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

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.
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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.

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.

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.

Looking for a compact, but still loaded, HTPC? HP is offering $400 of a $999 s3500T series system (coupon code DT1158), allowing you to configure one nice system and seeing the price drop nearly in half. 

Starting with the base configuration, I selected Vista Home Premium 64-bit (!), the Intel E4700 processor, 4GB of RAM, the 256MB Nvidia video card with HDMI, and the Blu-ray player. To inch the total up to $999, I also added the HP 2.1 speakers with remote and HP multimedia keyboard with HP optical mouse. (Note: monitor not included.)

Better jump on this fast as it’s only for the first 900 orders but talk about a good CrunchDeal.

via CNET

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…

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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…

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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?

If you’ve got some cash to spend and AppleTV doesn’t really fancy you well, it may be worth a minute to check out the new Hangar18 HTPC from Alienware. Equipped with radical features such as a Gyration remote, this box will kick new life into your home theater setup. Dual tuners, a 5.1-channel amp, HDMI, and 1080p output are all included. You’ll also find 2TB of storage space, 4GB of RAM, and an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core CPU.

So you’ve got the power, but what about the pricetag? Extremely rad features like these don’t come cheap. The Hangar18 will set you back $1999, not including the 2TB of content you’ll need to come up with to make the most of this unit.

Alienware Lifts the Veil on its High-Def Hangar18 HTPC [Gizmodo]

Over at Zatz Not Funny, the greatest name ever for a blog, Zatz asks an important question: What’s up with CableCARD-ready PCs? Did they fall off the face of the planet, or are people just not enthusiastic about the idea of sticking a PC in their entertainment center?

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AMD has developed a prototype media vault device that can be used to store and stream content to TVs and PCs. The, as of yet, unnamed device is aimed directly at the market Apple hopes to broach next year with its iTV. While there are few details currently available about the AMD prototype, Joe Menard, the corporate VP at AMD, speculates that we could begin seeing the AMD media device sometime next year.

The device will be contained in a case tailored to blend with home theater equipment, so potential owners can shed those fears about having an obtuse computer case in the living room. I’m intrigued to see what else this thing will have to offer.

AMD designs prototype PC for the living room [CNET]

Threading with the ever increasing move toward combination machines, Sony unleashed its newest amalgamation, the VAIO LS1 TV/PC. The rig presents itself iMac style with the chassis built into the back of the 19″ WSXGA+ display.

It is powered by an Intel Core Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and integrated 802.11 b/g. The included wireless mouse and keyboard apparently fold into the system for a clean appearance when not in use.

The unit ships with Windows Media Center 2005 and an NTSC TV tuner, so the system can be used as a DVR. Users can then back up their recordings with its included DVD burner. The LS1 will be available in mid-September for about $2100.

Sony Merges Quality LC TV with Desktop PC for a Sleek Combo