MediaSmart Home News & Announcements - All Entries
One Haiku Could Win You a MediaSmart Server, Zune HD, or 1TB Hard Drive
Intel and Microsoft have teamed up to slap everyone with a little Home Server Enlightenment, haiku style. Tell them how a home server would bring peace of mind to your life, or why you really want one, in the forum of a haiku, and that'll enter you in a drawing for some pretty killer gear. That's right, you're 17 syllables away from winning yourself a brand new EX490 MediaSmart Server, Zune HD, or Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green hard drive. Need a little motivation? Our news informs you Great prizes for the taking Enter to win now More »
HP Confirms 3.0 Upgrade for Legacy EX Series Owners, Available December
HP's promised upgrade for previous generation MediaSmart Server is taking one step closer to reality. According to this statement from HP's Allen Buckner, HP plans to make a 3.0 upgrade disc available to all legacy EX MediaSmart Server owners for a nominal fee. While much of what we hypothesized back in may is coming to fruition, such as the EX47x loss of Photo Webshare, there are a few things we didn't expect. For example, HP is hoping to perform in-place upgrades, keeping all user data in tact, in leiu of a full factory restore. Unfortunately, the LX195 won't be joining in the 3.0 fun. The reasons behind the mini-MediaSmart Servers's omission remain unanswered, but limitations of the Atom platform would be the most likely culprit. Full statement below: "Back in May, we announced a plan to allow current MediaSmart Server customers to upgrade to the most current software version beginning... More »
Last Post: November 19, 2009 3:18 PM by Lanyard Knot
HP Announces StorageWorks X500 Series, Like an MSS for Small Business
Among several new technology solutions announced today focused on small and business, one of interest is the new X500 StorageWorks server, which is (for the most part) a MediaSmart Server aimed squarely at small and midsize businesses. At the $699 starting price, the X500 series offers 1TB of storage, the same PC and Mac features of the MediaSmart line, as well as the core Windows Home Server features like backup and restore. However, it would appear many of the 'home' focused features like the Video Converter and Media Collector have been omitted... at least they're not talked about. The pricing may seem odd considering it's the same price as an EX495 but with less storage, but the warranty and support options here could be dramatically different since this is a business based device. See the X500 Fact Sheet here. Full press release below PALO ALTO, Calif.-- HP (NYSE:HPQ) today introduced... More »
Roundup: HP's EX490 and EX495 Across the Web
Since Tuesday's announcmenet of the brand new EX490 and EX495, news and reviews on the new line have been cropping up everywhere. Aside from our own coverage right here at MediaSmart Home, you can find more excellent EX490/EX495 reviews and information all over the web. Check out our roundup below for quotes and links to more great reviews and notable coverage around the web. From MediaSmartHome.com HP MediaSmart Server EX490 / EX495 Hands On Review - More power. More capacity. More control. That's what the third generation MediaSmart Server is all about, but did HP deliver? Review of Mac-Friendly Features in HP's EX495 MediaSmart Server - "Mac people" are certainly used to the fact that not *everything* plays nice with Apple's crown jewel, the OS X operating system, including many software applications and... HP Launches EX490 and EX495 Home Servers with Enhanced Features for PCs and Macs - HP today... More »
HP Launches EX490 and EX495 Home Servers with Enhanced Features for PCs and Macs
HP today unveiled the successor to the award winning EX485 and EX487 MediaSmart Servers. Officially announced as the EX490 and EX495, both models include improved processors, more storage, and quieter internals. Building on the massive 2.5 software update back in April, these new MediaSmart Servers offer up the latest features and enhancements to innovative features like the HP Media Collector and HP Video Converter, as well as many more enhancments for both PC and Macs. Read our full hands on review right here at MediaSmartHome.com Full Press Release below: PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2009 – HP today launched the HP MediaSmart EX490 and EX495 Home Servers, new models offering increased capacity, high-performance processors, more control, new user interface and additional Mac support – all at a lower price. Based on the Microsoft Windows® Home Server platform, the updated HP MediaSmart Servers have a refined user interface and a web-based... More »
