HP X280N MediaSmart Connect | 
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| Brand: Hewlett-Packard
Category: CE
List Price: $349.99
Buy New: $270.48
You Save: $79.51 (23%)
New (17) from $265.10
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 1886
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 10
Dimensions (in): 10.7 x 9.6 x 4.9
MPN: X280N
Model: X280N
UPC: 883585612741
EAN: 0883585612741
ASIN: B001AHLODY
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Play Your Music/ Photos/ and Video From Any Windows Based PC in Your House On Your HDTV | | • | Direct Access to OnLine Media Services | | • | Integrated Windows Media Center Extender Functionality | | • | HP Pocket Media Drive bay/ Built In Wired and Wireless Networking/ IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n | | • | HDMI/ Component Video/ and Digital Audio Outputs/ Media Playback From USB Based Portable Storage Media |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
HP MediaSmart Connect x280n The HP MediaSmart Connect makes every TV a MediaSmart TV. It connects to your HDTV and enables browsing of your entire library of digital photos, music, and HD video--even across multiple PCs. Play your music, photos, and video from any Windows-based PC in your house on your HDTV. Direct access to OnLine Media Services. Unlike other receivers that allow you to access media from only one server at a time, HP MediaSmart Connect automatically aggregates and displays content from all connected-PCs or media servers in your home network.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 OK November 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This item is really cool if you use an external media source (ie; flash drive, external HD, etc...) if you plan on watching any videos on the network you will be very disappointed. I have over a thousand movies on a HD in my office and to even scroll through the movies would take hours. The system is super slow when navigating thru the menus. I like it because when you use USB it is fast and reliable. Dont buy this if you plan on using it for network use.
 no MOV, no WAV, HP lies November 25, 2008
I asked HP several times before I bought the product whether it supports MP4, MOV and WAV formats. They assured me that it supports them. Got the unit and it did not support MOV and WAV. It does support MP4, though not through its WMP11 server but through an additional, and rather confusing, HP SmartConnect server. The HP server simply flattens all the files into one large folder and then you are on your own; my 500GB of MP4's has been flattened to a folder of 11,467 music files, with no structure on it; this is the equivalent of unuasable for me. Also, I cannot listen to any of my lossless WAV albumes. What is the most annoying thing is that HP lied so explicitly before I bought the product and now they do not answer anymore when I contacted them through their customer service.
 Best Extender Yet November 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Can I tell you something? Don't even mess with a Linksys Media Center Extender. I had one and was terribly disappointed. Wireless N was awful. Since I read so many good things about this HP Media Smart Connect, I thought I'd give it a try. After hooking up my first one, it wasn't 48 hrs before I needed to add to my collection with a second. this thing works exactly as you'd expect right out of the box. Setup took all of about 3 minutes. Found a nice workaround for my DVD collection (Combine .vob's and rename to .mpg), so now all home video and movies are accessible. Some response lag with the buttons, nice 1st attempt with the universal remote too. (some features with universal remote do not work). So glad someone actually knows what they are doing with these extenders. Nice Job HP!!
Great Interface October 24, 2008
I think this is a great little thing, sits unobtrusively under the TV. Does everything it sets out to do. Has a beautiful and easy interface. Only down side was that I had to buy a new plasma as the old CRT could not handle the the component video out put. Once up and running was great. The only other niggly thing is that the interface is a little slow at times and delayed and it leaves the user unsure if the product responded to the commands of the remote. It does support uPnP which is good because if you buy a HDD case (mine is a QNAP TS-109) that has a NIC in it you don't have to install anything on any computer which means you can cut down on how many electrical devices are running at home, good for the green conscious, HDD only uses 14W a year. I am running on a Linksys WAG160N through the wireless NIC. And have had no buffer issues. All songs and movies ran seamlessly. Keep in mind that there are only 2 out puts, and that is component video and HDMI. Which is not an issue for new TVs, but for old TVs spells doom.
All in all I would buy it again. Is a simple GUI that even my missus can use. Plus it looks great, which again, pleases the missus.
 slow, and flawed October 18, 2008
This is my fourth media center, after a generic brand, a Logitech and a D-Link one. First of all, it doesn't work (out of box). I have a wirelesss-bridged network, and it looks like some firewall on the way blocked certain request, as I kept getting 'contents can not play' error from a Vista box. Secondly, the interface is extremely slow, and sometimes confusing. The unit often needs to be 'reset' while it wouldn't respond to the 'power' button on the remote once it stuck in a wrong mode, for example, busy going through a photo album that won't display.
The appearance is neat. The unit integrates with some online services. The connection is easy and clear. Unfortunately, these are just peripheral features and can't compensate for it's critical flaws.
By the way, I would like to be able to stream play DVD from a PC to the TV, and stream Netflix online movie (and other similar nature movie such as those from my local library site) to the TV. I would like to have it support my Linux laptop.
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