By
Thomas Abell
One thing is clearly evident in this industry, streaming media
has just about everyone's attention. There was an abundance of new
devices at CES of varying specifications and operating systems that
shared the same function: streaming media to an HDTV from both home and
via the Internet. Please join us as we look at many of the top offerings
of streaming media players in search of the best Media Streamers.
While Microsoft is charging down the path of Embedded Windows 7 and letting OEMs create a variety of devices with varying degrees of the Windows 7 operating system embedded within, there have been rumors that this spells the "death of the HTPC". From devices with the entire Windows 7 OS on them to devices with only Media Center 7 embedded on them, there are certainly some cool Windows streaming media devices coming down the pike from Microsoft and its partners. And while at this point it's difficult to actually determine when a device ceases to become an HTPC and transforms into a standard streaming media player, to me there's no doubt that the future of the "HTPC" is far from dead! In fact, they seem to becoming more of an integral part of home system integration than ever before!
But what about Android?
Sure we have Google TV, and I along with a lot of other people out there are waiting for Google to get a proper OS on their digital media streamers built into the Logitech Revue, Sony TVs, and a number of other announced big named manufacturers, before they lose the race completely. How could Google lose the race with all of these big names already behind them? Because there are a number of really solid Android 2.2 and above based devices that are being launched over the next month or two.
One such company that is already and will be producing some more very nice looking media streaming players is Xtreamer who had a couple of their devices on display at CeBIT 2011.
Xtreamer looks like it is about to light the stage on fire in this arena as they describe their "Target & Vision":
The Xtreamer Ultra is being dubbed as a full fledged HTPC:
The Xtreamer Ultra really seems to be a complete package with plenty of power packed in this highly stylish unit. This aspect is also displayed by its technical highlights:
We'll be covering the Prodigy in our next media streamers review as part of our new series "In Search of the Best Media Streamers", so stay tuned...you won't be disappointed in this piece of hardware!
In the meantime, what do you think? Is the HTPC really dead as some people want to claim, or is it merely morphing before our eyes...giving us, the home consumer, more and more options! If so, which platform makes for the best HTPC?
You gotta love Technology!
While Microsoft is charging down the path of Embedded Windows 7 and letting OEMs create a variety of devices with varying degrees of the Windows 7 operating system embedded within, there have been rumors that this spells the "death of the HTPC". From devices with the entire Windows 7 OS on them to devices with only Media Center 7 embedded on them, there are certainly some cool Windows streaming media devices coming down the pike from Microsoft and its partners. And while at this point it's difficult to actually determine when a device ceases to become an HTPC and transforms into a standard streaming media player, to me there's no doubt that the future of the "HTPC" is far from dead! In fact, they seem to becoming more of an integral part of home system integration than ever before!
But what about Android?
Sure we have Google TV, and I along with a lot of other people out there are waiting for Google to get a proper OS on their digital media streamers built into the Logitech Revue, Sony TVs, and a number of other announced big named manufacturers, before they lose the race completely. How could Google lose the race with all of these big names already behind them? Because there are a number of really solid Android 2.2 and above based devices that are being launched over the next month or two.
One such company that is already and will be producing some more very nice looking media streaming players is Xtreamer who had a couple of their devices on display at CeBIT 2011.
Xtreamer looks like it is about to light the stage on fire in this arena as they describe their "Target & Vision":
Xtreamer Ultra
Once again Xtreamer is set to revolutionize the pricing of the world of media players with its market leading, award winning Xtreamer series of Full HD Media Players and Solutions. The demand for an affordable PC that may serve as a media player is already apparent as this market develops.The Xtreamer Ultra Full HD Media Player / PC combines the most connected media player with the fastest consumer electronics media processor available - the Intel® Atom™ Dual Core processor, from the D525 series. With the launch of Xtreamer Ultra we will continue to achieve our compelling mission in 2011 of being a leading provider of FULL HD comprehensive and capable media centers encapsulated into a very compact unit with a very aggressive price tag. The Xtreamer Ultra, is mainly aimed to set a completely new standard for the Linux, XBMC and Boxee communities and the media streamers industry as we know it.
The Xtreamer Ultra is being dubbed as a full fledged HTPC:
The Xtreamer Ultra can run a wide variety of not only apps, but entire environments as well as shown to the left here. Not only can Xtreamer run completely different environments like Ubuntu, but also will accomplish everyday computing needs with the ability to run Apps like, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Office, Facebook, Twitter, Winamp, and more!
The Xtreamer Ultra is a portable HTPC equipped with 6 USB, eSATA, 4 Gb DDR3 RAM, HDMI, an integral IR remote control and powered by the nVidia ION2 Chip that allows vivid and crisp playback of FULL HD multimedia files.
The Xtreamer Ultra really seems to be a complete package with plenty of power packed in this highly stylish unit. This aspect is also displayed by its technical highlights:
- Intel® Atom™ D525 processor (1.8 GHz, dual-core)
- Intel® NM10 Express chipset
- Next-Generation NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor
- 16 unified shaders
- 512MB DDR3 memory ( ION2 chipset )
- NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology
- NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technology
- Optional USB Antenna 802.11n WiFi
- Optional eSATA Blu-ray Drive
- Optional USB Blu-ray Drive
We'll be covering the Prodigy in our next media streamers review as part of our new series "In Search of the Best Media Streamers", so stay tuned...you won't be disappointed in this piece of hardware!
In the meantime, what do you think? Is the HTPC really dead as some people want to claim, or is it merely morphing before our eyes...giving us, the home consumer, more and more options! If so, which platform makes for the best HTPC?
You gotta love Technology!
Tom Abell | Home System Integration | http://www.homesystemintegration.com
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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Abell
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