Product Reviews

Many companies have recently launched devices that connect the media on your PC to the home entertainment system in your living room, but Netgear's MP101 stands out from the crowd for two reasons. First, rather than playing music, video and image files, the MP101 concentrates solely on music. Second, it comes with wireless networking built in, so there's no need to run a network cable between your computer and hi-fi or add an extra wireless card.

The MP101 is gloriously easy to set up. The server software that runs on your PC is

ADVERTISEMENT

straightforward to install and configure, with options to scan your PC and add all the MP3 and WMA music files it can find to its database. The next step is simply to connect the MP101 to your amplifier with a set of phono leads and turn it on. It will scan for wireless networks automatically and present you with a list. After you select your network it will ask for a WEP passkey if needed, and search for a music server. You just need to select your new server with the remote control and you're ready to play some music.

It is equally easy to use. On the front of the unit is a bright screen that can display four lines of light blue text on a black background. The screen shows menus from which you can select music by playlist, artist, album, title or genre using the remote control. Unlike some media receivers we've seen, the MP101's controls are responsive and easy to use, and the remote control works from a good distance.

Overall, this is a great product that does a single task very well. If you want to stream video or pictures you'll have to look elsewhere, but for playing music wirelessly it's unsurpassed.