Lab

Streaming media players

More media files are stored on PCs than ever. Unfortunately, most PCs live in studies and bedrooms and not in the sitting room, where most people like to listen to music or watch films. Media receivers get around this problem by wirelessly streaming audio and video files from your PC to your TV and hi-fi.

In this Labs test, we've looked at a range of streaming media receivers that can play audio and video content sent across your network. We've looked at six audio-only receivers and six audio and video receivers, each of which plays various media formats and has its own special features. Over the next few pages, we'll guide you through the possibilities and pitfalls of media streaming, and help you pick the right receiver to release media from your PC.

Streaming media receivers allow you to play all the media files stored on your PC in other rooms around your house, whether you fancy watching a film on the TV in your sitting room or listening to your favourite tracks on the stereo next to your bed.

The choice of receivers and the wildly varying specifications can be bewildering, so you should consider your current TV or hi-fi setup and the types of media files you already have. Your choice should depend on the types of file you wish to play, the type of equipment you'll be attaching the receiver to, and even the media player you prefer using on your PC.

Interface facts

First, consider what your media receiver will be plugged into. There are two main types of media receiver: those designed to play back audio, and those that can play back audio and video, which we will call multimedia receivers. Most audio receivers have stereo phono outputs to connect to a standard hi-fi, while many also have 3.5mm mini-jack sockets for headphones or PC speakers. Multimedia receivers have a variety of outputs. If you have a modern LCD TV, look for a component or HDMI output; CRT TV owners are better off with an RGB SCART connection.

Format wars

You also need to consider which file types the receivers support. Almost all the audio receivers here can play the most common formats (MP3, WMA, AAC and Wav), while many can also handle lesser-known file types such as OGG and the lossless FLAC format.

Video support on multimedia receivers is trickier. For example, the Apple TV combines an outstanding user interface with support for High Definition Video files, but you can only play media types supported by iTunes (MPEG4 and H.264 video and MP3 and AAC audio). Also, if you buy media files online, whether in iTunes' Protected AAC or Microsoft's WMA-DRM format, you need to make sure your media receiver can play back protected files.

Only three of the multimedia receivers in this round-up can play High Definition video, and these are predictably among the most expensive in the group. HD video is typically encoded as either WMV-HD or H.264, but only Netgear's EVA8000 can play both formats. You can see a full list of supported formats in our table on page 136.

No single streaming media receiver is capable of playing all media formats, so your best option is to buy one that supports your favourite format and use software to transcode any remaining video files into it. You can find out how to do this in next month's Shopper, as we will be doing a feature specifically about video codecs.

As well as being able to play files stored on your PC, all the audio receivers can connect to internet radio stations, and some of the multimedia receivers can connect to YouTube.

Environmental factors

It's important to know how and where you're going to use your receiver before you buy it. All but one of the receivers here can connect to a wireless network, which cuts down the number of cables strewn around your home, but wireless signals can be unreliable. This is most likely to create problems with HD video streaming, which can be jerky if your signal is weak.

Audio receivers are perfectly suited to wireless networking, and most have integrated speakers, so you can use them anywhere. Sonos's unique ZonePlayer system creates its own secure wireless network designed to link multiple Sonos receivers under the control of a single remote, and it works best with multiple receivers in several rooms.

Serving time

Most of the media receivers here cannot store files, but instead play them from a server. You can get network-attached storage (NAS) devices that are capable of acting as media servers, but it's usually simpler to use your own PC to serve music and video files across a network. Some receivers come with their own server software, but most will work with either Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) or Server Message Block (SMB) network file sharing.

You may already have UPnP media server software on your PC in the form of Windows Media Player 11. If you have an earlier version of Media Player, you'll have to upgrade to the latest version. Unfortunately, it doesn't have built-in support for formats such as OGG, H.264 or MP4, and it was unable to index and stream them even after we installed the correct DirectShow plug-ins from www.wmplugins.com.

Lack of support for all required formats is a problem common to many UPnP server programs, so we're pleased to see more network media receivers supporting SMB. This shares files between devices on a network. When a receiver is connected to a PC with SMB, it lists all the files it can play, rather than just those supported by a UPnP server. Unlike UPnP, you don't need to have server software running, as the capability is built into Windows. In the box above, we explain how to set it up. Mac and Linux users can create SMB shares using the Samba server software.