D-Link MediaLounge DSM-510

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 10 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 2 stars

  Lame - not for anyone with 1080 HD

  by jfandl on May 16, 2007

  Pros: Nice that it has HDMI connection

  Cons: NERO streaming software is poor. Cannot reply HD files consistently

  Summary: The Nero software is probably the biggest problem. First it REMOVES all previous versions of Nero, including my PRO version so I immediately lost functionality. It's obviously a first ...

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  Summary: The Nero software is probably the biggest problem. First it REMOVES all previous versions of Nero, including my PRO version so I immediately lost functionality. It's obviously a first generation product that needs a lot of improvement. It streams video sometimes and other times, it just displays an image on the screen and sound chirps in every so often but nothing you can watch since it's like a still shot. I though it was the limitation on the wireless G so I got a Cat 5e to do a wired connection and had the same results. The replay is inconsistent as I can view the same movie several times and each time it will stall at different parts of the movie. When I go to watch the same video on the PC, it replays flawlessly so I know the file is of good quality. Also, the device and Nero lack any kind of diagnostics to help you pin point problems (I think they knew there were weaknesses and didn't want you to be able to diagnose it) BTW you cannot replay programs recorded in Dolby 5.1 without buying a nero plugin from nero.
  
  D-Link: Time to think about this...People like me spend several thousands on a Big screen 1080p LCD and expect to watch quality, not Atari.
  
  I feel like I bought a kids toy and it wasn't cheap at $199. Maybe their DSM-750 will be better, I sure hope so.
  
  I would not recommend this to anyone with an HD TV.

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  4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Don't Even Think About It

  by ruiman on June 4, 2008

  Pros: Nice Packaging

  Cons: Start with 20 minute wait for India customer service

  Summary: Partial setup instructions, dead remote and firmware that does not download. WOW! $85 from Dell. Should be no more than $8.50 for a bad toy to play with.

  Summary: Partial setup instructions, dead remote and firmware that does not download. WOW! $85 from Dell. Should be no more than $8.50 for a bad toy to play with.

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Rocky Start, works great now.

  by y0Lorenzo on July 14, 2007

  Pros: Small Footprint, Clean GUI

  Cons: Definitely not for avg. Joe Doe-Doe

  Summary: Took some time tinkering but I finally got mine to work. The issues that I encountered were most likeliy, largely due to configuration errors on my part.
  
  Monday when I
  
  ...

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  Summary: Took some time tinkering but I finally got mine to work. The issues that I encountered were most likeliy, largely due to configuration errors on my part.
  
  Monday when I first got the unit from CC, after a while of fumbling around (before I figured out how to use the set Up a Wireless Network" wizard in XP, which is easy as pie) I spent a good while trying to configure it for my wireless connection displaying over the included composite/av cable. I finally got it to work with my already installed edition of Nero.
  
  I hooked it up to my HDTV over Wifi with a HDMI. Worked like a breeze.
  
  When I installed an ethernet port near my HDTV, my laptop worked fine plugged in, and plugged in thru a netgear 10/100 hub. The DSM-510 however, would not auto-get an IP address like it should when turned on, and whenever I went to the Wired Connections menu the unit froze.
  
  A little research located updtaed firmware. I installed. This fixed the problem with the unit's ethernet port, however, this also created a new, more daunting problem. After installing the 1.03 firmware, I could only get the unit to display over HDMI after MANUALLY changing the units settings to digital... That means I had to have the unit connected to TV via HDMI annnnd Composite, change my tv to composite, set the unit for digital, quickly change my tv to HDMI input, select "accept settings" on the unit, and NOT turn the unit off, or HDMI display would not work unless i repeated the process to change the settings. It should "auto-sense" HDMI connectivity and default to it when working properly, and it did, until i upgraded to 1.03 firmware. Dlink customer service asked me to reset the unit and retry connections and different methods. We agreed, somehow, something in the 1.03 firmware got corrupted as i upgraded. I do use a very cheap and very old usb stick which likely was the culprit.
  
  When I exchanged the unit today, it worked with my ethernet connection over HDMI right out of the box. I'm betting that wifi will work just fine and easily configure with "wireless setup wizard/usb stick method."
  
  I did encounter a Rewind problem today with some really crappy low-res boxing avi early this evening. FF worked fine, but when i hit rewind, it KEPT rewinding even after pressing every other button on the remote. Power cycled, FF'd to spot just fine...
  
  I hope with this unit I am able to add an HDTV tuner to my PC, use Nero to stream it to the unit.
  
