Piixl EdgeCenter 3770 media PC slides behind your flat panel, doesn't get the attention it deserves

Unorthodox media center PCs aren't anything new; if you can dream it up, there's most likely an option out there with your name on it. Piixl's newest entry, however, has a fairly decent shot at appealing to more than just the home theater junkies, but only time will tell if the London-based startup can convince consumers that they really need another slab of machinery behind their flat-panel. The EdgeCenter 3770 is essentially an ultraslim HTPC with an enclosure that's engineered to mount directly behind flat-panel HDTVs through their VESA mounting interface. The whole thing is just 30mm deep and can fit screens ranging from 37- to 70-inches, and if you're worried about it being underpowered, don't be. The base configuration is equipped with a 3Ghz Core 2 Duo chip, while Core i5 and Core i7 options (not to mention discrete GPUs) are available for those with the spare poundage. Interested parties can order theirs now starting at £2,490 ($4,043), though it's frighteningly easy to push that well into five figure territory.

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London, the 12th December 2009

PiixL Ltd, a London based Technology Start-up, is excited to announce the release of their new EdgeCenter range this week! The EdgeCenter is a totally new breed of Media Center Computer, designed to be mounted directly behind flat screen TVs through their VESA mounting interface, for example between a flat screen TV and a wall mount mechanism. Only 30mm deep and adjustable to fit screens sizes ranging from 37 to 70 inches, the EdgeCenter stays quiet and invisible while leaving all the useful controls, I/Os and Physical Media readers accessible right behind the edge of any flat screen TV!

Beyond its striking design, a few features instantly single out the EdgeCenter from any other Media Center Computer available today:

- Ultra flexible design: already available with processors ranging from Core2 Duo to Two-Way Core i7, optional Discrete 7.1 Audio, up to four TV Tuners and the latest generation of Graphic cards, providing both Media Oriented and Power Users the perfect solution!

- Easy to use: The first ever computer with built-in PowerLine networking! Comes with Windows 7, MyMovies extension pre-installed and a choice of of accessories carefully selected for a one-stop, all-in-one platform.

- Durable: Unmatched components quality sourcing, all aluminium chassis, and a truly future proof Design where

all components can be upgraded at PiixL's facilities.

[Mushrooshi Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:18PM]

I guess this is thinking... Outside of the Box.

[Alexicov Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:21PM]

@Mushrooshi

YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH

[a dark day Posted Dec 13th 2009 6:03AM]

OOOOOOKKKKKKKK

WHHAAAATTTTTTTT

[ElCapitan Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:28PM]

Holy Crap. What is this for? Some of the configurations are ridiculous? Dual xenons with 24GB of RAM? Not to mention a pretty good ATI graphics card

[Special Agent Steve Posted Dec 12th 2009 11:29PM]

@ElCapitan
I feel like you deserve an upvote just because you're between these two awesome posts.
Yeah.

[KingJustin Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:29PM]

Starting at $4K... How about just buying a couple cables and putting a computer in a closet?

[Alexicov Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:34PM]

@KingJustin

Maybe they want to... Come out of the closet.

[p0p0 Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:42PM]

@Alexicov

YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH

[MeanSpyvie Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:04PM]

@KingJustin

Or just zip-tie an open mobo and power supply to the back of your TV and save about $3000

[YpoCaramel Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:12PM]

@KingJustin UK electronics are expensive.... If it ever comes out in the USA it would be closer to $2500-3000.... that said, these things are a bit boutique and aimed at the home theater market, where people have cash to burn.

[Shinigami Posted Dec 12th 2009 10:13PM]

@KingJustin As an alternative: Asus EEE box or one of its variations with ION.

[bakedbeans6 Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:31PM]

This is exactly what I've been looking for....... wait, what? HOW MUCH???

Nevermind.

[octoberasian Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:38PM]

Question is: How the hell they managed to cool an i5 and i7 in that amount of space? O.o;

Something they should probably share with the laptop manufacturers.

[twistyaction Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:48PM]

@octoberasian The case glowing red-hot is the newest way to backlight your flatscreen.

I like that the optical drive slides out on rails (I assume) to be accessible near the edge of the monitor. I'd love a Blu-Ray equipped Dell Zino in this form factor for about 20-25% of the price of this.

[YpoCaramel Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:16PM]

@octoberasian It's also substantially bigger than a laptop... These things are going behind 40-60" screens after all. Just use the optical drive as a frame of reference. Cooling would still be a neat trick though....

[nrp Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:29PM]

@octoberasian
It's not much thinner than a 1U server, and those can have over a kilowatt of CPU heat in them.

[triptych Posted Dec 12th 2009 9:01PM]

@nrp They also sound like jet engines.

