MediaGate MG-350HD

Illegally downloading, er...owning a ton of HD movies and music is cool. Having that multimedia library spread over nine networked devices is definitely not cool. In fact it's more of a pain in the ass. MediaGate's solution to this oh-so-legal conundrum is the MG-350HD. This nifty media extender allows you to organize your downloaded movies and music over both wired and 802.11g networks then play them back through the unit's HD-friendly audio/video outputs. Don't be fooled by the end result though - coping with the setup process produced a lot of crying and swearing. The included software is clunky and entering in network passwords is frozen molasses slow. Paired with its lengthy boot time, this was one of the most aggravating gadget setups we've ever endured. But once we completed, the MG-350HD worked great, allowing us to play downloaded episodes of The Office and music on our 42-inch plasma. Unbelievably, the MG-350HD doesn't ship with a hard drive. This might be a boon for users that want some say in storage capacity. But for us, the extra cost incurred for an IDE hard drive was offputting. Even if MediaGate wanted to leave this option up to the user, a nice little 40GB drive would've allowed the less tech savvy to jump in.

WIRED Fully HD capable with 1080p playback. Video file formats galore: MPEG, AVI, M2V, DAT, Xvid, VOB, HD MP2, MP4 and WMV9. Sports optical and S/PDIF outputs for the audiophiles. Gamut-running DVI, component, composite, and S-Video outputs are fit for most displays. Host/slave USB connectors expand versatility. Comparably smooth playback during both wired and wireless streaming. NDAS network storage capable. Small, unimposing chassis hides away easily.

TIRED What what what!? No native HDMI? Requires purchase of hard drive to be 'complete.' Remote is so unresponsive, you swear it's ignoring you. Terrible GUI. Occasionally locks up while streaming larger files. No QuickTime support. Only one ethernet port.

• Style: Audio, Video
• Manufacturer: MediaGate
• Price: $279