The fight for supremacy in the digital entertainment market is likely to be a three-way battle to support upcoming and established forms of digital media. In one corner you have High Definition formats such as Blu-ray and HD-DVD; elsewhere we've seen ripped or self-made content like home movies or audio; and the final spot goes to downloaded or streamed music and video.

We're a little way off finding an all-in-one solution that offers comprehensive access to the lot, but D-Link's new MediaLounge server, the DSM-520, is certainly a positive step forwards. Although you won't find any kind of optical disc reader on the device, it is intended to accompany the rest of your home cinema setup to offer an attractive alternative to more conventional solutions.

Those familiar with the MediaLounge series will know that its main function is to offer streaming wireless playback of content stored on your PC through a standard TV/stereo setup in another room. You'll need a wireless network, or at least a wireless router, to take advantage of these features, and provided you have at least a basic knowledge of setting up a connection you should have no problems getting things up and running. An initial setup wizard allows you to enter the required information for your wireless network to allow the MediaLounge to connect, with a small utility running on your PC through which you configure folders of media content you want to share. Once connected, you can browse and play back these PC files through your television as they are streamed wirelessly across.

LogMeIn Rescue: One tool for supporting today's PCs,
Macs & smartphones. Try it Free!

We've looked at previous models in the MediaLounge range before and experienced considerable problems with the stability of the media, often causing system freezes and slowdown as the wireless stream struggles to keep up. We're pleased to report that the DSM-520 is a vast improvement, and while there are still some niggling issues, it's a far more pleasurable experience. Small media files like music and photos stream flawlessly, browsing is very responsive and it's now a lot easier to control and play back these types of media.

Streaming video, by far the biggest issue in the past, is much better but unfortunately still not flawless in its operation. While you can now pause and browse back and forth through video without delays, we noticed some issues with the MediaLounge dropping the connection, which can be frustrating if you're half-way through a movie.

In addition to wireless playback you'll find the MediaLounge well prepared for the modern digital age. It sports an HDMI connection in addition to SCART, Composite and S-video, and if your PC is close enough you can use the Ethernet connection to hook up a wired network. There's also a USB port at the front so you can plug in a USB drive and browse or view media files directly, although we had a number of issues with codec support for video files so this solution isn't always ideal.

A built in Online Server allows you to stream audio and video content directly from the Internet, and you're provided with a free trial of the video download service Totalvid.com so you can test it out before you sign up.

The DSM-520 is a vast improvement over past offerings in this series, particularly in streaming video content. There are still some niggling issues with playback, and as such it's better suited to occasional use or as an accompaniment to a more conventional solution. It's potentially an extremely useful product though, and there are clear advantages to streaming media in this way. While not perfect, it's one of the best solutions we've seen yet and a good option if you're looking to add wireless connectivity to your A/V setup.