The media streaming market is on the up and has been well cornered in the UK by companies like D-Link, Archos and Linksys, offering a range of devices designed to help you share media around the home. Korean manufacturer DVICO also makes a good trade in this area and has been quietly farming out products to our shores over the last few years.

The TViX 6500a on test is the self-styled ‘most advanced jukebox on the planet', and seems to justify this moniker by offering features like version 1.3 HDMI support and a wide range of file compatibility previously unheard of in this arena. It's a fairly compact unit that can be fitted with a SATA hard drive or bought with up to 1TB of preinstalled storage.

Without an internal drive you can still take advantage of the network streaming capabilities or view content directly from connected USB storage. It offers a range of connectivity from composite to component, the aforementioned HDMI and optical or composite audio. Setting things up from a basic standpoint using these connections is straightforward, but getting things hooked up to a network is a bit of a pain.

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It comes with an Ethernet port for wired connections but if you want to use it wirelessly you'll have to pick up a specific adaptor separately (namely the D-Link DWL-G122 or Linksys WUSB54GC) which will cost around £30. D-Link was kind enough to send us one of theirs for this test which worked perfectly well in itself, but thanks to a number of reasons it proved unnecessarily awkward to get a wireless connection working.

Things aren't helped in the slightest by the comprehensive but poorly translated PDF manual supplied. After a rather painstaking process of elimination we did get things up and running, but encountered a number of seemingly unnecessary restrictions placed on network access.

To begin with you're only given the option of sharing four specific folders on your PC. Along with the lack of support for WPA encryption over wireless (it specifically requests the use of 64-bit WEP security) and a particularly unfriendly network setup procedure, the whole process is far more troublesome than it needs to be.

It's well worth persisting, however, since once you've jumped these hurdles you're rewarded with one of the most impressive streaming solutions to date.

To begin with, file support is unparalleled. You'll find access to formats such as MP4, MKV, MPG, MOV and VOB for direct DVD ripping (along with interactive menu control), the majority of which aren't supported by any other streamers currently on the market. You'll also find OGG, WMA, M4A and AC3 for audio and the device is capable of upscaling video content for HDTV as well as offering maximum resolutions of 1080p.

In addition to the standard streaming and playback features, you can buy a separate digital tuner module for the 6500a, which allows you to view and record digital Freeview stations directly to the internal hard drive, further adding to the versatility of the product.

Whether down to its upscaling capabilities or the presence of an HDMI 1.3 connection, both image and audio quality is exceptional and a step above even the most accomplished ‘conventional' streamers you'll find elsewhere. The device offers two ways to connect over a network, either using the SAMBA server approach of simply sharing folders through Windows or by using the supplied Netshare tool to share folders for you.

The latter allegedly makes for better performance but akin to our network setup issues is a right pain to use. This isn't really a problem though, as even using the ‘slower' connection, streaming performance is excellent. Only when you breach the 720p HD barrier will you need to resort to the faster option or a wired connection, and given the limited array of content in this field at present it shouldn't put too many people off.

In the usability stakes DVICO takes a straightforward yet versatile approach and supplies an intuitive remote control that offers a wide array of extra features. With an internal hard drive connected you'll be able to change the wallpaper and font style of the main display to customise the interface. You'll also find that you can copy files across a network, something previously only available with the Apple TV, access files directly from an FTP server and add password-protected folder security to content.

Media control is also impressive, with customisable subtitle support, aspect ratio control, slideshow creation, lyric files for audio and access to Internet radio stations.

Once set up correctly the device is responsive, both in initially playing back content and in the way it allows you to fast forward or rewind through even HD-video with ease. Large collections can be sorted by date, size or filename by pressing the right-arrow on the remote (a feature not described in the manual and that had to be painstakingly discovered by trawling through forums) and in general it's quick and easy to browse around.

We were initially disappointed by the awkward network setup and seemingly unnecessary restrictions over media sharing and security with the TViX 6500a, but once configured correctly the end result is a streamer that performs remarkably well, is straightforward to operate and among the most versatile around.

It's worth noting that the majority of the issues we encountered could (and hopefully will) be corrected with firmware updates in the future, and while you are paying a lot for this new TViX device, we think the overall result would be well worth it for those serious about streaming a range of media around the home.

The TViX 6500a won't appeal to casual users due to the price and unfriendly initial setup over a network. However, those who are serious about digital media will appreciate the unrivalled quality and versatility of the device and should find it to be one of the most satisfying solutions yet.