Buffalo Technology PC-P1LAN User Manual

Network Media Player

PC-P1LAN

User’s Manual

Using Link Theater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

Contents

Caution

Using LinkTheater

Supported le formats ......................................... 3

Registering playback folders ..............................4

Data playback on a television .............................4

Converting les ....................................................4

Conguring access restrictions.......................... 6

DLNA media server

playback

.............................. 8

Detailed Settings

LinkTheater Advanced Settings ..........................9

Media Server Conguration ............................... 10

BootServer Manager .......................................... 11

Appendix

Manually conguring an IP address ................ 12

Verifying computer’s IP address ......................... 12

Conguring the LinkTheater's IP address .......... 14

Troubleshooting ................................................. 16

Glossary ..............................................................21

Specications .....................................................22

Using this manual

The following notations and symbols are used throughout this manual.

Notations and Symbols

Caution mark ................ Items which follow

when handling Link Theater. Failure to follow this mark may result in personal
injury and/or damage to the device.

Next operation mark ..... Page numbers that come after indicate the page you should proceed to

next.

Terminology notation within the manual

• This manual assumes that your computer has the following drive conguration:
C: Hard disk
E: CD-ROM drive

• Names enclosed in [ ] brackets within the manual represent dialog box names, menus, buttons, check
boxes or other such items that you need to select when operating the device.

• Names enclosed in < > brackets represent keys on the keyboard. (Example) <Enter>

are items that you must pay particular attention to

Using LinkTheater

Thank you for choosing LinkTheater! This manual should help you congure and use your new LinkTheater.

Supported le formats

The following le formats can be played back using LinkTheater.

Media Server trans code compatible
format (*1)

Compatible formats

Ima ge secti o n

digital compres-

sion format

Compatible video

formats

Compatible audio formats

Compatible image formats • JPEG (*4), BMP, PNG

*1: LinkTheater plays MPEG-2 and MP3 les. Other formats are transformed into MPEG-2 and MP3 for

playback.

For format transformation, your PC should meet the following requirements.

■ Minimum system requirements
[CPU] Pentium4 1.4GHz or higher, or equivalent performance CPU
[Memory] 256 MB or higher

■ Recommended system requirements
[CPU] Pentium4 1.8GHz or higher/ Celeron 1.8GHz or higher/ Pentium M 900MHz or higher
Celeron M 1.0GHz or higher, or equivalent performance CPU recommended.
[Memory] 512 MB or higher recommended.

Audio sectio n

d i g i ta l c o m -

pressed

Audio sectio n

dig ita l uncom -

pressed

AVI (*2), WMV, WMA, GIF

• Audio les encoded in either MP3 or WAV (uncompressed)

• Image les saved/compressed in JPEG, BMP or PNG formats

• Video les encoded in MPEG-2 format

• MPEG-2 standard resolution (*.MPG le, m2p le)

• Maximum resolution 720 x 480 Maximum 8Mbps (*3)

• Maximum frame rate 30fps

• MPEG-1 Audio Layer 2 2 channel

• MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 2 channel

Linear PCM 2 channel

(S/P DIF) 16 bit, 48kHz

• Linear PCM (*.WAV)

• MPEG-1 Audio Layer -3 (*.MP3)

* Low bit rates may allow some les to play from PCs that do not meet the above requirements.
* Not all les can be played.

*2: The AVI codec must be installed in your computer to convert and play AVI les.

*3: If LinkTheater is connected to an 11Mbps wireless LAN, or if playback is performed from an USB1.1

device, demanding video les (3Mbps or more) may skip or drop frames.

*4: Only baseline JPEGs can be viewed.

Registering a folder for playback

Note

In order to play computer les on LinkTheater, you need to register the folders on the computer. Refer
to the separate [Read Me First] document, and register your media folders for playback.

Data playback on a television

Refer to the separate [Read Me First] document for details on the procedure for playing back computer
or server data on a television.

