Gizmodo Australia » media centers

Viewsonic Launches IceTV Powered Media Centres

Nick Broughall — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:10:54 +0000

I’ve never really had a lot of interest in Media Centre PCs, but these two new models from Viewsonic are so small that it’s hard to ignore them. Both the VOT132 and VOT550 Media Centre PCs come complete with a 12-month subscription to IceTV’s EPG, which now also works with Windows 7.

The VOT132 runs on an Intel Atom 330 (1.6GHz, dual-core, 533MHz FSB) with 2GB RAM and an nVIDIA MCP7A – ION chipset. It comes with a 320GB HDD standard and built in wireless-n.

The VOT550, meanwhile, comes with a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 with 800MHz FSB running the show, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD and a slot-loading Blu-ray player.

With the included 12-month EPG subscription from IceTV, this could be a pretty decent all-in-one entertainment hub. At $899 for the VOT132 and $1499 for the VOT550, they’re pretty decently priced, too.

[Viewsonic]

Ten Ways To Improve Your Media Center Experience

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Our sister site Lifehacker put together a list of ten app-based ways to boost your media center’s potential, adding support for remote controls, remote TV scheduling, Hulu Desktop and more. My favorite: Ad removal. Suck on that, ad-supported entertainment! [Lifehacker]

Microsoft Warns Home Server Users Not to Write to Server or Use Media Managers

Wilson Rothman — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Acknowledging the “data corruption bug” that’s been ravaging Windows Home Servers since Christmas, Microsoft today warned users NOT to:
• “Use applications to directly edit or change files stored on Windows Home Server”
• “Use media management programs, such as Windows Media Player, to import files to the Windows Home Server”
• “Redirect applications to access files stored in the shared folders”
Instead, users are instructed to move files to and from the server only by hand, using Windows Explorer or a command line tool. Promise of a fix was cautiously optimistic, but not exactly speedy:

The issue can now be reliably reproduced and a fix is in development. Once the patch has passed internal quality bars, external participants will be asked to help test the fix. Our current plan is to release beta test versions of a fix over the next few months, with a final version currently estimated for June 2008.

Some of you will probably want to get on board with that beta test. In the meantime, let’s all heed those warnings. [Updated Windows Knowledge Base Support Page; Windows Home Server Official Blog]