In order to play or stream content across the network, the NeoLink software or a 3^rd party Universal Plug and Play needs to be first set up on a PC or Server on the network.  For this review, we will use the NeoLink software, which is provided both with the player and on the Helios Labs website.  At this time of writing, the latest version is v1.3, so we will be carrying out our review with this version.  This page covers the installation and setting up of NeoLink, along with iTunes and Windows Media Connect support.  We will cover accessing and playing network content, along with player screenshots later in the review.

Installation of NeoLink

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The installation of NeoLink is very straight forward.  Once the installer file is launched, the following screen appears:

On the next screen, as with pretty much any software installation, the user is requested to read through the license agreement and accept it to continue.  Once we accept the agreement, it gives an introduction to what NeoLink is:

On the following two screens, we are requested where to install this software as well as to specify a Start menu name/location.  Unless the user prefers installing software other than in the default location or wishes to name it something other than “NeoLink”, we recommend sticking with the defaults. 

Once we go past these two screens, it gives the option of creating desktop and Quick Launch icons and also whether to automatically start the streaming server when Windows starts.  Unless the user only plans on occasionally using the player on the Network with their PC, we would recommend letting this service automatically start, as this saves having to manually start the service each time someone wants to stream a program.  Even if the service is set to automatically start, it is very straight forward to exit the application by right-clicking on its icon in the task tray and selecting ‘Exit’.

Finally, it gives a summary of where the program will be installed, what it will be called on the start menu and the options the user as chosen on the above screen.  At this point, once the user clicks ‘Install’, the software installation takes place.  The installation took about 45 seconds on our AMD XP 2100+ PC.  Once it completes, it gives the option of running the NeoLink software:

Upon the first launch of NeoLink, if the user is running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or any 3^rd party firewall or Internet Security package, they will be asked whether to allow or unblock NeoLink-server.  As NeoLink-server needs to run as a network service in order for the X5000 player to use the service, this service needs to be unblocked.  When we got this message, the NeoLink application window came up in front of the Windows Security Alert window, so in order to get to the other Window to unblock the program, simply minimise the NeoLink application window:

At this point, once the Firewall (if present) has unblocked NeoLink, the computer’s network name will automatically appear on the Helios player’s homepage after a couple of seconds.  In our following screenshot, we have two PCs on the network running NeoLink, whose network names are ‘Wow’ and ‘Garfield’:

Configuring NeoLink

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By default, NeoLink will share out the user’s “My Videos”, “My Music” and “My Pictures” folders with the Helios player.  Assuming the user stores all their music, videos and photos in these three locations, they can immediately start playing them on the player.  However, as users often store their music, videos and photos elsewhere on their hard drive or even on a different hard drive or partition, NeoLink can be configured to share specific locations with the player.  For example, the user may have a specific location where they store downloaded content, another location where they store ripped CDs, another location for recorded TV content and so on. 

To configure NeoLink, first bring up the application.  This can be done by either double-clicking on the ‘NeoLink Server’ icon in the task tray (if running in the background) or by accessing it through the start menu.  Once the application is started, it appears as follows.  From here, it is possible to browse the currently shared music, videos and photos:

One drawback we find with the NeoLink software is that while it is possible to browse the shared content in the NeoLink software, unfortunately it is not possible to play content directly from the NeoLink application.  For example, in the following screenshot, it looks as if any of the listed songs can be played by just double-clicking on one:

From what we can see, the main purpose of being able to browse through the shared content is to see what content can be accessed from the player.  On the music browser shown above, it is possible to associate a shared photo folder with the selected music folder.  In the videos browser, the only option given is to play the videos in random order.  This setting affects all videos, not just the selected video folder:

In photos browser, the player shows a thumbnail preview of the photos in the selected folder and like how a photo album can be associated with the playback of a music folder, it is possible to associate a music folder with a photo folder, along with the duration for each slide.  For example, in the following screenshot, we selected the Paul Simon album for the “Cologne ‘06” photos folder:

