For the past year you could pick up a Linksys DMA 2100 for super cheap prices at various online stores. So cheap the little MediaCenter extenders have become quite popular.
Unfortunately it looks like Linksys is finally running out of the devices and officially discontinuing the Media Extender products entirely.
I say "looks like" because I haven't seen anything completely official yet, but after being tipped off on this by this post on the GreenButton Forums, I did a little searching. What I found is the DMA-2100 is listed as discontinued at the following stores:
- Linksys Online Store - 2100 discontinued and 2200 discontinued
- Amazon.com - 2100 only available used and 2200 available for $207.49
- Newegg - 2100 discontinued and 2200 $139.99
- Walmart - 2100 discontinued and 2200 $299.98
- Dell Home - 2100 discontinued and 2200 $199.33
You'll note that the DMA-2200 with an optical drive is still widely available although it costs much more than the 2100 did. Another concern among the many Linksys DMA 2100 users is whether they will continue to provide firmware updates as needed. My guess is they won't, but hopefully that won't be a huge issue as it is a pretty mature product.
These extenders are V2 which means they work with both Vista Media Center and Windows 7 Media Center. I hope Linksys isn't getting out the market entirely and plan to provide a newer version sometime soon.
I've put in an e-mail to confirm Linksys's intentions and will report back if/when I hear back.
Update: I've received a note back from a Linksys Representative who confirmed that Linksys has discontinued all extenders and have no plans to replace them with new models:
"Yes,they are in discontinue status and right now there is no plans to
replace. Sorry"
Did I mention I really think extenders are the right way to go for a multi-room HTPC setup?