Well, I have to say I'm quite impressed with this little bit of software. When you first get the package, there are two discs inside: one for the PS2, and one for your PC.

After inserting the first disc into the PS2, it asks you for your server's IP address. at that point I went over to my computer and installed the PC software (it also has mac and linux sw). I entered a CD key, and was mailed a password which unlocked to software. once I did that, I chose the folders I wanted Qcast to "see", saved the configuration, wrote down my IP address, and that was it on the PC side.

I got back to the PS2, input the IP address, and it connected and downloaded the software (it puts 500k on your memcard, which holds the divx drivers and media player for easy updates). Afterwards it restarted, and couldn't find the server (???). It asked me if I wanted to search for the server, and when I did it found my computer right away. It restarted once more, and I there it was. All my folders were listed (I could name them, too) and I was able to pick any files I had, add them to a playlist, then play them.

Playback works well for the most part. Some of my high resolution stuff won't work well, especially when there's a lot of action on screen, but I'd say about 85-90% of my stuff works. one thing to keep in mind is that it's all anime, and regular movies might have to be at a lower resolution.

I played two different files, one at 640x360 and one at 640x480. the 640x480 file played fine (except for the intro, which was filled with full screen movement), but the 640x360 file had a bit more trouble (but also had a lot more movement). A third file which ran at 512x384 worked beautifully, without any artifacting or choppiness, so that seems to be the threshold.

The media player itself is very simple, featuring only play, pause, stop, next, and last. There is not fast forward or rewind, nor is there a progress bar, which means you can't skip around on the file. even when playing MP3s there's no FF/RW option. I'm hoping this will be rectified in future update (which is also supposed to raise the playable resolution to 720x480, or standard widescreen), which is scheduled for mid April.

the GUI is very clean (kind of a retro sheik feel to it), and fairly intuitive. There doesn't appear to be a screen saver or VLM for the MP3 player, which is unfortunate. Also I don't have the optical out set up, so I can't verify whether it works, but according to the website, it does support it. I personally reccomend the Qcast player, but be sure to check the website and its forums out to see if Qcast will suit your needs.

www.broadq.com btw.