Linux-based media adapter goes wireless

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Jan. 05, 2006

Hauppauge is shipping a wireless-G enabled version of its Linux-based "MVP" (music, video, pictures) media adapter. The MediaMVP is a wireless set-top decoder for 802.11G (54Mbps) networks that allows Windows PC users to display digital multimedia content on TVs, stereos, home theaters, and the like.

(Click for larger view of Hauppauge MediaMVP)

Hauppage's original MediaMVP offered only rudimentary wireless capabilities. It did support an inexpensive and widely available 802.11b (10Mbps) wireless game adapter from Linksys, but wireless bandwidth limitations constrained playback to the device's lowest supported resolution. Despite that limitation, the device received a fairly positive review from CNET, which praised the device's simplicity and ease of use.

What's under the hood?

The MediaMVP is powered by an SoC (system-on-chip) with an IBM PowerPC RISC core said to deliver 350 Dhrystone MIPS (millions of instructions per second). The SoC also includes hardware decoding engines for MPEG-2 transport stream, MPEG-2 MP@ML, and MP3 audio, Hauppauge says. The MediaMVP's display rendering engine provides 24-bit direct color (YUV) output with 8-bit alpha blending.

The MediaMVP connects to A/V equipment through RCA ports
In addition to a wireless radio, the MediaMVP's I/O interfaces include an RJ-45 10/100 Ethernet port, and RCA-plugs for s-video, composite video, and stereo out. The device also has an infrared receiver that captures and relays remote control signals.

On the software side, the MediaMVP runs a Linux operating system, along with client software featuring a simple, clean interface (pictured at right). The client software works in conjunction with server software available for Windows XP Home, XP Pro, or Windows 2000 (screenshot).

Hauppage says its MediaMVP can natively decode JPEG digital pictures, MP3 music files, and MPEG-1/MPEG-2 video streams between 1.5 Mbps to 8 Mbps, including NTSC streams up to 720x480 (NTSC) or PAL streams up to 720x576. The device can also natively up-scale lower resolution video to full screen, and offers a tunable anti-flicker filter, the company says.

Non-natively supported file formats -- including DivX, WMA, WMV, and Internet radio -- are "transcoded," or converted into supported formats by the PC server software before being sent to the MediaMVP. Support for Windows Media Center Edition recordings will be added in a future software release, the company says.

CEO Ken Plotkin stated, "By using common 802.11G wireless networks, we can provide full speed wireless playback of DVD quality videos from your PC to your TV set."

Availability

The 802.11G wireless version of the MediaMVP is expected to ship this month, priced at $150.

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