D-Link DSM-320RD - Review
A little over a week ago I purchased the D-Link DSM-320RD Wireless Media Player. I had 2 goals in mind with this device:
- I wanted to be able to listen to my music tracks from Yahoo! Music Unlimited anywhere in the house, including places I don’t have a PC.
- I wanted to be able to watch videos stored on my PC on my nice, 55″ television without having to lug a computer into my living room.
The D-Link is able to do both of these things, so I figured it was a match made in heaven. In addition, the 320RD comes with a built-in DVD player, meaning I could get rid of my old DVD player and save a set of inputs on the television.
Pricing and Availability
First, I couldn’t find the D-Link devices at my local Best Buy (those guys continually fail me when it comes to inventory of anything I want). So I set out to the last place I wanted to go…I went to Fry’s. Amazingly, they had it in stock for under $300. They also had the little brother, the DSM-320 (identical except it doesn’t have a DVD player or card reader) for just under $200. I snagged one and brought it home.
Setup
One nice thing about the D-Link is that it has both 802.11g and ethernet. I used the wired ethernet for my setup, but I did try out the wireless. I had an issue with the D-Link detecting my media shares over the network on wireless. I’m guessing there was some bridging funkiness going on with my router that wasn’t passing some multicast packets between the wired and wireless networks. I switched to the wired ethernet and the detection worked much better.
The setup interface is a bit clunky. I had a hard time stumbling through the wireless setup just because setting up a connection to a particular SSID isn’t intuitive, especially when you have SSID broadcast turned off on your access point.
D-Link ships with it’s media sharing software to install on the PC. It’s not great, but it gets the job done. One annoying thing is that it doesn’t monitor the filesystem constantly for new content. You either have to refresh the media database by hand or schedule it to run periodically. Additionally, you can use Windows Media Connect (WMC, Microsoft’s UPnP AV server) to share content. Both the D-Link and WMC will share audio, video and photos…though each is a little different (I’ll get into this more later).
Remote
The remote on this thing flat out sucks. I’m not even talking about the button layout (which is bad, but not terrible), I’m just talking about how well it works. In my experience, if I wasn’t pointing the remote EXACTLY at the IR receiver on the box, it didn’t pick up keypresses. An RF remote would have been a welcome addition.
Also, the remote won’t control the television…just the D-Link. That means you have no choice but to use 2 remotes. This is a little annoying after using a TiVo/Comcast/DirecTV remote that will control both the television and the box. While the D-Link remote does have a volume control, it controls the volume output from the box independently from the television. So you could have the volume at full blast on the box, but if the television volume is turned down you won’t be able to hear it. I always hate how on my PC there’s about 3 different places to control the volume for any given application, so this really irritated me.
Music Playback
Music playback was by far the most important draw of the D-Link. I use the Yahoo! Music Unlimited service and my wife and I like to listen to music while we’re playing games at the table. First, the D-Link will NOT play back DRM’d music out of the box. The D-Link software will make the songs available to the box, but the box cannot play back copy protected music. In order to play back the DRM’d tracks, you have to pull the song through Windows Media Connect.
The D-Link box will only talk to one media share on the network at a time. So if you have both the D-Link software and Windows Media Conect running at the same time, you have to tell the box which to talk to. THIS SUCKS. You have to go into a setup menu, autodetect the shares on the network and then select the right one. You also have to make sure that the PC you’re trying to connect to has authorized the D-Link to use WMC. I’ve seen WMC frequently forget what devices have been authorized, forcing me to reauthorize the device.
When you finally get the WMC connection all set up, it plays music like a champ. You can shuffle, repeat, fast forward, skip, play, pause and more. Sadly, the D-Link has a screen saver but it doesn’t seem to want to switch on as long as any music is being played back. This especially sucks as I have a rear projection television that is prone to burn-in. The screensaver kicks in fine if the box is idling on one of the menu screens, but as long as it’s doing ANYTHING it will not kick over to the screen saver. The music playback screen is very static, so it’s a sure thing that if I listen to music for several hours I’m going to end up with some nasty burn-in.
