Netgear today announced a Wireless Digital Media Player (MP115). It provides access to video, photo, and music file collections from anywhere within the home network, streaming digital media content wirelessly from the PC or the Internet to the TV and home stereo system.
Operating on both 802.11b and 802.11g networks, it works with existing PCs, and connects to the television set through AV jacks. The Wireless Digital Media Player’s media server software automatically catalogs every stored digital image and music file on the network, enabling customers to access the existing photo and video file organization while searching music files by title, artist, album, genre, and playlist.
A remote control and on-screen menu enables users to flip through and access the categorized library of songs, movies, and snapshots. Compatible file formats include MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, MP3 (up to 320kbps), Windows Media Audio (WMA8 and WMA 9), WAV, M3U, PLS, and streaming MP3 formats. It’s also interoperable with any Universal Plug-and-Play(TM) (UPnP)-enabled server software.
It connects to other home theater devices through stereo audio, composite video, component video, S-Video jacks and SCART interface (for Europe and Australia). A dual 2dbi antenna provides increased quality in wireless reception, enabling content to transmit across greater distances.
The design combines an Atheros 802.11a/b/g chipset with Super AG, an advanced digital media processor from ALi Corporation and multimedia software from Digital 5. Digital 5 software incorporates advanced Quality of Service (QoS), DRM and security features while the Atheros chipset supports QOS capabilities defined in the draft 802.11e specification.
The Wireless Digital Media Player’s media server software works with any existing PC running with Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, or XP, a Pentium 500 MHz processor, 128 MB of memory, and 20 MB of free disk space. It’s available now at a suggested price of $220.
It might play nice with an ASUS barebones PC (right). The Asus comes with ‘Instant On’ software that lets you play CDs, DVDs and MP3s without entering the primary OS thus bypassing the long boot process.
You might customize it with Microsoft’s Media PC OS, a 42″ Plasma screen and the MediaCast advertising system for “free” clouds. MediaCast delivers targeted video, flash, PowerPoint and PDF ads. VOD music/videos might supply another source of revenue.
A “freespot” that generates $200-$1000/month in revenue would be hard to stop. Perhaps $500 Linux Laptops or Flashed Linksys hotspots, OpenAP and Sputnik might host local content with Google AdSense to generate revenue. Maybe it won’t be an advertising model. Maybe it could involve community-based blogs or podcasts or videos. Somebody’s going to come up with a system that makes sense.
Maybe that someone is you.
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