Linksys KiSS 1600 review

Media streaming is the Holy Grail of home entertainment. People have been searching for it for a while now but no one has managed to find the device that actually delivers what we need.

Apple TV looks good and has a slick interface but the lack of material for it renders it little more than an expensive waste of electricity. We've seen other players that offer snatches of brilliance but there has not yet been the killer product that others have to copy.

KiSS has probably done the best job in the market, and has been making DVD players with media streaming capabilities for a lot longer than anyone else. Its latest offering promises a lot but does it actually deliver?

Design
Of course, the natural device to compare the KiSS 1600 with is Apple TV. The KiSS 1600 is a bit less glamorous than its rival and it's also quite a lot larger in both height and depth. It's still not massive, though, and the added bonus is that it includes a DVD drive, which Apple TV doesn't.

The back of the KiSS 1600 has component and HDMI outputs plus a range of standard-definition outputs including Scart

The KiSS 1600 is pretty well built. There are only a couple of minor niggles in the looks department. The first is the DVD tray, which isn't quite flush with the top of the case. This is reasonably minor and generally we were impressed with how seamless the disc tray is -- you can hardly tell it's there until it's open.

To the rear of the Linksys is where the action happens. There are both component and HDMI outputs for high-definition televisions but there is also a full range of standard-definition outputs including Scart, composite and S-Video out.

From an audio perspective, you'll also find digital optical and coaxial outputs, for connecting to a similarly endowed AV receiver. There is also analogue stereo out in the form of RCA connectors.

The remote control is functional -- it's nice enough to hold -- but the buttons to navigate the menus can be a little fussy at times. Eventually we got used to this and were happy setting up the player. The menu system is fast and the added bonus is the LCD at the front of the unit, which tells you what menu option you are on.