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S1Digital to roll out Xonar-equipped HTPCs
We've seen (and heard) ASUS's Xonar HDAV1.3 HDMI card that is able to pass along lossless digital Blu-ray audio up close and personal, so it was only a matter of time before the hardware found its way into a custom-install HTPC. In this case, the first to market might just be S1Digital's P500 Media Center HTPC. As we said after our demo at CES, the ArcSoft + Xonar setup is a little involved, so it's probably a good fit for the custom-install world where integration legwork carries a high premium. S1Digital's free Windows 7 upgrade offer will remove the "instantly obsolete" barrier to entry, so really the only one remaining is that pesky $6,000 entry price. Any other OEMs are welcome to jump in and try to beat S1Digital to market, but we wouldn't count on a much cheaper option just yet.
S1Digital intros P500 Media Center, updates ProLine Series of HTPCs
It's been a hot minute since S1Digital tickled our attention with a new media center, but the outfit is hitting back this year with a new machine along with updates to a number of its ProLine Series rigs. The new kid on the block is the P500 Media Center, which is available with up to four CableCARD tuners (plus a QAM / ATSC tuner), support for internal RAID5 storage, HDMI / DVI, 7.1-channel audio output and Intel's latest Core 2 Duo processors. As for the refreshed bunch, you can catch the S800 and P600 with Blu-ray drives as standard, quad CableCARD tuners and support for home automation integration with Crestron, AMX, RTI, HAI and PC based-touchscreens over IP or RS-232. Every machine mentioned here can be ordered up now, with the new P500 starting at a staggering $5,999 sans tuners.
