The whole key at the end of the review:

"The AMD 690's best features are the built-in support for HDMI and DVI right from the graphics logic. I tested the output of the HDMI with an LCD HDTV I have in the office and it worked flawlessly with the Catalyst driver 7.2 provided for our testing. Having this option for users looking to build an HTPC system should be a big plus -- with one caveat. **The X1250 does NOT support HD-DVD or Blu-ray decoding. The GPU core is just not fast enough to handle the H.264 off loading and as such I feel the HDMI and HDCP support is really just fluff.** Sticking with VGA and DVI would have been fine for most users." (my added emphasis)

So.. what's the point then? Same as the 6150 pretty much (which is also mentioned/compared against in the article).

Almost, AMD/ATI... but not quite there... :(

Technologically speaking, the hardware already exists. The last hurdle left really is just the DRM stuff. I just hope they don't come up with a new org (called "SatelliteTVLabs") and then spend 10 years developing the thing because execs can't sit down and agree on reasonable terms.

urr.. this is Velocity Micro. Their systems aren't exactly high-end u know.. Besides the digital tv tuners, there's nothing they have that you can't build yourself.

RAID 0 on this system? umm.. alright, so a HDD goes bad.. there goes your system!! For $4500+, you'd expect better design...

As for quad-core, i wonder what the system noise on this beast will be like.. How can you remove all that heat without having a bunch of fans at max speed? We have quad-core servers here at work, and they're definitely not silent by any means..

Sorry folks, but I don't see how this system is any better than a standard desktop system that hobbists can build on their own for a lot less.. if you're hungering for that much power, you're probably smart enough to roll your own. Just grab a Silverstone case + newegg parts, and slap 'em together :p I don't see how this system is "engineered" to be a gaming media center by any means

I posted the same thing in CE Pro, so I'll repeat it here...

That's extremely interesting that ACE *claims* to have had this system early 2006. The nVidia PureVideoHD & ATI Catalyst drivers that are required for HD playback for windows media centers weren't released until the 3rd quarter of 2006.

Interesting indeed.

They may have put the physically HD DVD and Blu-ray drives into a system, but did it actually play back any discs?

This reminds me of AmEx Digital's claim of the world's first Blu-ray player. Just because you slap a few parts together doesn't mean squat - you still have to make it play back content from the remote.

Sounds like there are more and more companies making claims and press releases to get some attention, but in the end, it's all lies with smoke & mirrors.

ACE computers should be ashamed of themselves to make false & deceptive claims.