Okoro's ultraslim SX100 HTPC updated with quad CableCARD support
By Darren Murph 
posted July 24th 2010 9:59AM
posted July 24th 2010 9:59AM
Who says you need a supercomputer in your den to record four high-def feeds at once? Okoro Media Systems, a long-standing player in the pre-fab HTPC business, has just unleashed the latest update to its OMS-SX100, which measures in at just three inches tall and should slide in easily to whatever AV cabinet you're currently using. The base $1,695 system is equipped with a 2.93GHz Core i3-530 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a Blu-ray drive, 2TB SATA hard drive, integrated 7.1 channel surround sound, Windows 7 (SageTV 6.5 is an optional install) and gigabit Ethernet. Oh, and did we mention a quad HD tuner and room for up to 219 hours of DVR footage? It's up for order in the source link, but we'd caution against just venturing down for venturing's sake. [Thanks, Jeff]
Okoro Media Systems Upadates SX100 Multi-tuner Media PC for HD DVR Hungry Consumers
Okoro Media's slim SX100 Media PC answers the need for multiple show recording with over 219 hours of DVR storage available for HD CableTV programming.
Rosemont, IL (PRWEB) June 20, 2010 -- Okoro Media Systems™, manufacturer of Digital Entertainment Systems for the A/V market, introduces the availability of the 2010 SX100 slim Digital Entertainment System. The 2010 SX100 is a thin Digital Entertainment System designed to record HD television programming from the customer's cable TV provider or free over the air HD signals. With its built-in quad HD tuner, customers can record up to four shows simultaneously. The unit also includes a CableCARD slot that can used to record premium HD channels such as Showtime, HBO and ESPNHD. Using a CableCARD from their provider, customers can replace their current set top/DVR with the SX100 unit.
At three inches high, the SX100 is designed to blend in seamlessly with existing home theater equipment while running quietly. The unit also has the ability to manage music, photos, movies, and allow the playback of Blu-ray titles and is 3D ready.
The SX100 is currently priced at $1695 and ships with the following standard features:
• 3" High Brushed Aluminum A\V styled Enclosure
• Intel i3 Processor technology
• Quad Tuner for recording HD Cable TV (CableCARD), QAM, and free over the air HD signals
• Blu-ray playback with 7.1 Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio via HDMI
• 2TB of storage for 219 hour of HD programming
• Windows 7 64bit operating system
• 4GB of system memory
• Access to Netflix service
For more information about the SX100 series or other OMS Digital Entertainment Systems, please click here or call (888) 420-1668
My DVR just pooped itself.
Its nice, but these things are still cost too much. I would rather build my own for $500
@Scrubs
A quad CableCARD tuner is $400 by itself so I'm not sure where you are going to get the rest for $100.
@BenD That's still quite expensive for the PC. The Core i3 is a dual core CPU, with the required video and audio decoding built in. This further reduces the cost. Note no mention of a video card........it doesn't need one. 2TB HDDs are $100 now, and Blu Ray reader drives can be had for $60. And those are retail costs. Imagine how much Okoro is getting them for.
@SikSlayer
It may not *need* a video card, but I expect it does.
If not, it should - Intel's GMA isn't great for HTPC's.
You also didn't think about motherboard, RAM, case, W7 licence.
I'm not saying it's a bargain - it's not. But it's just not as much of a ripoff as you're making out.
@FORDY You can easily get a similarly equipped HTPC with W7 plus quad cablecard tuner for under $1,000. $695+ is a hefty premium.
@FORDY Actually, I did. The new integrated GPU in the Core i3/i5 is more than sufficient for HTPC use, for decoding the video, AND providing support for lossless Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD.
I'm not going to sit here and make a parts list, but considering retail prices, it'd be about $1200 to build this on your own, OS and all. Okoro isn't paying retail for this stuff, so imagine their costs. Its probably costing them $800-850, and they sell it for $1700. They could have easily sold this for $1299.
@FORDY
Except the i3 530 doesn't use Intel GMA. It uses the new Intel HD Graphics processor built onto the same chip as the 530 itself. It does video acceleration and HD audio bitstreaming. Which, in fact, makes it perfect for HTPC scenarios. (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2921/3) As a matter of fact, I'm running this setup on a box I built just recently, and it's been able to handle 1080p decoding from blu-rays just fine.
