AuthorSara ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Xtreamer Ultra9/7/2021
I commend Xtreamer for trying to think outside the box, and if they can somehow bring together all the benefits of an HTPC without the PC then they will definitely have an interesting product.We reviewed the Xtreamer Pro, as well as briefly discussed the recently announced Xtreamer Prodigy and Xtreamer PVR.One other new player that Xtreamer has lined up is the Xtreamer Ultra.
The Ultra is a departure from the current line of Xtreamer media players since the Ultra is actually an HTPC. ![]() The Ultra will come with a Linux bootable 8GB USB thumb drive, 4 GB DDR3 RAM, MCE Remote Control, Mini wireless keyboard, and HDMI 1.4a cable. For me the most important change I noticed is that reference to HD Audio support (i.e. TrueHD and DTS(MA) ) has been removed from the specifications. When I first saw this announced to be honest I was quite suspicious as the ION platform has never been capable of bitstreaming HD Audio. After digging around I found out that supposedly the included Realtek ALC892 Sound Chip would make HD Audio bitstreaming possible. However, there was very little information on this chip and my understanding in order to bitstream HD Audio this would need to be done via HDMI (The Realtek ALC892 Sound Chip should only be for the analog and SPDIF outputs, and the HDMI port would be tied in to the ION2 GPU which does not support HD Audio). Previously the Ultra was announced to have HDMI 1.3a, but now it has been bumped up to HDMI 1.4a (presumably to add support for BluRay 3D via NVidia 3DTV Play). It connects your PC (windows 7) to your iPhoneiPod touch or pc wimmote. Once they are connected, you can use your iPhoneiPod touch as a wireless keyboard or touchpad assist you in a presentation or anytime you wish to remote control your PC. AIWI enables you to play games with body motions SMASHING, SWINGING, STEERING You can interact with the PC games in sensitive touches and body motions that correspond to the games stories. It looks like now they have gone with a hybrid passive and active cooling system. That combined with all the fancy graphics in their advertising can really wow the consumer without fully understanding what they are purchasing. With an HTPC comes the typical PC type duties (managing software, drivers, etc), and even if somehow Xtreamer is able to create a package that helps streamline this, nonetheless it is still a PC. I only bring this up because I have seen a few people ask exactly what the Ultra is, or try to compare it against a media player. One thing I noticed immediately is that with the Ultra you can either boot up to Linux or load a Windows OS. If you go the Windows route you must keep in mind that you will need to provide both the Operating System as well as a hard drive to load it on, something that is buried in the Specifications. If this was a media player you might be blown away by the availability of such a wide array of software. Xtreamer Ultra Install PC SoftwareHowever, once again, the Ultra is a PC, so of course you should be able to install PC software on a PC. Discovering statistics using ibm spss statistics 4th edition pdf downloadBy doing this you may not realize that you will lose some of the advertised features. Just reading through the advertising both the X-Aiwi motion gaming and NVidia 3DTV Play software will only work with Windows 7. Xtreamer Ultra Trial Is IncludedHowever, you should realize that aside from having the appropriate hardware (3D TV and 3D glasses) you will need to purchase the NVidia 3DTV software (only a 14 day trial is included) and if you want BluRay 3D you will need to purchase compatible software as well (such a Arcsoft TMT5). Once again though, we are dealing with an AtomIon platform, which in many respects is a vastly underpowered PC.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |