You could take the easy way out and just buy a pre-fabricated HTPC, but seriously, where's the joy in that? ArsTechnica has hosted up its refreshed Ultimate Home Theater PC build guide, and in addition to breaking down the pros and cons of investing in such a beast, it details a variety of builds based on your (probable) needs. Do you need a robust all-in-one system? A lightweight front-end to tap into your pre-installed home server system? Or how's about a heavy-duty back-end setup that can be utilized by lightweight clients at the TV? Whatever the case, all the information you need is just down there in the read link.

Now this -- this is an interesting character. Part nettop, part HTPC, the Sotec-branded HDC-1L series is a unique mixture of components that are traditionally found in either a diminutive desktop or a media center PC (but rarely both). First and foremost, this little bugger relies on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 CPU, and it only packs 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows XP, Ethernet, audio in / out, VGA, slot-loading DVD drive, a few USB ports and a remote input. Sadly, there's no integrated TV tuner to speak of, but with a starting price of just ¥59,800 ($640), we suppose you could add one and still come in well under the cost of most pre-fab HTPCs. The box should be available in Japan as early as tomorrow, and it'll purportedly be sold with a number of upgrades and extras for those fond of the bundled approach.

[Via Impress]

Believe it or not, Silicon Mountain has been around for some 14 years now, but it just recently splashed onto the consumer scene with its HTPC-infused Allio HDTV. Hailed as the first HDTV to offer an inbuilt Blu-ray drive, the set is likely just the beginning of what the company has to offer, or at least that's the vibe we get when reading through a recent interview with CEO Tré Cates. For starters, he mentioned a soon-to-come "Allio Effect," which sounds to be a customized internet TV portal to get you in front of interesting content quicker. The biggest news, however, was the Allio Extreme -- an upcoming (Q1 2009) version of the existing Allio that will boast an NVIDIA GPU and "be able to play Crysis." Furthermore, a cheaper Allio with Ubuntu is just around the bend, and if you're looking to buy in bulk, you could probably pick up a few sans an OS at all. Tap the read link for the full writeup should you please.

Troubled by your one and only option for purchasing one of Silicon Mountain's unique Allio HDTVs? No worries -- the company has just landed deals with ten more e-tailers in order to give you a litany of options when it comes time to purchase. Internet mainstays like Amazon, PC Mall, CompUSA, DataVision, TigerDirect and Safari Micro made the cut, all agreeing to offer the PC-in-an-HDTV that was recently loosed upon the unsuspecting public. Time to price compare, kids.

If you were mildly intrigued by AMD's Maui HTPC platform, but have since pushed off the idea of crafting your very own media center PC, we're glad to have your attention once more. HotHardware had a chance to toy around with a Maui-based system, and rather than telling us about it in a dissertation-style writeup, it simply flipped on the video camera and hosted up a 7.5 minute clip showing it off. Have a look after the break.

2009 isn't even here yet (at least on the right coast of Planet Earth), but Okoro's being exceptionally proactive by announcing that its '09 OMS-LX100 is already shipping. The system, which is a revamp of the original that popped out in 2006, is situated in the outfit's "low profile" range of HTPCs, and it brings to the table a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo E2200 processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a front-panel display, optional 7-inch touchscreen, dual-layer DVD writer, up to 2TB of HDD space, NVIDIA's GeForce 9300 with 512MB of RAM, an ATI Digital CableCARD tuner, 7.1-channel audio output and an OTA HDTV tuner. Power users can certainly push the $1,725 base configuration well north of two large should they choose, but good luck explaining that to the SO.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

Most recently, CyberLink has been ensconced behind the DIRECTV2PC operation, but now it's stepping out again on its own to showcase the PowerCinema 6 software. Designed to give HTPC owners easy access to multimedia (photos, TV shows, music, etc.) as well as handle TV recordings / scheduling and channel management, the new piece now boasts support for high-definition TV -- an obvious requirement for you and your peers. Obviously, that means you'll also find MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) support, though it doesn't include a player for Blu-ray Discs. If that's not a bother, the software can be acquired right now for between $49.95 and $129.95 depending on the bundle you choose.