[octoberasian Posted Dec 12th 2009 9:48PM]

@triptych

That's the thing, I was thinking 1U server cases as well, but that looks slightly thinner than 1U server case. And, those 1U cases are loud as hell. So, either they have a similar cooling scheme as a 1U server case or they figured out how to make very efficient heatpipe cooling without burning the whole thing down, and keeping it quiet while you watch that BluRay movie pumping through several speakers.

[conscious Posted Dec 12th 2009 9:49PM]

For that kind of money I don't want it hiding behind my tv, I want that thing front and center with a laser light show, smoke machine, and dance routine, constantly trying to justify its price.

[ferrell Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:39PM]

OR...You could buy a laptop with a broken LCD on eBay for about a tenth the price and have the same exact functionality.

[NeoXY Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:44PM]

My family just mounted our 40 inch BRAVIA on the wall. As I read this article, I said to my self, my mum would love it!

Than I saw the price.

Never mind.

[WhatGeeksDotCom Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:54PM]

Semi off toppic but I did a little digging on why can't we make these netbook, laptop HDTV, LCD's more energy efficient thus giving us more of what we want, battery life. I'm confused as to why Asus, HP, Dell and all the other PC manufactures aren't working with Pixel Qi? I read on their website they're talking about a release date of this month but I haven't heard or read anything covering the technology behind this. I mean extending battery life 3 to 4 times on netbooks and laptops I would think would be pretty big news... Can someone cool reporter at Engadget shed some light on this and get the whole scoop. I wouldn't mind waiting around a little longer to pick up another laptop or netbook with an insane amount of battery life :)

[FitFan Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:05PM]

@WhatGeeksDotCom

Actually, that was completely off topic.

[WhatGeeksDotCom Posted Dec 12th 2009 9:09PM]

@FitFan Granted, but still want more coverage on this....

[Yoshi1080 Posted Dec 12th 2009 7:56PM]

So it's like a media center docking station for TVs ... I like that! Too expensive for me, though.

[Thiran Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:01PM]

I am interesting in getting a home theatre pc set up going for my home. I saw this and thought this would be pretty neat, but alas the price range is way out of my league. Does anyone know a cost friendly approach for a media center pc? I was taking a look at the Myka ION and other things like WD HD TV and they seem decent enough. Any suggestions?

[jon Posted Dec 12th 2009 10:12PM]

@Thiran

It all depends on what you want to do with it.

Problem is HTPC means different things to different people.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 13th 2009 1:27AM]

@Thiran
Simple. Build your own.

Aim for cool and quiet rather than super powerful. Passive cooled video card, under clocked processor, quiet fans, acoustically isolated hard drives.. Your choice how far you go. Bung in a few tuner cards or dongles, and a good sized hard drive, and you are ready to go.

Anything that is sold as an HTPC will be sold at a huge premium, but not offer much if anything beyond the standard desktop PC capabilities in a fancy case.

[Shinigami Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:05PM]

And I thought Monster cables are expensive...

[Skate It Dont Spray It Posted Dec 13th 2009 5:24AM]

@(Unverified)
This comes with its own Monster cables

[YpoCaramel Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:28PM]

Great. An ION version for the bedroom next please...

[Martin C Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:45PM]

I'll add this to the list of things that won't be available for purchase by the time I could afford them. But damn is it cool.

[richb93 Posted Dec 12th 2009 8:50PM]

Everything on their site is horribly overpriced. £79.90 for a Media Centre remote when I can get one on eBay for a tenner? No thanks

[frewster Posted Dec 12th 2009 9:16PM]

I can't wait to see a teardown of this!

[SolidSnake Posted Dec 12th 2009 10:00PM]

@frewster
at $4000, I doubt anyone has the balls to take this thing apart....

[Ducman69 Posted Dec 12th 2009 11:01PM]

VESA mounts are huge, which means this thing is huge.

Asus already has something similar you can hang off the back of your HDTV or monitor w/ a 330ION and ION IIRC for way cheap.

[Ducman69 Posted Dec 12th 2009 11:02PM]

@(Unverified) err I meant 330 Atom.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 12th 2009 11:28PM]

Looks like it's just one big heat sink. And it still wouldn't be enough to cool the hardware. Maybe it also requires cold water plumbing.

[chodaboy19 Posted Dec 13th 2009 10:41AM]

Now this is innovation.

[DougieBear Posted Dec 13th 2009 12:27PM]

Can you even put your tv on the wall after this?

[sparky25890 Posted Dec 13th 2009 7:16PM]

@(Unverified) Really?

You read the article right?

Thought that would have helped.

[raaaaaa Posted Dec 13th 2009 2:02PM]

if the whole is made of aluminum I can see how they can keep it cool

[Viakenny Posted Dec 14th 2009 6:59PM]

is it just me or it looks like the old logo for France Télévisions (the French public broadcaster)?