New HP "digital media receiver" connects your PC to a TV

Tag : PC Receiver
New HP "digital media receiver" connects your PC to a TV
17 June 2008 21:27 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 13 comments HP has expanded their MediaSmart product line with the addition of anew product called the Connect digital media receiver. Right nowit's available for pre-order from Amazon.com , Best Buy , Circuit City , and NewEgg .

It isn't a receiver in the traditional sense of a home theaterreceiver. What a home theater receiver does for your DVD player and perhaps a cable or satellite receiver, the MediaSmartConnect does for your PC. It features standard high definition A/V outputs like HDMI and component video , allowing it to be hooked up directly to a HDTV , but gets its input from a home network.

Paired with either a computer running Windows Vista Home Premium orUltimate it can act as a Media Center Extender. If you have WindowsXP or any type of storage device with UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) support, including the HP MediaSmartHome Server, you can use the built-in MediaSmart interface insteadto take advantage of your network storage.

The most interesting feature of the MediaSmart Connect is itsbuilt-in support fo CinemaNow , which offers movies for rental via download. It can also streaminternet radio from Live365 .

The Connect can stream a number of video formats across your homenetwork, including MPEG -1, MPEG-2 , MP@ML , MPEG-2 MP@HL , MPEG-4 ASP, WMV , WMV- HD , DVR -MS, and H.264 . It's also DivX Certified.

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