Last Post: September 29, 2009 3:29 PM by Don W
HP You On You Contest: Declare Your Story for a Shot at 300k in Prizes
HP's "You on You Project" and contest over at YouTube may not have anything to do with MediaSmart Servers, nor does it really have anything to do with HP products in general, but with three-hundred thousand dollars worth of cash and prizes up for grabs, you should definitely be paying attention. The premise is actually pretty simple: create a short video that tells your story (or whatever really), with the only catch that you can't show your face. Then, submit it, and hope your video makes the cut of weekly finalists. This guy will tell you the rest... Visit the You on You Contest page at YouTube We here at MediaSmart Home also want to see your videos. If you submit one to the YouTube contest, post it here to share it with the community , and get a second chance at a prize! More »
HP Wants You to Share Your 'Real Life' HP Story
HP is working on a new website called "HP in Real Life," where they'll be showcasing user submitted stories from individuals who use their HP product(s) in interesting and extraordinary ways. Here's your chance to inspire others by telling HP how your HP products help you accomplish special things, or share unique ways you tackle everyday tasks like keeping family connected across the country or the globe, balancing work and play or just planning life and events. "We’d love to share your story to inspire others to go beyond the ordinary with HP products," says HP. To submit your story to HP for consideration, visit the story submission page . More »
Windows Home Server Team Announces Power Pack 3 Beta for Windows Home Server
Thought Power Pack 2 was the end of the road for this version of Windows Home Server? Think again! The Windows Home Server Team has announced Power Pack 3 Beta for Windows Home Server, which "improves the Windows Home Server experience with Windows 7 and Windows Media Center" thanks to some new features and enhancements. The list is long, but there's plenty of goodness coming for Windows 7 users like enhanced backup and recovery, as well as integration with Windows 7 Libraries. Windows Search 4 has been included with Power Pack 3 Beta to improve query search times, indexing times and reliability, while netbook owners with low screen resolutions will enjoy better compatibility with the Home Server Console. The Media Center integration added in Power Pack 2 has also been enhanced. New for Windows Media Center is a TV archiving function to automatically archive recordings on the home server, and... More »
Last Post: September 29, 2009 8:00 PM by Matt Whitlock
SimpleSave Hard Drives Coming Soon, 'Complimentary to MediaSmart Line' says HP
HP will soon introduce the HP SimpleSave external hard drive series to offer customers simple and automatic backup for photos, video, music and data. Protecting personal content with SimpleSave hard drives is as easy as plugging the drive in to a USB connection, so families can feel confident that their precious memories are safe. The hard drive family consists of two products, HP SimpleSave Portable, available in 320- and 500-gigabyte capacities, and HP SimpleSave Desktop, available in 1- and 2-terabyte capacities. Both devices feature preinstalled backup software. "These are also complimentary to our MediaSmart Server products," Pat Kinley, an HP spokeswoman, said in an email to PC Magazine. "The SimpleSave family is designed the mainstream population that wants to protect their valuable digital content but needs the solution to be an easy-to-use, plug-and-play solution. The MediaSmart solution is for the connected family that want to serve up content to all... More »
HP Releases Amazon S3 & Apple Time Machine Update for EX470/475
