Hasta La Gadget!

We can’t tell you precisely how much we’ve been yearning for an L-shaped media streamer, but we can tell you that Compro has made the hopes, dreams and wishes of quite a few content junkies come true with the debut of its VideoMate T1000W. Showcased late last week at SecuTech Expo 2009, this network media streamer is an all-in-one solution that handles content shuffling, TV tuning, internal storing of files, expansion ports, WiFi access, support for USB DVD players and even BitTorrent files. As expected, pretty much any file format you could think of is supported here, though the DVB-T tuner won’t do us Yanks much good in the homeland. Fudzilla asserts that the unit should hit shelves overseas this May, though the £200 ($293) price tag just might scare away most potential buyers.

[Thanks, TheLostSwede]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Compro showcases VideoMate T1000W network media streamer originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know what’s most annoying about wireless HD solutions? Two things, really. First off, 95 percent of ’em only come out to play at trade shows. Secondly, the other 5 percent require you to refinance your now-worthless home to even procure ’em. Sewell, a company known for delivering unexpected treasures when it comes to adapters, has just pumped out its very own wireless HDMI media extender. The good news is that it’s shipping right now and it relies on 802.11a/n technology rather than WHDI, UWB or any other less ubiquitous option. The bad news is that 15 to 30 feet of cord-free AV goodness will set you back $1,199.95. You can weigh the pros and cons yourself, but we’ll be begrudgingly sticking with coat hangers cheap-o interconnects ’til it becomes just a touch more of a bargain.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Wireless

Sewell’s WiFi-based HD Media Extender should be more affordable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While swinging by QNAP‘s CeBIT booth to check out its array of recently launched NAS devices, we happened upon a demonstration that was showcasing a brand new device: the NMP1000. Short for Network Multimedia Player, this set-top-box is pretty much like every other HD media streamer already out there, as it connects to networked storage and pipes out audio and video content to one’s TV via a customized user interface. What we saw looked pretty slick, even though it was inexplicably connected to the LG display via S-Video. As for specs, it’s boasting a Sigma Designs SMP8635 processor, 256MB of DDR RAM, room for one 3.5-inch SATA drive, a single gigabit Ethernet jack, dual USB 2.0 sockets, one eSATA port, HDMI 1.3 / component / composite / S-Video outs and a bundled remote. It supports just about any format on the map, and the on-hand representative told us it should be out next month for “somewhere under $10,000.” Have a look at some in-action shots below.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

QNAP intros NMP1000 network media player, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was May of last year when LaCie last updated its external d2 Blu-ray burner, so it’s about time we saw that 4x burn rate double to an entirely more palatable 8x. Available now for consumers in the US, the latest d2 Blu-ray Drive ($449.99) can toast both single- and dual-layer BD-Rs at 8x, and it can connect to one’s machine via FireWire or USB 2.0. In related news, the outfit has also introduced a LaCinema Black MAX over in Europe, which acts to serve up all sorts of digital media (photos, video clips, music, etc.) on one’s HDTV. You can order it with 500GB / 1TB of inbuilt storage, and the integrated Ethernet jack / WiFi module enables it to pull media (up to 1080p) from other locations on your network. We’ve nary a clue on pricing / availability for this one, but we’ll leave it to those in Europe to hunt it down and brag to us Yanks.

Read – 8x d2 Blu-ray Drive
Read – LaCinema Black MAX [PDF; thanks Predator]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Storage

LaCie intros 8x d2 Blu-ray burner, LaCinema Black MAX media streamer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After slowly sneaking its branding onto its Linksys devices, and welcoming us to the non-defined “Human Network” with ubiquitous GE-style feel good advertising (above), Cisco is finally ready to make a real play for our hearts and pocketbooks with a new wireless audio streamer — among other consumer-friendly products — to be unveiled at CES next week. The products so far are vaguely defined, but it seems like a Sonos-type device in the cards, with a video streamer for use with a TV (and that handy Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem) and eventually a TV-based videoconferencing device both in development. The latter would be a full-HD setup, in the vein of the company’s $40k+ Telepresence rooms currently available to corporations and inexplicably rich comic book heroes, but dramatically cheaper of course. Unfortunately, that won’t be available for a year or two, and in the meantime we’ll have yet another vaguely useful media streamer on our hands — we can’t wait!

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wireless

Cisco to invade homes next year with new wireless music streamer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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