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]

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.