It's been a long wait, but HP has finally pulled through and made the Amazon S3 online backup and Time Machine compatibility upgrade available to owners of the original EX-470 and EX-475 MediaSmart Servers. Full announement below: "As previously announced, owners of the EX470/475 MediaSmart Servers can now download two new applications for their Servers. The online backup application allows customers to designate specific shared folders on their Server for secure upload to the Amazon S3 service. Doing so provides an additional layer of data protection for the most important photos, documents and other files. In addition, customers in mixed PC/Mac households can download an application allowing their EX470/475 MediaSmart Servers to backup their Macs running Time Machine. The most reliable way to get one or both of these updates for EX470/475 owners is as follows: 1) Go to http://www.hp.com 2) On the hp.com home page go to the bottom... More »
HP MediaSmart Servers Coming to Europe Fall 2009
In today's announcement that HP will provide a supported path to allow customers to update all generations of their EX Series and LX Series MediaSmart Server products to the current software version, they also dropped a note in there for our European friends. "We have also read the inquiries regarding European availability of the MediaSmart Server products. We are pleased to announce that our European customers can expect to see our LX and EX series products for sale in Europe. Targeted availability is Fall 2009." More »
Last Post: August 7, 2009 6:08 AM by Rhys
HP Reverses Course: Full Software Upgrade for All MediaSmart Servers
Shortly after the release of the 2.5 upgrade for the MediaSmart Server EX-485 and 487, HP issued a statement clarifying their position on back-porting newly developed features for their current line of MediaSmart servers to first generation (EX-470 and EX-475) customers. In this statement, HP acknowledged their first-gen customer's desire to receive these updates, but cited reasons like hardware changes, software architecture, and development priorities as reasons for not making these new features available. However, it looks like all that is about to change. HP just issued a statement announcing that the current software version will be made available to all first generation and new LX series MediaSmart Servers this fall. "We have listened to the customer feedback on wegotserved.co.uk , mediasmartserver.net , mediasmarthome.com and other popular Windows Home Server blogs related to our recent software update availability. Based on this feedback, we are working to provide a supported path... More »
Last Post: November 20, 2009 1:31 PM by davidob
HP MediaSmart Server LX-195 Confirmed, Details Emerge
Word broke today that all the blurry photos and leaked press shots of the mysterious LX-195 HP MediaSmart Server are true, and details surrounding it are starting to emerge. For starters, the LX-195 is powered by a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor paired with 1GB of RAM and a built-in 640GB hard drive, matching it up with other competitive home server products currently shipping. It carries a MSRP of $399 (street will probably be a little lower), which puts it a little more expensive than similarly equipped home server products. However, it appears this MediaSmart Server also includes many, if not all, of the unique features found on it's larger siblings, which could easily justify a few extra bucks. Based on the specs and size, it appears this MediaSmart Server will be targeted towards users on more of a budget, particularly if they're more interested in it's media serving features over... More »
HP Comments on Complaints From First Generation MediaSmart Server Owners
Since the debut of the second generation MediaSmart Server back in December, first generation customers have been a bit up in arms over several new software features that remains exclusive to the new line. Yesterday's 2.5 upgrade is only making matters worse, as first generation customers feel many of these new enhancements should be made available to first generation units. HP has long stood silent on the issue, but according to an e-mail we received from Allen Buckner at HP earlier today, they're trying to clarify their position and hopefully stop some of the bad feelings. " We have been following the reaction to our 2.5 software update and understand that consumers who purchased the first generation MediaSmart EX 470/475 are eager to receive some of the features available to the new second generation MediaSmart Server EX485/487. Consumer feedback is important to us and is taken into account and prioritized... More »
Last Post: May 8, 2009 5:20 PM by Matt Whitlock
HP MediaSmart Server EX-485 & EX-487 2.5 Update Available Now!
