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Epson Excites HTPC Fans with Endeavor ST120 (But There's a Catch...)

Posted 12/20/08 at 04:27:18 PM  by Mark Edward Soper

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Epson ST120 HTPC will excite Japanese HTPC fans

If you're tired of tiny form-factor HTPCs run by underwhelming processors, the newest version of the Epson Endeavor ST HTPC is a shot of adrenaline. As Nexus404 reports, the new ST120, which measures only 75x185x195 mm (or approximately 2.95x7.28x7.68 inches), features powerful processing and movie playback power:

  • Core 2 Duo processor running at speeds from 2.26-2.8GHz
  • GM45 Express chipset
  • HDTV Tuner
  • 1GB DDR2 RAM with upgrade options to 4GB
  • 80GB to 250GB SATA hard disk
  • Blu-Ray or DVD drive

If you're looking for an ultra-compact HTPC with most of the guts of a desktop, what's the catch? There are two, really:

  • Catch #1: It costs approximately $1,573
  • Catch #2: The price is converted from Japanese yen, because Japan's the only place that will see the ST120 rolled out for sale.

Want to see Epson roll out an Americanized version? Think Epson should stick to printers, scanners, and all-in-one units? Have a suggestion for a similarly small and powerful HTPC that's available outside of Japan? You know what to do: hit Comment and tell us all about it.

Image courtesy Engadget.com.

COMMENTS:5
TAGS: intel, Blu-ray, dvd, Core 2 Duo, Home Theater, consumer electronics, epson, htpc
COMMENTS
avatarHow about mobile?

Submitted by bsweeney on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 11:22am

I'd like to see an HTPC built on top of a customized mobile platform. I imagine a company could sufficiently cover all the bases: form factor, noise, heat dissipation. And let's not forget power (this is MaxPC after all). Certainly an HTPC of this ilk wouldn't best one built off of a desktop platform, but what desktop system a) fits in your entertainment center and b) does drown out the audio with its whining turbine of a fan. I suppose you could go water cooling, but then my first point becomes even more of a problem.

Still, I think the comment regarding cable cards is spot on. Until the anti-consumer practices of the the media industry can be tamed by the PC industry this market is going nowhere.

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avatarPlease if your going to

Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Sun, 12/21/2008 - 12:07am

Please if your going to build it for the USA then please use an ATI or Nvidia graphics chip. There are some very cheap yet powerful graphics chips available that accellerate HD video and allow for gaming. 

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avatarCableCard

Submitted by Bender2000 on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 9:07pm

Meh, the podcast is right, HTPCs are nowhere until they get the CableCard worked out. Any rumors of this coming at CES?

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avatarPanasonic Gamecube

Submitted by K0BALT on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 4:26pm

http://www.ps2modchip.com/flash/gc04.htm

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avatarJapan

Submitted by jediken21 on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 2:36pm

Japan gets all the really good stuff don't they? I still want a panasonic gamecube...

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