My new toy

We were browsing in PC World looking for a new server this afternoon - well, to be honest looking at TFT screens with a view to buying one more cheaply on line somewhere, but we couldn't resist buying something to take home. Jan found a wireless optical mouse for her laptop and a search through bargain corner found this for me - a Hauppauge Media MVP

I plugged it into the network, hooked a scart cable into the TV and installed a bit of software on the server upstairs and in less than five minutes I was watching MPEG files on the server through the tv with a remote control from the sofa. It also plays MP3s and does slideshows of JPGS. Picture quality via the RGB scart is very good and there is a breakout audio connection to play the sound via an amplifier. This is very cool bit of kit.

There is a beta version of the server software that will play divx files directly, but our current server is not quite fast enough to cope with it. We'll be getting a new machine shortly, but in the meantime it is no great hassle to convert the files for playback.

The best bit about it? PC World were selling them for £50. Recommended if you have a home network and want to access media files through your tv.