Microsoft has finally announced that v2 media center extenders are on the way from D-Link, Linksys, and Niveus. But while Linksys and D-Link are keeping their product details secret for now (likely because they don't have finished products ready to show off yet), Engadget got a good look at the Niveus media extender at CEDIA.

We have to say, it looks a bit on the large side for a device that's primarily meant to connect the TV in your living room to the media center PC in your office. Up until now, the only media center extender that worked with Windows Vista was the Xbox 360. And although it's hard to gauge from the pictures, Niveus's new offering looks to be about the same size as an Xbox. In fact, if you squint just the right way, it appears there's even an X pattern on top of the box.

As Ian Dixon points out, if you take a look at Engadget's photos, you'll also notice that the interface does not look like a Windows Media Center interface. It's not clear if that means Niveus has designed custom software for the box, or if Microsoft might have a few other details about the v2 extender platform that they forgot to mention.

Update: And as Chris Lanier points out, it looks like Engadget got confused and showed screenshots of the Niveus Companion software.