BIOS: Technology Means Business

AOpen is debuting its full series of ePCs at the Computex Taipei 2005 show this week. The 'ePC', an abbreviation of 'entertainment PC', is designed for home entertainment. However, strength of the product is that it has the look-and-feel of a consumer electronic products and can be arranged in a rack for home audio and video equipment, unlike regular computers (even SFF PCs).

'The ePCs are based on digital entertainment platforms which can fit ideally in different users environments,' said Bernie Tsai, president of AOpen 'AOpen Media Center Server 400/410 is an ideal choice for the main living room, while AOpen XC REC6 is a model for the sitting room,' Tsai elaborated. The various models of ePCs form AOpen's digital home entertainment solutions and are used in different scenarios.

The Media Center Server 400/410 is designed to look like a conventional audio amplifier. The housing of the innovative product is designed with storage space for seven hard drives. The system is developed with the functions to receive video streams from multiple TV channels. For instance, you can record video streams or TV programs of up to three different TV channels with built-in hard drives. You can also manage, edit, browse, or playback the recorded video streams or TV programs recorded on the system's hard drives.

The device also supports multiple screen output, allowing you to display the video output of different TV channels to separate video output devices, such as a HDTV or plasma display. It's built with a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) panel which shows the system playback status and the remote control of the system enables you to operate the system at a distance.

'Powered by the functions of high performance AOpen Media Center Server 400/410, the users can watch and record TV programs, play music CDs and MP3 music, play VCD and DVD movies,' explained Vincent Cho, VP and GM of Solution Products Business Unit. 'As the most powerful digital home entertainment platform in the IT industry, the product is expected to start a digital home entertainment revolution in the near future,' Cho predicted.

Otehr technical features of the Media Center Server 400/410 include support for Intel Pentium 4 820 processors (2.8GHz), Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, 7.1-channel surround sound, dual-channel DDR2 (533/667MHz) memory and expandable to 4GB, PCI-Express x16 and PCI expansion slots, one ATA and six Serial-ATA connectors, built-in 250GB hard drive, built-in DVD combo drive, Gigabit LAN, as well as S-Video, YPbPr, and D4 video output connectors.

Although AOpen XC REC6 is also designed for providing digital home entertainment, the look and feel of XC REC6 is totally different from that of Media Center Server. The stylish and super slim XC REC6 is only 69mm in height, making it ideal for the sitting room. Despite its compact size, the product features a VFD panel and push buttons which allow you to operate the system and examine its operation status. It also supports nearly all important audio and video interfaces including S-Video, YPbPr, and D4 connectors for displaying video output to HDTVs or LCD screens.

The XC REC6 is designed to be driven by Intel Pentium M processors, which consume less electric power, generate less heat, and run quietly. It also provides one 5.25in. and one 3.5in. drive bay, supports Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, supports multiple-channel audio outputs, supports Intel i915G and ICH6 chipsets, dual-channel DDR2 (400/533MHz) memory, as well as Gigabit Ethernet.