In order to set up which folders to share and various other settings, we need to go into NeoLink’s preferences setup, which can be accessed in the ‘Edit’ menu.  The first screen that appears is the ‘Appearance’ tab in the ‘General’ section gives a theme and default language selection, however, there are no other themes or languages to select from apart from the default in each.  On the ‘Media Server’ tab, it is possible to add iTunes support as well as support for Windows Media Connect and Rhapsody:

In the ‘Video’, ‘Music’ and ‘Photo’ sections, each has a library tab and a ‘Watch Folder’ tab.  The ‘Library’ tab has a browse field to allow the user to specify the main library collection.  The default locations for ‘Video’, ‘Music’ and ‘Photos’ are the user’s ‘My Videos’, ‘My Music’ and ‘My Pictures’ folders.  The music section library tab also gives the option to scan for song information and to scan the Windows Media Player & Winamp playlist.  Finally, the “Watch folder” allows the user to specify additional folder locations to share.  For example, if the user has their main music library folder specified as the path for their music, they may want to add their download’s folder to the music section’s “watch folder” tab to allow them to play music from the downloads folder without having to transfer downloaded music to within their main library location first.  If the user has content split across several hard drives or even on external hard drives, the watch folder can used to specify these locations also.  The following screenshot illustrates an example:

Unfortunately, it does not seem to be possible to associate a photo slide show with any music folder specified in the “Watch Folder” list.  The same goes with photo folders specified in the Photo section’s “Watch Folder” list in that it does not seem be possible specify background music for these folders. 

On the ‘Service’ section, it gives the option whether to synchronise the user’s Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox web browser’s bookmarks with the player.  Finally, the ‘System’ section has three tabs to let the user specify a network port number to use (default is 8000), a password to connect to the NeoLink server and a list of MAC addresses to allow.  By default, no password or MAC address restrictions are in place.  The password is useful if the player is connected to a large network, such as in an office where it is possible for other people to see the NeoLink server shared out to avoid unwanted access to the shared content.  As every network device, network media players have unique MAC addresses.  The MAC address restriction is also effective at limiting which what can access the shared content, since only players containing a matching MAC address can connect to the NeoLink Server.  The player’s MAC address can be viewed by going into the LAN section in the X5000’s setup menu. 

Configuring Windows Media Connect

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One alternative to using NeoLink is with the use of Windows Media Connect.  This is useful if the user uses Windows Media Connect for other equipment and also wants to access its shared content on the X5000.  Both NeoLink and Windows Media Connect can be run at the same time, in which both sources will appear on the X5000’s home page. 

Windows Media Connect is very straight forward to set up.  Assuming it is already installed, it can be configured by first ensuring the X5000 is powered up and connected to the network and then launching “Windows Media Connect” from the start menu:

The player will automatically show in the list.  First, select the player from the list and click ‘Allow’.  It will then show the following dialog requesting confirmation:

Once confirmed and the ‘Next’ button is pressed, it will then ask the user to choose what folders to share.  Like the NeoLink, by default it will select the user’s My Music, My Pictures and My Videos folders, along with shared versions of these:

Finally, like NeoLink, we would recommend having this automatically start once Windows loads, unless the user only intends accessing content via Windows Media Connect on occasion.  Even if it is set to automatically start when Windows loads up, it is still possible to exit out of it by right-clicking the Windows Media Connect icon in the task tray and selecting ‘Exit’.

As we mentioned above, NeoLink has the option of supporting Windows Media Connect by going into its preferences and then into the “Media Server”.  What this does is add Windows Media Connect’s shared music, videos and photos to within NeoLink’s matching sections.

Configuring iTunes support

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iTunes support can be added by selecting “Support iTunes” in the NeoLink preferences within the “Media Server” tab as shown in the following screenshot:

If the iTunes library is not in the default location, this can be provided by clicking ‘Browse’ and providing it with the location of the library.  Finally, assuming there is already content within the iTunes library, it will be possible to browse and playback content from the iTunes library by going into the ‘Music’ section on the player and selecting ‘Library’. 

When iTunes support is enabled, it is possible to select a slideshow to show while playing this music by going into NeoLink’s main Music section:

Setting up the player

Content browser