I have a feeling Auto Rip n Compress is going to be everyone’s next “must-have” add-in for Windows Media Center. The add-in allows you to easily rip DVD or Blu-ray movies from your couch using only your remote. Of course, you’ll need to have some software pre-installed on your PC — like AnyDVD HD, Handbrake, ImgBurn, Haali Media Splitter, etc. — and a free account with Get Digital Data (aka GD3) to get the whole experience going. But after that, though, you’ll be in ripping nirvana making compressed or uncompressed movie copies complete with metadata and cover art. By the way, if you like Auto Rip n Compress, consider making a PayPal donation to the developer — it’s good karma. [via] MORE »

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 »

Interested in a new HTPC option for your HDTV? Check out PiixL’s new 30mm thick, VESA mountable EdgeCenter 3770 Media Center PC that’s designed to fit snuggly behind your TV and includes an extension bay, called the EdgeBay, that can be adjusted to fit nearly any size screen. The EdgeBay’s main purpose is to provide users quick access to its slot loading DVD/Blu-ray drive, 4 x USB ports, Flash memory card reader, and ejectable 2.5-inch hard disk drive. All other A/V and networking connections are located along the bottom side of the unit. Drawbacks: price, no integrated CableCARD support. [via] MORE »

What’s this…? AOpen USA has added a new barebones mini HTPC to their lineup that should grab everyone’s attention. The company’s new XC Mini (GP7A-U/HD/BDR) is capable of playing full 1080p HD video via its integrated NVIDIA ION (GeForce 9300M) graphics chipset and supports Intel’s Socket P Penryn Core 2 Duo or Celeron M processors. The HTPCs include 2 x DDR3 memory slots (4GB max), HDMI, 5.1 channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet (wireless 802.11n kit available), 1 x slim Blu-ray or DVD drive (U model has no drive), 6-in-1 card reader, 6 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x eSATA port, and provides room for one 2.5-inch SATA HDD. Price and availability have not yet been listed.

Well, what do know? ViewSonic is spreading its wings into the mini HTPC market. The company today is announcing the availability of the VOT530 and VOT550 with Blu-ray. Both models, spec-wise, share a 2.2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 processor, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, eSATA, SPDIF, line in/out jacks, and a pre-installed copy of Windows 7. The main difference is that the $749 VOT530 comes with a DVD super multi-drive, 2GB of DDR2 memory and a 350GB SATA hard drive, while the $949 VOT550 includes a Blu-ray drive, 4GB of DDR2 memory, and a 500GB SATA hard drive. Potential downside… both model use DVI for video, no HDMI. MORE »

If you didn’t pull the trigger on buying the smoking hot ASRock ION 330 HTPC earlier this Summer, than your procrastination worked in your favor. ASRock has just added a new “HT” model, specifically the ION 330HT / ION 330HT-BD, that includes a few new features the original lacked. The new HT package now offers a Media Center Remote, RAID 0/1 capabilities, DTS audio support, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a powered eSATA/USB port, and EuP 2.0 / Energy Star 5.0 certification. However, like the previous model, you still have to install your own Windows or Linux OS since its a barebones system.  MORE »

Wow, I think we might have a winner here. The folks at Myka have created a hybrid HD media player / HTPC that’s based on Ubuntu. The Myka ION provides a custom media dashboard that one boots straight into on top of a fully configured and optimized PC that supports Hulu, Boxee, XBMC, and other popular services. The Myka ION as the name suggest leverages the NVIDIA ION (9400M) graphic chipset with a power sipping Intel Atom N330 processor. In other words, it can handle full 1080p HD video with ease. MORE »

These days there’s an abundance of premium and user-generated content available online at no charge that you could feasibly stop paying for cable / satellite TV service all together. Being the case, Channel 9 has put together a resource guide for Windows Media Center PC owners that highlights some of the most popular plugins / hacks available on the platform — along with some basic setup instructions. The roundup consists of Hulu Desktop, PlayOn, Boxee, SecondRunTV, TunerFree MCE, HuluMCE, ZeeVee, TubeCore, Sky Player, Netflix, and others. [via] MORE »

So here’s what you need to know.

The iMac now has two HDCP-compliant 16:9 display format models to choose from (1920×1080 21.5-inch and 2560×1440 27-inch) with the option to upgrade their graphics to the ATI Radeon HD 4670 / 4850 from the default NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. Moreover, Apple has equipped their iMacs with Intel’s latest Core i5 and i7 processors, a standard SD card slot, a mini DisplayPort for video out  (video output &  input available only with the 27-inch model), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n + Bluetooth, and the company’s new multi-touch Magic Mouse and wireless keyboard [Press Release]. MORE »

Attached below is presentation demo by Mindy Fournier, HP worldwide all-in-one product line manager, showcasing the latest features included in HP’s new 300 and 600 TouchSmart PCs. In short, the 300 is a 20-inch (720p) screen TouchSmart PC which will start at $899 while the 600 is a 23-inch (1080p) screen TouchSmart PC starting at $1,049. New features included in the TV tuner equipped PCs are: HDMI input, tilt webcam, swivel, Windows 7 with multi-touch enabled, and a handful of new TouchSmart apps from the likes of Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, Twitter, and others. MORE »