HP MediaSmart Connect brings digital media to your HDTV

Yeah, you may be burning that midnight oil, but your weariness isn't the reason you're certain you've seen this thing before. Touted at CES as the MediaSmart Receiver, the re-dubbed MediaSmart Connect is finally available for pre-order. Just as we heard before, this unit takes full advantage of Extender for Windows Media Center technology, and although it possesses no internal storage space, it will pull in digital media from around your home (and a variety of online media outlets) and pipe it straight to your HDTV. The unit plays nice with other UPnP- and DLNA-compliant devices and includes 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, an Ethernet port, HDMI / component jacks and support for MPEG2/4, DivX, XviD, WMV, MP3, WMA, AAC, JPEG and BMP files (among others). Prospective buyers can get their order in today for $349.

Gallery: HP MediaSmart Connect brings digital media to your HDTV

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[feffrey @ Jun 17th 2008 1:01AM]

Or get a popcorn hour A-100 that is cheaper, smaller, plays more codecs, and can support an internal hard drive.
Although this does have built in wifi, but you aren't going to use wifi streaming 1080p videos

[Andy @ Jun 17th 2008 1:10AM]

Why not? I watch lost in HD over wifi

[ds @ Jun 17th 2008 8:48AM]

@ Andy

I think you are confused. 1080p and wireless do not play well together. You watching Lost seems irrelevant.

[Jon @ Jun 17th 2008 8:52AM]

I own a Popcorn hour , Its great but not there yet , Menus are slow , No cover art .. was really hoping for a movie jukebox with cover art etc .. , But it can play Backup up blu ray which is great .. i cant wait for Version 2 ...

[dj-kenpo @ Jun 17th 2008 2:50PM]

XBMC eats your popcorn.

[Mark @ Jun 17th 2008 1:10AM]

it seems to me, the more expensive players are the more limited ones..

[rxse7en @ Jun 17th 2008 1:11AM]

At that price point wouldn't you be better off with a PS3 or XBox360? Some sort of media sharing I'm missing? Thanks.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru @ Jun 17th 2008 2:04AM]

You are absolutely right. It makes no sense whatsoever to buy this over a Sony PS3. I blogged about it here: http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/06/16/god-damn-stupidity/
explaining my reasoning.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru @ Jun 17th 2008 1:23AM]

It doesn't say anything if H.264 is supported (MPEG4 doesn't always mean h.264 you see as there's also MPEG4-SP and MPEG4-ASP instead of just MPEG4-AVC), and it doesn't say if the MOV container is supported as well as the MP4.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru @ Jun 17th 2008 1:24AM]

Also, what about .m2t, .mts and .m2ts files directly from HD consumer camcorders? The Sony PS3 supports those.

[polvadis @ Jun 17th 2008 1:32AM]

Wait, I'm confused. The article says it poses not internal storage drive but the picture shows it with an HP Pocket Media Drive. What am I missing here?

[holycow @ Jun 17th 2008 1:41AM]

No MKV No DEAL!

[V Langs @ Jun 17th 2008 1:47AM]

still the most elegant solution is having it built into the tv.


pioneer elite FTW!


(i love my elite)

[Kojak71 @ Jun 17th 2008 9:56AM]

Most of you are missing the point about this unit which is that it's primarily a Media Centre Extender (i.e. you can watch Live TV and TV recordings made on the host PC) so comparing it to a PS3 or Popcorn hour is pointless. So if you don't need the TV aspect you don't need this unit. If you do then it's either this (Linksys/Dlink also do MCX units), or an XBox360 which is a fairer comparison on paper. However, in use, the fact that MCX units makes no noise at all (and that the Linksys DMA2100 has a tiny footprint) makes them the winner.

[orky @ Jun 17th 2008 4:38PM]

dual-band wireless-n on the linksys ones really help streaming wirelessly HD content

[Eugenia Loli-Queru @ Jun 17th 2008 5:52AM]

The PS3 has a very good video remote control, which is what I use. I don't use the remote control for it.

