D-Link DSM-330: Finally, a media streamer worth owning?

By Ian Morris on 23 October 2007, 11:31am

Do you remember Apple TV? You know, that clever plan of Steve's to get a few more quid out of you without actually having any sort of idea as to what use it might be? With no clear direction emerging from Cupertino, it's fortunate that other companies are creating products that fill the desire for media-streaming boxes.

D-Link is one such, and its DSM-330 has been built with DivX in mind, and comes under the name 'DivX Connected', which is a fancy way of saying it grabs DivX video from your PC or the Internet and plays it on your TV. It will also play MP3, JPG and BMP files and there's support for WMA and WMV, but these must be transcoded by your computer before they can be played.

In terms of connectivity, the DSM-330 seems to offer a good selection. There are HDMI, composite and Scart outputs, both flavours of digital audio output -- optical and coaxial -- as well as plain old RCA audio out. The HDMI is put to good use too, because this machine can chuck out video at up to 720p.

The user interface looks amazing -- so good in fact, we genuinely think it gives Apple TV a run for its money. Okay, it's not quite as perfect as the Apple UI, but we'd wager the supplied remote control isn't as unbearable as the Apple effort either. Everything is divided into logical categories, and albums are represented by album art, which looks very cool indeed.

The other good news is that the DSM-330 is open for developers to create plug-ins. This is especially good news, as it should increase the usefulness of the hardware and prevent it from becoming an expensive doorstop. The D-Link DSM-330 is released on 15 November and has a price tag of £130, which we think is brilliant value for money.

Update: A full review of the DSM-330 is now available on the site. -Ian Morris