LinkTheater can play MPEG-2 and MP3 les. Other formats are automatically transformed for

playback. You can change the image quality by right-clicking on the Transcoder's task tray icon and
selecting Quality from the displayed menu, or as shown below.

Converting data

When videos cannot be played smoothly because of dropped frames, or if you want to play back
MPEG-2 les that have a bitrate higher than 8Mbps, you need to convert the les on your computer
before playback, as shown below.

Click [Start]-[(All) Programs]-

1

[BUFFALO]-[PC-P1LAN]­[Transcoder]-[Transcoder].

Drag and drop the le that you

2

want to convert.

* In order for you to distinguish between

explanations concerning the television

screen and computer screen and
explanations about the computer screen

are marked with this icon .

* Screens shown in this manual are

examples. Your display may be slightly
different.

Click [Edit Settings].

3

Select the compression

4

quality, then click [OK].

4 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

If you wish to congure image quality settings

Note

Note

individually, click [Add] in step 4 on page 4, and
set the details as desired. Individual items can be
selected under [New Prole].

The following items can be set.

Mode

Mode can be selected from constant bitrate (CBR),
variable bitrate (CVBR), and constant quality (CQ).
The features of each mode are explained in the
[Glossary] on page 21. Items that can be set in [Rate
settings] differ depending on the mode selected
here.

Bitrate

The larger the set value, the clearer the image
will be. However, the size of the recorded le also
increases. The possible setting range is 192~8000
(kbps).

If [Variable Bitrate] is selected in adjustment mode,
recording is performed within the range of bitrates
set for maximum bitrate and minimum bitrate. Set
this value so that it falls between the [Maximum
Bitrate] and [Minimum Bitrate] which will be set
below.

Maximum Bitrate

This setting is the maximum bitrate used when
recording. This can only be set when [Variable
Bitrate] is selected in adjustment mode. It is possible
to set a value in the range of the [Bitrate] value in
the item above ~8000 (kbps).

Minimum Bitrate

This setting is the minimum bitrate used when
recording. This can only be set when [Variable
bitrate] is selected in adjustment mode. It is possible
to set a value in the range of the [Bitrate] value in
the item above ~192 (kbps).

DeInterlacing

“Bob” interlacing produces the sharpest image but
may leave noise artifacts. “Median” interlacing
reduces noise but may remove image detail.

CPU processing speed

Image quality improves with a larger value, but the
strain placed on the CPU (computer) also increases.
Use higher numbers if you have a fast computer.
Normally, a value in the range of
0~2 is used.

Audio bitrate

A high bitrate provides higher sound quality, but it
also increases the size of the le.

Click [Add].

5

6

You can specify the save destination

and name of the le after conversion by
clicking [Output le]-[Browse]. By default,
the converted le is added and saved
to the same location as the conversion
source le, and [MPEG2 (PC-P1LAN)]_000
is added to the end of the le name (the
000 number counts up when the same
name le is converted a number of times).

[Status] displays [Awaiting
conversion] → [Converting] →

[Conversion completed].

To stop the conversion process, click

[Stop]. Click [Start] to restart a stopped

le.

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

Mini LinkTheater

User’s Manual

5

Conguring access restrictions

You can set access restrictions to shared playback folders, so that the folder can only be played back
when specic conditions are met. These settings can be performed as follows.

Click [Start]-[(All) Programs]-

1

[BUFFALO]-[PC-P1LAN]-

[Congure Media server].

Click the [Permissions] tab.

2

Click [Only accept access

4

from the following client

devices].

When you want to prohibit specic
conditions, select [Prohibit access from the
following client devices].

Click [Turn ON Access

3

Control].

Click [Add].

5

6 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Click [Next].

6

Select the conditions for

7

access restriction, then click
[Next].

You can select restriction conditions
of host name, IP address,
network address, and MAC
address (get MAC address from
the back of your LinkTheater).

