Pinewood, England - November 19th, 2007 – Pinnacle Systems, Inc., the consumer division of Avid Technology, Inc., today announced Pinnacle ShowCenter™ 250HD, an innovative content distribution solution that removes the barriers to PC/TV convergence and even puts inexperienced computer users in charge of deciding how and where they enjoy their PC-based digital content.
Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD is a robust, plug-and-play digital media adapter that enables users to link any home entertainment center with all of their networked PCs and NAS (network-attached storage) devices. As Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD is compatible with most common UPnP AV media server applications, it can be used with Microsoft® Windows Vista®, Windows XP or Mac® OS systems, and in most cases, there is no additional software to install1. Equipped with built-in wired Ethernet and wireless (802.11b/g) networking, Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD provides consumers with an easy way to enjoy streaming HD videos to their HDTV, viewing digital photos in HD resolution and listening to digital-quality music files on their home theatre system.
With home theatre systems and HDTVs becoming more affordable, Forrester Research survey reported that 15% of Europeans respondents own a home theatre system. In a separate survey, Forrester Research also reported that currently 6% of Europeans own an HDTV and 22% are interested in getting one.2
“The growth in the home theatre and HDTV markets has created the need for a simple, cost-effective solution for linking PC-based digital media to a home entertainment system,” said Tanguy Leborgne, Pinnacle Systems’ Vice President of Worldwide Marketing. “PC users and home entertainment enthusiasts want to be able to have their friends and family join them in viewing their digital media collections on their large-screen home entertainment system, rather than in front of their PC. With Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD, they can do that and more.”
Using the remote control that comes with Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD, consumers can have fast, easy access to all of their PC-based digital media for playback on their home entertainment system. For example, they can access Windows® Media DRM-protected files that were purchased and downloaded to their PC, or media files stored on a USB storage device, such as a USB flash drive or digital camera. Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD can also be used with UPnP AV media servers for streaming media files stored on UPnP AV- compatible network storage devices.
Pinnacle ShowCenter close up
In addition to providing high-quality video playback of the Windows Media Video 9, WMV-DRM, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVI, DivX®, and XviD files, ShowCenter supports HD playback of Windows Media Video 9, DivX HD and MPEG-4 file formats with resolutions of up to 1080i. Supported music formats range from Mp3, WMA, WMA Pro and WMA lossless to WMA-DRM and PCM WAV uncompressed.
For broad compatibility, Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD offers a wide range of input/output options including a SCART 21-pin connector for composite, Y/C, RGB, and stereo audio; a component video output (YPrPb, 3 x RCA), a composite video output (RCA), an S-Video output (Y/C, MiniDIN), two stereo audio outputs (4 x RCA) and two S/PDIF digital audio outputs (1 x RCA coaxial, 1 x Toslink optical). Other inputs/outputs include Ethernet RJ-45 (100BASE-T) and an Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11g module with detachable antenna as well as a 100-230V power cable connector, an Infrared receiver and a USB 2.0 connector which is conveniently located on the front panel.
Pricing, Availability
Pinnacle ShowCenter 250HD will be available from January 2008 at selected retailers and e-tailers, with a SRP of £129.99. The device comes with built-in wired Ethernet and wireless networking as well as power, Ethernet and SCART cables; a remote control with batteries and a Quick Start Guide.
