Hands-on with unannounced Samsung Media Center Extender

We've got virtually zero info on this one, but Microsoft was showing it off, which at least means it's for realsies and daddy's proud. This unnamed Samsung Media Center Extender is quite a bit smaller than most other units competing in the space, so there's certainly that, but we've chatted up Samsung on this and they said it's not coming out -- which most likely means there aren't any concrete release plans, but you never know.

Hands-on with unannounced Samsung Media Center Extender

[Bender Bending Rodriguez Posted Jan 8th 2008 3:24PM]

People bitch that the AppleTV doesn't have Composite and S-Video and this doesn't even have Component.

Personally, the use of only HDMI makes me interested in this product. Love to get some specs here.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 8th 2008 4:37PM]

Um... read the article?
"unannounced Samsung Media Center Extender" and "but we've chatted up Samsung on this and they said it's not coming out"

Meaning its either a proof in concept and/or nowhere near a finished product yet.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 9th 2008 12:30AM]

I was just at their booth and spoke to someone who seemed to be in the 'know. First off, this unit only works with select Samsung TVs.. so its not a full media center extender like say the linksys or dlink, its a portion of a media extender and the rest of it is actually inside these select models of Samsung TVs. What the expert told me is that they are using the HDMI link to send commands back and forth between the TV and the 'extender'.. so you just cant use this thing and plug it into any HDMI port on any TV. Now, i personally have never heard of using HDMI link for data commands, but that's what the man says. I will say though, VERY slick looking..

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 14th 2008 12:21AM]

HDMI CEC is to sent control messages between CE devices.