TVSquad

While solid state memory is all the rage in laptops these days, it's not something you see in media center computers very often. That's because while solid state disks are usually faster and more durable than old fashioned hard disks, they're much more expensive. Like, you can pick up a half terabyte hard drive for cheaper than a 32GB SSD.

But Okoro Media Systems' latest PC gives you the best of both worlds, with a 32GB SSD for the operating system and other important files, and a 1TB HDD for storing music, videos, and all your other media goodies. The OMS-ZX100 also packs a 3GHz quad core processor, 3GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT video card with HDMI output, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD playback, and Windows Vista Ultimate. You can also get the case painted in "any automotive color," which is a nice perk that doesn't quite make up for the fact that this sucker will set you back more than a used car. Prices start at $5995.

[via Engadget]

Okoro Media Systems has unveiled its new "entry level" media center PC with CableCard support. And while Okoro has never been known for releasing low-cost machines, the OMS-CX100's $1795 starting price makes the phrase a bit hard to swallow.

You get an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz processor, 1333 MMHz front side bus, 2GB of DDR memory, a 320GB hard drive, NVIDIA graphics card with 256MB of RAM and HDCP output. But we're betting an awful large chunk of the price comes from the ATI digital TV tuner. Slap an over the air HDTV tuner in there instead, and we imagine the price would come way down.

Of course, a few years ago, people were paying $10,000 for HDTV sets. Prices come down if you give them enough time. And if the high priced technologies are widely adopted. But with CableCard PC tuners driving up the costs of media center PCs, we're not sure there will really be enough early adopters to help drive the price down over the next few years. Especially when you can get a high definition TiVo for a few hundred bucks or a generic cable company PVR for just a monthly fee.

[via Chris Lanier]

High-end home theater makers Okoro Media Systems has introduced its 2007 BX series with support for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

The BX100 and BX300 will both sport a single optical drive that can play back either high definition format. The thing is, this is the sort of thing that drives up the price significantly on already expensive machines. And while it's too early to tell whether Blu-ray or HD-DVD will go the way of Betamax, you're taking a gamble by plopping down $3000+ on a machine simply because it supports both high def formats.

Of course, if you could peek into your crystal ball and determine that three years from now there'd be a much wider selection of videos available on one format or the other, you'd still probably have to pay $2000+ to get a machine today that has support for Blu-ray or HD-DVD and:

• 2GB of DDR2 memory
• Windows Vista Ultimate
• 500GB to 1TB of storage
• HDCP output via Nvidia 8500GT graphics board
• Analog and ATSC HD TV tuners (times two on the pricier BX300)

So if you've got to be on the early adopter cutting edge, why not shell out a bit extra and get a dual format drive that may or may not be obsolete in a few years?
[via Engadget]

One of the biggest reasons to use Windows Vista Media Center rather than Windows Media Center 2005 has always been the CableCard support. There's just been one problem. Nobody's shipped a machine that can actually handle CableCards yet.

It looks like Velocity Micro's about to do just that. Velocity Micro's Chris Morley posted in the AVS Forum that the company could ship their CableCard capable Grand Theater line of home theater PCs starting this week. You can expect that PC to set you back at least $2200. Systems can be configured to support up to 4GB of RAM, and up to 2.25TB of hard drive space, but a fully decked out system will cost you considerably more.

Velocity Micro's hardly the only kid on the block working on a CableCard ready system. We can expect to see similar announcements soon from the likes of Niveus, Okoro, and others.