!!!!!!! LINKSYS EXTENDERS have been Discontinued !!!!!!!

here is the proof

DMA2100

http://www.shoplinksys.com/Wireless-N-Media-Center-Extender-DMA2100-Wired-Products_stcVVproductId53779505VVcatId543870VVviewprod.htm

DMA2200

http://www.shoplinksys.com/Wireless-N-Media-Center-Extender-with-Upscaling-DVD-Player-DMA2200-Bridges_stcVVproductId53934566VVcatId544635VVviewprod.htm

Walmart and BHPhoto also say Discontinued

So what does this meen for the future of Extenders because HP has Discontinued theres too. I dont know about DLINK though.

So all we have left is the XBOX

It will be interesting to see what Dlink do - but if the OEMs are really dropping out of the Extender market and no replacements are launching in the coming months then surely this tells Microsoft something, leaving the only option I can see for consumers to share guide and live tv across multiple devices it to have some kind of low powered, thin client based PCs with softsled functionality.

As a DMA2200 owner I will be interested to hear where this leaves customer support and future firmware upgrades. Are the OEMs going to continue to support the devices and provide upgrades? If not then will Microsoft be willing to take over the support and upgrade programs?

great...and I just bought one to replace the loud z558 in my bedroom...I reluctantly agree with Chris L: no vendor is going to spend resources on a product they've already killed. Since it was a long while between firmware updates, I highly doubt we'll see another from Linksys.

Can't say I'm surprised. Just disappointed in MS seemingly half-hearted endeavors in the media space. The standard 'build it and they'll come' doesn't work if there are too many perceived weaknesses in the platform or there's no true way for the OEM to add value. If win7 is going to transcode stuff that can't natively be played (up to a point) then, really, where is the room for OEM to add some differentiating value.  Would it not be better to ditch MCX as a platform and just rely on DLNA for the non-PC consumer gear and just go softsled on the rest? A PC is the most flexible device and, if it can be built w/ low-power parts and then it can do alright as an 'extender device'.

Better yet, since there's really no need for a 'soft sled' if the platform already supports everything else just have a "teaming mode" for Media Center where one MC can be designated as "Server" and the other can be designated as "Extender". ..Of course there is the cable-card/DRM issues to deal with.

Fortunately it doesn't look like Microsoft plans to axe the 360 any time soon, so it is likely they will continue to support their own software with their own hardware.

I hope with the advent of Windows 7 and snappier chips that we'll see a new wave of products, somewhere MS said to keep an eye out for new products.  I guess it makes some sense for these products to be refreshed since W7 has much better word of mouth than Vista.

This may be a good if not last chance to market Media Center and its supporting products with a clean(?) slate.

mcewinter:

I hope with the advent of Windows 7 and snappier chips that we'll see a new wave of products, somewhere MS said to keep an eye out for new products.

I've got my fingers crossed that we'll see some improvements in Media Center Extender platform.  At CES, a "few" companys said they would be embedding Media Center Extender into their TVs and DVD players.

mcewinter:

This may be a good if not last chance to market Media Center and its supporting products with a clean(?) slate.

I'm not entirely sure that Windows 7 is the key to Media Center success.  Yes, I think its media streaming capabilities will make Windows 7 invaluable.  But when it comes to Live TV/DVR..I think a centralized experience begs for Media Center to be ported to Windows Home Server.

Yeah, Newegg has deactivated the 2100, they still have the 2200 for $139.99. If u want one, snatch one up now before they're gone. My 2100 is flawless, even with accessing network content. I'm using the wireless setup with a WRT310N.

USArcher:

mcewinter:

I hope with the advent of Windows 7 and snappier chips that we'll see a new wave of products, somewhere MS said to keep an eye out for new products.

I've got my fingers crossed that we'll see some improvements in Media Center Extender platform.  At CES, a "few" companys said they would be embedding Media Center Extender into their TVs and DVD players.

mcewinter:

This may be a good if not last chance to market Media Center and its supporting products with a clean(?) slate.

