Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

Alienware, which is now owned buy Dell, anounced the release of its Hangar 18 HD media center. I had high hopes for this system based on its stylish design and hopefully low price point compared to the marketplace. After releasing the specs for the system, the Hangar 18 media center appears to be all flash and little substance. The system is missing two key components: digital cable tuners and next generation DVD drives. The ironic things is that Alienware is touting this system as a high definition system yet offers very little in terms of HD.

The Alienware website is somewhat confusing and lacks detail. I “chatted” with an online customer service rep who had no idea about the system. This seems to be a disturbing trend with media centers, as the same thing happened with HP. After looking at the online gallery of the system (see the picture below), it is clear the Hangar 18 does not currently support CableCards (and hence does not support HD cable). There does appear to be a free PCI slot that could be used for a DCT. Why release a Vista media center without DCTs as an option? It makes no sense. Amazon.com is selling the comparable Sony VGX-XL3 that has a Bu-ray drive and a digital cable tuner for about $2700. That system, which is also high on style, appears to be a better purchase at this time. Maybe Alienware will offer these components as a potential upgrade in the future.