At a press conference featuring actor Michael Douglas at the Venetian this week, XStreamHD released a network service that will deliver streaming 1080p HD video (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4/H.264 in 4:3 or 16:9 screen formats), 7.1 channels of lossless audio, and if it comes through on its promise, could be a viable challenger in the direct-only HD provider arena.
Introduced at $399, you’ll get movies, games, and the other expected turn-of-the-century content, through 4 video streams and a virtual personal library that personalizes content to your tastes Pandora-style (and with storage up to 500 GB). But that’s not all! It also has a full DVD/DVR and an embedded PBX connector for your VoIP enjoyment, which means that you could call other users who have XstreamHD for free.
In order to use the service, you will need to set up a (small) satellite outside your home, and a long-range squirt from space will send the content to the XStreamHD Media Server in the home. From there, any DLNA device, such as a digital TV, will be able to access the box and play the content.
The XStreamHD service will be available later this year, for a reasonable $400, and will include the server and the receiver box.
The picture of Michael Douglas for XtremeHD comes from Domain Barnyard @ Flickr.
