Given the high price of the MediaSmart Connect I’m assuming that most reading this review will want to see some improvements in the Media Center Extender function—and I think HP delivered pretty well on that.

While the Extender UI is a bit slow still, we have already covered that it is based on the same Sigma 8622 chip that the Linksys and D-Link are.  However, HP adds a few commonly requested features that the previous entries in the market lack.  First, the HP MediaSmart Connect supports the 4^th Zoom mode (non linear stretch) in Media Center.  However, one random issue that needs more testing is the video experiencing major fisheye-like effects when in the 4^th Zoom mode (I’ll look at this more later).  In addition the included HP universal remote has a closed caption toggle button that actually works within Media Center.  I also did not experience the auto-sensing HDMI issues that I still have with the Linksys DMA series Extenders, but this is another issue that I want to test in some other scenarios.

On the downside there still are no photo slideshow animations given the slower processor, and using HDMI all audio is decoded and output as 2-channel PCM which completely kills the experience.  File format support looks pretty good, but yet again MKV is still missing in the big picture.

Overall the rest of the Extender is exactly what you would expect.  It might not be at the level of the Xbox 360 Extender yet, but to me it seems further along then D-Link or Linksys.

Note: MediaSmart UI file format support is covered in previous section

Conclusion

If you can handle the high price, the HP MediaSmart Connect is the best Extender outside of the Xbox 360 on the market (worth noting the Xbox 360 Extender only supports WMV and MPEG-2).  The included universal remote, 4^th zoom mode, good file format support, and addition of the MediaSmart UI make it a good choice for Media Center users and those just looking for a nicely designed and functional media adaptor.

Overall I give the HP MediaSmart Connect x280n an 8/10. Give me MKV support, fix the HDMI downmixing, and drop the price at least $100 and HP could take the Extender market by storm.

Pros and Cons of the HP MediaSmart Connect a (8/10)

Pros

• Fantastic solid design/build quality
• Completely silent
• Wireless-N
• Easy setup and installation of MediaSmart
• Includes accessories (backlit remote, HDMI cable)
• MediaSmart UI and local storage options

Cons

• High price ($350)
• Still no MKV support
• No 1080p output
• HDMI output has audio downmixing (I'm told SPDIF is always active, so run HDMI+SPDIF).
  
• Doesn’t output WMV9 Pro as AC3
• Transitions/animations/UI slow and clunky
• No SD video output

HP MediaSmart Connect Review Part 1: Overview

HP MediaSmart Connect Review Part 2: MediaSmart UI