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ZyXEL DMA1000 and PLA400
Price: DMA1000 £129.95 inc VAT - PLA400 twin pack: £129.99 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 12/04/2008
Featured in magazine:
Issue 182
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: ZyXEL
Tel: 01344 303044
Web Address: www.connectplayentertain.co.uk


You can't walk into a television showroom at the moment without being offered a TV that's fully equipped for the future, ready and waiting for high definition (HD). But while some broadcasters are offering a degree of HD content, and you can get movies in HD courtesy of Blu-ray and (soon to be obsolete) HD-DVD players, you may still find your appetite for ultra-detailed video unsatisfied. If that's the case, then a set-up like this, which will stream downloaded HD content from your PC, could be just the job.

Features:
The HD content is actually only half the story. Video doesn't have to be in HD – you can stream a variety of formats at any standard, though we struggled with some movie trailers in the QuickTime format. This is actually a bit of a let down, since other formats – from WMV to DivX – are present. As well as video, the device will stream photos and music, and you can even plug in USB memory, so friends and family can bring their own content to your TV.

Performance:
We set the device up in a typical domestic setting: the router, hard wired to the main computer in the network, was upstairs and positioned the set-top box next to the TV downstairs. We plugged the powerline network adapters into sockets next to the respective devices and they found each other and started working immediately. Everything streamed superbly, except for some heavy-duty 1080i HD movie files in WMV format, downloaded from Microsoft, which suffered the occasional glitch. This was something of a disappointment but it didn't stop us from thinking that this was still the best performing device of its type that we've seen to date.

Ease of use:
With the powerline network adaptors in place, getting the set-top box to work was no more complicated than plugging it in. We installed the supplied media server software on one of the PCs in our network to act as the device in charge of streaming. Once the set-top box was on, it immediately found our other networked PCs, too, which were already set up to serve media files on the network through Windows Media Player.

The system's clean design works well. Even with several PCs serving information, finding media is a seamless process. The menu is intuitive with efficient use of icons but it would have been nice if more information, like album covers and image thumbnails, could be pulled from the computers.

Value for money:
There are, technically, two products on test here. The DMA1000 Digital Media Streamer could accept streaming data from any Ethernet connection, so if you already have such a thing piped into your living room you could get by simply buying the box. The PLA400 twin pack network option, which transfers high-quality video through your electrical sockets, will add another £100 or so to the price, but is worth it if you're serious about your audio/visual experience. Also, you'll need to supply your own HDMI cable, which may help keep the cost down if you've already got one but might seem like something of an omission if you haven't.

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