Integra says it’s the first “pure-audio” supplier to create a Media Center PC.

The NVS-7.7 will have an MSRP of $3000, and will include a DVD audio/video/CD player, surround sound decoding, a 1080i/720p scaler, a ATSC/NTSC tuner, a 400GB HDD, and a DVR with a 14-day guide. That’s not all! It’s ethernet connected, and can record in HD using its ATSC tuner.

For “copyright concerns”, this device doesn’t have HD-compatible component, DVI, or HDMI outputs. So doesn’t that make it a bit useless? I don’t understand the press release. What good is it to be able to record in HD, but not to be able to watch what you’ve recorded in HD?

Integra Fuses Media Center PC With Multiple A/V Components
Integra NVC-7.7

For a while there I got interesting in PVR solution for the PC, checking out whether or not it was feasible to build my own PVR because TiVo isn’t really available in Canada. There were a few different solutions, but the MythTV software seemed quite capable. But it ran on Linux and I don’t particularly care for Linux, especially trying to configure it and its software. Besides, I eventually realized that I would never be able to record my cable provider’s HD channels, and that just wouldn’t do.

But for some people without that problem, Monolith comes to the rescue. Monolith has pre-built media center Linux computers with MythTV. It comes installed with the ever more popular Ubuntu Linux, and models start at $650. You can, of course, get your computer in all sorts of configurations, including storage of up to 400GB. That’s a lot of TV programming!

Monolith Media Center brings MythTV to the technophobe

Finally! It looks like HDMI Video cards supporting HDCP are coming from MSI. They have two cards, one based on the nVidia 7600 and one based on the 7900. This should help push along development of CableCard compatibility for HTPCs as well as Blu ray and HD DVD output. Pretty soon you will be able to have an HTPC that can play all optical discs, HDTV via cable, HDTV satellite (well, DirecTV anyway), OTA HDTV, all digital media file formats, and streaming internet radio/TV. Less boxes + less cables = home theater bliss!

MSI HDCP/HDMI page

Apple’s iMacs have some pretty cool software, called Front Row, for home theater applications. You can play DVD’s, play music, view photos, and watch videos. You can, in most cases, connect a Mac like the Mac mini directly to your home theater’s HDTV, and it will just work.

But one of the hurdles that some people have to clear to buy into the Mac world has just been removed. Apple is releasing software that’ll let you run both their Apple OSX operating system and Microsoft’s Windows XP on the same Mac. This is no hack from some third party. This is direct from Apple.

Pretty cool, huh? Now I need to go through my couch to see if I have enough change to buy an Apple Mac mini…

Macworld - New Apple software lets Intel Macs boot Windows