June 18, 2008

HP MediaSmart Connect Receiver Available For Preorder

Yet another product TV fanatics have patiently waited for since CES 2008 back in January, HP's MediaSmart Connect receiver is finally up for pre-order. Connect the MediaSmart Connect to your HDTV and desktop or laptop PC through ethernet (HDMI or component vid) or a wireless 802.11a, b, g, or dual-band draft 802.11n connection, and you're set to easily playback HD digital media files from you computer on your HDTV screen. The MediaSmart Connect uses Extender for Windows Media Center to enable computer users with Windows Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate to access a whole range of online video services including Vongo, MovieLink and FOX Sports, and Microsoft Media Center Internet TV beta featuring over 100 hours of programming from A&E, Bio, CNBC, DIY, Fine Living, Food Network, FOX Sports, HGTV, History Channel, iFilm, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC News and StupidVideos. And if your PC has a TV tuner you can stream broadcast TV straight to your HDTV as well.

The HP MediaSmart Connect receiver also plays back a wide range of other multimedia codecs including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DiVX, XVID, DVR-MS, WMV and WMV-HD; MP3, WMA, WMA Pro and AAC (unprotected); JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG. Regularly priced at $350, the MediaSmart Connect is available for $326 from Amazon and will be released July 31.

Preorder the HP MediaSmart Connect Receiver from Amazon

Via Electronic House