Video Playback
Video playback makes it possible for me to watch recorded television programs from my PC on my television. I have a TV tuner card in my PC and it acts as a backup to my TiVo for whenever I have a scheduling conflict. So having a device that would allow me to watch the shows on my TV without having to transfer them to a DVD is key.
Sadly, WMC does a shitty job of playing back video. As it turns out, you can’t fast forward anything served up by WMC. That means no commercial skipping. The D-Link software does allow shared video to be fast forwarded. Unfortunately, that means you have to go into the setup menu and switch the D-Link to communicate with their software instead of with WMC. This is lame.
I also noticed that even over a 100 megabit network that there are severe compression artifacts during scenes with any amount of motion (chase scenes, for instance). Watching the network utilization, it’s clear that the network isn’t a bottleneck. I’m not sure if it’s the sharing software or the box itself, but it sucks. This was an MPEG2 stream, it would be interesting to try other video formats and see if the problem persists. But seeing as how MPEG2 is what my TV capture card records in, not doing that format well is a total bummer.
One nice thing about the box is that you can play back video stored on a CF/SD/MMC card. This is handy, but in no way offsets the amount of suck involved in playing something back over the network.
Photo Viewing
Photo viewing is fine, about as good as the photo viewer on the TiVo. I didn’t really play around with this much since audio and video were much more important to me.
Verdict
This box is a certifiable piece of shit. I actually just returned it today. The issues with the software and having to switch between 2 sharing methods (D-Link’s software and WMC) are absolutely stupid. Would it have killed D-Link to make the box able to aggregate multiple media servers? The video playback issues make me want to gouge my eyes out. The screensaver issue when listening to music leaves me afraid to listen to music on my television. The device shows promise, maybe this is still the early adopter phase and I’m just expecting too much too soon. But for $300 I’d expect it to be a hell of a lot better than it was.
At this point I’m thinking a more expensive, custom Windows Media Center PC is the way to go. Since it’s a Microsoft-based PC it won’t have any issues playing back DRM’d music files and I’ve never had an issue playing back video on my PCs in the house, even if it was over the network.
July 1st, 2005 at 1:50 pm
Great write-up. I tested the 320 in my own home and had the same general sentiment. Some of my issues…
- Similar wireless set-up issues. My network does not broadcast SSID either, but while I was able to find a workaround for that, I could not workaround the MAC address filter that I use. Other digital media devices (such as the Roku Soundbridge) provide the MAC address in settings to resolve this issue, the D-Link does not. For testing purposes I just resorted to a wired connection, however, it is not my preference to do so.
- Cheap remote/Clunky interaction. I’ve got a thing about remotes and the D-Link remote both looks and feels cheap. In use, interaction between the remote and the box was clunky. There was a noticeable delay when browsing between screens. Very annoying when browsing a large library. I was tempted to program my Logitech Harmony remote to control the 320 volume, and TV with one remote, but then figured that it wasn’t worth it. The box just didn’t impress me enough to make the effort.
July 9th, 2005 at 6:00 pm
I was considering purchasing the DSM-320; for the exact same reasons you did. I’ll definitely avoid this product now.. Thanks for sharing !
July 11th, 2005 at 10:49 pm
Awesome review. I was close to purchasing the DSM-320RD, but it just sounded too good to be true, especially coming from D-Link. Glad I didn’t have to find this out first-hand.
What will you try next?
The Roku PhotoBridge HD seems at first like it could be perfect, but apparently it doesn’t have WMA DRM support(!). The Roku SoundBridge does WMA DRM, but no video and it’s a lousy form factor (can’t stack it). argh.
July 12th, 2005 at 7:01 pm
I’ve been considering breaking down and doing a full Windows Media Center PC instead. It will cost more money overall, but I’ll actually get what I want in the end. Thin clients seem like a great idea, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re all going to be like this for a couple years yet.
July 19th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
I purchased the LinkTheater by Buffalo Technology for about $350 a few months ago and I love it! I originally wanted to buy 2 more for my TVs in other rooms in the house but didn’t because I am considering the cheaper D-link product. Now that I have read lots of negativities from other users, I think I am going to stick with the LinkTheater. For those of you not familiar with this product, it is just like the D-link with a built-in DVD player. The main differences are: 1. No Wifi and 2. No media card readers. If you don’t need these, then the LinkTheater is a good choice. I serve Divx, Xvid, DVD files, and other formats from multiple PCs and never had any problem with the playback. And yes, the device can support multiple PCs running the media sharing software on the network.
