Sure the idea of ripping all your Blu-ray discs to your PC’s hard drive or networked home server sounds appealing, but the reality of going through the process isn’t quite as pleasant — especially when you consider how much storage space you’ll need (an uncompressed Blu-ray movie copy can be 25+ GB in size). Enter the S1Digital Blu-ray Disc Changer (MSRP $1,499). According to the company’s press release (attached below), the S1Digital Blu-ray Disc Changer can supply your Windows Vista / 7 Media Center PC or Windows Home Server an instant catalog of available movies to play or serve up. In addition, S1Digital is bundling in a free copy of the My Movies add-in to manage your collection and pull all the relevant metadata and cover art to keep your library of Blu-ray movies up to date. MORE »

I was lucky enough to attend Cloud Engine’s launch party for the second generation Pogoplug on Thursday night and came away impressed by the device’s potential. The new direction, we were told, for the Pogoplug is for it to become more of a Internet media streaming and sharing storage device with social networking features. MORE »

Windows Home Server and its related products have been a big hit for Windows PC users since its inception in 2007. Now, ASUS is getting in the game and is introducing the TS Mini to the world. This little energy-efficient, powerhouse packs a 1.66Ghz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1-2GB of DDR2 memory, Gigabit Ethernet, 6 x USB 2.0 ports, 2 x eSATA ports, and 2 x internal hard drive bays with one taken up with either a 500GB, 1TB, or 2TB 3.5-inch SATA drive. MORE »

While this isn’t the first NAS product we’ve seen that doesn’t come with a hard drive, the $69 Addonics Mini NAS is the first to offer the flexibility to use a 2.5-inch SATA, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive, 1 x Compact Flash (adapter req.), or 2 x Compact Flash (adapter req.) drives for storage. The Addonics Mini NAS is compatible with Windows / Mac / Linux and provides SAMBA, SMB, FTP, DHCP, UPnP, iTunes, BitTorrent capabilities. In addition, the device includes a USB port for LAN printer sharing and a browser-based UI for server management. MORE »

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about FON and its Fonera routers. Luckily, a couple of recent video clips of the Fonera 2.0n in action has prompted me to revisit the current offering. MORE »

Moxi, the DVR platform without annual service fees, has updated their hardware prices and added a new 3-Tuner unidirectional CableCARD HD DVR to the lineup. In addition, Moxi states that the Moxi Mate will soon be getting a free software update that will allow it to access Live TV via the Moxi HD DVR — previously the Moxi Mate could only access recorded TV content and media from a networked PC. MORE »

LaCie has announced the availability (Europe now £134.99, worldwide late this year) of the Network Space 2. At first glance it looks like just like the original Network Space with its minimalist glossy black enclosure, but LaCie has added some new features that may entice buyers. For instance, Network Space 2 now includes a BitTorrent download client, wake-on-LAN functionality to conserve energy when not in use, and an improved Network Assistant dashboard to manage the device. Standard features include 1TB of storage, USB host functionality to copy over files from an external USB drive without a PC, UPnP/DLNA/iTunes media server, and the ability to double as a NAS device via Ethernet or external USB drive when connected via USB to a PC. MORE »

Good news for TiVo Series2, Series3, HD, HD XL DVR owners. You can now rent new movie releases directly from BLOCKBUSTER for $3.99 and older features from $2.99 or less (a few titles are even free) without a monthly BLOCKBUSTER subscription. What’s more, HD movie titles are said to be on the way via the On Demand service in the next several weeks. MORE »

If you remember about a year ago, Iomega released the first StorCenter ix2. Today the company is announcing the next-generation version of their product, the StorCenter ix2-200, with a refreshed design, energy-efficient hard drives, and newly added support for BitTorrent downloads and Time Machine backup for Mac OS X. Like its predecessor, the StorCenter ix2-200 offers a DLNA certified UPnP AV media server, Bluetooth connectivity, Gigabit Ethernet, RAID 1 data protection, IP security camera support, print server, remote files access, and cross-platform compatibility with Windows, Mac, and Linux. Pricing: $269.99 – 1TB, $369.99 – 2TB, $699.99 – 4TB. MORE »

The Pogoplug has been out for a few months now and recently added some new social sharing features, so I decided to see if I could get my hands on one to keep and review. One thing I noticed, though, is that many of the past Pogoplug reviewers just talked about how to attach the Pogoplug to a home network, adding a USB drive, and some of the features the web interface allowed you to do. While all that’s well and good, I never got a true sense on how well the Pogoplug actually did its job. MORE »