Each year at CEDIA, we've been downright floored with Niveus' lineup. Unfortunately, it's out of reach for the vast majority of "mainstreet" dwellers. At long (long!) last, the company has decided to expand its reach and offer a product for the blue collars in America, and on paper, the Zone looks like a real champ in the flagging HTPC arena. Measuring in at 6.5- x 6.5- x 1.97-inches, this 3.2 pound box packs an awful lot of media playing oomph into a ridiculously small enclosure. Specs wise, we're looking at a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T5750 CPU, 2GB of RAM, gigabit Ethernet, a 160GB SATA drive, slot-loading Blu-ray optical drive, front-mounted IR receiver, bundled media remote, Intel's GMA X4500 HD graphics, HDMI 1.3 / eSATA ports and support for 7.1-channel surround sound. Over on the software front, you'll see Windows Vista Home Premium along with Niveus' own suite of apps (Movie Library, Studio, Media Server Companion and Weather). Unlike any other Niveus system, consumers can purchase the Zone for $1,499 directly from the outfit's website, and there's also a unique Zone Community down in the read link; check out a promotional vid after the break if you wish.
Actually Niveus just lost a bit of credibility in my book.
"the Niveus Music Library" "Niveus Photo & Video Library"
Those are standard features in Windows Media Center and come out of the box with Vista. At least they're not showing anything new in that video with regard to those features.
I've often toyed with the idea of getting a HTPC, but in the grand scheme of things I don't really know what they're useful for. At the very least this one doubles as a Blu-ray player, so it seems like a safe investment either way.
I love my HTPC and use it as my main PC. It's really handy to be able to combine TV, video, music, photos, games, internet and all your other PC needs into one PC that you can use from the comfort of your sofa. Another benefit is that one box replaces at least three or four in my lounge.
Also, bittorrent (or equivalent) only really makes sense on an HTPC :)
yeah, but then youd forgo the bluray drive and media center. if you forgo the media center, then you forgo the universal remote. thus, you end up with an attractive little computer with a tv for a monitor.
i almost went the mac route for my htpc, but windows just makes more sense for real world home theater use.
Blu-ray is a pretty major difference. Slot loading Blu-ray is hard to find. I can also see the IR reciever being VERY useful, and it's hard to get that anywhere - even if you build it yourself. The mac mini cannot compare in terms of being an HTPC.
But it is a bit of a rip-off $1500, it's graphic card is pathetic, and it doesn't even have a TV tuner! Good HTPCs are hard to find at a decent price :(
Install Plex for free on it and get continuous updates and web content viewing as well! You lose the Blu-Ray option, of course, but that's not a huge dealbreaker for me...
first of all ever mac comes with Frontrow which is the equivalent of media center. You can get upgrade and make a mac mini into something similar to this however you could just get a PS3 and upgrade the HDD to say 500gb which will save you about $900 and give you a system a lot more capable than the Niveus. Not to mention that a 4500 gpu is barely capable of running blue-ray content and you most definitely won't be playing any games on it.
I agree that the price is high, but this is only a fair comparison to the mini with respect to its enclosure. For the given specs, I could see this thing selling amazing well for a little inder a thoudand. It could go much higher if they put in a full sized 1TB HDD, 4gb ram, at least an ati or nvidia chip (even if it is one of those low end integrated ones - like the 7200 or whatever). For me, the disk space is the largest issue. I have several hundred gigabytes of movie files, and with bluray rips (about 15 gigs a piece in 1080p DivX), a 1TB or greater drive would be great.
I don't think Niveus is marketing to those who want to (can) build their own HTPC. This device is designed for those who want a turn-key media center solution that has better support/looks than what you can go buy at the local Costco/Best Buy. Most products that Engadget reviews are overpriced in the eyes of the tech-savy.
As far as a TV tuner, if you're not on basic cable or off air antenna, it won't do you much good. I would gladly give up that feature for the smaller foot print. Some people have to have a tuner, which is why they are available separate. A small USB tv tuner takes up little space, and is very affordable.
I would go for a cheaper version with customizing options. I dont need the BD and Id rather put my own HDD in. Is this Case available elsewhere? Barebones?
