BIOS: Technology Means Business

Hauppauge Digital has announced the debut of its wireless MediaMVP. The latest version of the MediaMVP is a wireless set-top decoder device for home 802.11g networks that enables regular TV sets to access PC-based music, video and pictures (hence the ‘MVP’ in the title).

The wireless MediaMVP (£149) uses the 802.11g wireless standard, common in most consumer wireless access points, in order to best support MPEG and DivX video playback.

According to the company the MediaMVP will turn any TV set or home entertainment system into a playback device for PC-based multimedia. Using MediaMVP, for example, you can play a video on your bedroom’s TV that’s stored on a PC in a study, or show JPEG photos of a recent vacation - accompanied by MP3 music - on the family room big screen TV with the MP3 music played through your living room audio system.

The MediaMVP is compatible with home theatre systems as well as plasma screens, TV monitors, and conventional TV sets. It supports MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 videos, DivX videos, JPEG and GIF digital pictures, and MP3 music files. Other audio and video formats, including Windows Media Center Edition recordings, will be supported in future releases of MediaMVP software, claims Hauppauge.

Navigating multimedia files from the TV is achieved using the MediaMVP’s remote control and TV onscreen menu. Pictures can be selected using the thumbnails displayed in MediaMVP’s photo directories by clicking on the Play or OK buttons on the remote control, and the selected photo will appear on the TV screen. There’s even a slideshow function.

Videos are played in the same way, with stop, pause, and fast forward/reverse controls available on the remote. Continuous pictures and music shows can be set up and then played through the TV or home entertainment system via the home network. MediaMVP can play M3U, B4S, PLS and ASX music playlists from Music Match, Windows Media Player and Winamp.

In addition to its other features, MediaMVP is designed to work with a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR, where the WinTV can be used to record videos onto a PC’s hard disk drive and then played back through the MediaMVP. By installing a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR in your PC, you can create a complete home TV and digital media distribution system. TV shows, sporting events, movies and more can be recorded or time shifted.

Wireless MediaMVP is based on an IBM PowerPC and runs on the Linux open-source operating system, enabling it to support numerous upgrades. Current A/V connection options include S-Video, composite video and RGB, plus stereo audio output and S/PDIF audio out. The MediaMVP is compatible with any PC running Windows XP.

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