Step through the wizard to complete the access

restriction settings.

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

Mini LinkTheater

User’s Manual

7

Playing back DLNA compatible media server data

About DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)

DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) has dened product design guidelines [Home Network
Device Interoperability Guidelines] with the aim of standardizing electronic industry technology and
realizing an interconnected environment of digital equipment (computers, household appliances,
mobile devices).

LinkTheater can play media les from DLNA compatible media servers such as the Buffalo LinkStation
HS-DGL Home Server series. Select "HOME Server" (the DLNA compatible media server) from the
LinkTheater Home screen, and press the [Select/Play] button on the remote control.

Your DLNA media server may not have DLNA functionality turned on by default. For LinkTheater to
stream media from a DLNA server, DLNA must be turned on! This is not always the default setting.
Refer to your DLNA media server's manual for more information on enabling DLNA media server
functionality.

8 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Advanced Settings

Normally, you won't need to change these settings. Here's explanations of each in case you do.

LinkTheater Advanced Settings

.

You can congure each of

Press the power button and

1

start LinkTheater.

3

these items.

Using LinkTheater

* In order for you to distinguish between

explanations concerning the television screen

or computer screen, explanations about the
television screen are marked with this icon

.

* Screens shown in this manual are

examples. Your display may look slightly
different.

Select [Settings], and press

2

button.

• (Wired) Network settings

The following settings can be performed in
[Edit Prole].

Obtain automatically (DHCP): If there is a
DHCP server on the network, an IP address
is assigned automatically.

Manual settings: You can also manually
enter the IP address and subnet mask.

The settings are enabled by selecting the
items edited above in [Prole selection],
and pressing the [Select/Play] button on the
remote control.

• Display settings

In [Screensaver], you can set the amount of
time (1~60 minutes) before the screensaver
starts on the television screen when there

are no operations performed.

You can set the amount of time (3 seconds
— 2 minutes) that a photograph is displayed
on the television screen in [Photo display
interval].

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

• (Firmware) Version

This displayes the rmware version number.

9Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Media Server Conguration

You can register folders that will be played on LinkTheater and also set access restrictions. Click [Start]­[(All) Programs]-[BUFFALO]-[PC-P1LAN]-[Congure Media server] to display the settings screen.

Shared folder screen

• Add

Registers folders that contains les that you
want to play on the LinkTheater.

• Delete

By selecting a folder and clicking [Delete],
registration of the shared folder is deleted.

• Update

This updates the shared folder and le
display.

• Automatic search

This starts the automatic search wizard. You
can nd folders on the computer that contain
video, audio, and image les by using the
automatic search wizard.

Settings screen

• Enable le sharing on computer startup

This setting enables le sharing when the

computer starts up.

• Display icon in task tray when program

is closed

This setting displays an icon in the task tray
when [Media server settings] is closed.

• Default settings

Restores Media server settings to the initial

settings.

• Do not share les

This setting disables le sharing.

• Share les

This setting enables le sharing.

10 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Access restrictions screen

Caution

• Enable access restrictions

This setting enables access restrictions.
This is not displayed if the settings are
already enabled.

• Disable access restrictions

This setting disables access restrictions.
This is not displayed if the settings are
already disabled.

• Only allow access from the following

client devices

This setting only allows access from devices
listed in [Restriction rules].

This cannot be selected when access
restrictions are disabled.

• Prohibit access from the following

client devices

This setting prohibits access from the
devices listed in [Restriction rules].

This cannot be selected when access
restrictions are disabled.

• Add

This starts the Add access restrictions
wizard.

You can set allow/prohibit conditions (host
name, IP address, network address, MAC
address) using this wizard.

This cannot be selected when access
restrictions are disabled.

• Delete

You can delete conditions by selecting them
in [Restriction rules] and clicking [Delete].

