Easy HTPC

Lenovo has introduced a new HTPC, the IdeaCentre Q700. The system is comfortably nestled between the size and specifications of a nettop and full-blown HTPC. It should fit in perfectly with your other home theater equipment, and its hardware ought to chew through basic HTPC-oriented tasks.

The IdeaCentre Q700 is equipped with an Intel Pentium E5200 2.5GHz CPU and X4500 integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM, and the choice between a 320GB, 500GB or 640GB HDD. Although it’s not available with a Blu-ray drive at the moment, it does come with a DVD burner.

It also houses an HDMI and VGA-out, TV tuner, eight USB 2.0 ports (split between front and back), Firewire, an eSATA connector, a 4-in-1 card reader, 5.1 surround sound outputs, gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. Models are available with a remote and USB receiver dongle, and all ship with Vista Home Premium 64-bit installed.

Granted, you won’t be playing high-end games on max with smooth frame rates but the Q700 crams a lot into its 2.36″ x 7.87″ x 9.84″ box. The offer only looks better when you consider its $499 asking price.

Via Techspot.com

Pundits may argue that the modern day HTPC has no place in the modern day living room, but we disagree. In fact, with the economy still struggling to regain its swagger, folks are staying in and finding entertainment at home more than ever. It’s that truth that spurred us to start this here project: building a fully capable, Blu-ray and TV tuner-equipped HTPC for less than a grand. And lo and behold, we made it happen. If you’re interested in seeing exactly how we pieced together a mighty fine entertainment box for less than the starting price of most pre-configured systems, hop on past the break with your notepad open.

If you’ll recall, we did a similar piece on HTPC building way back in early 2006. A format war and a digital TV transition later, we figured it was finally time to issue a revised edition. With disposable income becoming an increasingly rare commodity, we put a soft $1,000 cap on our model rig, and we did our darnedest to construct a solid, potent media PC that could easily be built by any DIY’er reading this now.

Read More.

Via Engadget.com

Back in May, Netflix officially was added to Windows Media Center–the Vista version, that is. The new app, which uses Microsoft’s Silverlight streaming video technology, should automatically show up in your Vista Media Center menu. But if you’re using any version of Windows 7? No dice. Sure, there are several work-arounds developed by the enthusiast community (there have been for years, in fact), such asMyNetflix and vmcNetflix. But even as Microsoft announced this, and a version for the Xbox, there was nothing for Windows 7. Until today.

Yesterday, during Steve Ballmer’s keynote at a Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting in Seattle, Mike Ybarra (general manager of Windows Product Management at Microsoft) publicly demonstrated Netflix smoothly integrated in the Windows Media Center menu. The app will be completely touch-enabled, which I believe means it takes advantage of Windows Presentation Foundation, the new way programs are written for Windows to take advantage of the power of the GPU. No word on when it will be made available, or if it will roll out to beta, release candidate, or miscellaneous (read: Bittorrent) versions of the OS. I could only grab this blurry image, but if you’re curious, watch the demo yourself–I’d advise skipping past the bluster to the 1 hour, 2 minute mark.

What’s also interesting were Ybarra’s other comments: “Now we know that there’s a trend happening right now where people are using more and more media on the PC. In fact, there’s a lot of articles out there about a shift from people watching on the TV and coming to the PC. And as we approach Windows 7’s general availability on October 22nd, we’re going to have some more announcements around this particular area.” My guess: Hulu integrated in the online section of the Windows Media Center guide. Please? Pretty please??

Via Appscout.com