November 7th, 2005 at 9:02 am
Ryan,
Great review. I am looking for a wireless, mainly for photos and music. Not much video. The D link seems perfect but I am sure glad I found your review. I was getting mixed feelings about this.
The Buffalo PC-P3LWG/DVD seems quite impressive however I dont understand that users review which says no wifi. Unless I misread their web site wireless is part of the feature…
November 15th, 2005 at 1:48 pm
Most of the problems it sounds like was your choice of servers. I have a 320RD and have zero problems with it (other than the finicky remote). It responds fast, browses fast, and movies all play right. I think most of your problems would have been solved if you had researched a little and Dled another UPnP server, most notably Tversity which is a free server designed specifically for the 320 series:
http://www.tversity.com/index.html
Solved all of my problems for me.
November 15th, 2005 at 8:10 pm
Downloading a replacement UPnP server somewhat defeats the principle of “plug and play”. It’s bad enough they asked me to install their own server software.
November 24th, 2005 at 9:04 pm
Man. You windows users are too lazy. A little bit of research would’ve solved all your problems.
November 24th, 2005 at 11:22 pm
It has nothing to do with being lazy. It has to do with expecting more. Great products just work. You plug them in, follow the quick instructions and you’re done. If I have to do outside research to figure out how to make someone’s product work, they’ve done something wrong.
November 25th, 2005 at 12:20 pm
I owned a dsm-320… complete crap.
I’d like to see a product that can just connect to a network drive, no software to install. as I’d prefer to use linux.
November 25th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
John, I’m totally with you there. I have a Maxtor networked hard drive now and I’m hoping when they release the new firmware with UPnP support that I’ll be able to get a DSM-320 like device that will can be plugged in and just work with that drive.
I fight computers enough during my day job. I don’t need to put up with that after I’ve clocked out.
March 29th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
I agree with the reviews, I have had mine for 3 weeks now and although setup gave me the shits, I worked it out and now use WMC as my server because I have too many files that are DRM’d. Although J_Dunn sugested TVersity as doues DLink tech support, this doesn’t play DRM’d files so I don’t know what they are talking about. My only problem now is getting my playlists to play (in the m3u format). Otherwise the sound is good, I have gotten used to the interface and the video…well I think I bought at the leading edge of technology cause I still get stutters and some MPEg files play and some don’t.
April 6th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
use d-link’s packaged media server for video. Encode with nero. Nero digital plays flawlessly with the dsm. If your tv tuner is nero compatable, you can record the tv into nero digital and you won’t have any problems.
If it came advertized as “plays only video encoded in nero digital” and came with nero recode, then I think people would be less upset with this device.
mine works awesome, and was much cheaper than other digital media in the living room solutions….
April 8th, 2006 at 6:58 am
Has anyone checked out the Zensonic Z500 form Australia? Do yourselves a big favour and check this one out.
http://www.zensonic.com.au and http://www.z500series.com
Cheers
Dean
April 8th, 2006 at 9:13 am
Neat, I wonder if you can get them in the US? Also, are the DVD players region locked to Australia?
April 19th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
TVersity .904a kicks butt. I have tried all the software that I could find for the DSM-320RD. The TVersity client is by far the best. If you have the time to convert all your videos to .avi format, you can use FF, REV, Pause..etc. The new version that will be available shortly (accordingly to the blog page at http://tversity.blogspot.com/) will be even more versitile. It’s well worth trying out.
May 5th, 2006 at 1:55 am
Phuu, good thing i found this site. I was seriously considering buying this DLINK, even after serious problems with other DLINK hardware. If i can’t buy hardware that “just works”, and if I have to buy a product that needs tweaking, why not use linux instead. Give it a week of tweaking, and it will work for years.
