Comparison and final thoughts
Though I've tried to enjoy using the Neuros OSD, it has ultimately fallen a little short alongside my already established media extender, the Xbox 360. Though the Xbox 360, combined with Windows Vista's Media Centre, isn't as affordable as the Neuros OSD, its superior interface makes it more enjoyable to navigate than the OSD.
The Xbox 360 won't playback everything, despite recently added support for Divx material, and it isn't as open-ended as the OSD. Yet, with modern gadgets one comes to expect a shine and polish to products and their interfaces. Sadly, the Neuros OSD just isn't as pleasurable to use as Microsoft's range of Media Extenders. Rather, the Neuros OSD might just have one of the most uninspiring user interfaces you're likely to see. Despite constantly improving the interface via firmware upgrades, it still has a long way to go in terms of on screen aesthetics.
However, as the old adage goes, you can't judge a media hub by its cover. The Neuros OSD has the potential to be a great solution for today's media needs. It can already do an awful lot, and with continuous firmware upgrades and plentiful community and developer support, it'll only grow to do more. The clearly apparent quirks, lacklustre interface, no built in wireless and no high definition support, don't hamper the device as you'd expect. The Neuros OSD still remains a powerful open source device that will allow you to record whatever you want, wherever you want on anything you want.
Is it worth the £159.99? In my estimation, yes. If you want to digitally store all your media, there aren't many better solutions than the Neuros OSD.
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External Links
Official Neuros Technology website
Official Neuros Technology blog
