Pinnacle Systems ShowCentre 200

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.biosmagazine.co.uk/rev.php?id=311' target='_blank'>http://www.biosmagazine.co.uk/rev.php?id=311</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The ShowCenter 200 is designed to help bridge the digital media gap that currently exists between the computer and the TV. In other words, it attempts to solve the problem of how you manage and access your digital content and then get it from your Windows-based PC to rooms where a computer is not located. Building on its successor, the ShowCenter Wireless G, the ShowCenter 200 adds support for HD photos and videos, comes equipped with a USB port for connecting digital cameras, and supports WM9 DRM files. You've got to have a relatively large digital media library and wireless network to get the best from the device, but the ShowCentre 200 is certainly one of the best products of its type."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/showcenter.jpg" /><br /><br />This device is much like a Media Center Extender, but does not require you to have an XP media center. Based on the review and the screen shots, it looks pretty comprehensive and user friendly.

[jizmo]

I have never understood these media extenders, I always thought they were only needed back when big hard drives were too expensive to put into media players. Which doesn't seem to be the case.

I love my Xbox, which is a standalone player with 160gb hard drive that has all the music and movies in one package and has media streaming as an option (which I never use). Now that x360 is coming out, I won't be hesitating to buy a huge HD to it, if it can store and play my media like original Xbox could.

Am I the only one who doesn't like their PCs running in living room, making noise and consuming all that electricity just to spin around HD and output it to network cable? Seems like a waste to me. :roll:

/jizmo

[Chris Gohlke]

But, Joe Consumer is not going to swap out the hard drives in their xbox, nor might they even know that an xbox can do these things.

[jizmo]

Oh, I was just referring to Xbox as a standalone media player, there are many others like it that Joe Average can buy and use. The point was that I can't understand why the trend of expensive media extendors still exists when standalone players (xbox included) are much more versatile.

I for one wouldn't never consider buying one since I don't want to keep my computer running all night and day.

/jizmo

[Felix Torres]

Oh, I was just referring to Xbox as a standalone media player, there are many others like it that Joe Average can buy and use. The point was that I can't understand why the trend of expensive media extendors still exists when standalone players (xbox included) are much more versatile.

I for one wouldn't never consider buying one since I don't want to keep my computer running all night and day.

/jizmo

You need some definitions, there, I think.

"Average Joe" being a non-techie, (non-IT, non-gamer) most likely does his shopping at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Radio Shack, Target, or some local electronics and appliance store.

"Average Joe" does not know of niche products, doesn't dream of hacking an xbox, thinks media players begin and end with the pod, and wouldn't know what part of the PC is a hard disk.

"Average Joe" isn't even likely to even try to google media player.

"Average Joe" however, is about 52% likely to have a PC in the house and 1% likely to have a Mac or Linux box.

He is about 1.5% likely to have a media center PC, if he bought his PC in the last three years.

"Average Joe", when walking into Circuit City (the only retail place I've seen the Pinnacle streamer) might find it interesting to know he can hook up his 42" SD plasma digital TV to it and watch his digital Photos taken with his Sony or Kodak 2MP camera and be thrilled to learn he can get digital radio off the internet.

He will be less than thrilled to discover he needs a home network and will probably sigh and walk away.

"Average joe" has likely never heard of this place, unfortunately for him. :wink:

[jizmo]

..which further proves my point. I'm a DMT / Slashdot kind of person, but I wouldn't want to buy / configure one.

/jizmo

[Jason Dunn]

Now that x360 is coming out, I won't be hesitating to buy a huge HD to it, if it can store and play my media like original Xbox could.

Well that's just it - that likely won't be an option, at least not initially. Microsoft's vision is that people will use Media Center Edition PCs to store all their data, and the Xbox 360 will act as an extender to access all that content. From my point of view, that's perfect - I wouldn't want to leave my Xbox 360 running all the time anyway, but I would need to if that was where all my media is stored. In your scenario, it seems like you don't have other computers accessing the media stored on your Xbox.

Down the road when Microsoft is ready to give Dell and the other PC makers a good smack they'll ship an Xbox 360 with a massive hard drive and more of a "real" OS that will replace the need for a computer in a lot of homes. But that's down the road. ;-)

[Felix Torres]

Down the road when Microsoft is ready to give Dell and the other PC makers a good smack they'll ship an Xbox 360 with a massive hard drive and more of a "real" OS that will replace the need for a computer in a lot of homes. But that's down the road. ;-)

Not too far down the road, though. :wink:

The 360 will allow you to rip CDs to its onboard HD and play media content off a USB mass storage device.
Attach a monster external HD and you already get 90% of the non-TV functionality of the MCE.
Beyond that, there have been hints of a Tuner adapter coming out next year, hopefully HD...
...and MS has been awfully coy about their music subscription service. If the service were XBOX LIVE based it would have a real leg up on the competition without directly confronting them...

Bottom-line is the 360 is a contemporary media center PC in its own right, not just a streamer, like the Pinnacle. And it will cost more, properly equipped, than a pure MCE Extender or Media Connect streamer. Which is okay, cause it'll do a lot more.

More importantly, it will sell to Joe Average as a console, who'll then use it for the media functions.

Its a way to educate the non-media player aware public of the benefits of digital media in the living room.

[jizmo]

I'd be amazed if MS didn't introduce larger HD's and other add-ons to the console. They way I see it, that 20gb hard drive is just a teaser and once people put their media in the console and x360 becomes a center of the living room, they'll be craving for more space in no time.

MS will milk it, for sure. And I won't be a bit sad about it.

/jizmo