cM :: MORLEY|DIGITAL

Specialty media server company among licensed Microsoft Partners to deploy Media Center TV Pack 2008

The Woodlands Texas-August 13, 2008– Microsoft OEM Gold Partner and authorized digital-cable media server OEM Fluid Digital is proud to announce the integration of Microsoft’s Media Center TV Pack to enable an enhanced TV viewing experience.

“We’re excited about delivering even more value to our customers with native support for four digital cable tuners, an enhanced electronic program guide, and the ability to share non-protected digital cable content across PlayReady-enabled PCs and portable media devices,” says Chris Morley, Executive Vice President, Fluid Digital.

Fluid Digital Media Servers will begin shipping with the Media Center TV pack in Q4 of 2008. In addition to four digital cable tuner support, Fluid Digital will be able to integrate additional Clear QAM tuners in a heterogeneous manner, with the ability to remap channels to various tuners within the system.

“In my 32 years of designing and integrating home theater solutions, I have never experienced a technology progress so far and at such a rapid pace,” said Kevin Buchanan, President of Fluid Digital. “What Microsoft has been able to accomplish in the living room has been awe inspiring and we are pleased to be a part of the story.”

Fluid Digital Media Servers are sold through a vetted dealer network and are professionally installed to ensure years of hassle-free TV and media enjoyment. Fluid Digital Media Servers are a perfect combination of technology, art, and experience in the audio visual industry.

About Fluid Digital

Fluid Digital is among a handful of Microsoft Partners authorized to integrate Windows Vista with Digital Cable support. Fluid Digital was the first to market with AMD’s 780G chipset integrated in a digital cable media server. Fluid Digital is the only media server company in the business that is wholly owned by a custom A/V hybrid (retailer/installer) that enables them to have the fastest response time in the industry.

Contact:
For dealer inquiries, please contact Kevin Buchanan at 281-298-8778. For technical and capabilities inquiries on Fluid Digital media servers, please contact Chris Morley at 512-535-2659. Please visit our website at www.fluiddigitalmedia.com.

For more information on this press release and Microsoft’s TV Pack, please check out CEPro.

I’d say that my love affair with Microsoft’s Media Center started with a BANG last year when I was the first to launch digital cable tuners in Windows Vista.  And while I moved a lot of boxes for that company, I had no idea just how expansive the whole home theater ecosystem was and what it was like to actually integrate this technology into a real-world environment.  I learned very quickly that PC companies just don’t get it.  Their systems are built in a vacuum and treated like a PC.  The PC world shoves technology down the A/V industry’s throat so fast it almost turns most A/V dealers off of anything PC related. 

But not so at Fluid Digital.  I spent months not just focused on the hardware or the software, but the actual usability and real world experience that high end customers demand.  It’s one thing to sell this hardware to tweaks and geeks who have been waiting for it and are techno-savvy enough to deal with issues, but quite another to sell the product to someone who has never even heard of Media Center before.  And once you inject yourself into someone’s TV watching experience, you better be damn sure that your system is going to be more reliable than their cable box.  Because people can stand a blue screen or two with their computer, but interrupt American Idol and there will be blood.  I also took this philosophical approach when I designed MAINGEAR’s Axess HD.

So, here are some pictures of the last high end install done by a Fluid Digital dealer, Home Entertainment, Inc.  And yes, that’s Media Center being controlled wirelessly by a PSP.  You can watch and control 100% of your Fluid Digital media server any where around the world, including high definition premium cable channels, for less than $750 retail.

BTW, that new project I mentioned I was working on?  It should be announced at NVISION at the end of the month.