Alienware’s Hangar 18: HD Home Media Server in the flesh
Alienware is well known for it’s hardcore gaming systems, but media servers for high-end component audio / video systems? Shockingly, yes. The company, which was recently acquired by Dell, is touting its new home media server system, and after a brief tutorial and hands-on session, we have to say we’re very impressed. First off the bat, this is not your teenage hacker son’s Alienware gear. Gone are the garish colors and style, having been replaced with a subdued classiness that wouldn’t be out of place in a Harmon Kardon showroom. There are several available components, with customers able to select a custom system that suits his / her unique needs. Both AMD and Intel- based systems are available, and you can also choose between a rack mount or component system style. The rack version sports hot-swappable storage drives, offering up to 4 terabytes of on-board storage. 802.11n is standard, and up to 4 separate TV tuners are available or you can opt for 2 CableCard slots instead. Both versions sport HD 1080i output, with onboard Blu-ray write-capable drives. Crazy! The system is scalable, allowing you to expand as the need arises. Oh, and the component version sports a little blue Alien head. Nice touch, guys! The Alientware Hangar 18’s should be available "soon". Rest of the shots, after the jump!
this really is not fair!! we don’t get any cool goodies here in London. the alienware media server looks unbelievable
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Nice, but this thing looks expensive.
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where do i get one?
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I waited 4 weeks for this “custom build”. I paid $1800 for Blue-Ray, etc…. The worst investment I have ever made. I returned the unit after 4 hours. Tech support was horrendous. And no it was not a Vista problem. Crashed 3 times and couldn’t get full screen video or 5.1 sound. Tech support said do a factory restore from the DVD then they would help and could only help if I let them connect to the system? I just took it out of the box and hooked it up???
If you pay that much for a unit it should work perfectly from the start! 1000 watt amp…couldn’t push my cheap speakers! Really sad because in theory this unit does it all and looks great!
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