Inteset swings first stand-alone Media Center PC
updated 01:40 pm EDT, Tue May 22, 2007
Inteset Media Center PC
Branching out from familiar territor, Inteset this afternoon listed the Vana VA6420-Sx. Though made with the same case as the company's Vana Media Extender, the Sx is a full-fledged Media Center PC that doesn't depend on a host computer to serve up content: up to 500GB of hard drive storage holds media locally, and a more advanced DVD manager offers movies. The system's independence also gives it support for an additional audio zone to play music in another room. Owners of larger setups can also use the Vana as a substitute extender or integrate it with home automation through an RS-232 serial port, Inteset adds.
Performance is otherwise close in line with the original extension-only unit. HDTV is supported through an integrated, hybrid ATSC/NTSC tuner as well as the speed of a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo and a quiet, passively-cooled GeForce 7300 GS video card that helps accelerate video decoding. Video is sent through component, DVI, and VGA for flat-panel TVs as well as RCA and S-video for older display hardware.
Officially available now, the freshly introduced Vana is intended for custom home theaters and doesn't have a fixed price. Inteset asks buyers to contact the firm for prices and special orders.
