D-Link DSM-520

73 reviews

Apr, 2024

Positive
usability (36)
design (13)
price (7)
size (5)

Negative
reliability (7)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 73 reviews of D-Link DSM-520. The average rating for this product is 3.7/5, compared to an average rating of 4.2/5 for other products in the same category for all reviews. People really like the size and price. The design and usability also get good views, but some have doubts about the reliability.

usability, design, price, size

reliability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other products in the same category the D-Link DSM-520 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 83/100 = Very good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 73 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

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Showing 61 review(s)

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Showing 1 - 10 of 61 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (12)

Expert review by : Lincoln Spector (techadvisor.co.uk)

D-Link DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player

D-Link's DSM-520 Wireless HD Player provides exceptionally beautiful sound. It also comes through with a wide selection of music-listening choices.

D-Link's DSM-520 Wireless HD Player provides exceptionally beautiful sound. It also comes through with a wide selection of music-listening choices and excellent printed manual.

Jun, 2007

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Expert review by (itreviews.co.uk)

D-Link - MediaLounge DSM-520

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 ...

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...

Apr, 2007

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Expert review by : Lincoln Spector (pcworld.com)

D-Link DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player

Easy network setup, Great audio-streaming options

Blocky standard-definition video, Buggy video setup

The DSM-520 delivers great sound. Standard-definition video, however, was sometimes a little blocky.

Jun, 2007

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Expert review by : Nathaniel Wilkins (cnet.com)

D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520 review

intro The D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520 digital media receiver is a follow-up to the company's DSM-320 , which was released in early 2005. Both models wirelessly stream video, image, and audio files from a PC to a home-theater system, but unlike its...

The D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520 is a network media device that can stream HD video, still images, and audio from networked PCs and USB-connected drives. It plays DRM-protected Windows Media files and supports Rhapsody streaming, as well as Live365 and...

A clunky file-search function mars an otherwise solid onscreen interface and straightforward setup options.

Equally adept at streaming audio, photos, and HD video, the D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520 offers a winning combination of impressive features and performance at an affordable price.

May, 2006

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Expert review by : SmallNetBuilder (smallnetbuilder.com)

D-Link DSM-520: Flexible digital media player with HDMI

Support for digital HD videos, UPnP support, Wireless and Wired network support, Attractive user interface

Problems with some MP3 content, Limited format support

HD (1080i) networked media player with wide format support and HDMI output

Aug, 2007

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Should have bought an Xbox-360

Firmware version installed was 1.06 when purchased.

Looks nice, USB in front. So far no problems with playing .avi files as reported by others.

Video - I mainly play .avi files. This unit only supports 2x FF. When I use the page jump feature, it no longer syncs the audio and video. Off by as much as 2 seconds.

Oct, 2008

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Does the Job

my needs are simple and this does the job. Play DIVX /AVI/XVID + MP3. HDMI to SAMSUNG 46" quite happy with result, given the price, bought this used. Not sure I would pay full price given the DSM 330 is out there.

relatively simple setup. does 1080i(ish) via HDMI, ever so slightly better interface than 320RD (own that to) plays MP3 up to 320 encode. Sees the DSM G600 straight up and played off USB attached (EXT3) formatted drives. Plays via media server s/w...

FF/Rwind s_u_x just like the 320-RD. gets confused when jpg in music folders. Does not play MKV, not much does without a tweak. Occasional hiccup losses connection to NAS box. Only basic bookmarking and really quite useless.

Aug, 2008

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

READ: Playing DVD rips on the dsm520

I bought this unit thinking that it would play ripped dvds. It does, in a sense -- it plays VOB files; which a normal dvd player plays in sequence which is listed in an IFO file. In other words, if you have a movie, you can rip a single VOB file,...

Plays a wide range of media formats, handles nonstandard size vobs (larger than 1gb) fine. upnp connects well, but is limited by tedious software

Will not play dvd IFO files, nor ISO's of DVDs. Terribly sluggish remote-control. Software looks like someone developed the gui from the early 1980s

Aug, 2008

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Great buy!

I almost did not buy this because of all the reviews I have read. I am done trusting reviews. I downloaded the newest software and firmware as soon as I unboxed the player. I installed the needed software and added it to my wireless network and it...

No more cable bill! Good image quality, reliable software and compatible with many formats.

It is a little sluggish as times, but it I have it setup over wireless. Overall it is great. When browsing my mp3 collection it was a little slow, but I do have a 95 GB Mp3 collection.

Apr, 2008

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Does not work as advertised

Streaming of DivX-encoded AVI files works well. Streaming of DVD-compliant MPEG files works well. Streaming of DVR-MS files recorded by MCE 2005 (my main purpose for using this unit) works horribly, even though it is advertised by D-Link to work.

Wireless G, nice form factor, many output port types including digital audio, HDMI 1.3a, and component video out

Does not stream DVR-MS files adequately, even after upgrading to latest firmware revision (1.06) and D-link Media server software (1.10). Cannot even play back DVR-MS files adequately direct from a USB drive connected to the unit! What happens is,...

Apr, 2008

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