Envive debuts HD DVD or Blu-ray-equipped HTPC
Envive has been listening to all the buzz about the lack of a Mac Mini home theater model and decided that they would make one themselves. The E-Center Micro X boosts the small footprint found in the Mini along with a Core 2 Duo chip paired with a 80GB, DVD-RW drive, DVI connectivity (don't know what card however), and built-in IR receiver. This little guy is available now at a cost of $1k, but it's the Micro X's big brother that brought a smile to our faces. The E-Center Pro sheds the small design and grows to the standard A/V receiver size to house all the extra goodies this $2500 model ships with. The Pro model is equipped with dual ATSC and NTSC tuners when paired with MCE 2005 or quadruple tuners under Envive's proprietary OS that will allow for multi-station recording to the standard 500GB drive. Envive gives owners the option of adding up to five more hard drives however, plus the Blu-ray and HD DVD drive options could make this for one sweet HTPC. If a true HD media center is your thing, you have a few months to save up your pennies as the Pro model is expected to ship sometime later this year. Now we are just wondering how much more a totally tricked out version is goin' to cost...
(shot of the Micro-X after the jump)
Read: E-Center Micro X
Read: E-Center Pro