Granted, the product spec lists the Intel X4500HD from the G45 chipset, which doesn't make any sense. I suspect that's just a copy/paste snafu by someone over at Okoro.
You still can't play any games with Intel HD graphics, but that does not appear to be a supported scenario on this machine anyway. There's no half-height discrete GPU that would make a good gaming GPU, so it's better not to waste money on that in the first place.
This long-winded post is to say that I agree with SikSlayer and kreg37. They are charging an enourmous premium.
@suicidebob This isn't about being a know it all, informed or not. The simple fact is this HTPC is overpriced. This is a prime example of just one of the myriad of reasons HTPCs aren't as popular as they could be. There is NO reason this should cost as much as it does. It could cost a good chunk less, and still leave room for profit.
@SikSlayer Thats the point of being a corporation... get with the program, bro
Now that's a powerful HTPC. If it's quiet and was waaaaaay cheaper I would consider. For now my mac mini is fine for me since I don't watch bluray or record tv.
Too much money for something with a lot of tuners which cannot tune a large amount of the stuff I pay for.
Hell though - it is has only been 15 years since that mandate to fix this crap.
magic of the free-markets and all I suppose.
@savagemike
I believe that the whole point of the CableCARD tuner is to allow you to receive encrypted channels, unlike the majority of tuners that will only receive ClearQAM/unencrypted broadcasts.
@savagemike The only thing you can't get is OnDemand. All encrypted channels are available with CableCARD. This isn't a ClearQAM.
I'm unclear as to what you think you aren't getting?
@savagemike
Well - aside from the dozen or more on-demand channels I get (not including pay movies)...
I also don't think these cable cards can tune Switched Digital Video.
Or do I have that wrong?
@savagemike
No CC can tune SDV content. They need a crappy tuning adapter cable box plugged in.
I saved a bunch of money on my cable bill by switching to OTA HD. :)
@One Love
I'm still waiting for it in my area..
Good luck finding 4 channels with something worth recording
...and the 6 Tuner OEM version comes out when ?
Are the tuner cards sharable over the network so that they can be used by other PCs on it? If they are, this is really a super deal, I'd get one to replace my cable box
@LANjackal
Knowing Ceton, it will keep delay and delay. And then it'd send you an electronic mail saying the problem was not its fault but the supply-chain's. Before long, HDHomerun will probably release the networked, 3-tuner CableCARD version. I suspect we'll have to wait until Santa comes along and drops one for each of us. I am not holding my breath for it to come out before September.
@allston232 "Knowing Ceton, it will keep delay and delay"
- True. Has that company ever even delivered a product?
"HDHomerun will probably release the networked, 3-tuner CableCARD version. I suspect we'll have to wait until Santa comes along and drops one for each of us. I am not holding my breath for it to come out before September."
- I don't know what it is about CableCARD products that makes them take forever to drop. I've been waiting for the HDHomerun unit to hit the market myself, it would solve a LOT of my home theater/media center issues in one fell swoop. Unfortunately at the rate they're going I'd be surprised if it ever sees a store shelf. *sigh*
Might as well just buy the parts.
It's just a Silverstone case anyway. Nothing proprietary happening here.
@arkweld I knew that was a Silverstone case but which one is it? That's been driving me nuts all afternoon because I've been trying to price it out on my own and I can't find that case anymore.
@wyssaj01
Lascala LC19
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc19&area=usa
I was looking at building a HTPC about 2 months ago and was scared off because of the bad integration of bluray playback in windows 7 especially through media centre.
Has this been addressed yet?
@Sicarius123 From what I understand, Win7 doesn't have a native Blu-ray player, but there are several third-party Blu-ray playback solutions with Media Center plugins that give it a seamless interface.
Hmm Quad Cablecard that odd when the Ceton InfiniTV 4 has not been release.
2nd problem is SageTV DOSE NOT support Cablecard as far I know of and if did it most like be in SageTV 7 not 6.5.
Ho may god a Snapstream Firefly remote control there is a better option that a SageTV Remote with the USB-UIRT.
But I perf SageTV Server which is steaming to 4 SageTV Media Extender and 2 PC SageTV Client