OTHER TECH

One of the Entré's most intriguing features is its ability to play music files from an online server - "intriguing" because I couldn't try it out. This OpenGlobe service wasn't operational while I had the Entré for test. OpenGlobe says that you'll (eventually) be able to browse albums online and preview tracks before purchasing for mail-order delivery or download. The Entré's e-mail and Web-browsing features weren't available yet either.

Getting to the Source With MP3 files on hard disk, Internet radio streams, and local DVDs and CDs as sources, finding a particular music or video selection might seem an imposing task. Fortunately, the Entré's onscreen guide lets you organize albums in different categories such as Pop, Rock, Alternate, and Classical, or any name you might choose, and you can categorize your DVD movies as, say, Horror, Romance, Action, and Comedy. You can list different formats separately - for example, all the MP3 files or all CDs - or mix them in the same lists.

You can create playlists of up to 200 MP3 files and CD tracks, then look for songs based on genre, recording format, or playlist. Menu selection moved quickly, and switching from one screen to another was fast, too. In addition, the menus were cleanly designed and easy to navigate. In short, it's probably much easier to find "Stairway to Heaven" on your Entré than on your media rack.

You can also use the Entré to check out the status of the changer. For example, you can see how many of its slots are occupied and how many loaded discs have cover art on hand.

As a network hub, the Entré also provides multiroom capability, allowing up to four simultaneous independent audio streams (of Internet radio and compressed audio files stored on the hard drive) to be distributed via HomePNA. Each remote portal simply picks off the MP3 or WMA data packets that are addressed to it and plays them. However, this feature requires a Kenwood Axcess portal for each remote zone.

Connectivity is terrific, but what about signal quality? In a word, the Entré seemed transparent. It sounded as wonderful or wretched as the source connected to it. The Entré doesn't sacrifice signal quality for the sake of features or networking capabilities. That's saying a lot considering other "digital convergence" products in the past couple of years that have been packed with bells and whistles at the expense of good sound.

My sample of the Entré came with Version 0.9.0.4 software installed, but Kenwood sent me a disc that upgraded it to Version 0.9.1.0, so I used that for my review. Not surprising with any complex system running prerelease software, mine crashed several times - like when I was scrolling quickly through radio-station menus. Sometimes the downloaded track titles had garbled characters. Some buttons didn't seem to function as they should, and I had to switch to another menu to "reset" operation. My Entré would duplicate entire CDs, but when I tried to copy individual tracks in CD format I got an "Unknown Error" message. When I tried to

play a DVD-Video movie, the Entré sometimes locked up and had to be rebooted. Kenwood assures us that these bugs will be fixed in future software upgrades.

Can You Live Without It? After several outright misses and some near misses by other companies, the Entré shows that networked home entertainment has a very bright future. The Entré is not unique - it has a lot of the same capabilities as the Compaq iPAQ that I reviewed in December 2001. Like the iPAQ, it provides such nifty features as Net radio streaming and downloadable CD/DVD information and cover art. Also like the iPAQ, in the future it will add additional OpenGlobe services. But the Entré system proves that a traditional audio/video company can play in the convergence arena. More important, it proves that traditional A/V components such as receivers and changers can be integrated with new computer-based components to create a system greater than the sum of its parts.

Joined with a compatible Kenwood receiver and DVD changer, and a high-speed Net connection, the Entré is a tremendously flexible music-management device. It accomplishes all of its tasks with an easy-to-use interface, and its superb audio signal quality places it far above other devices that merely move data around. Sure, there's still room for improvement, but when you consider all the failed products littering the convergence landscape, you can't help but admire Kenwood for what it's accomplished here. I expect it won't be too long before we'll all wonder how we ever lived without an "entertainment hub" in our homes.