Maybe it's just local phenomenon but I've seen nothing but growth in HTPC over the last year or so. The combination of ready-for-prime-time software and small form-factor PCs and cases has made the HTPC quite desireable. Plus, I keep showing everyone my XBMC build and they want.
ugh...that price. Unless youre a mogul with money to burn, when it comes to HTPC - best off to build your own, and use OS of choice. Looking forward to see what the ion platform can do for the htpc community. Id love to see shuttle bring out an ion based htpc barebone... Mmmmm
Though I wouldn't get this HTPC because of the Intel graphics and lack of built in recording at that price, I would certainly take it over a cobbled together multidevice solution that costs almost as much, that doesn't have a unified interface.
I'd recommend that instead of piecing all that together, build your own HTPC, as you can build a good HTPC (not in such a nice little case with slot-loading though) for WAY cheaper, with integrated recording, and probably throw in a PS3 for gaming (though with a wireless keyboard/mouse/gamepad you can certainly get enough gaming out of the HTPC).
Ok people, before you write this off as the worst invention in the world you have to look at the specifics.
Slot Loading Blue-Ray Size Easy User Connectivity Excellent UI
This system isn't made for the person who can spend a week, building, and researching their own device. It's made for an everyday "Joe" whom really enjoys movies, and wants his TV area to look clean. And whomever claims the video card in incapable, I've looked it up it's fully capable of 1080. Yes, this item isn't the next Iphone, but I do see its place in the market, as an excellent top HTPC model.
$1500? April fool joke? $300 for Ion! You can get an external blu-ray for $200+ and connect it to Ion and spend the remaining $1000 on a PC or laptop or HDTV.
This is simply an AOpen miniPC MP45-BDR barebones case. I picked up one of these with built in blue ray for $350.00. The total build cost me around $600.00 for the exact same box. Save yourself $900 and build it yourself!
Indeed this is the aopen MP45-BDR. I just built this same box too but with a P8600 instead of the T5750. Win7-64 beta works *great* - everything, even the remote, worked out of the box - but I did have to install the Intel ICH9 chipset driver from the included drivers CD; as usual, Windows' "look online for driver" doesn't work.
I bought my mp45-BDR from thenerds.net for $312 shipped, but their price has since shot up - there are others still selling this model for ~300 so hurry up before they realize their mistake! The bluray drive in this thing (Sony BC-5600s) goes for $300 on most sites alone!!
Got the processor (p8600) from Oribt Micro for $180; $40 cheaper than newegg BUT it looks like a pull and only has a 30 day warranty from them - it works fine but maybe that $40 isn't worth the risk. I would stick with a 25W processor - less pwr == less heat == more quiet.
HDD and 2x2 GB 800 Mhz OCZ memory from newegg. Aopen's website says something about how this system will not recognize 4GB due to "chipset limitation"; this was vague but all they mean is you'll lose some to shared video memory, obviously.
Total system build cost ~700. No wifi, but I don't really need it for HTPC use; I'd rather have the speed and reliability of gigabit ethernet for streaming. I'm looking for a place to buy the internal tv tuner kit Aopen lists as an accessory.
S1Digital has the same system (Mini Edition). http://www.s1digital.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MCME. Specs look the same except CPU is upgraded to P8400 (2.26) and HDD is larger at 250GB. But the price is $50 more... So I guess it's a wash, depends on whether you'd prefer to get a Nvieus or S1Digital branded box I guess
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posted Apr 1st 2009 8:41AM
How quiet is it?
Actually Niveus just lost a bit of credibility in my book.
"the Niveus Music Library"
"Niveus Photo & Video Library"
Those are standard features in Windows Media Center and come out of the box with Vista. At least they're not showing anything new in that video with regard to those features.
Sounds like this is ripping the movies to your harddrive, which would be of great value to me. No more scratched discs from my five year old!!!!
Ooohh, pretty.
I've often toyed with the idea of getting a HTPC, but in the grand scheme of things I don't really know what they're useful for. At the very least this one doubles as a Blu-ray player, so it seems like a safe investment either way.
I love my HTPC and use it as my main PC. It's really handy to be able to combine TV, video, music, photos, games, internet and all your other PC needs into one PC that you can use from the comfort of your sofa. Another benefit is that one box replaces at least three or four in my lounge.
