Denver, CO – CEDIA Expo 2007 – September 5-9 – Booth #294 – Niveus Media, Inc, the leader in high-end digital entertainment for the connected home, proudly announces that they now have 200 qualified dealers successfully selling and installing Niveus Media Server products. Continuing to align with the top integrators in the custom install channel, Niveus respects their roster of dealers for their expertise, customer base, and passion for the home entertainment industry.

Early this year, Niveus launched the 2007 line of Microsoft Windows Vista-based media servers as the first systems to incorporate Intel Viiv technology, HD DVD, CableCARD compatibility, and HDMI. Shortly after this rollout, the HTSA (Home Theater Specialists of America) welcomed Niveus as the organization's first and only media center company to join its exclusive line-up of manufacturing partners; another testament to Niveus' commitment to the custom install market. Focused on serving dealers directly, Niveus has spent 2007 developing a growing network of the industry's most respected manufacturer's reps who have helped increase Niveus'…

PRESS RELEASE - EXCLUSIVE TO CEDIANEWS.COM

NEWMARKET, N.H. -- Russound, the #1 brand in multiroom audio, today announced the upcoming availability of six Smart Media Console (SMC) models, all of which will be available to Russound dealers and installers in Q3 2007. The six models are the first products in Russound's SMC lineup, which has grown thanks to input from dealers and the advancing high-tech marketplace.

"No company knows the custom installation space better than Russound, so the launch of our first extensive line of Smart Media Consoles is big news," commented Jeff Kussard, Russound’s Vice President of Strategic Development. "As the media center category continues to evolve, it has become clear that the custom installation market truly understands the benefits of these products. We feel that Russound is best equipped to satisfy a customer base hungry for the benefits of a home entertainment and integration network without having to contend with products weighed down by unnecessary PC features."

"When we…

PRESS RELEASE

Hanover MA, August 28, 2007, Inteset, LLC has announced the availability of CableCARD in its server systems. Inteset now provides an option for up to two (2) internal OCUR tuners that support CableCARD in its Denzel and Maximus servers.

The Inteset CableCARD solution allows customers to replace their high definition cable box with an Inteset server to view one standard or high definition premium program while recording another. OCUR tuners can be used without the CableCARD add-on from the local cable company in which case unencrypted QAM (non-premium digital cable) is supported. In addition, all Inteset systems are now available using the Windows Vista operating system from Microsoft which is required for the use of OCUR tuners.

Dealers have been asking for CableCARD for some time. Inteset has held off on offering CableCARD for the Windows Vista platform until third-party drivers for the OS were more stable and up-to-date. Inteset had been working closely with its OEM…

Exceptional Innovation is set to ship its first 50 CableCard-ready LifeMedia Media Center PCs, but don't think you can get your hands on one. They're all spoken for. "I can't even get one for my own house," says EI chief Seale Moorer.

EI announced in May that it would develop its own PCs after previous partner HP pulled out of the Media Center business. HP's departure turned out to be a blessing for EI, which was unleashed to make Media Centers the way they should be made.

"It comes down to engineering," says Mike Seamons, vice president of marketing. "That's what's different. We put in the best components. LifeMedia is built for today and built for tomorrow. … I think LifeMedia is going to be pretty close to perfect."

The "built-for-tomorrow" part has to do with EI's patent-pending MediaPlate. The architecture allows integrators to swap out…

We get a lot of press releases about manufacturer training at CEDIA, along with PR pleas to post them on CEDIAnews.com. Except for those of our sponsors, those pleas generally get ignored.

But here's a plug for Media Center training for Microsoft -- great prep, by the way, for more extensive full-day Media Center training at the Electronic House Expo in November.

Microsoft tells us there will be "sweet giveaways."

Microsoft Media Center Training

Introduction to Windows Media Center in Custom Installations

The purpose of this 90 minute course is to introduce installers to Media Center for Windows Vista. The course will outline the basics of Media Center as a great customer entertainment experience and robust media platform for residential entertainment systems.


…

Alienware is coming out with some higher-end Media Center PCs to be sold only through specialty A/V channels. The company will demonstrate the products for the first time in September at its own booth (1098) and in Exceptional Innovation's "Lifeware Village."

We've been wondering for quite some time what Alienware would do in the Media Center department.

The notorious gaming PC developer was in and out of Media Center for a few years until it launched Hangar 18 last year. The product was the first one built on AMD's Live! Media Center platform, with 5.1 surround sound including amplification of 200 watts per channel. (For the history Alienware Media Centers, view the slide show.)

Wonder no more. The response to Alienware's Hangar 18 was "overwhelmingly positive," says Derek Kaminski, product manager for Alienware's Digital Home group.

He's not exaggerating.…

Fuze Media is a startup that wanted to come up with the ultimate out-of-the-box multimedia experience, including whole-house audio and video, photo sharing, music and movie management, PVR capabilities, the works.

The result is the Fuze Media Server which starts with the FuzeBox media server hub and FuzeMini server clients. They look a lot like Media Center PCs.

Fuze insists that they aren't. Specifically, Fuze says it is "not a control or MCE system."

Yet the main Fuze server, the FuzeBox, is OEMed by Velocity Micro, has the same CableCard capabilities, same form factor, and same Viiv logo as one of Velocity's Media Center PCs.

The Fuze jargon is also Media Center-like:

FUZE delivers a complete system that stores, manages, organizes, and distributes all of your digital media -- to any part of the home. Live TV, recorded TV, movies, videos, music, digital photos, and more are all…

Crestron and Microsoft are doing something big together. The two companies are expected to launch some kind of media-centric control platform that will take their offerings "to a whole new level," says Fred Bargetzi, VP of technology for Crestron.

He and Crestron executive VP Randy Klein, however, refused to say just what kind of solution the two companies plan to introduce. They won't divulge their entire plans at CEDIA, but the duo will at least reveal the depth of their partnership, and may hint at their direction.

Crestron has been warming up to Microsoft for years. It started back in 2004 when the company introduced the Isys i/O line of touchpanels running Windows Embedded OS.

Crestron's next generation mobile Web/control interface, the XP-enabled TPMC-8X, introduced in September, 2006, was an even more striking Windows implementation, where Internet functionality was tightly integrated with home controls. For example, a Skype call might trigger a movie to pause and the lights to…

Inteset, LLC is now offering an optional Blu-ray HD-DVD combo drive in its Maximus and Denzel media server systems. The Media Centers can play back both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs in full 1080p resolution from a single drive.

“It’s been a long time coming,” says David Hirsh, Inteset’s Director of Business Development. “Users now have no limitations for movie playback. DVDs, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, it doesn’t matter. Our media servers handle all of these formats."

Blu-ray and HD-DVD playback is facilitated through CyberLink’s PowerDVD Ultra software. All high definition 7.1 surround sound formats are supported without the need of a separate receiver or pre-processor, including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS audio.