May 19th, 2009
Okoro Media Systems introduces OMS-AX100 HTPC with built-in amp
Okoro’s latest living room PC makes it possible to ditch another component from your home theater setup. The OMS-AX100 includes a 5.1 amp that delivers 100 watts per channel, which means you can attach passive speakers to it and avoid buying a separate receiver.
The $1,650 base configuration, available includes one of AMD’s low-power Athlon 64 X2 5050e CPUs, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, DVD burner, integrated graphics, HD tuner card, and Windows Vista Home Premium (which includes Windows Media Center). High-def connectivity options include an HDMI port and a component-video port. Of course, once you start tacking on upgrades, things get more interesting. You can squeeze up to 2TB of hard drive storage into the low-profile case, add a Blu-ray burner, and choose one or two CableCard tuners for recording premium digital cable channels. In other words, you can nearly double the price in a hurry.
For those who don’t want to deal with some of the DRM and other restrictions that Windows Media Center places on your playback and recording options, Okoro does offer SageTV as a $200 option (including a Snapstream Firefly remote control). If you really want to go all-out, you can get a custom configuration that includes a 7.1 channel pre-amp for HD audio playback for your Blu-ray discs.
Sean Portnoy spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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