If you use a PC for your media center, you might have had trouble locating a suitable control device for it, if you’re using the plain mouse-based interface. Sure, there are air mice and you can always use keyboard shortcuts, but those are kind of weak compared with this great device from Acer that just hit the FCC. → Read More
I’m not sure how many HTPCs are out there with the rise of streaming Netflix boxes and the like, but if you’re still attaching a slimline case to your TV then this may be the control device for you. Priced at about $150, this keypad/controller/thinger includes a full keyboard, two joysticks, and an “accelerometer capable of interpreting tilts as up, down.” → Read More
The TrimSlice is a mini-PC with a mission: to be amazingly small and light and feature TV-in and a number of useful and surprising outputs. It is, in short, one of the coolest kiosk or dedicated use PCs I’ve seen in a long while. The Tegra 2 chip is housed in a thin, fanless case with stereo line in/out as well as HDMI out. It can hold a laptop hard drive and runs 1GB of DDR2 memory. It has four USB ports, SD and MicroSD readers, and even a freaking Ethernet port. If I weren’t worried about processing power, I’d say it would make a great HTPC. No pricing, but it won’t cost very much, that much is sure. Click through for full specs. → Read More
Elgato just released the updated version of their USB tuner, the EyeTV. This new version has been resized (smaller) and added compatibility with Windows 7, making it ideal for that HTPC project you’ve been thinking about. → Read More
Mvix’s Ultio Pro looks suspiciously like a commercial version of an HTPC. Designed with 1080p decoding, network media playback from a NAS or PC, and the option to add a PVR, I might have to get one of these to replace my old Xbox Media Center. → Read More
I’m afraid it’s time for me to upgrade my media center. My old Xbox just isn’t cutting it any more, between the composite input and the lack of processing power, it looks like it may be time to put the old reliable out to pasture and upgrade to something new. Is the Patriot Box Office Media Player the solution? Well HardOCP seems to think so, and I think it just might be. → Read More
I’ve never heard of Piixl but that doesn’t mean they can’t hold a place in my heart. This 3GHz Core 2 Duo machine mounts right behind your HDTV and will cost about $4,000, a pretty penny for something so thin and innocuous. Called the EdgeCenter 3770 the device is designed to run home theater and kiosk applications and remain completely out of sight. It’s a clever solution to the thorny problem of convincing the rich and famous to stick computers into their living rooms. Available right about now, but in the UK. → Read More
This little controller is butt-ugly and crude, but I still want one really bad. Maybe Santa will bring me one. → Read More
Viewsonic, best known for their displays, has just set their sights on the HTPC market. Jumping in with two models, Viewsonic no doubt hopes to make a good first impression in the home theater PC market, and their first entry looks to be a good way to do that. → Read More
Dell just went official with the Inspiron Zino HD price and spces. There have been a few unboxing and previews popping up around the blogs the last few days and I’ve fallen in love with the little computer. It’s slightly larger than the Mac Mini, but I believe infinitely more versatile. → Read More
We know practically nothing about this machine, but from the two spy photos we can see, it looks interesting. Based on its ports and such, we can make some educated guesses — but it’s still a mystery device officially. → Read More
While I think this Maingear HTPC looks good, and it’s certainly spec’ed well, I’m not sure I buy the idea of serious PC gaming in the living room. Gaming from your couch is about laying back with a controller and rocking the Halo-Kazooie or whatever it is the kids have these days. I know Phantom has been trying (ineffectively, for years now) to change that, but they’re not going to break into the market riding on the back of this $1800 (minimum) mega-HTPC. → Read More
IOGEAR announced a wireless USB audio/video adapter today. Seems like it could be interesting. → Read More
This could possible be the answer to dwellers of shoe-box sized apartments looking for a full-featured HTPC. Check it: a Core 2 Due P8400 CPU, 1GB of RAM (upgrade that), up to 320GB HDD, a digital TV tuner, HDMI-out and a Blu-ray burner. What more can you want from a computer smaller than a toaster? Throw an external hard drive on there for more storage space and you’ll have the perfect companion in your tiny NYC or Toyko flat. → Read More
The first-gen Onkyo hasn’t exactly made a splash in the HTPC market - do you know anyone that owns one? – but maybe the new models will help the home theater namesake penetrate more markets. By ditching audiophile-grade amplifier along with a DAC, the price has dropped from 200,00 yen ($2,149) to 59,800 ($643) which should spur some sales. Still, the netop is equipped with enough power to run a media server thanks to the Atom 230 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB of ram. Just don’t expect to play CoD5 on it. → Read More
I love it! The hardest part about building a HTPC always seems to be finding a case that doesn’t look out of place with the other AV equipment. Even specialty built HTPC cases still don’t have the look and feel of traditional equipment; that’s where an old TiVo comes into play. This guy simply ripped out all the TiVo innards and shoved a Ubuntu XBMC computer within. He was nice enough to photograph the process so it shouldn’t be that hard to replicate. Sounds like a good weekend project to me. → Read More
Acer recently announced its series of X1200 small form factor desktops. There are three models ranging in price from $450 to $700. The X1200-U1520A and the X1200-U1510A are both available now for $450 and $460, respectively, and the decked-out X1200-B1581A will be available for $700 on Sunday, July 13th. Each model comes with a 64-bit dual-core AMD chip, 4GB of RAM, on-board NVIDIA GeForce 8200 graphics, DVD burner, Vista Premium 64, 7.1-channel audio, and HDMI out. The premium model comes with a 22-inch LCD monitor and 500GB SATA hard drive versus 320GB hard drives (and no monitor) on the less expensive ones. That’s a pretty compelling setup for the price, especially if you’re looking for a HTPC for the living room. Full press release after the jump… → Read More
The media hub once known as Xbox Media Player, then Xbox Media Center, then XBMC, then ported to Intel-based Macs and called OSXBMC is now known as Plex. The name change was announced at the weekend, while many of you were celebrating your country’s independence. As explained on the application’s official Web site: The one name that stuck was Plex. I like it because it evokes “cineplex” and the suffix means “comprising a number of parts” which the application certain does. In mathematics, you use the suffix to mean “ten to the power of the number” (e.g. oneplex = 10). And look how great Plex can be… → Read More
Flickr’d Formerly named Xbox Media Center, XBMC made the original Xbox useful long past its sell-by date, and it’s now been ported over to Mac OS X. Well, it’s been available for OS X for some time now, but yet another beta was released a few hours ago. That latest version, 0.5b8, can be found here. Now, you ask yourself, “Just why would I use XBMC on my Mac?” Because it’s great. Is that reason enough? Let’s say you have a Mac mini or MacBook tucked away somewhere—why not put it to good use? XBMC will transform your Mac into a dedicated home theater PC. And unlike the Xbox1 version, the Mac version isn’t running on underpowered hardware, meaning you can watch HD rips at your leisure. Imagine Front Row, but without the codec limitations. My advice would be to play around with it this weekend for a bit. What else are you doing? → Read More
