OTHER TECH

Apex AD-8000NEmpowering you to be master of your digital domain is a clever new DVD player with a built-in media receiver from Apex Digital, the AD-8000N. It incorporates software from a company called Digital 5, and before attaching the player to your home network, you install the server portion of the software on your PC running Windows 98SE or higher.

The D5 software is actually an update of the version I reviewed in Go-Video's Networked DVD Player last September (click to read review). It also powers the new Gateway ACD-320 Wireless Connected DVD Player. New features include the ability to stream video at up to 8 megabits per second (Mbps), topping the previous low-quality default of 3 Mbps, compatibility with DVR-MS files (TV shows recorded by Windows Media Center Edition PCs), support for more image formats, thumbnails for pictures, alphabet key search for media-collection lists, auto connect for a potentially seamless network setup, and a network upgrade option (eliminating the need to burn a CD for copying new system software into the DVD player's internal memory).

A full range of video and audio outputs is provided, and Apex includes composite-video and stereo cables and an 802.11b Wi-Fi PC Card. When I installed the software in my PC from the CD it came on, it scanned the hard drive and found my media files. Back in front of my TV, I connected the A/V cables and slid the Wi-Fi card into the back of the player. The display on the front of the AD-8000N lit up, "Hello."

The Apex made it a cinch to stream CDs like this one in MP3 format, but video files could be trickier.

A setup menu let me choose audio and video outputs and screen shape. The AD-8000N quickly found my computer and let me view lists of my music, photos, and videos. For new music on my PC, I used MusicMatch to rip the CD Unearthed from the band E.S. Posthumus at 160 kilobits per second (kbps), giving the resulting sound quality a slight edge over the 128-kbps default. The emotion-filled instrumental "Nara" has stuck with me ever since it became the theme song of my favorite new HDTV show, Cold Case on CBS. Then I clicked on the media server's Import tab to scan the subdirectory where I'd stored the track. A few seconds later I walked from my home office to the living room, found the song in a list on my TV screen, and was overwhelmed with Nara's rising fervor.

When I switched to Moby's "Porcelain," which I'd encoded from Windows as a WMA file, the only difference was that I could now jump only to the next or last track, whereas with MP3 files I could scan ahead or back in a song by 10-second jumps. I also brought up a slide show as the music continued to play, then switched to trailers for some recent movies that I'd stored.

Streaming media isn't always hassle-free. To get delivery of the images, music, and videos I selected from the menu on my TV, I sometimes had to shut down the firewall on my computer, which blocked songs from reaching the Apex or made them sound like they were playing through a tin can. Digital 5 says that it's working to make its software compatible with various firewall programs.

As a DVD player, the AD-8000N performed well. Besides offering progressive-scan video output, it has dedicated buttons for slow motion in both directions, 12 zoom levels, and full Dolby Digital and DTS decoding. Media formats that the Apex recognizes on your home network (including MP3, WMA, and photos) can also be played from a disc in its DVD drive, and you can do things with disc-based files - like zooming or creating a temporary playlist using the remote - that you can't do when the same material streams in.

My biggest complaint was the crowded, small-button remote. It's too easy to press the wrong button if you don't look at it first. Also, is it too much to expect to be able to pause a DVD, switch to a musical interlude streamed from my network while I brew a pot of tea in the kitchen, and then return to the movie where I left off? Instead, I'm thrown back to the opening FBI message. Still, embedding a media receiver in a DVD player saves space and a second set of A/V inputs.

Despite its rough edges and the unmistakable need for whoever's installing it to be PC-net savvy, the Apex AD-8000N can deliver tons of multimedia fun to your family where it's best appreciated: in the rooms with the most comfortable furniture and the best A/V equipment. After all, networks aren't just for computers anymore. - M.A