July 25th, 2006 at 2:34 am
Why do all stupid media player units need “media servers”? Why cant I just get a freakin unit that looks at my shares via smb/ftp/http/other protocols (why not pluggable) - downloads them to a local store and just… PLAYS them? I want to be able to just plug in some harddrives with ethernet and NOT have my stupid computer on. That defeats the whole thing I think: One great point is to *avoid* having to use (and turn on) your computer.
So many manufacturers, so many stupid guys.
July 25th, 2006 at 9:23 am
I actually own a Maxtor networked hard disk that implements UPnP. It’s basically what you’re asking for, a hard drive on ethernet that the media system can talk to.
Why increase the cost and potential failure points of the media player by adding a hard drive to it? Innevitably it’ll just end up being something else to be replaced when the HD either fails or becomes too small for high definition media.
Chill out, man.
July 26th, 2006 at 11:34 am
If you hate D-Stink as much as i do. I found this forum http://www.dlinksucks.com/forums/index.php
Help support this guys site. I can’t say enough about D-Stinks support and products…
July 31st, 2006 at 6:52 pm
When I purchased my media center pc in 2004 I was planning on just the type of entertainment that DLink was offering, and when I saw the unit available, I was very excited. What I really wanted was something that wouldn’t cost me every month like TIVO that I could occasionally record a program I watch it later.
The first Dlink unit didn’t work and I spent about 3 months trying to figure out what was wrong between DLink and the Router. I have to say I received great customer service when you consider how they are trying to figure out what I have done with my system. It wasn’t 3 full months of contact as I do have a life, but after 3 months they sent me a new unit which fired up right off.
Still, since then - over one year maybe even 2, I have been dealing with DLink off and on because I could not utilize the fast forward option. It will fast forward but as soon as Play is pressed, it loops back to the beginning segment. Recently I talked to them about it as this problem only occurs using their remote and their unit, so, they decided to send me another unit. Of course that meant reconnecting everything and entering all the stuff again in the unit and updating the wireless router. Pain in the A…..especially since it made no difference. Why don’t the helpdesk personnel KNOW about this issue???????
I can’t fault the service because it has been fabulous, but I can fault their engineers who must know what the problems are and don’t pass them downstream to their helpdesk. If the fact is that the unit just wont do this or that, just say so.
Certainly it was VERY annoying that Media Center records only in MS-DVR. That’s great if your life is always in front of a TV, but I thought Microsoft was moving more toward the total entertainment center approach and it doesn’t work to have to convert files just to see them on TV, and not everyone has a computer in their living room. Dlink is advertised by Microsoft as being “sure to Play” or something like that. Not true since Dlink doesn’t play Microsoft - only the computer does.
I tried disabling the Media Center recordings and purchased Beyond TV which will record directly to MPEG, but those files also do not fast forward. I can watch them, but not utilize fast forward. What an absolute PAIN!!!
Contact with Beyond TV suggested codecs and I tried that too, but it didn’t make a difference.
So, my most recent D-Link arrived and nothing I can do will resolve my issue. This is the first I have seen of this issue being brought forward, but it is my guess that it is well known by the DLink engineers and that I fault completely. If all I want to see is photos, I can plug my camera in and if I want streaming music, there are alternatives.
I won’t say the company stinks, as I do feel I received great customer service from their helpdesk, but that is very different from receiving a product that isn’t expected to work and no one knows why. or says why
If others out there have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I’ve reached the end of my enthusiasm for this product and I don’t see another one out there. Is there one????
August 22nd, 2006 at 8:32 pm
I think this review is a bit dated.
Firmware version 1.03 is working great. I have no problems with image quality. In fact, it is actually clearer streamed to my LCD TV than it is on my LCD monitor.
I have tried both DLink’s Media Server and TVersity. I like TVersity much better. More options for adding content than DLink’s.
Now if these Media Servers used different IDs so I could run multiple servers on my network, I’d be a happy camper. As it is now, I have to make sure only one is running at a time.
Now off to find streaming movie sites so I can cancel my netflix subscription.
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Robert, glad to hear they may have worked out some of their problems. Any idea if it works with the movies you can download from Guba?