BootServer Manager

You can set rmware rewrite (FW) and enable/
disable server functions using the BootServer
administration tool. Click [Start]-[(All) Programs]­[BUFFALO]-[PC-P1LAN]-[BootServer Manager]
to start the tool.

BootServer Management screen

• Detect servers

This detects BootServer media servers on
the network.

• Check all

This displays a check mark in the check
boxes for all detected servers.

• Clear All

Removes all of the check mark displays.

• Update Firmware

This updates checked server rmware.

[FW version after rewrite] displays the
version number after rewrite.

• Turn ON Server

Enables servers that have a check mark
displayed.

• Turn OFF Server

Disables servers that have a check mark
displayed.

* Do not disable all servers on the network,

or the PC-P1LAN startup screen will
not be displayed. You need at least one
BootServer media server to use the
LinkTheater.

An icon is displayed in the task

tray when your computer is running
the BootServer media server. If no icon

is displayed, the PC-P1LAN startup
screen will not be displayed.

Click [Start]-[(All) Programs]-

[BUFFALO]-[PC-P1LAN]-[PC-P1LAN
BootServer] to launch the BootServer

media server on your PC.

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

11Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Note

Appendix

This section gives proceedures for manually setting IP addresses, describes rmware update
procedures and the procedure for playing back LinkStation data, addresses basic troubleshooting,
and gives device specications.

For customers that do not have a router

(Procedure for manually conguring the IP address)

If you have no router on your network and connect your LinkTheater directly to your PC, you'll need to
set the IP address manually. To do this, you'll need to determine the IP address and subnet mask for
your computer. Only congure the LinkTheater's IP address manually if you have a good reason for
doing so, e.g. you are not using a router, or your network has no DHCP server.

The numbers and letters that are displayed on the screen will differ according to your environment.

Checking the computer’s IP address

Click the menu below and start the command prompt.

1

Select [Start] - [(All) Programs] - [Accessories] - [Command prompt].

[C:\>] is displayed on the screen. Type [IPCONFIG/ALL], and press

2

the <ENTER> key.

The IP address is displayed in the [IP Address] column, and the

3

subnet mask is displayed in the [Subnet Mask] column.

C:\>IPCONFIG/ALL

Ethernet adapter local area connections

IP address : 192.168.11.2

Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0

Connection-specic DNS Sufx :

Description : BUFFALO LGY-PCI-TXD Ethernet Adapter

Physical Address :

DHCP Enabled : Yes

Default Gateway : 192.168.0.1

DNS Servers : 192.168.0.1

Check

Now you know your computer's IP address. See page 13 for more on LinkTheater's IP address and
Subnet mask. Continue to page 14 to set LinkTheater's IP address and subnet mask.

12 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

What is the LinkTheater IP address value?

Set the following values for the LinkTheater IP address.

Computer IP address LinkTheater IP address

When the IP address is 192.168.11.2 Set to 192.168.11.12.

Set the same value

Set a different
number from the
computer between

2 and 254

What is the LinkTheater Subnet mask value?

Set the LinkTheater subnet mask value to the same value as the computer’s subnet mask value.

Computer’s subnet mask LinkTheater subnet mask

When the value is 255.255.255.0 Set this to 255.255.255.0.

Set the same value

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

13Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Conguring the LinkTheater's IP address

Press the power button and

1

start LinkTheater.

Select [Settings], and press

2

button on the directional pad.

Select [Edit Network Prole] ,

4

and press button.

Select [Static], and press

5

button.

Select [Network], and press

3

button.

Enter the IP address and

6

subnet mask, and press the
[Select/Play] button.

14 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Caution

Note

Make sure the LinkTheater's IP

address is not the same as the
computer’s IP address. If you are not
sure of the value to set, see page 12.

Example: If the computer’s IP address is

[192.168.11.2] and the subnet
mask is [255.255.255.0],
then set the LinkTheater's IP
address to [192.168.11.12]
and the subnet mask to
[255.255.255.0].

