HP today introduced the HP Personal Media Drive and the HP Media Center m1000 series Photosmart PC, continuing HP’s long legacy of innovation and delivering the next evolution in digital entertainment technology.
The HP Personal Media Drive, a stand-alone storage accessory, can slide seamlessly into an integrated bay slot in the front of the new HP Media Center PC chassis or be used as an independent storage drive with any notebook or PC with a USB port.
When being used in the HP Media Center PC environment, the HP Personal Media Drive gives consumers up to 160 gigabytes of additional storage potential without ever opening the PC chassis. Once inserted inside into the easy-access Media Drive bay at the front of the PC, consumers can easily transfer large data files to the drive or set the HP Personal Media Drive as their primary storage mechanism. For example, consumers can set their HP Media Center PC to record their favorite TV show and program the PC to save it directly to the HP Personal Media Drive.
Whether being used with the new HP Media Center PC or as a second, external storage source, the HP Personal Media Drive enables digital media enthusiasts to address the critical need for additional PC storage by allowing them to copy their digital content, including home videos, digital photography and music onto the storage drive. Once copied to the HP Personal Media Drive, memories and content are safely backed up on a second source and consumers can take their digital content with them wherever they go. The 160 gigabyte HP Personal Media Drive currently allows consumers to store up to 2600 hours of high quality digital music recording, up to180,000 digital photos, or up to 160 hours of standard-quality TV.
Compatible as an external drive with all current PC’s and notebooks that feature a USB port, the HP Personal Media Drive will be sold as a stand-alone PC accessory. In addition, the Media Drive docking bay will also be featured in current configure to order HP Media Center PCs and in an upcoming Compaq Presario CTO model that will be announced later this month.
"The ability to take your data with you whether that’s around the house or while away from home will become key for consumers as they wish to interact with their digital data throughout the day," said Randy Giusto, Vice President of Personal Technology and Services at IDC. "In addition, as Media Center PC customers grow their libraries of digital media, it will become increasingly important to provide not only portability, but easy to use backup capabilities as well."
Sporting a sleek new product design, which features the HP Personal Media Drive bay, the HP Media Center m1000 series Photosmart PC is designed with the digital media enthusiast in mind. Additionally, the HP Media Center PC now features support for XD memory in its front chassis 9:1 Media Card Reader and more conveniently located I/O ports in the mid-section of the PC casing.
Unique to HP, the new HP Media Center PC m1000 series features a convenient camera docking slot at the top of the chassis, allowing users to quickly attach their HP digital camera and download videos and pictures to their hard drive without re-attaching their camera cables every time. For users that do not own a camera docking station, the top of the case provides a unique storage space to house any digital camera, cell phone, CDs, or DVDs.
The HP Media Center m1000 series Photosmart PC also offers an enhanced version of HP’s exclusive photo and editing software, HP Image Zone Plus. With the new version of the software, HP Media Center PC users can for the first time interact with all their digital photography content at a 10-foot level-giving them the ability to view and edit photos within the Media Center operating system environment with the included remote control. Another innovative stepping-stone in HP’s leading Media Center PC platform.
"HP was the first to market with our HP Media Center PC in 2002, bridging the gap between PCs and cutting-edge digital entertainment," said Sam Szteinbaum, vice president of HP’s North America Consumer Computing organization. "It is only natural that we continue to pave the road for digital entertainment enthusiasts with innovative and forward thinking products like the new HP Media Center m1000 series Photosmart PC and the HP Personal Media Drive-changing the way people think about and interact with their PC."
The HP Media Center m1000 series Photosmart PC continues HP’s innovative line of digital entertainment technology at an even more affordable price. Starting at retail prices of $1049l(after a $50 mail in rebate) it is approximately $100 lower than previous models-the HP Media Center m1000 is a tremendous value with a new integrated storage solution.