September 7th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
I have had the DSM320 RD for over a year now. Firstly, all the DLINK software for the DSM320 RD sucks rocks. I received three return authorizations withour even asking, the Dlink tech support sucks more than the DLINK software. And the DLINK remote control IS THE SUCKIEST PIECE of detritus I can imagine for 2005. BUT, I spent a few hundred hours, playing, tweaking, and humping it, and I have had some impressive (non-sexual) experiences with it. Bottom line - IT SUCKS major - BUT if you have tons of time, and are not in a hurry, you can do some neat stuff. I use Tversity, and Microsoft Media Connect on a 108G wireless set up. When it works its KEWL, when it doesn’t well, its not worth the time it takes to unhook it. I have been using the DVD player as a DVD player BUT THAT SUCKS ALSO. The 320RD is a must compatred to the DSM320 since 108 G isn’t fast enough, wide enough for full video. I have four nearby WI-FI neighbors, so I blast them with my “system”, and I am +40 db with my RF sniffer at their servers. Not enough, they still nick my signal. I want the whole band for videos. The Dlink has a poor receiver and can’t stop the out of band activity at 2.5 GHz - I have broadband Internet -Clearwire for the whole town, but some Wifi receivers are so cheap they have crappy selectivity and get front end overload from the Clearwire broadcast station less than a mile away.
I do get some neat stuff though- about 5 % of the time when it works. You can watch many online TV/radio stations. WITH TVERSITY.
I would love to see a LINUX software for this - EVEN THOUGH THE REMOTE CONTROL SUCKS. It has buttons too small for a mouse hand. You need a friggin flashlight to read small print with a magnifying glass….You have to point it EXACTLY at the DSM320 RD to DO ANYTHING…yeah major sucks.
But if I shake it with a vibrator or a big hand drill sometimes I can get it to actually change “channels”.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Holy crap, I can’t stop laughing.
September 16th, 2006 at 6:19 am
I haven’t bought a networked media player yet. Thought I was going to buy the KISS DP600 but once I learned that I need to install software on a PC I said forget it. I want to be able to browse and pull content via IP and something trivial like HTTP, FTP, shares, UPnP if it has to be, etc. I intent on buying a 500Gig network storage drive to store my movies and songs. (This network drive will let me create FTP accounts so my buddies can upload/dowload files to their PC/network drives, how cool is that!!!) Since I already own PCs with DVD players in them, I want to be able to use these DVD drives with this networked media player, but with NO SOFTWARE to be installed. I’d also like the media player box to be able to receive live music, video and IP-TV streams from the IP network/ Internet, etc.
Doesn’t somebody make a box that does this yet? NO SOFTWARE PLEASE!!! Does the D-LINK 520 do this?
September 16th, 2006 at 6:21 am
Hmmmm, check this out:
http://www.z500series.com/features.php
Windows File Sharing (SMB)
World’s first Network DVD Media Player to support Windows File sharing (SMB).
No server software needed on the PC!
October 11th, 2006 at 8:58 am
Hey Ryan, could you help me? I wan´t to get a networked media player, but one that is used a “windows media center” like interface… I am looking for a player that would do anything like a HTPC does and also with the MCE layout? Is there any player like this?
Thanks in advance for your tip, and sorry for my english
December 2nd, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Thanks for a great review and all the users for the comments.
I have researched this DSM-320RD for a few hours and have decided against it after this site.
I am now moving to the next one on my list and will see reviews about them one by one till I find the one that has the least flaws.
D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520
Philips SL300i Streamium
Philips SLM5500 Streamium
Netgear EVA700
Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P3LWG/DVD
Thanks.
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Been looking around for 2 weeks now and Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P3LWG/DVD seems the best choice all around.
January 3rd, 2007 at 7:19 am
Really great product…except it is ‘region locked’. Does anyone knows how to ‘unlock’ this player. I’m in UK so its locked to area2…
Thanks for million!!
January 21st, 2007 at 7:38 am
Thanks for the review. I was looking at various units and decided to go with the DSM-520. So far so good, my only problem is that when listening to music, if you “navigate” out of the Now Playing screen, there’s no way to go back. I’ve had problems with a couple of video files, which were resolved by using Nero Recode.