We had a lively Ask Engadget HD this week, so figured we'd point our dear readers in the direction of Engadget Classic for another HD-related inquiry. This week's question is about HTPCs, particularly ones that won't absolutely shatter the bank. We know you've got some creative thoughts as to how to get a robust system without blowing north of three large, so head on over and chime in, won't you?

HTPC-centric motherboards aren't exactly everywhere these days, so we figured it prudent to pass along this heads-up. AMD's flexible Maui platform is now on sale, bringing with it a low-power Phenom or Athlon X2 processor, an AMD 780-series (or higher) IGPU, an ATI TV tuner and AMD's Live media center software elements. Reviews from buyers have been generally positive thus far, and you can snag one now for $189.99.

[Via HotHardware]

Talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket. Silicon Mountain has evidently taken a note from Lumenlab with its incredibly multifaceted Allio. For starters, the 42-inch set arrives with a full-blown PC within, including an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive and Windows Vista Home Premium. You'll also find a smorgasbord of inputs, a number of USB ports, wired / wireless networking options and a 1080p panel; speaking of the TV itself, it features a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, 400 cd/m2 brightness and twin 12-watt speakers. On top of all that, the California-assembled unit even includes a slim-line Blu-ray player, theoretically beating both Sharp and Funai to the market with Blu-ray-infused HDTVs. As of now, six different configurations are available (including a 32-incher) starting at $1,599, and the company is planning on offering "low-cost" versions with Ubuntu in the near future. Head on past the break for the full release.

The dedicated HTPC may not be quite as "mainstream" as it was in years past, but there's still a solid sect of people who want a full-fledged box running beneath their HDTV. There's also a subset of those people with no extra time to build their own. Thus, we present Chester's question:

"I'm tired of looking at media streaming options and I've decided I just want a dedicated HTPC connected to my HDTV. I'm not much into PC building, so I was hoping to buy a pre-fabricated unit from a company that sells media PCs. Which is my best option? CableCARD support would be preferred. Thanks for any advice."

Time to drop the gloves and speak your minds, people. What HTPC should this fellow splurge on? One of Dell's boxes? What about Okoro Media Systems? Niveus for the ballers? Sound off below!

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

Acer believes you're seeking a PC with a Blu-ray drive and formidable storage space so you can watch hours and hours of high definition video. That's why it's introducing the AX3200 desktop (suggested retail: $679.99) and the P244W 24-inch 1080p LCD display ($399) -- to fill that consumer electronics-shaped hole that you didn't even know existed within you. The compact desktop sports an AMD Phenom X3 8450 triple-core processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and NVIDIA's GeForce 8200 integrated graphics chip. The graphics solution won't rev up the frames in modern computer games -- especially not at the P244W's 1920 x 1080 resolution -- but it'll do fine for watching movies, and there are tons of great Blu-ray releases out there by now, right? Right?

Remember that Velocity Micro FuzeBox that was talked about back in August? Say hello to that very box, which was properly introduced this week by the aforesaid firm. As the title implies, Velocity Micro paired with Fuze Media Systems in order to create this here HTPC, which features CableCARD support, multi-zone audio, optional Blu-ray burner, Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 750GB of storage space, multicard reader, gigabit Ethernet, a whole slew of ports and a FuzeBox MCE remote to boot. Best of all, the system gets going at just $1,995, though speccing it out will get that figure much higher in a hurry.

It was under two years ago when we initially caught wind of Alienware's Hangar 18, and while the outfit seemed pretty bullish about the thing just 12 months ago at CEDIA, things have apparently went south. As of right now, the Hangar 18 website simply redirects back to the company's homepage, and CSRs are now informing inquiring consumers that the HTPC is simply no longer available for purchase. We know, this thing was overkill in every sense of the word, but it's not like that's stopping Niveus, Exceptional Innovation and all those other guys from making headway. So long, Hangar 18 -- we barely knew ya.

[Thanks, Aaron]

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.