7

The IP address and subnet mask can

be entered using the ten key buttons

on the remote control. You can enter a
"." (decimal point) by pressing the [1]

button twice in succession.

By pressing button twice,
you can return to the screen in

procedure 4.

Select [Select Network prole] ,

8

and

press button

.

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Select [Static], and

9

button

Your LinkTheater is now congured with a static

IP address.

.

press

Appendix

15Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Troubleshooting

I cannot switch the power on

Cause:

The power cord is disconnected from the wall
socket or LinkTheater

Solution:

Connect the power cord to the wall socket or
LinkTheater

I cannot see videos or hear sounds

Cause (1):

The connection to the television is incorrect

Solution (1):

Connect the television correctly

Cause (2):

The correct video input has not been selected
on the TV

Solution (2):

Select from inputs that are connected to
LinkTheater, for example “video”, etc.

Cause (3):

The LInkTheater or television mute function is
enabled

Solution (2):

Press the [Mute] button on the remote control
to disable the mute function. Refer to the
manual that came with your television for
details on how to disable the television’s mute

function.

Cause (2):

The batteries are exhausted

Solution (2):

Replace the old batteries with new ones

Cause (3):

The batteries are not inserted correctly

Solution (3):

Check the polarity of the batteries (+, -) and
insert them correctly

Cause (4):

The remote control is being pointed at the
television

Solution (4):

Point the remote control at LinkTheater to

operate it.

Cause (5):

There is an obstruction between the remote
control and LinkTheater

Solution (5):

Either move or avoid the obstruction.

Cause (6):

The remote control is too far away from
LinkTheater

Solution (6):

Move the remote control closer to LinkTheater

to operate it.

Cause (4):

DirectX has a problem, or has been deleted

Solution (4):

Insert the CD provided into the computer's
CD drive, and select [Install DirectX] from
easy setup. Then follow subsequent onscreen
messages to install DirectX.

The remote control doesn’t work

Cause (1):

There are no batteries inside the remote
control

Solution (1):

Set batteries inside the remote control

16 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Cannot recognize the les inside
a registered folder

Cause (1):

The le names are written in 2 byte code
characters

Solution (1):

Files that have names written in 2 byte code
characters may not be displayed correctly.
Change the le names if they are not
displayed correctly.

The startup screen is not displayed,

and the computer is not recognized by

LinkTheater

Cause (1):

The LAN cable is not connected

Solution (1):

Check that the LAN cable is connected to
both the computer and LinkTheater (push in
the LAN cable until you hear a “click”). After
connecting the LAN, switch the LinkTheater
power off and on again.

Cause (2):

The wrong cable is being used (when
connecting directly to a computer)

Solution (2):

You need to use a crossover cable when
connecting LinkTheater directly to a
computer. Connect with a crossover cable.
After connecting the cable to the LinkTheater
and to your LAN, switch the LinkTheater's
power off and then on again.

Cause (3):

The software that came with LinkTheater has
not been installed

Solution (3):

Insert the CD provided into the computer’s
CD drive, and click [Install PC-P1LAN Utility]

from easy setup.

Cause (4):

The BootServer is not running on your PC

Solution (4):

Check that the BootServer icon is

displayed in the task tray. If the icon is not
displayed, click [Start]-[(All) Programs]­[BUFFALO]-[PC-P1LAN]-[PC-P1LAN
BootServer].

Cause (5):

There is a problem with the router or access

point

Solution (5):

If you have tried all of the above solutions
but LinkTheater is still not recognized on
the environment connected to your router or
access point, refer to [Read Me First] and
connect LinkTheater directly to the computer.

Cause (6):

The IP address is wrong

Solution (6):

Refer to “For customers that do not have
a router” (page 12) and check that the
computer IP address and LinkTheater
IP address have the rst three groups of
numbers the same, and the last group of
numbers different. For example, if the
LinkTheater IP address is [192.168.11.51],
check that the computer's IP address is
[192.168.11.61] or something similar. Subnet
masks should be the same for both.

