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VidaBox RoomClientHD Supports Blu-ray & DVD Streaming in Full 1080p - Chris Lanier's Blog

VidaBox RoomClientHD Supports Blu-ray & DVD Streaming in Full 1080p

New VidaBox RoomClientHD™ supports Blu-ray & DVD streaming in full 1080p with HD audio support - all in a miniature, palm-sized package

Westbury, NY - September 29th - VidaBox is proud to announce the new RoomClientHD™, a 2" tall, palm-sized media extender that provides Blu-ray & DVD streaming support for full 1080p and lossless audio codecs.  Designed to be easily hidden behind any HDTV, this breakthrough extender allows any room to get instant, on-demand access to any content stored on a VidaBox media server.

"We're thrilled to finally offer an ultra-compact Blu-ray extender that dealers and customers alike have been asking for," says Steven Cheung, President of VidaBox LLC.  "Current Blu-ray players & extenders are the size of typical DVD players or set-top boxes, and may have slight unpleasantries like fan noise that stopped many installers from putting the equipment directly in the viewing area.  By combining advanced hardware design and our in-depth experience with Blu-ray streaming, we've been able to create the RoomClientHD, answering the prayers of integrators and customers alike.

Blu-ray streaming starts with a VidaBox server, such as the new RACK24 system with up to 22.0TB of storage, where thousands of DVDs and hundreds of Blu-rays can be stored.  From here, extenders like the RoomClientHD can be installed to pull the content via standard CAT5e/6 cabling.  No complicated setup needs to be done, as the extenders are preconfigured to automatically detect the VidaBox server on the network, making multizone installs a plug-n-play process.

"With only a 6" x 6" footprint, installers can cleverly hide the 2" tall RoomClientHD behind most HDTV panels," exclaims Cheung.  "With hardware support for full 1080p and new HD audio codecs like DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD, the RoomClientHD sets a new standard for high-end media extenders that provide a full set of features without any compromises in quality or experience."

The RoomClientHD is available now, and comes with an option for a built-in Blu-ray disc drive for convenient local playback.  For more details and specifications on the RoomClientHD™ and VidaBox's comprehensive line of media servers, extenders, and complete entertainment and control solutions, please visit the company website at http://www.vidabox.com, or see them at International CES in the North Tower Suite H22-121!

About VidaBox LLC

VidaBox LLC is a digital entertainment and controls solutions company focused on manufacturing premium media centers, integrated home control & automation solutions.  VidaBox is on a mission to create user-friendly, stable high-performance Media Center systems that work right out of the box and integrate seamlessly with multizone audio and smart home technologies.  For more information, visit www.vidabox.com or call 1-516-730-7500.

Published Monday, September 29, 2008 11:32 AM by chrisl

Comments

# re: VidaBox RoomClientHD Supports Blu-ray & DVD Streaming in Full 1080p

This would be the coolest extender, except for one very big omission, no SOFTSLED.  Therefore, no ability to watch or record any of the TV from the cable-card MCE server in the home.  Why oh why can't they make a device that has both the ability to play ripped movies and recorded movies from CC in the same box?  It's great this box has a blu-ray player, but still need to have a separate extender to access recorded TV.

Monday, September 29, 2008 1:52 PM by Sipester

# Does it really support HD audio?

Spec says supports "HD Audio (DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD)", yet on the I/O Panel I see only DVI and Analog/SPDIF audio. How is that supposed to work?

Monday, September 29, 2008 5:26 PM by GaryZ

# re: VidaBox RoomClientHD Supports Blu-ray & DVD Streaming in Full 1080p

It's derived from this:

usa.aopen.com/Products.aspx

Since these are based on the G45, it supports HDMI audio. In this case it only exposes a DVI port, but with an adapter it becomes HDMI, and audio is simply extra payload data inserted in between the video frames. So with newer chipsets that offer integrated audio for HDMI uses, the DVI port can also carry audio. This has been shown to be true from other chipsets like the GeForce 8200 as well.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 12:39 AM by Matt

# re: VidaBox RoomClientHD Supports Blu-ray & DVD Streaming in Full 1080p

Agree with Sipester.

Calling those things an "extender" really isn't accurate, since it's a whole PC.  And yes, lacking the ability to play live or recorded TV from the main media center pretty much kills it as an "extender".

Sunday, October 05, 2008 11:25 AM by shnoogie