First Look: HP Introduces Media-Centric TV, Network-Attached Storage Drive

HP's MediaSmart LCD TV and NAS combo delivers media to your living room.

Like many companies, Hewlett-Packard is building bridges between your PC and your living room--the most comfortable location for viewing digital media. The company's latest spans are its 37-inch SLC3760N MediaSmart television ($2199) and its mv2020 Media Vault network-attached storage drive ($549). The MediaSmart TV was first announced earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas; the Media Vault is being announced today. Both products are now shipping.

TV With Network Smarts

The MediaSmart TV's native resolution is 1366 by 768p--not high enough for displaying Blu-ray or HD DVD discs at full, native 1080p resolution, but more than adequate for HDTV broadcasts and standard-definition DVD playback.

The TV's hook is that it will display photos, albums, and video streamed over your home network without requiring you to set up a stand-alone digital media adapter (DMA) to serve as the link between your network (and its content) and your television. The MediaSmart TV has a DMA on its back; the adapter includes both a 10/100 ethernet port and ...

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Jon L. Jacobi, special to PC World.com