Not too long ago, we announced a much-anticipated update to the HP MediaSmart Server (models EX-485 and EX-487.) This exciting upgrade adds some monumental features to your home server: Remote Video Streaming Integrated Video Conversion iStream Mobile App for iPhone Enhancements to Time Machine operation A number of other tweaks and improvements The wait is finally over... the 2.5 update is now LIVE and you can update your MSS to this exciting new version. Simply run an update on your MSS to grab the new update, and make sure to update the client software on your connected PC's as well. For more detailed information on the new update, see our earlier announcement! Oh, and by the way... make sure that you keep a close eye on the community, as we'll have a review of the update up very soon. It's out! Read the full review. Subscribe to our latest articles... More »
More Leaked Shots of Mystery LX-195 MediaSmart Server
HP hasn't confirmed nor denied the existence of the leaked LX-195 MediaSmart Server box shot that showed up in a blurry-cam photo on the web on March 31st, yet more shots of the mystery MediaSmart Server have just surfaced . The difference this time is the shots look like official press photos. If these shots are indeed real, the rumors this is a single drive device, expandable via the four USB ports on the back, is supported here given apparent lack of any expandable drive bays. Other than that there isn't much else to go on since the standard Ethernet port and power plug are all that's left to go on. Hopefully we'll hear something official on this mystery MSS soon. More »
Last Post: April 23, 2009 5:40 AM by moffy
EX-485 & EX-487 Upgrade To Bring iPhone Streaming, Video Conversion, and More
HP has announced details of a new update, dubbed "2.5," that offers a plethora of improvements for HP MediaSmart Server EX485 and EX487 owners. Hot on the heels of Microsoft's Power Pack upgrade to Windows Home Server, HP's upgrade adds some significant new features to further differentiate the HP MediaSmart Server from all the other WHS based black boxes hitting the market. Most of the features in 2.5 revolve around improvements to media conversion and playback, both around the house and remotely thanks to a new iPhone app and some improvements to the streaming application, but there are a few other tweaks and fixes included according to the company. iStream App for iPhone iPhone owners are getting some serious love thanks to the free iStream app working its way to the App Store. This little app allow owners to stream audio, video, and photos from their MediaSmart Server directly to... More »
Last Post: April 22, 2009 6:04 PM by Matt Whitlock
Leaked Photos of HP MediaSmart Server LX195 Suggest a Single Drive MSS is in the Works
A forum member and possible ex-HP employee named Skeeter over at the MediaSmartServer.net forums provided our good friend Alex with some shots of what could be a new MediaSmart Server in the works. The box shots, though blurry, sports the model number LX195, and indicates that it has 640GB of space, Windows Home Server OS, and USB ports. Alex suggests this may be a single drive bay MSS given the "1" in the model number (vs. the "4" in all the other models), and we think that's sound logic to us. Why it starts with "LX" instead of "EX" is beyond us, but we're inclinded to believe there's something else different about this MSS than the rest other than the number of bays. That is, if these shots are indeed real. It wouldn't be the first time Mr. Blurrycam let us down. Here's hoping! [Via MediaSmartServer.net] More »
Last Post: April 13, 2009 12:47 PM by JohnBick
HP Wins 2008 Engadget Editor's Choice Award
Every year Engadget readers and staffers voice nominate and select a single device to be named supreme in multiple product categories. And even though the HP MediaSmart Server couldn't win over the Engadget readers, the Engadget crew named the MediaSmart Server EX-487 "Storage Device or Technology of the Year" for 2008! Congratulations to HP for this stellar accomplishment. You can hop on over to the official results page on Engadget to see some of the fellow winners in each additional category. [Via Engadget] More »
Microsoft Releases Power Pack 2 for Windows Home Server
Last July Microsoft released their first major update to the Windows Home Server software, dubbed Power Pack 1 , focused on knocking out major bugs like the infamous "data corruption bug." So it's not shocking that Power Pack 2, while minor in nature, focuses more on enhancements and new features than bug squashing. So what's new in Power Pack 2? Paul Thurrott has a pretty thorough run through at his SuperSite for Windows, but it comes down to a variety of small things and four great enhancements: Simplified setup of the Windows Home Server - Useful to those who will set one up from scratch Better UPnP compatibilty with routers for remote setup - Better detection and configuration of routers New Windows Media Center Connector - You can easily add your media on the WHS to Media Center MPEG-4 with AAC support using Windows Media Connect - Fantastic news for... More »
Last Post: April 16, 2009 7:05 AM by zuluzkiller
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