February 21st, 2007 at 10:02 am
does any have any preference between the Zensonic Z500 and the Buffalo Techologies linktheater. has anyone experienced both? i can;t seem to decide
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I’m really sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with this unit. I was really hoping it would bridge the gap between my computer and the entertainment center. I have to say that your writeup is hilarious in its honesty. Thanks for the warnings - I think I’ll wait until the second or third generation.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:30 am
I’ve got the KiSS DP-600 and this one sucks terribly!
When I was buing it 6 month ago I also considered their latest HDD recorder, which now seems to be withdrawn from the market…
If you like tweaking - get one of the older KiSS devices that have been hacked - so you can get community support and they are cheap now.
May 28th, 2007 at 5:17 am
Copy of E Mail sent to support@dlink.com.au, probably will not make any difference.
Just some feedback on YOUR WONDERFUL PRODUCT (Being extremely sarcastic) Media Player DSM 320.
Found a review from 2005, and guess what, nothing has changed, a sure sign of a progressive company.
Here are some excerpts from this Website and their Web address. Just relaying other unfortunate user’s comments, because maybe you are unaware.
Read full review at this Website,
unclehulka.com/ryan/blog/archives/2005/06/26/d-link-dsm-320rd-review
Verdict
This box is a certifiable piece of sh*t. I actually just returned it today. The issues with the software and having to switch between 2 sharing methods (D-Link’s software and WMC) are absolutely stupid. Would it have killed D-Link to make the box able to aggregate multiple media servers? The video playback issues make me want to gouge my eyes out. The screensaver issue when listening to music leaves me afraid to listen to music on my television. The device shows promise, maybe this is still the early adopter phase and I’m just expecting too much too soon. But for $300 I’d expect it to be a hell of a lot better than it was.
At this point I’m thinking a more expensive, custom Windows Media Center PC is the way to go. Since it’s a Microsoft-based PC it won’t have any issues playing back DRM’d music files and I’ve never had an issue playing back video on my PCs in the house, even if it was over the network.
John | November 25th, 2005 at 12:20 pm
I owned a dsm-320… complete cr*p.
Chris| July 26th, 2006 at 11:34 am
If you hate D-Stink as much as i do. I found this forum http://www.dlinksucks.com/forums/index.php
Media Dude | September 7th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
I have had the DSM320 RD for over a year now. Firstly, all the DLINK software for the DSM320 RD sucks rocks. I received three return authorizations withour even asking, the Dlink tech support sucks more than the DLINK software. And the DLINK remote control IS THE SUCKIEST PIECE of detritus I can imagine for 2005. BUT, I spent a few hundred hours, playing, tweaking, and humping it, and I have had some impressive (non-sexual) experiences with it. Bottom line - IT SUCKS major - BUT if you have tons of time, and are not in a hurry, you can do some neat stuff. I use Tversity, and Microsoft Media Connect on a 108G wireless set up. When it works its KEWL, when it doesn’t well, its not worth the time it takes to unhook it. I have been using the DVD player as a DVD player BUT THAT SUCKS ALSO. The 320RD is a must compatred to the DSM320 since 108 G isn’t fast enough, wide enough for full video. I have four nearby WI-FI neighbors, so I blast them with my “system”, and I am +40 db with my RF sniffer at their servers. Not enough, they still nick my signal. I want the whole band for videos. The Dlink has a poor receiver and can’t stop the out of band activity at 2.5 GHz - I have broadband Internet -Clearwire for the whole town, but some Wifi receivers are so cheap they have crappy selectivity and get front end overload from the Clearwire broadcast station less than a mile away.
I do get some neat stuff though- about 5 % of the time when it works. You can watch many online TV/radio stations. WITH TVERSITY.
I would love to see a LINUX software for this - EVEN THOUGH THE REMOTE CONTROL SUCKS. It has buttons too small for a mouse hand. You need a friggin flashlight to read small print with a magnifying glass….You have to point it EXACTLY at the DSM320 RD to DO ANYTHING…yeah major sucks.
But if I shake it with a vibrator or a big hand drill sometimes I can get it to actually change “channels”.
D Link recommends TVersity as optional software, READ their Q & A on this incredible piece of technology, that is, the DSM 320 (Do not want any confusion, here, DO WE).
The only way the FF works properly, is to use TVersity software and convert large video files to Nero Digital MPEG 4.