Cause (7):

Software that contains a rewall is installed

Solution (7):

If a rewall is enabled, the computer may
not be recognised from LinkTheater. In this
case, you can disable the rewall function
or accept use of UDP ports [59821] [59823]
and TCP ports [8888] [9666] [9667] [58080]
[58001] [59824], or uninstall the software that
has rewall settings. Contact the software
maker for information about rewall settings.
The following is an example of how to
disable a rewall.

[When Trend Micro PC-Cillin 2003 is
installed]

Use the following procedure to disable the
[Personal rewall function].

1. Select [Start] - [(All) Programs] - [Trend
Micro PC-Cillin-2003] - [PC-Cillin-2003
operations].

2. When the [PC-Cillin-2003 operation screen]
starts, click on the [Professional] tab.

3. Click the [Emergency lock] button
displayed on the right side, check that
[Emergency lock is OFF] is displayed, and
click [OK].

4. Check that there is an x mark in the
[Wireless LAN mode] button. If there is no x
mark, click the [Wireless LAN mode] button
to switch the wireless LAN mode OFF.

When these settings are completed, close

the [PC-Cillin 2003 operation window].

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

17Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

5. Select [Start] - [(All) Programs] - [Trend
Micro PC-Cillin-2003] - [PC-Cillin-2003
settings].

If [Use LAN proxy server] is unchecked, the

settings are complete.

If it is checked, click [Detailed settings] and

proceed to procedure 6.

6. When the [PC-Cillin 2003 operation
screen] starts, remove the [Enable personal
rewall] in [Personal rewall] - [Security
level], and click [Apply].

[When Trend Micro PC-Cillin 2002 is
installed]

You can either use LinkTheater with the
[Personal rewall function] disabled, or
you can register LinkTheater as a [Trusted
computer] using manual settings. See below
for more details.

Procedure for disableing the personal

rewall function

1. Select [Start] - [(All) Programs] - [Trend
Micro PC-Cillin-2002] - [PC-Cillin-2002
settings].

* If PC-Cillin is permenantly running, right

click the PC-Cillin icon in the task tray,
and select [Open settings screen].

2. Uncheck [Personal rewall] from quick
settings in the PC-Cillin 2002 operating
screen, and click [Apply].

This completes the settings.

Procedure for registering the Link

Station IP address

1. Select [Start] - [(All) Programs] - [Trend
Micro PC-Cillin-2002] - [PC-Cillin-2002
settings].

* If PC-Cillin is permenantly running, right

click the PC-Cillin icon in the task tray,
and select [Open settings screen].

2. Select [Personal Firewall] - [Trusted
computers] from the menu on the left side
of the PC-Cillin 2002 settings screen.

3. The network adapter is displayed in the
[Trusted computers] column. Check it and
click [Apply].

I cannot playback videos, music, or

pictures

Cause (1)

The le is not suitable for playback on
LinkTheater

Solution (1)

Not all computer les can be played by
LinkTheater. Play only the letypes listed on

page 2.

Cause (2):

File is damaged

Solution (2):

Damaged les cannot be played back.

Cause (3):

JPEG les other than baseline JPEG les are
being displayed

Solution (3):

LinkTheater can only display baseline JPEG
les. Use normal baseline JPEG les.

Cause (4)

The saved folder heirarchy is too deep

Solution (4)

For image les, only les in the rst two
levels can be played back. Move the les into
second level or higher folders.

Cause (5)

Image and audio are not interleaved

Solution (5)

AVI les that are not interleaved cannot be
played back. When creating AVI les, create
them with the interleave setting.

Cause (6)

Files that have been encoded in DivX 5
format with [Use Quarter Pixel] or [USE GMC]
options enabled are being played back

Solution (6):

Files that have been encoded in DivX 5
format with [Use Quarter Pixel] or [USE GMC]
options enabled cannot be played back.
Disable these options when encoding the
les.

