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PRISMIQ MediaPlayer | List Price: $149.95
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Platform: Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP
Brand: Prismiq
Binding: Electronics
Features: - Present DVD-quality video in MPEG-1/2/4 and AVI*
- Play CD-quality audio
- Stream a personal library of PC-stored MP3, WMA, and WAV audio files
- Play Internet radio on the stereo
- Browse the web on the TV
Just send me the $200 [Posted on 2006-01-22]
I'll tell you what. Just send me the $200. Send it to P.O. Box Ripped Off By Prismiq. You'll end up with the same thing, nothing, and at least your money will go to someone who deserves it. I could so rarely get this unit to work that it has now ended up in my garbage can. That's right, I couldn't even bother to sell it on eBay because I just didn't feel right foisting this piece of junk on some other poor unsuspecting soul. As I said, it is rare that you can actually get this to work, especially the wireless connection. I could get the internet radio working, which tells me the wireless card worked, and my home computer worked, but Media Manager failed so many times that I renamed the menu shortcut Edsel. And I always knew what product that was really talking about. And you can forget ever watching any type of video over this thing. The few times I got it to work I tried streaming video and you might as well be watching the scrambled porn channel on your cable system for the good it will do you. And the user interface, aye, aye, aye. You can't even really call it a user interface, and good luck using the search function. Ach, it's not even worth the time anymore. Just avoid this at all costs. There has to be something better on the market. I wasted my oney, don't waste yours.
Prismiq works quite well with the right hardware. [Posted on 2006-03-15]
I've read reviews of those who had trouble getting this unit to work. When I took mine out of the box, I had connectivity issues as well. When troubeshooting the failure to connect, I had not considered the idea that my PC could be the problem. The Prismiq locked up, or had no functionality when the main screen finally appeared, and my PC even locked up a bit or skipped when the Prismiq software was running and the Prismiq unit was on (but not when it was off). All that because my PC's LAN card was either not working properly, or was not compatible. Go figure. The PC was fine on the network with no sign of failure. I admit, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the connectivity problem before checking the LAN on the PC. Had it not been for my notebook, which connected fine the first time, no problems, no issues, I wouldn't have considered the PC as the problem. Once I replaced the LAN card, the PC worked fine with the Prismiq, and both the PC and notebook worked at the same time with the Prismiq. I found that particularly amusing. Some people had bad performance problems with their Prismiq. For this, I'd have to look at the computer where the media is stored. No one mentioned their computers, just the Prismiq. The computers should be fairly modern PC's with 2GHz or faster processors, and lots of memory (RAM) - at least 1GB, preferably more. For this type of use, you just can't have too much memory - especially if you're running other applications on the PC, which I don't recommend when using the Prismiq. One thing I note is manufacturers understate their "minimum hardware recommendation" for video applications. Always have more than the manufacturer suggests. If not the network or the PC, I really don't know. My Prismiq is a wired connection, so I have the full bandwidth of the network, and my computer has plenty of memory and processor power - it was designed for video applications. As well, I use Zone Alarm as my firewall, and still have no problems getting connected.
Once the connectivity issue was resolved, the Prismiq worked just as it was suppose to, playing all the advertised media types, showing pictures while playing MP3's, and browsing the internet. The audio and video was in sync when playing video files, including DVD files (.vob files). The flaw is in the software installed on the PC and the firmware on the Prismiq. On the computer, the software doesn't have the user friendliness I've come to enjoy with most file handling applications. On the Prismiq it doesn't show a full filename (or title) because of the limited screen space. It also tests your ability to organize your files on your computer because it lists files in a manner inconsistent with how they show up in Windows Explorer. Prismiq could do better by showing a more familiar file listing such as a directory tree. I could go on, but I find if I take more time to setup specific directories, rather than groups, (adding a root directory containing subdirectories of media files) the files show up in a more organized manner on the TV.
I can't complain, however, as I love the ability to play recorded TV and movies stored on my computer through the Prismiq in my home theater, as well as store all my audio CD's as MP3's, then play them on the home theater. This eliminates the need for CD's, DVD's and video tapes. I also like the software's ability to monitor the media directories on the computer so when new picture or video files are added and others removed, Prismiq automatically updates its list. Overall, I'm glad I purchased this unit, and plan to purchase another for the master bedroom. I hope this helps.
Good concept, poor implementation [Posted on 2006-08-22]
To start off, the company appears to be out of business per their web site. There is no installation support that I could find or access, so I decided to return the item based on the company status.
The media player was simple to install as far as the cables and connections are concerned. It has built-in wireless and ethernet capabilities, however, neither would allow it to work with my PC that has my media files. Issues included connecting to my network and getting past firewall and anti-virus issues. Ports have to be opened and accessible and configured appropriately. This is not documented well, so the goose chase is on from the beginning. Additionally, the media server software would not load but after rebooting 10 or more times, I finally thought it was loaded since the program finally ran. Once it was running, I could never get the player to find the network and the server, and eventually gave up and returned the item.
Thank god for XBMC! [Posted on 2006-10-16]
Thank god for XBMC, I dumped my prismiq device years ago, it was a pioneering product, but with not so great support. The company was trying to bite off more than it could chew and could not make the box work as described.
The company was very helpful in giving me a refund for the purchase price, so I think they were very honest and that is not very common in today's cut-throat world. That is why I gave them 2 stars.
Goodbye PRISMIQ, it was great using your product as I learned about watching personal videos on my TV! Kudos for being at the forefront of the tech wave.
Hello XBMC!
F.
"Vapor" Product? (still shows 2 available - I'm still waiting) [Posted on 2007-02-14]
I infer no ill will here -- but why show "2 available" -- when my order has been delayed twice now? I ordered on Jan 2 2007 -- and now the latest Amazon message says maybe March 16th it might ship. I don't think I've been charged yet (haven't checked) -- and again I infer now ill will -- it's just a bit strange. I know this is a closeout product -- and no big profit margin for anybody -- but still... :(
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