  For $149, I am absolutely satisfied with my experience, the product itself, and I would recommend it to intermediate networkers/techies.
  
  The current technology is what it is. Wireless G just isn't great for HDTV streaming, thats not Dlinks fault. They clearly recommend wired connection which hasn't choked for me. It hasn't refused any of my file types, but Nero Recode should smash anything I throw at it into something proper for the unit.
  
  My dream/wishlist for a unit like this would be:
  All shiny black enclosure
  standard av component form factor to allow space for my added features
  Linksys Branded
  self-contained Terabyte internal NAS included + Upnp server
  Gigabit Ethernet
  Wireless N
  
  and retail it for $349

  Updated
  USE WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 11!!!
  
  BTW, some people say you have to "uninstall your current nero to use the bundled nero software..."
  
  No you don't. From the get-go all I did was use my old Nero 7 that I already had that was updated... Just don't install anything if you've already got Nero... just enable Nero Scout and Sharing.
  
  HOWEVER!!!
  
  DO NOT USE NERO. Nero is super slow on the unit and FF/RW makes the unit CHOKEEEE!
  
  USE WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 11, I cannot stress enough. It boggles my mind why D-Link packages it with Nero for streaming... NERO makes this product look bad, not D-Link. WMP11 makes this product sexy I swear if it were a woman i'd do it.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  despite issues, it's great for wireless video streaming

  by eco733 on November 23, 2010

  Pros: wireless or wired video streaming from your PC to a TV, MP4

  Cons: there are bugs, needs a reboot once in a while with wireless, OK with wired

  Summary: I've been using DSM-510 for almost 2 years now and I can say It's a great product. It has issues - especially with wireless streaming - but those ...

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  Summary: I've been using DSM-510 for almost 2 years now and I can say It's a great product. It has issues - especially with wireless streaming - but those are workable and not too bad when you figure how to fix them for the first time. Overall, it's been working well for me (I recently bought my 2-nd unit for another room's TV) and me (and my kids) really cannot live without it.

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• 8 stars

  Excellent solution to stream media to up to a 720p HDTV

  by gryfyn on March 13, 2009

  Pros: Form factor, form factor, form factor. This device is half the size of a Nintendo Wii, it fits perfectly into any environment around your HDTV. Streams fast and reliably with the right router/network setup. D-link Tech Support WILL HELP YOU!!!

  Cons: People must be aware that the device is limited to 1080i output, which is not useful to inidividuals expecting Full 1080p output on their HDTV's. A good 720p stream is the most you can hope for, which is quite a lot from this little device.

  Summary: Do not give up if the device does not set up or perform properly immediately. People put down technical support but if you give a good hour of your time ...

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  Summary: Do not give up if the device does not set up or perform properly immediately. People put down technical support but if you give a good hour of your time to these guys, they will make sure things are setup to perform optimally, believe me this is from personal experience. I was just about ready to ship this device back when I couldn't even detect any media servers on my network, but it turned out to be a firewall/limitation from my router. There is never a reason this device won't provide you a reasonable solution to streaming your media, it picks up your media very quickly and streams VERY quickly. Windows Media Player 11 is by far the easiest media server to use, don't bother with anything else unless you are looking for special functionalities that WMP 11 can't provide. The biggest factor in stream media adequately will always be your router/switch/hub that transmits data through your network, if things arent running smoothly.. or at all as was in my case, fiddle around with your router settings. I may sound like a D-link fanboy/ employee but I began with the worst experiences with this product and once it was configured correctly, it turned out to be the best experience. I highly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a nice compact media player to stream there media to their TV's. If you are expecting Blu-Ray/ 1080p quality video streaming, buy something higher-end than this, but I doubt you will find something with as small/compact a form factor, I just love good things that come in small packages =D

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• 1 stars

  mediocre service

  by pohrv on February 9, 2009

  Pros: looks like a handy device

  Cons: surprisingly poor video and audio playback capability. will stutter during playback on most divX movies.

  Summary: steer away from this device. zero custommer support quality...

  Summary: steer away from this device. zero custommer support quality...

• 2 stars

  Nice looking device

  by wkduff on July 14, 2008

  Pros: classy looking

  Cons: does not work worth a darn

  Summary: I sell this product in my store, I thought I would use it for what it is for,
  Hooked up fine, but needed to reconnect every time with passwords, and
  ...

