Helios Labs takes the PC out of network media centers

Looking to improve the usability of networking media hubs while retaining their flexibility and functionality, Helios Labs have taken the PC out and kept the media center with the announcement of the Odyssey. The Odyssey is a networking media hub capable of streaming content to multiple network media players, such as Helios Labs X-Line players, as well as any UPnP-enabled devices. The Odyssey supports up to 1TB storage capacity, features a fan-less, passive cooling design and will be the centerpiece of the company's focus on a PC-free home entertainment solution.

The 1TB of space provides room for roughly 1,300 movies, 250,000 songs or 250 HD movies, which can be streamed via an Ethernet cable or wireless LAN connection to UPnP devices or Helios Labs’ X-Line players in multiple rooms. Whether the Odyssey has been connected to the home PC network to move all your media to the Odyssey or the Odyssey has been connected directly to the X-Line of players, the media server will be started automatically to make the system as user friendly as possible. The fan-less, industrial designed full aluminum case creates a passive cooling system that allows it to be on 24/7 without worrying about power consumption or noise pollution, making it ideal for the home when you’re asleep or the office environment.

“The phrase "media center" has been thrown around for more than a decade and has focused on the PC as the center of home communication and entertainment for far too long. We believe the Odyssey’s intuitive, user-friendly design will be much more than just a viable alternative, it will be tailor-made, by you, to meet all the needs of a digital home in today’s world of digital home entertainment,” comments Jean Chen, CEO of Helios Labs. “So many companies are going the way of proprietary solutions, locking the consumer into a limited number of formats and forcing them into a media prison of sorts. We are going in a different direction, we are going towards the future; a future that gives you a chance to create your own library of content and stream it to any TV or stereo in the house. This is yet another way we are putting the power back into the hands (and fingers) of the people,” states Jean.

To this end Odyssey features an open-source, Linux core that promises a future of innovation and creativity. It will have the option of many features including a P2P client, RSS feeds and many more as new installation packages become available so, with the Linux community behind the Odyssey, the potential for innovation is vast. And with annual consumer spending on Internet downloads of movies and TV shows expected to surpass $4 billion by 2011 according to Adams Media Research, a dramatic increase from only $111 million last year, Helios Labs is hoping to capitalize on the drastically changing the way media reaches people with the announcement of the Odyssey.

No price for the unit has yet been announced.

For further info visit Helios Labs