PRISMIQ - HOME
I have a small network of computers in my home. Often I listen to music and audio books on them while working. All my pictures from my digital camera are stored on them. Lately, I have been watching movies on them. In other words, I spend quite a bit of time in front of my computers. One of my new year resolutions was to spend less time in front of my computers. Doing this means that I would not be able to enjoy my music, audio books, pictures, and movies as much. Last month I thought it would be great if there was a device that could stream the media from my computer network to my home entertainment center. Searching on Google I came across an interesting device called the PRISMIQ media player.

The PRISMIQ media player does all the things I need. While doing the research I came across many such devices. It is a growing market. Each device has its unique benefits and quirks. However, the PRISMIQ device has gotten consistently good reviews so I decided to buy one. I purchased the complete package with a keyboard and wireless network card.

Setting up the PRISMIQ was very simple provided the right network card is installed. One quirk of the device is that it is very particular about the kinds of cards it can use. With the right card the device works very smoothly. With the wrong card it does not work at all. I placed the device in my entertainment center and plugged it into my receiver. My receiver is connected to the television. A few button clicks later the device was working very well. The whole setup process took about 10 minutes (including a firmware upgrade, which you can do through a menu option).

My first impression of the device is very good. It plays all of my mp3s. It displays all my photos. It even shows my movies. The mp3s and photos are played and rendered great. The video portion is not quite "ready for prime time" as the old saying goes. I do have a g network (upgraded from a b network). Movies are shown but the quality is not top notch. Network interference can also cause problems. There's nothing like watching a movie and then the movie flickers, stalls, and starts from the beginning. That's a quirk of this device. Other devices may do similar things. For the cost, this device is great and I would recommend it. I saw many good reviews for the hacked Xbox but have not seen it personally.

Using the PRISMIQ device is very easy. It has a very non-technical user interface. The remote control is like any other remote. All the menus are clear and easy to see as well as navigate.

The device requires that one computer in the network run the media manager, which is a piece of software that acts as a librarian and streamer. The media manager is a system hog and it is well worth dedicating an entire computer to the PRISMIQ device, especially for playing movies.

Overall this technology is excellent. There is still room for improvement but the current technology is well worth the investment.
- posted by Unknown @ 11:29 PM