I'm not entirely sure that Windows 7 is the key to Media Center success.  Yes, I think its media streaming capabilities will make Windows 7 invaluable.  But when it comes to Live TV/DVR..I think a centralized experience begs for Media Center to be ported to Windows Home Server.

The only real problem I see with Media Center on the Home Server platform (used as a vm or a native app) is how limited the extender platform is.   We cant even play dvds with menus on extenders let alone blu-ray/hddvd content naively.    I do with homeserver and media center were more tightly connected though.

When ATI cancels the Digital CableCARD Tuners, my entire system will be discontinued product.  Wow, less than one year old.

@thezigpc, it sounds like you are of the mindset that PCs make better extenders.  Maybe things will change in the future but for now, I can't agree because currently you can't watch Live TV from another PC or watch protected (CableCard) content the same way you can with an extender.  I do agree that Media Extender's inability to playback DVD images (stored on harddisk) remains its achillies heel.

The reason I want a Media Center running on Windows Home Server is because most of our home PCs are laptops.  WHS is one device that I can count on being on all the time.  Its quiet and tucked away.  And even if I used a tower PC..I think Media Center wants to run independent of what I'm doing on my computer and not be at the mercy from my shutting down the machine, etc.  Thats why I think life would be easier if Media Center was included as part of WHS.

Glad I bought mine when I did.  There is no way I'm going to buy computers to replace extenders, nor buy a noisy XBOX 360 for a bedroom compared to an energy efficient, noiseless Linksys extender. 

simple. as many others have stated, slim client pcs (such as the Nvidia ION platform) are as small and promise to cost similar to current extenders, coupled with "softsled" capabilities are the answer. It would solve ALMOST all of the current extender problems (pc sleep, codec support, control, security (profile accounts)) etc. Think of it, you can JUST boot into MCE if need be and you don't want to see the OS. OR... if you are like me, you can use the the "extender pc" for literally limitless options, IM, video conference in any room, etc etc. The beauty of using a fullly functioning small form factor PC is choice. You can use as much or as little functionality as you choose. JUST media center, or a full PC experience.

jsous:

simple. as many others have stated, slim client pcs (such as the Nvidia ION platform) are as small and promise to cost similar to current extenders, coupled with "softsled" capabilities are the answer. It would solve ALMOST all of the current extender problems (pc sleep, codec support, control, security (profile accounts)) etc. Think of it, you can JUST boot into MCE if need be and you don't want to see the OS. OR... if you are like me, you can use the the "extender pc" for literally limitless options, IM, video conference in any room, etc etc. The beauty of using a fullly functioning small form factor PC is choice. You can use as much or as little functionality as you choose. JUST media center, or a full PC experience.

Completely agree.

dbone1026:

jsous:

simple. as many others have stated, slim client pcs (such as the Nvidia ION platform) are as small and promise to cost similar to current extenders, coupled with "softsled" capabilities are the answer. It would solve ALMOST all of the current extender problems (pc sleep, codec support, control, security (profile accounts)) etc. Think of it, you can JUST boot into MCE if need be and you don't want to see the OS. OR... if you are like me, you can use the the "extender pc" for literally limitless options, IM, video conference in any room, etc etc. The beauty of using a fullly functioning small form factor PC is choice. You can use as much or as little functionality as you choose. JUST media center, or a full PC experience.

Completely agree.

Why is that we can see this so clearly but Microsoft can't? Surely they'd make more money off an additional W7 license than they would off a dedicated extender. I just don't get it.

I received an e-mail back from a Linksys Rep who confirmed that Linksys has discontinued their Media Center Extenders and have no plans to replace them with newer models

Linksys Discontinuing Media Center Extenders Verified by GeekTonic.com

http://www.geektonic.com/2009/05/linksys-discontinuing-media-extenders.html