Philips Streamium SL300i

Author's product rating:   

Sound Level	Good
Instructions	Helpful / Easy to Follow
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Well made, fast wireless card (54Mbps), Supports UPNP Servers, supports lots of file formats .
Disadvantages:	Bulky & arkward remote control

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

A: Very good!

The Philips SL300i is a neat little box which plugs into your TV using a SCART lead. Once plugged in it opens up a whole new world for your entertainment. You can store all your photos, music and videos on a computer located elsewhere in your house and view them on your TV via a wired or wireless connection.
On the back is an Ethernet port, SCART connection and audio outputs so you can connect to a external sound system if you wish.

This little beauty was recommended to me by a friends dad as I mentioned I had been looking for a good all round wireless media center to use via my TV. I also have a Pinnacle Showcenter, and by comparison the Streamium makes the Showcenter look like an old black & white TV, in other words it is in a different league.
With the SL300i comes the usual CD's with the server software on, now this software may work well for some, and not so well for others. I have it installed on a rather complex Windows 2003 server so that maybe the reason why I am having a few problems with it - don't panic - this is not a problem as I now use 'Twonky' http://www.twonkyvision.de/UPnP. This software adds more to your Streamium with many more Internet feeds than the Philips software. You don't have to use any server software at all as it also connect directly to the internet were you can watch music videos, short films, play games and listen to radio channels of which there are loads (100's)
Onto the device itself, it is well made with a metal case and stand and looks very nice on or off, especially on as there are 2 very nice blue led's on the front.
The remote control is a let down as it is huge (very similar to the Showcenter remote). It doesn't need to be so big as there is loads of space between the buttons so I am sure they could have put them closer together, maybe they designed it for people with massive fingers :o)
It is very easy to setup and you can be up and running in a few minutes.
The device can update itself directly from Philips without the need for any intervention or software locally.
The SL300i can also be driven remotely using 3rd party software found on the internet.
One of the real plus's for me is that it can read DivX and VOB files.