Although we just caught wind of SageTV's new HD Media Extender
late last month, the unit is now not only up for sale, but it's already been through quite a workout at the hands of Brent Evans. The STX-HD100 showed a lot of promise on paper, and thankfully, it seems to have delivered in reality. Mr. Evans found the overall experience with the device to be "very impressive," noting that image quality was "excellent," file support was up to snuff and heat / noise were both non-factors. Additionally, the box played nice with a myriad operating systems, suffered from no "crippling DRM restrictions" and came in at a very respectable $199. Granted, there were a few things to pick on -- namely the lack of an optical drive / CableCARD slot and the inability of the remote to toggle the TV on and off -- but aside from that, most everything else seemed to garner copious quantities of praise. We know, it does sound a bit too good to be true, but head on over and digest the whole spill if you're still skeptical.
[Via
ZatzNotFunny]
The HD digital distribution club just got a little bigger, as lossless audio distributor MusicGiants is launching its VideoGiants service with 250 movies from Paramount, and additional content from HDNet. Available in 1080p or 1080i WMV format, users can purchase the movies in 10-packs for $159 delivered via Seagate hard drives or, in a few months, one at a time via direct download to a home media server. After that, it can be viewed via the media PC or Media Extender (including Xbox 360). MusicGiants has been selling HD audio tracks to high end home theater owners via its network of dealers and installers for about two years, with plans to make this type of service available to the mass market soon. Still think the future of HD content is on shiny discs?
