
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