Also, bittorrent (or equivalent) only really makes sense on an HTPC :)
$1,499?? Why not get a Mac Mini with almost the same specs for $1000 less?
yeah, but then youd forgo the bluray drive and media center. if you forgo the media center, then you forgo the universal remote. thus, you end up with an attractive little computer with a tv for a monitor.
i almost went the mac route for my htpc, but windows just makes more sense for real world home theater use.
a mac with blue ray? april fools?
a mac with blue ray? april fools?
Blu-ray is a pretty major difference. Slot loading Blu-ray is hard to find.
I can also see the IR reciever being VERY useful, and it's hard to get that anywhere - even if you build it yourself.
The mac mini cannot compare in terms of being an HTPC.
But it is a bit of a rip-off $1500, it's graphic card is pathetic, and it doesn't even have a TV tuner!
Good HTPCs are hard to find at a decent price :(
Who cares about physical media? You can purchase HD content from iTunes, why bother wait for your movie to arrive in the mail?
iTunes? Why would I want to buy their DRM-infested garbage. Besides, is the quality of iTunes HD content as good as bluray? No.
There's a reason Apple doesn't compete in the HTPC space - they can't.
Some people know the difference between Blu-Ray and bandwidth restrained digital downloads.
Install Plex for free on it and get continuous updates and web content viewing as well! You lose the Blu-Ray option, of course, but that's not a huge dealbreaker for me...
"I can also see the IR reciever being VERY useful, and it's hard to get that anywhere - even if you build it yourself."
Yeah, the Mac Mini has an IR receiver. It also has Plex.
The only advantage of this is BluRay. I have a PS3... yeah, not quite as elegant overall, but it's a full scale solution.
@jakem: "iTunes? Why would I want to buy their DRM-infested garbage."
Not to defend DRM, but you do realize that Blu-Ray is also DRM infested, right?
ZOMG someone other than Apple is overpricing their computers - noooooooooo!!!
first of all ever mac comes with Frontrow which is the equivalent of media center. You can get upgrade and make a mac mini into something similar to this however you could just get a PS3 and upgrade the HDD to say 500gb which will save you about $900 and give you a system a lot more capable than the Niveus. Not to mention that a 4500 gpu is barely capable of running blue-ray content and you most definitely won't be playing any games on it.
I agree that the price is high, but this is only a fair comparison to the mini with respect to its enclosure. For the given specs, I could see this thing selling amazing well for a little inder a thoudand. It could go much higher if they put in a full sized 1TB HDD, 4gb ram, at least an ati or nvidia chip (even if it is one of those low end integrated ones - like the 7200 or whatever). For me, the disk space is the largest issue. I have several hundred gigabytes of movie files, and with bluray rips (about 15 gigs a piece in 1080p DivX), a 1TB or greater drive would be great.
Isn't that Aopen's mini Bluray slot drive case? You can build one for $500 less using the barebones case
Hey I see what you are talking about.
http://www.buy.com/prod/aopen-minipc-duo-mp965-d-barebone-system-intel-gm965-express-socket-p/q/loc/101/206699113.html
looks very similar to me.
With Cable Card support?
Awesome find! Love it. Makes this Niveus thing look like a joke.
I don't think Niveus is marketing to those who want to (can) build their own HTPC. This device is designed for those who want a turn-key media center solution that has better support/looks than what you can go buy at the local Costco/Best Buy. Most products that Engadget reviews are overpriced in the eyes of the tech-savy.
As far as a TV tuner, if you're not on basic cable or off air antenna, it won't do you much good. I would gladly give up that feature for the smaller foot print. Some people have to have a tuner, which is why they are available separate. A small USB tv tuner takes up little space, and is very affordable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116031&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Video+Devices+++TV+Tuners-_-Hauppauge-_-15116031
If only mac mini had Blu-ray!
I would go for a cheaper version with customizing options. I dont need the BD and Id rather put my own HDD in. Is this Case available elsewhere? Barebones?
the neuros is open software, uses ubuntu and only costs $300. waaaaaaay better deal.
I like that in the photo the USB ports are angled and wonky.
it spells quality.
wow, this is a perrfect media centre. blu ray drives are rare in most..
wish it was cheaper :'( boo hoo..
Quote: ...the flagging HTPC arena
Maybe it's just local phenomenon but I've seen nothing but growth in HTPC over the last year or so. The combination of ready-for-prime-time software and small form-factor PCs and cases has made the HTPC quite desireable. Plus, I keep showing everyone my XBMC build and they want.
