Leviton Entertainment Center

It looks like 2 components:
1) a file server combined with a router/switch which may or not be running specific A/V oriented server software.
2) remote media players connected to the server by ethernet and connected in turn to receivers, TVs, etc. Up to 4 remote players.

While it's interesting, it's not really anything that doesn't exist already. I assume that they intend it to be extremely stable. But, you can do this now with a PC and media players (I use a MediaMVP, networked DVD player, and Audreys (music) for this kind of thing now). It's also a market that Microsoft is moving into.

My concern with anything like this is that most companies are not very good at supporting and updating their equipment. There are dozens of these media players out there now - but most of them have died or are close to dying. I would be wary of using anything that's proprietary or closed.

Of course, it depends a lot on how the Leviton devices talk to each other. If they use a standard protocol (slim, upnp, etc.) then there is hope of using them even if Leviton abandons them - or of using them with other hardware.

At least they say the system is upgradable - it looks like a larger hard drive can be added.
 
Wayne, I haven't set the pricing yet but it will be less than $2k.

Smee, yeah, it has 4 USB ports for expansion as well. I know you can do this type of stuff with a Media Server PC but this is small and will fit into your structured wiring cabinet. It should also be more reliable than a PC based system.
 
Do you think Leviton has temporary review models? Sounds like an interesting product.
 
The thing that jumps out from these spec's about this thing is the 120gb HD. If it was able to stream media from computers then maybe it would be ok. But the main selling point they are trying to throw at you is that its not like a computer, it wont crash and it keeps all your movies, music, and pics. Thats not nearly enough to store video. Music and Pictures MAYBE. With 5mpx cameras being the norm it brings pictures up to 2mb each. I use Xbox's attached to tv's and stereos and I need 300gb in each to keep everything.
 
For around 1600.00 I think the selling market is for installers. Leviton will prob make a big push and then drop it shortly afterward.

I wouldn't even think about buying one unless it hit around 500.00.

Yes it's nice but you can buy a pretty nice Dell Pc for around $300.00, which is what I have for serving music and videos.
 
Brian, I think you're comparing apples to oranges. You can't compare this to a $300 Dell PC. A closer comparison would be to a Media PC that's generally over $2k. This can also stream 4 different video feeds to different locations.

The HD space is upgradable.
 
AutomatedOutlet said:
Brian, I think you're comparing apples to oranges. You can't compare this to a $300 Dell PC. A closer comparison would be to a Media PC that's generally over $2k. This can also stream 4 different video feeds to different locations.

The HD space is upgradable.
Until I see the user interface and stuff like that, I think the comparison may be valid.

A cheap Dell PC and 4 (or more) MediaMVPs will work fine. You don't need a fancy media server - you need a file server. And MVPs list for $100 or so. The limitation with them is that they don't spit out digital audio (unless you hack them) and only have composite or svideo. I don't know the specs for the Leviton players.

Are there any pictures of the player/user interface around?

By the way, I do think I like seeing Leviton enter this market. They may be able to provide a more stable product than some other companies. It still remains to be seen whether they continue to support it. Much of that will depend on how large a hand they had in developing it. If they are essentially remarketing (in a new box or something) a device that some other company developed, they will be dependent on that other company. Many of the Asian companies that design these things move on to new products and support diminishes. Not only are new features not added, but bugs aren't always fixed. It's just not economical for them to keep supporting things. The rebranding companies in the US that consumers deal with aren't able to provide the level of service required. This has happened with several devices.

If Leviton can avoid these problems (many companies have not been able to), then this might be a successful product. If not, it will join all the other abandoned media players - waiting for some hacker or 3rd party development to come along and save them (if people can buy the hardware cheap on the surplus market, of course).
 
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