- Fanless
- TV-Out (so it can plug-in directly to the TV)
- S/PDIF out, so 5.1 signals get decoded by a nice receiver rather than stock DACs
- PCI slot for TV/Video capture card.
- Hard drive large enough/fast enough to record at least 2 hours worth of TV at DVD quality.
- Space for a quiet DVD-ROM.
- Small enough and tough enough be stacked on something (and have something stacked on it).
The Mappit A4F 19-1HE has all the features listed above, save the AGP. Do you think that this machine is the perfect or closest to perfect for a Home Theater PC (HTPC)?
Here are the downsides I can see (note: I'm being REALLY picky here and I know it)
- Limited A/V-out - No component video out. Also if you want S/PDIF out, you HAVE to use S-Video and S/PDIF Coax.
- Company located overseas - If you want to RMA any of the components, it's gotta go to Australia or Germany. Likewise, to purchase one, it has to come from one of those two locations, which brings me to the next point....
- Expensive - You can build a machine that comes close to the above for a fraction of the price. Plus, in addition to the costs you see on their site, there's the cost of shipping and duty.
- Unclear specs - This may just be me fussing, but the specs are less clear for the A4F 19-1HE than they are for their little brother. For example, the website makes no mention of the PCI slot, and/or if the TV-out does NTSC. Working environment specs would be useful too since many Home Theaters are warm and poorly ventilated.
RD, what would the total costs be (including shipping and duty) for an A4F 19-1HE equipped with the 1GHz processor and an 80GB Samsung hard drive?
Everyone else, what are your thoughts on this machine?