First things first: you'll supposedly need an actual VidaBox Media Server in order to work with the RoomClientHD. Granted, we imagine there are some workarounds out there, but we figured we go ahead and burst a few bubbles early before getting hopes up too high. That being said, the 2-inch tall RoomClientHD was designed to hide behind your HDTV and stream Blu-ray / 1080p multimedia from your server over CAT5e / CAT6 cabling. For those with VidaBox setups, you simply plug this thing in and mash go; everything is preconfigured for detection and streaming. You'll also be thrilled to know that DTS-HD / Dolby TrueHD audio support is there, and while pricing isn't available just yet, we do know you can pony up for an inbuilt BD drive if you prefer local playback.

We hate to admit it, but the longer we have to wait for something, the more anxious we get. So it should be no surprise that after nine months, we can't wait to check out Samsung's new Media Center Extender. We got word last week that the little guy was available for pre-order on Best Buy, but the lack of expected release date left us hanging. Now Amazon also has it available for pre-order, but this time with a release date of October 15th. That leaves just over two weeks before we can all find out if this thing is all it's cracked up to be -- you know, made to mount on the back of the latest Samsung TVs, and HDMI-CEC for seamless one remote operation.

Hey, Sammy -- bet you thought we forgot about that little MediaLive Digital Media Adapter of yours, huh? For everyone that had, let us bring you back up to speed. After launching under a different name at CES 2008, this puppy was officially revealed in the summer. Unfortunately, the supposed August ship date has come and gone, and it doesn't seem like too many folks are up in arms about it. Nevertheless, the obviously delayed Media Center Extender has finally found itself a holding page over at Best Buy, where's it's listed in detail for $199.99. The "Coming Soon" bit doesn't really give us much to go on, but we'd suspect Samsung would want to get this out before the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear. Now would also be a wonderful time to shave $50+ off of the MSRP in order to make folks care once more -- just sayin', is all.

[Thanks, Lindsay]

Niveus Media wasn't the only show in Denver offering up a new HTPC that can handle eight simultaneously CableCARD streams while dishing out content to some ten Media Center Extenders -- oh no, Exceptional Innovation showed up with a slightly less powerful, albeit equally effective alternative of its own. If you'll recall, EI shined last year by boasting a swank quad-CableCARD rig, and this year, the LMS-810 Life|media server raises the bar by handling twice that. The $30,000 box comes with 12TB of internal storage, two internal CableCARD slots, a USB add-on box (Life|tuner) with six other CableCARD slots and a Blu-ray writer. Those unaffected by sticker shock can look for it to ship in "early 2009." For now, you can peep the gallery below to see it in action.

Niveus Media came to this year's CEDIA locked and loaded, and while most typical consumers won't look too far past the sub-$2,000 Vail system, those with cash to spare and colleagues to impress will certainly appreciate the Core i7-powered $19,999 Pro Series n9 media center PC. The rig setup on the show floor had said HTPC connected to four dual-CableCARD boxes via USB ($1,500 a pop), giving it the ability to record eight HD shows simultaneously while streaming HD movie clips to ten other Media Center Extenders (without a hiccup, might we add). The mid-range Denali was also on hand, and Blu-ray drives were found across the board. We also spent a tick with the new v1.5 Niveus Movie Library, which very neatly enabled us to surf to any media stored locally or on the networked 16TB Cargo Media Server. Even if you can't afford it, this stuff is still worth a look.

Crazy, right? But let's think about it -- the market for standalone HTPCs is clearly narrowing, while Media Center Extenders are still far too pricey for many (and far too complicated for some) to be taken seriously. Meanwhile, just about everyone can find a reason to own a notebook, and the newer rigs are tossing in gratuitous amounts of RAM and CPU power alongside Blu-ray drives, HDMI sockets and enough wireless protocols to warrant a tin-foil hat. Granted, there are some limitations, but if someone were to pump out an AV dock (of sorts) to house a few OTA TV tuners and a digital audio output, one could essentially dock their laptop, step back and have a full-fledged HTPC. Chances are your gears are already turning, so tune into Ross Rubin's writeup in the read link for even more food for thought.

Ever since we got our hands on Samsung's Media Center Extender at CES last year, we've wondered how the CE giant's rendition would stack up against the rest. Rather than build the Media Center Extender functionality into a TV the way HP has, or make a completely separate set-top-box like Linksys or D-Link, the $200 MediaLive Media Center Extender is designed to be a companion product for Samsung HDTVs. It can be mounted to the back of certain Samsung sets, and with the help of HDMI-CEC, the TV's remote will control the box even while it's out of sight -- of course, this begs the question of whether or not it will work with other TVs, but we'll just have to wait and try it ourselves when it launches next month. Oh, and in case you don't know already, Media Center Extenders are not just another media streamer, because it will allow you to have the full (almost) Vista Media Center experience -- including the ability to watch live HD from CableCARD tuner -- on any TV (connected wired or wirelessly) in your house.

Check it Media Center Extender owners -- a fancy new workaround is reportedly enabling users to stream DVDs via their DVD Library, which isn't enabled by default on any MCE. For starters, Vista SP1 is required for everything to work correctly, and once you've confirmed that you're running said OS, you can hit up the read link for a how-to guide explaining the steps to creating symbolic links; essentially, the hack tricks the device into playing .VOB files. It's noted that symbolic links shouldn't be created on Windows Home Server shares, but if you do as you're told, everything should turn out peachy. Just don't come barking up our tree if it doesn't, alright?

[Thanks, Ryan]

Itching to try your hand at some new software? Available now to owners of Niveus' Media Center Control Server, Media Center Companion 3.0 (free upgrade for Niveus Media Center customers) enables users to "integrate control abilities for Media Center content to any Windows XP or Vista-based UMPC, laptop, desktop, or tablet PC." Additionally, it downloads the entire media database of music, shows, etc. along with cover art, which can be viewed and accessed on the Windows Client. As for the free Media Center Companion Basic, which is suitable for any Windows Vista-based Media Center, it supports full remote control of "Music, Pictures, and Remote functions on Windows Media Centers," but it won't play nice with Extenders. Feel free to take a look around in the galleries below before getting your download on, and browse through the nitty-gritty in the full release waiting after the jump.

Hot on the heels of finding out who Microsoft chose to buddy up with for its Extenders for Windows Media Center comes word that the software itself will support up to four CableCARDs in a single configuration. If you'll recall, Media Center previously supported just a pair of CableCARDs, but word on the street has Niveus Media and Exceptional Innovation as the first two HTPC vendors to offer up systems that take full advantage of the new functionality. Reportedly, Exceptional Innovation's Model 754 LifeMedia Server will have four CableCARD slots built-in right into its chassis, while Niveus is opting for four external tuners, and while hard pricing details don't look to be available just yet, go on and tell yourself that it won't be cheap.