As you are still selling this product, HOW ABOUT SOME SOFTWARE/FIRMWARE UPGRADES TO MAKE THE PRODUCT WORK PROPERLY, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK. Where is that number for a CURRENT AFFAIR.
Regards,
Very Disgruntled Ex Customer
August 5th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
The only place D-Link puts the MAC address for its digital media players (such as the DSM-320 and DSM-520) is on the box. It’s on the back, on the bottom right corner with the UPC’s. Of the four, its the one one the bottom right of those and labeled “MAC ID”.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Can you tell me If the D-Link MediaLounge Wireless Media/DVD Player DSM-320RD plays ALL world DVD’s or is this item locked to just the users region?
Thanks:) I Bet Ryan knows…lol
September 14th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
I’m nearly certain it’s region locked. That being said, it’s possible someone’s hacked together something to let you unlock it. Look around the web, maybe you’ll find something.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Sure wish i’d found this site and it’s honest reviews before I bought my DSM-320RD. The wireless side of this unit is so shoddy it should not even have been placed into the unit.
To think nearly 2 years on and I’m experiencing the same issues that were reported then, now.
Software updates don’t seem to made much difference at all Currently using version 08).
The issues I have with the wireless (apart from all the orthers i.e. cr**py remote, Fast Forwarding freezes, etc) are that the refresh and streaming during play are jerky and the machine never seems to catch up (caching is poor) so you have this endless jerky picture. I am only streaming a distance of 3 meters from pc to dlink unit. That being sad and done, I have resolved the problem by installing a dlink acces point (setup as a client) connected to the ether port. this solved the jumpy video problem but is also proof that the wireless reciever in the 320 is just not up to scratch.
Maybe someone will read what we have posted here and once the product is obseleted, they will find a solution. Just wonder what they are doing with the profits made from this product çause they certainly are not using it to better the product at all.
November 25th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I have DSM320 and DSM320RD. Both are served by TVersity services on 2 networked PCs on my “G” wireless network. Works fine. I can see photos, listen to stored music or play videos. I’m ready for more features - commercial skip, repeat and next play, etc. Anyone know of alternatives for $150-200? Thanks
December 10th, 2007 at 10:53 am
I have a second hand 320. It works great for me streaming XVID video. I am using Tversity software. I am connected via RJ45 to my wireless router. DSM320 - >(network cable)-> wireless router->wireless transmission->PC. Only get stuttering video on CSI flashback scenes. It’s not perfect. but works good enough. I’d love an APPLE TV if it played Xvid.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Had my DSM320RD for 3 years. It has stopped working. When you turn it on it locks up and nothing works. The only way to reset it, is to unplug it. Anyone else experienced this problem?
January 9th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I just purchased this for $80 after rebate, after cancelling the initial order with reviews etc… But, I went for it figuring $80 is hard to go wrong (buy.com) The thing works great for me. Remote’s not great, but watched knocked up last night and laughed my A$$ off! Luv it, and have been looking for something like this for wayyy too long!
January 21st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I just puchased it from Buy.com for $80. How can you go wrong for 80 bucks? I found out - by buying this POS. To be fair, it worked reasonably well out of the box. However, after a day or so it did something flaky with the video settings. Against my better judgement, I allowed it to upgrade its firmware, and it has been running like crap ever since. It takes 30-45 seconds after each button press to do anything. I finally broke down and and called ‘tech support’. After 25 minutes ‘Mark’, while chuckling, told me that the unit had to rest, and that I should call back in 20 minutes.
I have seen some sites that had posted instructions on downgrading the firmware. 1.03 seemed ok. If I can get it back to that version this thing may actually work. Otherwise, I’m going to have to ship it back - it is unusable as is.
Jody, since you seem happy with yours, and got it around the time that I did, can I ask if you had upgraded the firware (or better still, what version are you running)?
Thanks!
