D-Link DSM-330 media streamer gets Flash video support -- Hulu on your TV

D-Link's $230 DSM-330 media streamer has always been among the most flexible set-top boxes out there, and it's just gotten even better, with the latest DivX Connected server software bringing Flash video support to the device. It's not quite browse-and-play -- every site requires a specific plug-in -- but Hulu, College Humor, YouTube, ABC News, and Vimeo are already working, and there are more on the way. That's pretty tempting for two bills, but we'll stick to rocking PlayOn with our 360 and PS3.

[Via eHomeUpgrade and Zatz Not Funny!]

[PHO @ Sep 9th 2008 12:11PM]

Ya know, I'm with you guys... I'm going to stick with the 360 for now, and even if i didn't have one, the new price drop for the 360 makes it worth not getting this d-link.. I guess thought if you're going "green" you can save some electricity by getting the d-link? Plus doesn't the d-link have a superior startup speed when compared to the consoles?

I'd think about getting one if the price were down to around 100 - 150$

[burriot_avatar @ Sep 9th 2008 12:13PM]

That's a lot of $$$$ to watch YouTube on your tv..... Still cheaper than not being able to watch it on my iPhone3G with "real-live internet"

[kjb434 @ Sep 9th 2008 12:36PM]

For all of us out there with not PS3, 360, or Wii (and that is a lot of us); this appears to be a great thing.

[MadMike @ Sep 9th 2008 12:42PM]

But for $230? Your better off spending the extra money and getting a Xbox 360 or even a PS3 that can play Blu-Rays.

If it was $75, then I would say absolutely.

[MadMike @ Sep 9th 2008 12:41PM]

I'm waiting for Sony to get it's butt in gear and add support for Hulu on the PS3. Otherwise, my MBP, DVI-HDMI cable & a toslink to my receiver and I have Hulu on my TV.

[JerryA @ Sep 9th 2008 12:59PM]

I still stick by the old "hide an old PC behind the entertainment center and plug in a wireless keyboard/mouse" method. That way I can watch everything on my TV just using old parts.

[pozzitron @ Sep 9th 2008 1:27PM]

for that money you can get an iphone and watch everything on the go.

[burriot_avatar @ Sep 9th 2008 1:35PM]

3G is so fast all the videos look like they're going in super speed. I gotta set my iPhone3G to EDGE so the videos play at normal speed. Hopefully Steve Jobs personally corrects this in the next firmware update. I love you STEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Craig @ Sep 9th 2008 1:59PM]

I've been using one of these since the DivX Connected beta started and I've found it to be invaluable as a no-muss, no-fuss, do-its-job-really-well media streamer. We feed the DivX Connected server app sitting on a PC upstairs mostly high-quality VGA video in Xvid, which it then transcodes and upscales to q1080p (960x540) and sends that along to the box. The box then spits that out via HDMI to our receiver, and then to our TV, which upscales it to 1080p. Surprisingly, it's very watchable, especially for kids' shows (which are watched over and over and over again).

[patsy @ Sep 9th 2008 2:26PM]

I want this on my Netflix box, and I want it now!

[Mike @ Sep 9th 2008 2:38PM]

Ubuntu on an old PC is less than two hundred, always upgradeable (hw and sw), and plays all media out of the box. My wife just hits a button to turn it on. From there, she knows how to play movies off the disk and go to any web site. Looks sweet on a 42" vizio lcd.

[Bamfsog @ Sep 9th 2008 6:13PM]

People keep saying "Just use a pc" to these type of devices. You can do that. I have a MythTV box hooked up in my living room. By the time you get a good remote (I use an RF one), HDMI and/or DVI/SPDIF, and find an interface you like, you have probably spent more than $200 in actually money and more than that in man-hour money setting it up. If that is your thing, it's not a problem. Most people don't have the time, spare parts, or the interest/ability to do it. Even solutions like using the Xbox take more setup that some of the pre-configured set-top boxes. That's what they are selling.

It's the same reason you still find more Tivo and retail DVR's than MythTV or Windows Media Center based ones. Ease of use, both in setup and day to day watching, is worth a lot to some people. And honestly? $200 for a home theatre component isn't that much money anymore.

[luther77 @ Sep 9th 2008 6:44PM]

I think the point is that this platform, which initially only supported DivX, Xvid, WMV out-of-the-box (either locally and over the web), now has some cool on-line sources for free and legal content (thanks to Flash support), so you're not paying $230 just to watch Hulu or Youtube - it's a broader media solution (pictures, music, video, web...). Also, you're not using a mouse/keyboard (it's even compatible with Logitech Harmony) and you're not dedicating special PC for use with a TV - you could be streaming from a PC in your office, and all this in a clean and easy UI. Of course there are tons of free and hacky ways to do Hulu/Youtube (and the rest) on the TV, which I know and have used (XMBC, HTPC, AppleTV), but DivX Connected really is the simplest lean-back 10-foot experience of them all (my library is 99% xvid), and now it's even better since I can catch the Daily Show right off Hulu :-)