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 »

What do you know? Multi-touch has been integrated into an HTPC remote for Windows Media Center. The attached video demo shows how Elan Microelectronics Corp.’s capacitive touchpad Smart Remote Control works in conjunction with Windows 7’s built-in touch features over RF. You’ll notice that it makes browsing photos and web pages on your TV a relatively enjoyable experience. Plus, it can operate in 6 modes: handwriting, mouse, remote control, joystick, presenter, keyboard. No word on pricing or availability, but they should definitely be rolling this gadget out ASAP (a quick search online reveals it’s been under development since early 2009). MORE »

Here’s an intriguing device that made its first appearance at CES. The $119.99 HSTi Wireless Media Stick is a USB dongle that you can attach to any media playback device that can read files from a USB drive (i.e. Blu-ray player, TV, stereo, game console, digital picture frame, etc.). Unlike a traditional thumbdrive with limited storage capacity, the HSTi Wireless Media Stick aggregates shared media files from network connected PCs and presents them to the device its mounted to as if the files were stored natively. Once a file is chosen for playback, the HSTi Wireless Media Stick then streams the file via 802.11n Wi-Fi from the respective computer. MORE »

Now here’s a tempting piece of gear showcased at CES. Iomega this February will be launching a $99.99 NAS adapter, called the iConnect Wireless Data Station, that will take any USB hard drive or thumbdrive and make its contents available through your home network or remotely via 802.11n Wi-Fi or Ethernet. In addition, the iConnect features a built-in DLNA / UPnP media server (for streaming photos, videos, music to computers and digital media adapters), Apple Time Machine compatibility, torrent download manager, and printer server which can all be administered through the product’s web interface. Iomega is even throwing in some of its popular EMC software to help users backup computers and keep files synchronized. Not bad for less than a hundred bucks. MORE »

The folks at Boxee are teasing fans with computer renderings of the remote they plan on shipping with the Boxee Box by D-Link. Being that the images posted are “first drawings [...] of Astro’s original idea,” it’s probably fair to say that the final remote will be slightly different — but we’re hoping not too much. Inspiration from the remote comes unabashedly from Apple’s 6-button remote, but with a QWERTY keyboard twist. UPDATE 1: Gizmodo has pics of the Boxee Box and Remote in the flesh direct from CES. UPDATE 2: Avner Ronen on the Boxee Blog says the QWERTY remote will be sold separately, but will also work with other devices (I’m guessing he means other computers) running Boxee.

If you ever wished you could display what’s showing on your laptop directly to your HDTV, then you’re going to want to put some money aside for the March 2010 launch of the Alereon NoWire Wireless USB Extender. In the attached video, you’ll see that the laptop to HDTV extender consists of a simple USB dongle transmitter that connects to your laptop and a separate receiver that connects to your HDTV via HDMI with 2.1 audio support or to a standard TV/projector via VGA + 3.5mm audio jack. According to the company’s press release, the WUSB dongle is plug and play and requires no configuration or software to be installed. However, advanced features can be accessed through its Windows based software application. Price: TBD. MORE »

Looks like Lenovo had its site set on the Logitech diNovo Mini when it designed the Lenovo Multimedia Remote with Keyboard (model: 57Y6336). The new, designed for Windows remote (MSRP $59.99) has an RF range of 32 feet, includes a trackball, left/right mouse buttons, multimedia controls, and a QWERTY keyboard. Interestingly, the ping pong paddle design appears to lend itself well to one-handed trackball use. All in all, not bad… considering the diNovo Mini retails for $149.99. [via]

If you’ve been following Windows Media Center development for any length time, you’re familiar with the hurdles and pains of getting CableCARD support on a PC. It wasn’t that long ago that CableLabs was the only organization that could certify and license a PC maker’s CableCARD-ready PC for sale — and might I add… at an exorbitant cost. While those rules may have relaxed in recent times, where anyone can build their own CableCARD equipped PC with the right hardware, CableCARD technology used in both cable providers’ set-top boxes and PC tuners has not advanced much in more than a decade. This is where Sean Alexander, current Director of the Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft, chimes in via his latest blog post: “Is CableCARD Really Dead?” Sean covers 8 areas that need to be focused on immediately, with help from the FCC, to improve the CableCARD + tru2way technology experience, or else risk more of the same for the next 15 years. Hope FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, is paying attention. MORE »

Here’s a no-brainer addition to your home theater system or stereo boombox. Belkin today has unveiled the $49.99 Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver designed to wirelessly pass your currently playing tunes on a Bluetooth v2.0+  A2DP enabled device (like an iPhone, iPod touch, Motorola DROID, Blackberry Bold, etc.) via line-in for output through your stereo’s speakers. The Bluetooth wireless stereo receiver has a range of 33-feet, can remember up to six paired devices, and comes bundled with 3.5mm-to-RCA and 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cables. Being that it wasn’t the long ago that similar A2DP gear was priced at a few hundred dollars, Belkin’s new product seems like a steal in comparison. MORE »

All I can say is, WOW. The attached video demo of Micron’s latest solid state drive, the RealSSD C300, provides a head-to-head comparison with a traditional 3GB 7,200 RPM SATA drive vs. Micron’s cutting-edge SSD on identical PCs. According to the marketing director in the video, the C300 boots twice as fast and is about eight times faster than a standard hard drive. The new C300 is set to launch in the first quarter of 2010 and will be available in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch form factors supporting 128GB and 256GB capacities. MORE »