HP has unveiled the MediaSmart Connect, a set top box that looks an awful lot like a full fledged media center, but which is actually a Windows Media Extender. What that means is you can plug the MediaSmart Connect into an HDTV, connect it to your home network, and use the device to stream content from your PC to your TV.

While you can use it to play videos, music, and photos stored on your PC, the MediaSmart Connect has a few other tricks up its sleeve. You can access online radio and video streams using Windows Media Center. And the MediaSmart Connect has 2 USB ports and an HP Pocket Media Bay for additional stroage which lets you access media stored on a hard drive.

The box supports a bunch of formats including MPEG2/4, DiVX, XViD, DVR-MS, WMV, WMV-HD, MP3, WMA, AAC, JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG. You can connect it to your home network via an Ethernet port or over a wireless 802.11a/b/g/n network.

The MediaSmart Connect should be available for preorder later today for $349.

[via The Windows Experience Blog]

HP is launching several new HDTV units with built-in media center extender capabilities. That means you can setup a PC in the office to run Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate and record television programs, and host your audio, video and picture files. And you can connect your TV in the living room the home network and access all of that media.

HPS's newest MediaSmart LCD TVs come in 42 inch and 47 inch varieties, both with support for 1080p resolutions and WiFi networking. The smaller TV will set you back $1900 while the larger one will go for $2400.

What's more, HP is pushing out a software upgrade to existing MediaSmart owners that will turn their old fashioned television sets into Windows Vista Media Center Extenders as well.

HP claims to the first company to release an internet-connected TV that can serve as a media center extender, and I can't thin of any other examples that would prove them wrong. Still, if you've got room in your living room for two separate devices, you'll probably save a few bucks by purchasing your TV and media center extender separately.

[via Engadget]

HP is rolling out a whole slew of new Media Center PCs and media extender devices. First up, HP is rolling out a couple of HDTVs with embedded media center extender capabilities. The SL4282N and SL4782N TVs both work as V2 extenders, meaning you'll be able to stream content across your home network from your Windows Vista PC tucked away in the closet. The 42 and 47 inch TVs also sport 1080p displays, 3 HDMI inputs, 2 component, 2 composite/S-Video, and 1 VGA port. You also get an Ethernet and 802.11/a/b/g/n adapter.

If you've already got a MediaSmart HDTV, HP is offering a software update that will upgrade your device to function as a V2 extender. The update also supports additional media codecs.

If you're just looking for an extender to stick next to your TV and don't need a whole new television set, HP has also got the MediaSmart Receiver. This set-top-box shaped device connects to your home network over Ethernet or 802.11/a/b/g/n and lets you control your media center PC and stream audio, video and pictures around the house. The receiver also comes with a couple of media bays if you want to run your media from a flash or hard drive.

And finally, if you're looking for a more traditional PC that just happens to be designed with media center users in mind, the HP Pavilion Elite m9150f is a desktop tower PC with everything a media enthusiast could ever need. You know, until holographic discs come out or whatever the next big thing is. This PC packs an HD-DVD drive, a DVD burner, NTSC/ATSC/FM tuners, HDMI/DVI outputs, and ships with a media center remote. The only thing that would make this $1,159 PC more appealing would be CableCard tuners, but that would probably drive the price way up.

Niveus, Linksys, and D-Link have all announced extenders for Windows Vista Media Center. In other words, you can keep your PC in the office, configure it to download internet video, record TV shows, or do whatever you like. Then you can slap a smaller, quieter, cheaper box by your TV set and enjoy all of your digital media without moving the PC into the living room.

But if you've already got a DVD player, TiVo, and video game console sitting by your TV, the last thing you want to do is spend another $300+ so that you can plug yet another box into your TV.

HP may have the answer in the form of a combination TV/Media Center Extender. The company has announced that starting early next year, HP's 42 and 47-inch MediaSmart LCD HDTVs will be able to perform as full-fledged Windows Vista Media Center Extenders. In other words, you connect your TV to your home network and you can access all the media on your PC, as well as internet video using the Windows Media Center interface.

Of course, a MediaSmart TV will set you back a few bucks more than a typical media extender box. But if you're in the market for a new HDTV anyway, it might be worth taking a look at the HP models. Oh, and the best bit is that if you've already got a MediaSmart TV you won't need to buy a new one. The extender features will be available as a downloadable software update.

CE Pro reports that HP is exiting the digital entertainment center business. What does that mean? Basically that one of the first companies to offer a Windows Media Center PC that looked good in your living room is going to stop packing computers into A/V style cases.

Sure, you'll still be able to buy an HP machine that will work as a media center. After all, any computer running Vista is a media center, and if you throw a TV tuner into it, it's a PVR.

But the company's going to focus its living room strategy on its MediaSmart LCD televisions with digital media adapters. These are sort of like a proprietary version of Microsoft's Windows Media extenders, allowing users to access videos, music, photos, and web-based content on their TV set.