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:51 am
I have a 320 and a 320RD hooked up wireless to a dedicated TVersity Media server (old pc). The both streamers work very well for me. One on the main floor and the other in the basement for the kids. Yes the remote is wonky, the Reverse just does not work, the security (WEP Only) is very weak. But for the $$$ I cannot complain. I can stream everything I have thrown at it so far. One in a while a video file will cause the audio to disappear and I have to turn the unit off and on to clear it.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I’ve had my DSM-320 for a year now. I use it wired with TVersity. I do get some stuttered playback at times but overall I am very happy with it. A good media PC would probably work better but there is a lot more that can go wrong with a PC than one of these. Would love some updated firmware to deal with a few minor issues but it does what I need it to and is reliable.
February 4th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Mine seems to have a bad audio section. It distorts everything so I need to look into it.
Also does anyone have a copy of the january rebate form? It seems to have disappeared from buy.com….
The media server also couldn’t stream video on wireless b until I updated it to the latest version and now it works much better. It might or might not work for wirelss g but if it is that bad on b it should be updated.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I have the 320rd and I had problems when converting dvd’s to Mpeg but if I use AVI it works without issue. I use magic dvd ripper and it makes them into a file and my 320rd plays them fine over wirelessG with WPA(lastest firmware added WPA). I play music fine. I tried the software it came with and it worked but I wanted to stream stuff so I tried wmconnect and it sucked. so I looked online and everyone used Tversity so I tried that and it worked great. the stupid windows firewall did not let it though so I had to fix that but other then that all is good. yeah it has so querks but for 80bucks its awesome. remote sucks and the dvd seems to freeze it if you turn it on and press dvd but after holding the powerbutton it works great. also Does anyone leave it on all the time? it works better if I do that but I am worried it will wear out. any ideas there?
well later
Mark
March 6th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
in response to rich:
if you put the volume above half on the player itself it disorts but it you keep it below half then it works fine. so I don’t touch the volume on the player anymore and it sounds great now. its similar to turning up the volume on your MP3 player then playing it though the aux port on your car stereo. it sounds horrible turn it down a bit and it sounds good agian. hope this helps
Heres the rebate but you have 30days from purchase to use it.
http://ak.buy.com/buy_assets/retail/pdfs/08Q1/0301-0331dw-rg_50dlink.pdf
March 31st, 2008 at 11:49 am
Thanks for the review. Very helpful. I was considering the DSM-320RD but will steer clear until something better comes along.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Hi all
I got my first DSM-320RD six months ago. Now, I’ve three boxes at home.
Yes, the remote is bad. Also, the FF/REW issue is very annoying. But… using them for photos (jpeg 640×480), music (MP3) and videos (DivX/Xvid@~800Kbps, MP3@128Kb) they really do the job. Again: my mum (living downstairs) uses one of them on wlan (to be honest, she’s using an external 6dBi antenna…), and it works correctly, even when enjoying different movies on each player. My upnp-av server is uShare, running on a slug (Linksys NSLU/2, which also support bittorrent downloading… :D) and my wifi router is a D-Link DSL604T. The wlan encryption is WEP.
IMHO, the DSM-320RD is not so bad…. if you take care of what you’re asking for
April 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
My original review was posted almost 3 years ago, I wonder if the 320RD is actually much better now that it’s had 3 years to get bugs and kinks ironed out of it.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Hi. Like many others I saw this product as a way to link my PC and my TV/stereo. I have had much trouble with the wireless settings, but today I connected with cable and thoght that would solve every problem. Well, it did not! We have all our photos and music on a d.link dns-232 network disk with built in mediaplayer. I hoped that the cable would give faster access to our photos, but with resolution 3072*2304 (1mb) it works sooooo slow. Anyone else with this problem? Is it the 320RD that has to little memory/prosessor? T.Norway
May 28th, 2008 at 6:28 am
I just have to say I got my DSM-320RD in the mail yesterday, and from the time opening the box to the time I was streaming house was about 12 minutes, INCLUDING doing the Firmware update! I am using the LAN to my Router, then WiFi to my PC.. Works VERY well…. Not as nice as a Mac Mini with Front Row, but not too bad…
I will admit the software interface on the box itself BLOWS, and the remote is kinda cheap… But its not bad overall… I tried TVersity last night, but i dunno… it just didnt seem right…. But it was probably just me… gonna try it again tonight when I get home…
Anybody know of an aftermarket Interface that isnt as cheesy as the OEM DLink Software?