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  Summary: I sell this product in my store, I thought I would use it for what it is for,
  Hooked up fine, but needed to reconnect every time with passwords, and would not stay connected, wired nor wirelessly

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• 3 stars

  taking it back to the shop

  by aynsofyes on June 23, 2008

  Pros: none5678910

  Cons: all45678910

  Summary: It took over a week working with technical support to get it up and running. The tech support is the absolute WORST. I couldn't place his accent (which is ...

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  Summary: It took over a week working with technical support to get it up and running. The tech support is the absolute WORST. I couldn't place his accent (which is odd, since I can recognize most), but anyway, he knew nothing, and kept me on hold most of the time, and was impatient and asked unclear questions and gave unclear instructions. Not only that, but every time I called, I got this same guy! Finally, he sent me up to their bugboy, and I got it running. It turns out that it's not what I want. The TV interface is very cumbersome--I was hoping to be able to simply view and use WMP11 on the TV, but the dedicated interface has no flexibility whatsoever.
  
  So, I'm taking it back tomorrow.
  
  How can I get my computer interface onto my tv, and hear mp3s and see dvds over my entertainment system? It's 2008 guys, c'mon!

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• 8 stars

  Works great for me...

  by deel816 on May 2, 2008

  Pros: Plug and Play with Windows XP...

  Cons: It'd be nice if it supported S-Video

  Summary: I was able to get one of these from Circuit City for $85 in March. I initially made the mistake of using the install software not realizing that the only ...

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  Summary: I was able to get one of these from Circuit City for $85 in March. I initially made the mistake of using the install software not realizing that the only software you need is the most recent version of Windows Media Player. It works great and using it instead of my X-Box 360 for media will definitely extend the life of the latter device.

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• 9 stars

  Simple, Clean, Cheap (in a good way) Machine.

  by pdubyis on February 9, 2008

  Pros: Fast, Easy to Hook Up, HDMI and Composite Connections, Ability to Pause Rewind and Fast Forward While Streaming

  Cons: Needs more video format capabilities, Not Linksys

  Summary: Well, so here is what I had. One kick ass computer that I built for video editing using Avid Express Pro. Here are the specs:
  
  Intel Motherboard BLKD975XBX2KR 975X 775
  
  ...

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  Summary: Well, so here is what I had. One kick ass computer that I built for video editing using Avid Express Pro. Here are the specs:
  
  Intel Motherboard BLKD975XBX2KR 975X 775
  Nvidia VGA PNY FX1500 VCQFX1500-PCIE-PB R
  Windows XP SP2 OS
  Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600
  4x 750 GB Seagate SATA Hard Drives Raid 5
  2x 400 GB Seagate SATA Hard Drives Raid 1
  4x 1GB Ram
  2x 17 inch widescreen lcd displays
  and it all sits in my beautiful athena chasis
  CHASSIS ATHENA|RM-4U4830
  
  This is just a great machine.
  
  So here is what I did to enhance my TV viewing experience. I bought a bravia 46 inch LCD HDTV. I bought a PS3 with a 60 GB hard drive. I have it wired to my network (wireless is only smart for laptops and PDA such as iPhones and stuff like that).
  
  My network uses a Linksys Wireless N Gigabit Router (gigabit is the way to go if you are streaming video or performing large transfers from computer to computer, or if you just want a faster home network). I use Nero MediaHome to set up my computer as a server and stream movies and music that I have downloaded to my computer to my HDTV via the PS3.
  
  This is the best use for the PS3. Dont get me wrong I love the Blu-ray capabilities but I am such a geek I think this whole streaming thing is way awesome.
  
  But there was a minor problem, I would fall asleep on the couch too much. So I wanted to stream video to my bedroom tv but my ethernet cable is being used to hook up my computer and rather than run another impossible wire through my attic in one of the tightest portion of where the roof and ceiling almost touch, I added a Linksys SD2005 5 port gigabit switch, it works great. Then rather than buy another PS3 for my room which doesn't have a HDTV in it I stumbled upon the D-Link HD MediaLounge. Its great because it offers HD capabilities in case I upgrade the tv in my room. What is even better about the setup is that the kids can watch a movie or tv show that is streaming to the HDTV in the living room and I can watch that episode of Heroes I missed the other day so I downloaded it and streamed it to my TV, at the same time without any errors, freezing, or hiccups of any kind. Its great. I highly recommend it if you are not looking to spend a ton of money but are geeky like me. Go buy it! Oh and for any computer or technology based products go to newegg.com, you will find the best prices on the web or in any store. And build your own computer, its cheaper, easy, and you will be very satisfied when it is finished and working great.

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