18 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Cause (7)

Files are copy protected

Solution (7):

DRM and copy protected les cannot be
played back on the LinkTheater. Play only
les that do not have DRM or copy protection.

Videos are not displayed correctly

Cause (1):

Videos are recorded in a television format
other than NTSC

Solution (1):

LinkTheater plays NTSC video. Record all
videos in NTSC format for playback on the
LinkTheater.

Cause (3):

The type of le, denition, or encoding
conditions for playback are not suited to
LinkTheater

Solution (3):

skipping or dropped frames may occur with
some les. Play les that are supported by
LinkTheater (page 2).

Cause (4):

The bitrate exceeds 8Mbps

Solution (4):

Using the procedure on page 3 to convert
video les to MPEG-2 format with a bitrate
less than 8Mbps.

Cause (2):

LinkTheater is connected to your television
through a VCR

Solution (2):

LinkTheater is equipped with copy protection,
so playing back videos through a VCR may
cause the video to roll or become distorted.
Connect LinkTheater directly to an input on
your TV.

Sound skips/frames dropping occur

during playback

Cause (1):

Trafc on the network is not leaving enough
bandwidth for the LinkTheater to operate

Solution (1):

If another device is communicating on the
network while LinkTheater is playing back,
the network may become congested and
skipping or dropped frames may occur. If
skipping or dropped frames occur, nish other
network tasks, then play your video les.

When watching on a television, the

edges (perimiter) of the video are cut

and the video appears distorted

Generally, televisions display with overscan,
which cuts a small amount of the video signal
periphery when displaying the video on the
screen. The amount of periphery cut differs
depending on the television, so the edges
(perimeter section) of the video may appear
ragged, or the video may appear either
vertically or horizontally distorted. Adjust this
in your TV's image settings.

Provided software is being blocked,

and LinkTheater cannot recognize the

computer (Windows XP)

After installing the provided software, the
[Continue to block this software?] message
may be displayed after restarting the

computer.

If this occurs, click [Remove block].

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

Cause (2):

LinkTheater is connected to an 11Mbps
wireless network

Solution (2):

If LinkTheater is connected to an 11Mbps
wireless network, playing back les above
3Mbps may lead to skipping or dropped

frames.

If you clicked [Check later]

Restart the provided software. [Continue to
block this program?] is displayed again. Click
[Remove block].

19Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

If you clicked [Block]

Use the following procedures to change the
rewall settings.

1. Click [Start]-[Control Panel].

2. Click [Network and Internet connections]-

[Change Windows rewall settings] (or
double click [Windows rewall]).

3. Click the [Exception] tab.

4. Click the [BUFFALO MediaServer] check

box to display a check mark. Click [OK].

Technical Support

North America Support is available 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week:
Telephone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Europe Support is available between 9am­6pm (GMT) Monday-Thursday and 9am­4:30pm on Fridays:
Email: [e-mail]

20 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Glossary

• AVI

Digital le format developed for Windows
by Microsoft. If a video is recorded in AVI
format (without using codec), the recorded
le size becomes larger because video
compression is not used (if recorded at
320 x 240 resolution, 30 minutes of video
requires about 5GB of space). Advantages
are that les can be processed simply using
editing software, but video and audio timing
may become out of sync if recorded for a
long period of time.

• CBR: Constant Bit Rate (Constant
bitrate)

Videos are usualy recorded at the same
bitrate (amount of data). For this reason,
there may be reduced image quality if
you compare scenes that have a lot of
movement with those that have little
movement. Furthermore, block noise may
also occur in scenes that contain intense
movement because of the lack of bitrate.

• CQ: Constant Quality (Constant quality)

The bitrate is changed automatically to
keep image quality constant. As the bitrate
changes according to the video, the size
of the recorded les will differ greatly
depending on the video being recorded
(videos with lots of movement are larger).

