AfterDawn: News

D-Link is planning an Apple TV rival

According to Reuters, D-Link is planning to introduce a rival to the Apple TV that will serve the same purpose as well as cost the same price.

The new device will support 802.11n wireless networking which offers enough bandwidth to deliver large media content to your TVs quickly.



The Reuters report added,"D-Link already sells these media devices, but they run at slower speeds than the Apple product, which is ahead of the rest of the industry." That is set to change however in the fourth quarter of this year when the D-Link product goes on sale for $300 USD in the US first and then moving on to other countries.

More on this when updates become available.

Source:
MacNN

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Aug 2007 9:07

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• 9 comments

• armorthis

  I'd only buy the D-link version if it was cheaper than the Apple version, but seeing as how it's not I will be going with Apple.

  11.8.2007 12:36 #1

• Iguana775

  It would be cool to have something like this. I would like to have the freedom of not having to use iTunes. If this can just like to my computer that has all the media on it and play, that would be great....like what the Xbox 360 does. If you dont have a wired connection, the D-Link version would be the way to go since I'd assume you wouldnt need iTunes with it. Maybe just Windows Media Player or Media Center.

  11.8.2007 15:07 #2

• pollution

  I have used dlink router and wireless card and if this TV comes with the same quality as the router and wireless card I experienced I would go with the apple.

  11.8.2007 16:35 #3

• quentin18

  I have used the D-Link DSM-320 Media Lounge for about 2 years with great success. Basically streams my .mpg, .avi and even .VOB movie files right to my TV through my wireless router. Sometimes a video might not play, but if you convert it to .mp4 video file it will play all of those flawlessly. It doesn't seem to work on .mov or .wmv files. The Apple TV thing seems more suited if you download videos from iTunes and then it will play them as opposed to video you might already have or have downloaded from another source. I have not seen anything about Apple TV playing as wide a variety of files as the D-Link Media Lounge products... As far as speed goes, there is sometimes a momentary lag in the video, but it might only be for 10 seconds then it corrects itself. My guess is if D-Link is making a faster machine it would correct that. All in all a super product! We also use it to stream slideshows of our vacation pictures at family gatherings while it plays my mp3 collection.

  13.8.2007 10:24 #4

• plastruk

  Ive been using a D-Link DSM-520 and a Buffalo Link Theater since Xmas last year... like the guy said it plays it all plus internet radio. I can listen to my MP3's and watch a slide show of my pics or watch movies that I recoded to nero digital (mp4) which stream flawlessly. I love this thing. I have all my videos and kid movies and the kids use it all the time. I can recode a main movie down to under 700 mb's which play fine but started compressing at 1400mb's in case i get something bigger than a 32" tv.

  13.8.2007 13:42 #5

• Unfocused

  Competition can only be a good thing.

  13.8.2007 21:21 #6

• SpudgeBoy

  Originally posted by pollution: I have used dlink router and wireless card and if this TV comes with the same quality as the router and wireless card I experienced I would go with the apple.Let me guess: DI-524 and a DWL-G520.
  
  Was I right?
  
  You clearly haven't use any of D-Link good products, just the stuff that was $20 with a $20 rebate. You get what you pay for.
  
  Just like Ford sells a Festiva and a GT40. D-Link sells low-end models and high end models. Get a DGL-4300/4100 or a DIR-655 if you want performance.

  15.8.2007 09:42 #7

• borhan9

  D-Link does make good products and they are reliable.

  17.8.2007 18:40 #8

• telebat

  Here is a poll - http://www.appleteevee.blogspot.com/ Apple Tv vs all its competitors - XBox, Vudu, Tivo and others. It would be interesting to see which product people prefer:

  20.4.2008 09:34 #9