Rating: 
Summary: Beta Testing for $200
Review: I received my Prismiq unit and set it up very quickly. Unfortunately it didn't work right away. Prismiq only supports a very limited number of old 802.11b cards, so I had purchased a brand new 802.11g card that was supported by Prismiq (for an additional $60). However, before I could get the card to work I had to install a firware upgrade to do that, and the only way to install a firmware upgrade was to get the product on the network. That meant disconnecting my Linksys router and moving it to my Prismiq, then using my laptop to install the firmware upgrade.After the upgrade the card worked and I was off and running, or so I thought. I was running the Prismiq software on a very old PC (PII 350 MHZ, 196 MB RAM), and it didn't work very well (dropped connections, artifacts in the playback of MP3's). I needed a new machine badly anyway so I bought a new PC (2.4 GHZ P4, 256 MB RAM). After getting it all setup I fired up the Prismiq and tried playing 1 album of MP3's. I couldn't even get through 10 songs without dropping the connection and artifacts in the MP3 playback. I played with my wireless router trying different channels to no avail. My laptop (also on the wireless network) gets 100% connection according to its software, so the wireless connection is good (the laptop is right next to the Prismiq). The laptop can accept streamed MP3's flawlessly, so it has to be a Prismiq problem. After all this I am sending back my Prismiq today. Besides the fact that it didn't work very well, its GUI MP3 inteface was the worst I have ever seen. It basically (without some manipulating) will list all your songs in one window and you can search for the ones you want, but it won't dynamically sort by artist or title (e.g. Itunes/Windows Media Player). This has been complained about explicitly for months on Prismiq's own forums and nothing was done in there latest software release. In my opinion I would wait for the new Linksys wireless product to come out later this quarter. Linksys is a more reputable company so you can expect, at the very least, better software.
Rating: 
Summary: Mine works fine
Review: I see some other reviews and wonder what these people are talking about. Maybe they need to upgrade their software or something, which is free to do and pretty easy though a big download. But seriously I use mine every day with my family - I have rotating snapshots going with all my music streaming over my wireless network and almost never have any problems at all. I've started previewing my camcorer video that I put on my hard drive before I press dvds for my archive. with picture in picture on my tv I surf the web while watching news and that's cool too. Now it's only $200 - what else do you have for $200 that can do all that? Anyway very cool product that i bought for my brother for xmas and he loves it too.
Rating: 
Summary: Great idea -- poorly executed
Review: I was excited to receive my Prismiq Media Player with the hope that I could finally integrate my television, stereo, and computer-based music, video and photo collections.
It was not to be.
The Prismiq Media Player does not live up to its promise. I was able to browse the web, listen to nearly flawless internet radio (the best quality streaming media I have ever heard) but when it came to listening to my WMA files over a wired 100mbps network, the music skipped and popped worse than a scratched CD--worse than an old vinyl LP. Sadly, the unit does not appear to be defective. After a few calls & emails to Prismiq's rather sub-par tech support, I have given up.
Save your money until this product is ready for prime time.
Rating:
Summary: This product should be a Beta. Don't buy it ....Yet.
Review: I was so excited when I bought this unit. I have a had it over a year now. It has been sitting on my receiver turned off for the past 9 months, only to be turned on hoping the next update will "fix and improve" the unit. Every so often updates come out with so-called "fixes and improvements" but the main issues are still not taken care of. The user interface is awful. An 8-Track had better navigation between songs and organizational tools are non-existent. Don't plan on sorting 100's of MP3's with this unit. The unit has no DD 5.1 support. It only has 2 channel output. The unit cannot be controlled from a PC. It can only be controlled from the basic on-screen (TV) interface. The unit also has problems completing a video. The web browser is slow and only usable for the most basic of sites. You must also leave a computer turned on AND logged on for the Media server to work.The software that runs on the PC is massive (100Mbytes) and a resource hog but still has hardly any features. This unit has potential but is not ready for prime time. Don't be fooled by the reviews or wow factor. I thought the unit was cool the first time I used it only to be disappointed afterwards. It is up to version 4.1 as of this review and still has away to go. Keep an eye on the PrismIQ but as of April 2004 I would keep looking...
Rating:
Summary: This product should be a Beta. Don't buy it ....Yet.
Review: I was so excited when I bought this unit. I have a had it over a year now. It has been sitting on my receiver turned off for the past 9 months, only to be turned on hoping the next update will "fix and improve" the unit. Every so often updates come out with so-called "fixes and improvements" but the main issues are still not taken care of. The user interface is awful. An 8-Track had better navigation between songs and organizational tools are non-existent. Don't plan on sorting 100's of MP3's with this unit. The unit has no DD 5.1 support. It only has 2 channel output. The unit cannot be controlled from a PC. It can only be controlled from the basic on-screen (TV) interface. The unit also has problems completing a video. The web browser is slow and only usable for the most basic of sites. You must also leave a computer turned on AND logged on for the Media server to work.The software that runs on the PC is massive (100Mbytes) and a resource hog but still has hardly any features. This unit has potential but is not ready for prime time. Don't be fooled by the reviews or wow factor. I thought the unit was cool the first time I used it only to be disappointed afterwards. It is up to version 4.1 as of this review and still has away to go. Keep an eye on the PrismIQ but as of April 2004 I would keep looking...
Rating: 
Summary: Not for Everyone, but Great for the Price
Review: I'm surprised at the flood of negative reviews here. While most of the criticisms are valid, they miss two points. First, while I wouldn't recommend the PRISMIQ to my Grandma, I'd recommend it to anyone who can diagnose simple computer problems, which is most computer owners that I know. I have no experience with the phone support, but the online support (http://www.prismiq.org/) is excellent. So anyone who can install a new driver in their computer can deal with any problems they encounter with their PRISMIQ. Second, while some of the features don't work as well as I'd like and the interface can at times be slow and frustrating, this device is competing with other products that cost as much as TEN TIMES what the PRISMIQ costs. At the end of the day, it does what I want and it does it for only $200. That can't be beat. If they continue to improve this product (they come out with firmware updates about every 6 months or so, and occassionally add new beta features like a Linux server and Ogg Vorbis support), it could eventually become a 5-star product.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of promise but little follow-through
Review: I've had this product for almost a year now. It doesn't play what most would consider "DVD quality" although it very viewable. It does not play 5.1 audio, only 2 channel. These things could be lived with, but the customer service is abysmal. There seems to be only one person that knows what he is talking about. Unfortunately, to get to that one person, you have to run the gauntlet.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of promise but little follow-through
Review: I've had this product for almost a year now. It doesn't play what most would consider "DVD quality" although it very viewable. It does not play 5.1 audio, only 2 channel. These things could be lived with, but the customer service is abysmal. There seems to be only one person that knows what he is talking about. Unfortunately, to get to that one person, you have to run the gauntlet.
Rating: 
Summary: Prismiq Wireful Media Player -- Not Wireless
Review: If you can get this to work with a Linksys WRT54G router and a Linksys WPC54G PCMCIA card, 50 feet away, through two walls, you're a better man than I am. I'm not so sure it'd work 5 feet away through no walls with any router or wireless card. BUT IT WORKS GREAT WITH 100 FEET OF CATEGORY 5 CABLE! Also, if you plan to try this wireless, make sure you read their list of supported wireless cards. It's a very short list. I think this unit is overpriced considering its wireless performance. Other than my disgust of having to run 100' of cable through my house, I like it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product
Review: Love the UI and media format support. Install was simple, fast, and painless. Features are robust, does everything I want it to do. Internet Radio on the stereo and IM on the TV is especially cool.
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