Hey All,

I tested this platform for about a week and wrote the blog that JK referenced.

http://links.amd.com/ZinoHD

Overall, the platform did most things pretty well. I have seen complaints about no TV Tuner, No Ir, etc. While I agree those would be nice add ins, it would also drive the cost up. This platform is squarely aimed at the Revo 3600/3610 platforms. For similar pricing, you can get a more capable Dell box vs. the Revo.

Following totalundones list...
Zino HD
+DVD Burner
+slightly more powerful CPU
+More HD space


Acer r3610
Better GPU (define better GPU? Audio might be better but graphis are pretty equivalent)
+Wireless Keyboard and mouse (I think the KB can remotely turn on the unit)
B/G/N Wireless (this is a wash since both units have it)
?Bluetooth? -unsure which protocol the keyboard and mouse use.

Wireless is a wash because you can get Wireless N on the Dell box for that $329 price. As for the graphics capabilities, this is probably a wash as well since both perform about the same. The nVidia chipset may have slightly better audio capabilities.

Anyway, if you have some questions about the platform, feel free to leave a comment on the blog and I will try to answer them.

Wow, I am really hoping this brief is wrong...Please MS and Dish, give the public what they want!!!!!

I did some playing around with the numbers and I think you can build an equally capable if not a little better in some areas for about $250 less.

Some things I would do differently:

Given that the goal of the system is HD/SD content playback (either OTA or Blu ray), you can easily do this with an integrated chipset without comprimising the Video Quality or experice. As such, I would choose a uATX board with a good integrated chipset (RS780 for AMD or NV9300 for Intel). Either of these should be able to do Blu ray playback as well as great HD/SD playback. This knocks off $65 by not needing the discrete GPU card. You can also find some nice uATX boards for $80 saving another $40

2nd, I would go with a lower power CPU (cooler, quieter operation). The Phenom II 705e is a triple core CPU with a fast HT link and only 65W at 2.5Ghz. I saw it on Newegg for $129. This knocks off $50 off what they list here without hurting HTPC performance.

As for the OS, if you have access to the Win 7 beta with a key good until next year, I would do that instead. Win 7 is actually a really nice solution for HTPC needs. Save $100 there, and if you pre ordered the upgrade pack at $50, then you will still be saving $50 over the 100 Vista listed.

I am not sure why they really put in the Xonar card. On board audio is fully capable of multi channel audio just like the Xonar card listed. Neither solution will deliver true HD or DTS Master audio so it seems just to add cost without value. The HDAV listed as an upgrade is supposed to do it, but I have not yet heard it first hand so I can't comment. Therefore, if you are just going DTS or Dolby 5.1, then onboard audio over SPDIF or HDMI should easily suffice.

If you want higher quality audio, then an add in board may be the way to go. Likewise the MSI Diva board with the 7.1 pre amp card is supposed to deliver high quality analog audio. That board is $129 on newegg (after rebate). Therefore, with either onboard audio or the Diva route you can still save the cost of the audio card ($57.00)

So assuming you did these changes you could save...

~ 40.00 for the mobo (assming ~80 price point which there are plenty of)
~ 57.00 for no audio card
~ 65 for no GPU card
~ 50.00 for the CPU
~ 100.00 for the OS immediately, but have to put back 50 for the upgrade (assuming you did this already). Otherwise, it is a near wash as the Win 7 OS is going to be $119 at launch (reportedly anyway).

Total savings (not including OS) ~200.00 lowering your system build to ~$750.00 or so and this again is without sacraficing audio/video peformance in any meaningful way.

Other changes I would make that would improve HTPC experience but bump the cost a little.

Change out the HDD with either the WD Green drive or the Seagate Pipeline HD drive. It is quieter than traditional desktop drives and some of the drives have optimized f/w for streaming content. Costs about $6 more but worth the extra money in my opinion. However, I would consider moving up to 1TB HDD for an additional $40 to get more storage capability.

Change out the PSU. The PSU is one of the loudest components in the build. I have not heard the PSU listed here so I don't know if it is a quiet PSU or not, but the Corsair 450VX is a great HTPC PSU. It is very quiet, probably one of the best I have heard to date and is a very stable PSU supply. It is about $30 more than what they listed (without rebates) but again, may well be worth it if the PSU used was too loud.

Anyway, just the approach I would take to the project. I think they spent too much when the same quality system could be built for less.

By the way, the numbers I used all came straight off of Newegg...no FUD being spread.

This is not all that expensive...prior to this, the nearest cablecard enabled platforms were selling for 2K and higher.

That makes this priced very competitively.

Could you put your own HTPC together for less (minus cablecard)? Sure, but not that much less. An equivalently equipped system (minus cablecard) would run you around 500-600. Therefore, you are only talking a $300 difference or so and you get cablecard support.

Keep in mind, not everyone has the time or necessary skill set to assemble their own HTPC.

That is the audience this is aimed at, not the techy guys that like to assemble their own h/w.

This just opens cablecard to the DIY guy that could not really access it in a cost effective manner.

Actually, it will handle blu ray just fine. I have one of these already and it does BD without any skipping, stuttering or anything else. Flawless playback with great color saturation and crystal clear video. The audio on this is awesome, way better than traditional PC audio.

This board is great for HTPC. Great I/O connectivity, great video, great audio, that is why you would use this.

Sure there are other basic PC platforms out there, but none that are addressing the market needs like this one.