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Philips Streamium SLA5520I
Price: £99 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 01/05/2006
Featured in magazine:
Issue 134
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Philips
Tel: 0906 101 0016
Web Address: www.philips.co.uk


If you've got a broadband internet connection it makes a lot of sense to invest in a wireless network. It's handy to be able to move your computer to any room in the house and maintain access to the internet, but it also means you can use your broadband and PC's entertainment benefits anywhere without worrying about cables. This clever little box from Philips, for example, can grab radio from the internet and digital music from your PC, and play it from any room with Wi-Fi coverage.

Features
At first glance the Philips Wireless Music Adapter seems to do everything it needs to. By installing the accompanying software on one of the computers in your house and plugging the device into an existing stereo or standalone set of speakers, you can stream MP3 or WMA music from your computer straight to the device. You've also got access to a large collection of radio stations through a number of streaming networks: BlueBeat, Radioio, Live365 (free registration required) and vTuner (60-day trial only). However, you need external speakers to make it work and we were disappointed to find that, although we could listen to thousands of radio stations from Antarctica to Zimbabwe, we couldn't find any BBC stations.

Performance
What you do get is great streaming audio service. If all you want to do is move your music from your PC to another room, this device will certainly do the job. Its 802.11g-compatible Wi-Fi networking capability proved faultless in our tests, happily handling our MP3-packed collection, and it will also handle WMA files, including those with a DRM (Digital Rights Management) that you may have purchased online. Note, however, that it doesn't play AAC files, so is of little use to iPod/iTunes types who keep their music in this format.

Ease of use
We were stunned by how easy the device is to set up. Turning it on it scanned for our network, found it immediately and recognised it was encrypted (which, of course, all wireless networks should be). We typed in our password via the remote control and the device was working. It also uses a handy web interface that lets you add favourites and things like radio stations online, at your computer. Return to your player and there they are, ready and waiting for you.

Value for money
You can more or less forgive the adapter its lack of features when you find out it's yours for less then £100. Obviously the lack of a speaker is going to affect the price significantly and it does mean you have to find or buy something else to plug it into. But if you simply want to add streaming music from your hard disk to an existing hi-fi, this is a handy option.

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