-aedile-
ugh...that price. Unless youre a mogul with money to burn, when it comes to HTPC - best off to build your own, and use OS of choice. Looking forward to see what the ion platform can do for the htpc community. Id love to see shuttle bring out an ion based htpc barebone... Mmmmm
A7
Seriously- I'll take a mac mini with plex, a ps3 for bluray, and a 2tb nas all for the price of this mediocre overpriced htpc.
Thanks for making something "affordable"! Does that mean only 40% profit now?
Though I wouldn't get this HTPC because of the Intel graphics and lack of built in recording at that price, I would certainly take it over a cobbled together multidevice solution that costs almost as much, that doesn't have a unified interface.
I'd recommend that instead of piecing all that together, build your own HTPC, as you can build a good HTPC (not in such a nice little case with slot-loading though) for WAY cheaper, with integrated recording, and probably throw in a PS3 for gaming (though with a wireless keyboard/mouse/gamepad you can certainly get enough gaming out of the HTPC).
Seems like a good idea, until you notice the price.
If only the Mac Mini had Bluray.
It needs a TV tuner, or at least enough expansion space to add one in the flavour you need.
There are tuner options
get a wdtv with ext3 firmware hack + usb ethernet , work with all the HD mkv files.
Ok people, before you write this off as the worst invention in the world you have to look at the specifics.
Slot Loading Blue-Ray
Size
Easy User Connectivity
Excellent UI
This system isn't made for the person who can spend a week, building, and researching their own device. It's made for an everyday "Joe" whom really enjoys movies, and wants his TV area to look clean. And whomever claims the video card in incapable, I've looked it up it's fully capable of 1080.
Yes, this item isn't the next Iphone, but I do see its place in the market, as an excellent top HTPC model.
Way to bring the iPhone into a htpc article, douche.
Sent from my iPhone.
So where does that $0.67 check get sent from exactly?
$1500? April fool joke?
$300 for Ion! You can get an external blu-ray for $200+ and connect it to Ion and spend the remaining $1000 on a PC or laptop or HDTV.
This is simply an AOpen miniPC MP45-BDR barebones case. I picked up one of these with built in blue ray for $350.00. The total build cost me around $600.00 for the exact same box. Save yourself $900 and build it yourself!
Sweet. Thanks for the info!
how's the startup time? does it run quiet?
Yes, it's actually very quiet. Runs like a champ.
Good info there Smooth.
Cause $1499 ain't exactly blue collar in my book. $399 and now you're talking but jeebus I would never spend $1500 bucks on a PC of any type.
Indeed this is the aopen MP45-BDR. I just built this same box too but with a P8600 instead of the T5750. Win7-64 beta works *great* - everything, even the remote, worked out of the box - but I did have to install the Intel ICH9 chipset driver from the included drivers CD; as usual, Windows' "look online for driver" doesn't work.
I bought my mp45-BDR from thenerds.net for $312 shipped, but their price has since shot up - there are others still selling this model for ~300 so hurry up before they realize their mistake! The bluray drive in this thing (Sony BC-5600s) goes for $300 on most sites alone!!
Got the processor (p8600) from Oribt Micro for $180; $40 cheaper than newegg BUT it looks like a pull and only has a 30 day warranty from them - it works fine but maybe that $40 isn't worth the risk. I would stick with a 25W processor - less pwr == less heat == more quiet.
HDD and 2x2 GB 800 Mhz OCZ memory from newegg. Aopen's website says something about how this system will not recognize 4GB due to "chipset limitation"; this was vague but all they mean is you'll lose some to shared video memory, obviously.
Total system build cost ~700. No wifi, but I don't really need it for HTPC use; I'd rather have the speed and reliability of gigabit ethernet for streaming. I'm looking for a place to buy the internal tv tuner kit Aopen lists as an accessory.
S1Digital has the same system (Mini Edition). http://www.s1digital.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MCME. Specs look the same except CPU is upgraded to P8400 (2.26) and HDD is larger at 250GB. But the price is $50 more... So I guess it's a wash, depends on whether you'd prefer to get a Nvieus or S1Digital branded box I guess
Just ordered :-)
Somehow, I just think this thing is a little pricey for a HTPC...although the specs are nice.