Samsung goes Media Center with MediaLive

Embraces Microsoft tech to offer more to TV viewers

23 July 2008 17:49 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Samsung has announced the launch of a new media Center PC called MediaLive that it hopes will allow it to get a foothold into the "Connected" arena ahead of IFA next month.

The new box of tricks will run Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate operating systems allowing users to access photos, music, feature films, home movies, and live and recorded TV programs.

Quite late to the party, Samsung's Vice president of visual display marketing at Samsung Electronics America, John Revie said: "The PC is quickly becoming the hub for entertainment in the home, Samsung's MediaLive opens up a constantly expanding world of content for consumers".

Samsung's MediaLive allows PCs running Windows Vista or Windows Vista Home Premium to stream a personal movie, photo, music, and video collection to any 2008-model Samsung HDTV in the home with an HDMI-CEC connection.

Full HD resolution and support for a range of video, audio, and image codecs such as AC3, H.264, JPEG, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMA, and WMV is included.

Control over the box that has been designed to sit out of sight is either via the MediaLive Simple Remote, or Samsung's own HDTV's remote control.

The device connects to a PC via a RJ45 connected LAN cable, or wirelessly through a built-in 802.11a/b/g/n receiver.

The Samsung MediaLive will be available in August 2008 however no UK pricing for availability has been set.