HTPC

ZOTAC got the ball rolling early at CES this year by announcing their 2012 lineup of ZBOX PCs and barebones. The ZBOX systems are extremely compact mini-PCs, well-suited to use as HTPCs. Indeed, the ZBOX AD04 Plus reviewed here even comes with a WMC-compatible remote control and a bracket for mounting the system to the back of a monitor or TV. The ZBOX AD04 is an AMD E-450 based system and the Plus designation indicates that this particular model comes fully equipped with 2GB of DDR3 memory and a 320GB hard drive. The packed in remote control does not appear to be anything to write home about, but the system did handle all of the HD content thrown at with aplomb and might be a solid choice for folks looking for a compact, low-power HTPC. It might also be worth opting for the barebones version of the AD04 and slipping in a faster hard drive.

Now we are starting to see a number of ultra small systems updated with the latest AMD E-450 dual core APU which features CPU and GPU in one compact design. A front runner in this market is the latest ZBOX from ZOTAC, the AD04 Plus and we have one of the first samples on our review bench today.

Hardware Heaven

Xtreamer has announced their 2012 lineup of media streamers. We've got sequels to the Xtreamer Sidewinder and Xtreamer Ultra along with updated Prodigy streamers in black and silver. There is also a new entry-level streamer, the Xtreamer Elvira. There are also a some new accessories, including an interesting looking wireless mini-keyboard. With their focus on Asian and European markets, I still haven't had an opportunity to play with one of Xtreamer's boxes, but I wouldn't mind taking their Elvira out for a night on the town.

Coming in March of this year is a European Shop. Quote from the Xtreamer webpage is “Order directly at Xtreamer and get your products via an Europan Hub.  No customs to pay at your door. Shorter delivery terms and a contact  person who is familiar with your customs.

The Digital Lifestyle

Hopefully this new years news is a sign of things to come. Tranquil PC has recently announced a new HTPC design, the  MMC-12 Media Center. The system measures in at just 1.5 inches thick and packing a core i3 processor, 4 gigs of ram, 80 GB hard drive, running Windows 7 home premium.

Not a bad package if you ask me, nice hardware, just powerful enough over other Atom based systems and the form factor is just perfect. The cost for this all roughly $1,000 US. We will just have to wait for further reviews to make a final decision but for now this is one sweet looking small form factor system.

We haven't heard from Britain's own Tranquil PC in a hot minute, but the company's storming into the new year with a machine that's easy to overlook. In a good way. The MMC-12 Media Center measures just 1.5-inches thick, enabling it to be slid into (or under) just about any A/V rack. £649 (right around $1,000) nets you a Core i3 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory (plus another open RAM slot), an admittedly paltry 80GB mSATA hard drive, CD / DVD burner, Windows 7 Home Premium and an HDMI port. You'll also get a pair of USB 3.0 ports, two underwhelming (and bound to be unloved) USB 2.0 sockets, a gigabit Ethernet jack, DVI socket and an aluminum enclosure. The company recommends that you connect a couple of your favorite USB TV tuners for maximum enjoyment, and in case you're wondering, Blu-ray drives and international shipping is available.

Engadget HD

Recently Ian Dixon of The Digital Life Style had a chance to spend the day with the folks over at Tranquil PC, a UK based HTPC system designer and manufacture. Ian has a series of videos he put together of his time over at Trainquil PC. 

Some very interesting stuff happening over there, including a HTPC chassis CNC machined out of a solid piece of aluminum. Pretty interesting setup they have going there. So head over to TDL and check out the videos.

Tranquil PC are a Manchester based system designer and manufacture of IT equipment and makers of some excellently quality PCs and Servers. Recently they started using a CNC machine to create the PCs from a single billet of aluminium so i spent a day with them going through the customer process of discussing my requirements, design the case and features, watching as the aluminium is cut and then seeing the final product.

TDL