• MPEG-2

Like MPEG-1, but much better. This is the
format used for DVD-Video.

• WMV

WMV is Microsoft's Windows Media Video

format.

• Codec

Codec is the collective name for coding
and decoding. A codec is a program that
compresses/decompresses video and audio,
and is required for playing/saving video on a
computer. There are many types of codecs,
and different codecs are required for different
video les. If there are no codecs that suit a
particular le on the computer, the video may
not be displayed, or the audio may not be

outputted.

• Bitrate

Rate of data ow for a video le. Higher
bitrates give better quality video, but increase
network trafc and le size.

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

• CVBR: Constrain Variable Bit Rate
(Variable bitrate)

This mode records within a bitrate range
(data size) set prior to recording. Recording
is performed with a higher bitrate when there
is a lot of movement, and a lower bitrate
when there is only a little movement. On
LinkTheater, you can specify the (average)
bitrate and maximum bitrate, and record
using the (average) bitrate value as the
average value.

• MPEG

International standard of animation
compression dened by the Moving Picture
Expert Group (commonly known as MPEG
format forum). MPEG format adopts a
method that compresses the video and
audio data separately, and is the format
used on DVD-Video and Video-CD. There
are a number of formats within MPEG
format, such as [MPEG-1] or [MPEG-2].

Appendix

21Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Note

Specications

For the most up-to-date product information or model compatibility, please refer to the catalog or

www.buffalotech.com`.

Wired LAN interface

Compatible standards Conforms to IEEE802.3/IEEE802.3u (10BASE-T/100-BASE-TX)

Transfer rate 10/100Mbps (Auto sensing)

Connector type RJ-45 8 pin connector

External output

format NTSC (Japan domestic specications)

Composite video RCA Pin jack x 1 (yellow)

Analog audio RCA pin jack x 2 (left: white right: red)

BUFFALO MediaServer

compatible computer DOS/V computer with Ethernet board (OADG specications), and NEC PC98-

NX series

Supported OS Windows XP, WIndows 2000 SP4 or later

* If you are using Windows 2000 SP4, update your computer to the newest

version from Windows Update. LinkTheater may not operate correctly unless
Windows 2000 is up to date with the newest version.

CPU

Memory 256MB or higher

Hard disk 50MB or more free disk space

Network Ethernet port (100BASE-TX/10BASE-T)

Others

Power source AC100V 50/60Hz

Power consumption Average 5W max 6W

Operating environment Temperature 32~104º F, humidity 10~50% (without condensation)

Dimensions 8.7" (W) x 1.8" (H) x 4.9" (D) including rubber legs

Weight 1.3 lbs.

Supported LinkStation BUFFALO HS-DGL series

Pentium3 800MHz or above, or equivalent performance CPU
* To playback les other than MPEG-2 and MP3, you need the operating

environment descried on Page 2.

* To playback les other than MPEG-2 and MP3, you need the operating

environment described on Page 2.

* To playback les other than MPEG-2 and MP3, you need 4GB or more of free

disk space.

* Video and audio les other than MPEG-2 and MP3 les cannot be played

back.

22 Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual

Display lamp specications

LINK lamp

Power lamp

Power lamp

Lit green When power is ON

Lit orange color When in standby mode

LINK lamp

Lit green Lights when the LAN link is up, goes out when the LAN link is down

Flashing red twice System malfunction. Contact the BUFFALO support center.

Flashing red three times Wired LAN malfunction. Reconnect the LAN cable.

Flashing red ve times Server malfunction. Check the following items.

• Is the startup server running on the computer?

• Check that the uImage le and initrd.boot le are in the [ProgramFiles]­[BUFFALO]-[PC-P1LAN]-[BootServer]-[rm] folder on the computer startup
hard disk. If the les are missing, copy them from the CD provided [PC­P1LAN_rm]-[rm] folder.

Using LinkTheater

Detailed Conguration

Appendix

23Mini LinkTheater User’s Manual