Media center PCs finally poised for takeoff?

by Marco Chiappetta — Friday, July 07, 2006, 10:35 AM EDT

Citing a study by ABI Research, Eric from Ars Technica postulates that Media Center PCs may be about ready for prime time. Personally, a true Media Center PC is high on my priority list once the wife and I are completely settled in the new home, but the relative complexity and annoying DRM measures taken by the content providers may be a big turn off to less tech-savvy consumers.

"Before getting our first TiVo a couple of years ago, we were faced with a choice: either the world's best-known DVR or a media center PC. A home theater PC was attractive because of its versatility, but the thought of having a PC in the living room proved to be a turnoff to my better half, so the TiVo won out. Despite the inroads that HTPCs have made into the living rooms of the world, more traditional DVRs and cable set-top boxes are still far more popular. That may change over the next few years, according to a study by ABI Research."

Tags: PC, media, media center, PCs, ally, sed, ISE, center, POIs, K

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com