Gateway has upgraded its wireless DVD player, taking
another step in its attempt to converge the consumer electronics
and PC markets.
The ADC-320 Wireless Connected DVD player supports more
multimedia formats and better networking technology, said John
Schindler, director of connectivity and home entertainment at
Gateway.
Using 802.11g technology, the ADC-320 Wireless Connected DVD
player wirelessly receives and displays streamed digital content -
photos, music and video - stored on a PC at a speed of up to
54Mbps, Schindler said. Under ideal conditions, the DVD player can
pull content from a PC up to 100m away, he said.
"Customers today have most of their digital content stored on a
PC that they want to get into a living room. That's why we launched
the Wireless Connected DVD player," he said.
The ADC-320 can transfer files five times faster than the
ADC-220, which was launched last July and had integrated 802.11b
Wi-Fi technology. The increase in speed allows the player to stream
higher-bandwidth movies.
The DVD player can receive digital content from Windows and
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PCs. It also allows content to
be streamed to PCs, where it can be recorded via Media Center's
Personal Video Recorder (PVR) feature. The recorded content can
then be streamed to other ADC-320s on a home network, Schindler
said.
The ADC-320 links to a home's existing wireless network using
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). It can use peer-to-peer
networking to connect to home PCs with wireless access points. If a
home network has WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) or MAC (Media
Access Control) addressing security features turned on, the DVD
player can be configured to connect to such networks.
The player allows streaming of MP3 and Windows Media Audio
content, and MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, Microsoft PVR and AVI
(Audio-Video Interleaved) video files. For secure transfer of
multimedia content, the DVD player supports 64-bit and 128-bit WEP
encryption and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption.
The $199 ADC-320 Wireless Connected DVD player is available
immediately. Firmware upgrades for the DVD player will be available
from Gateway's website. Owners of Gateway's ADC-220 can upgrade
with a 802.11g DVD card that costs $50 and is installed on the back
of the DVD player.
The ADC-320 plugs into Gateway's KAS-303 home theatre system,
including a digital receiver, five speakers and a subwoofer, to
create a digital media centre that can play media streamed from a
PC. The total package costs $999.
Agam Shah writes for IDG News Service