Niveus Shows Media Center Extender; Launches Control Server and n4 Entry-Level System

Niveus Media has unveiled their first Media Center Extender at CEDIA, becoming one of three manufacturers named by Microsoft to make the products.

CEO Tim Cutting says that the company is the right choice for dealers looking to extend Media Center. "We're the only company [making extenders], in my opinion, that focuses on this channel," he says.

While they didn't reveal any specs about the product -- details will be released on September 27 in conjunction with DigitalLife -- the form factor will be identical to the company's Rainier system. The extender is expected to ship some time in Q4. Pricing hasn't been announced.

The company also announced that their systems will now support quad CableCard tuners, a feature recently announced for Windows Media Center, and the Pro Series Media Servers will use Intel Core 2 Quad processors.

Niveus announced their entry-level rack server, the Pro Series n4, with a smaller hard drive than the n7 and n9 systems and an upconverting DVD player (instead of HD DVD). It will ship with an MSRP of $5,000.

With HP dropping its DEC line, Niveus, Sony, Exceptional Innovation, Alienware, Inteset and ACE Computers are all competing for the entry-level media center market. That's a good thing, says Cutting.

"It's a complete validation of this product for this category," he says. "It drives the total available market."

For dealers who want to offer customized control solutions, the company is launching the Niveus Control Server, a middleware product for programming UIs and modules. It's available in beta, and will get a general release in Q4.

The company is also partnering with Autonomic Controls for IP and serial-based control of their products. The Autonomic software will come bundled with Niveus systems.