As for the PS3, except the .mov container (which it easily transcodes in seconds to MP4 without re-encoding via Quicktime Pro), it supports all modern formats.

As for this HP device, I don't think it's able to take advantage of more formats via Windows Media Extender, only the PC running WME is. In which case, you would need a full PC to do that job. And a good PC that can playback 1080p costs over $1000. In other words, the PS3 is still a better deal.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru @ Jun 17th 2008 5:53AM]

>I don't use the remote control for it.

I meant, the gaming control.

[Jono345 @ Jun 17th 2008 6:10AM]

Uhhhh, my harmony remote turns on the 360 and puts it into extender mode (which is just the normal Windows Media Center Extender, same as the one in vista). My only gripe with the damn thing is that while DivX playback from the dashboard is supported, DivX is not supported in Media Centre Extender mode, which is rather annoying, and the reason I only use it to watch TV recordings from my PC.

[majortom1981 @ Jun 17th 2008 7:27AM]

How is it that it containts no internal storage but the pictures shows a HARDDRIVE?

[majortom1981 @ Jun 17th 2008 7:32AM]

Engadget either didnt do their research or has poor editing.

The MediaSmart Connect supports a hdd but it doesnt come with one out of the box. you have to buy it seperately. it says so right on HP's Website.

http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/598857-0-0-225-121.html

"HP Pocket Media Drive (Drive not included)
Optional – Recommended "

[Ian @ Jun 17th 2008 9:37AM]

At the minimum they could have added CableCard support...but they didn't. Basically this machine answers a question nobody asked IMHO.

[tcc3 @ Jun 17th 2008 11:33AM]

Its an extender, not a Media Center. The cable card would go in the PC its streaming from.

[RipVanShtinkel @ Jun 18th 2008 11:30AM]

Are you kidding?
Another schlepped up box using microsoft based software and weak hardware!!
MCE is dead by the way to all of you bragging about it, supplanted by yet another microsoft crappy attempt at media control and presentation.....Vista.
With all of the resources these companies have, how can they keep putting out these still-born products that merely scratch at the surface of what a media sever should be?
I'm going back to sleep, wake me when the flying cars arrive.

[ds @ Jun 17th 2008 8:54AM]

If my "little lady" was not content using a 360 or PS3 for movie playback, but instead needed a way to do it that required her to not think or move too many muscles in her hands.. well I would tell her to not watch the damn movie

..quite a lazy group of people we all are

[Some Kid @ Jun 17th 2008 10:52AM]

so this has pocket drive support(of which their new computers mainly dont use), though it doesnt have personal media drive support(which most of their new desktops do use)
im confused.......
and what is the point of having WiFi on this thing again, cause last time i checked unless youre streaming a 5 GHz 802.11N, it doesnt work well to dtream HD
and this should be used for mainly HD
Sony and Sling beat them to it, and made better versions (respectively)
oh, and Apple too

[John @ Jun 17th 2008 10:53AM]

Cue in Dire Straits... "I want my... MKV"

[dj-kenpo @ Jun 17th 2008 2:54PM]

xbxo360 and ps3 may not be the greatest but who cares?

xbox1 + XBMC is still the king.

an $80 device trumps this and every other attempt.

anytime I see a device like this it feels like a sleazy knife salesman at my door.

I wish engadget would put a disclaimer on these posts so the less tech aware would always know there's something better and cheaper instead of getting swindled.

[xtranova @ Jun 18th 2008 3:50AM]

IT IS APPLE TV!!!!!!!!!!! COPYCAT! HP

[David @ Jun 18th 2008 11:29AM]

Will MediaSmart Connect stream and play a DVD that is mounted in a PC? Another question is; Will it also stream and play DVD content that resides on a PC Hard Drive?

Thanks;

[Xircon @ Jun 24th 2008 2:18PM]

This does work with 1080p wireless very well. Although if you are doing true HD TV wireless N is suggested (which it does have).