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Gateway to Ship Family Room Media Center PC

Thursday, December 4th, 2003


Reprinted from a Gateway press release:

Move over “Trading Spaces.” Forget about what happened “While You Were Out.” The biggest makeover this season isn’t being done on any TV show — it’s on the industry’s first PC that truly belongs in the living room — the Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center.

Unlike any other PC on the market today, the Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center boasts a sleek, new form factor that looks and feels like A/V equipment in the entertainment center. The new device seamlessly brings digital media and entertainment into the family room — so great features like the Personal Video Recorder (PVR), TV tuner, DVD player, DVD recorder (select model), CD player/recorder and FM radio can all be enjoyed from one easy-to-use device. Plus, the unique Gateway 901 is also a high-performance PC, so now it’s possible to get the ultimate gaming experience, surf the Internet and work on the PC from the comfort of the couch.

“People want to unleash digital entertainment and enjoy it where they spend most of their time,” said John Engel, senior vice president and general manager of Gateway’s PC Products group. “They want to listen to digital music, watch home movies, view digital photos, play PC games, record live television, and surf the web in the family room. The new Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center naturally extends the benefits of digital media, entertainment and information to the family room.”

The Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center is the ideal system for anyone who has ever crowded family and friends around their PC to share photos of their vacation — or for anyone who missed the TV weather report and would simply like to check the weather online without having to boot up their PC in the den. The Gateway 901 will also be used in new ways thanks to Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 and Gateway innovation. Some of the most exciting features of Gateway 901 Media Center PC are:

  • Personal Video Recorder (PVR) programming guide lets consumers search for their favorite shows by keyword or category and then record them for viewing at a later date.
  • Live TV controls give TV enthusiasts the ability to record, pause, rewind and skip through portions of live entertainment. The popular “pause” feature lets TV viewers who are interrupted during a program freeze the action until they return.
  • Built-in DVD player capabilities means there is no need for a separate DVD player in the entertainment rack — so there is less clutter. The DVD recorder available on the high-end model lets consumers save TV shows, home movies, photos, music and files to DVD media that can be shared with family and friends.
  • The CD player/recorder gives consumers the ability to enjoy favorite CDs in their home theater system, burn a mix of downloaded songs from the couch and enjoy MP3 music in the living room. The Media Center can digitize and store up to 5,000 music CDs so consumers can easily manage their entire music collection. The software enables them to browse their collection by artist or genre and create play lists so they never have to hunt for a CD.
  • The system’s advanced graphics capabilities give consumers the ultimate PC gaming experience, exceeding the capabilities of popular gaming consoles.
  • The easy-to-use remote control lets users control the entire PC from a single device, and its handy access buttons quickly power on TV, music and other functions in a snap. Also, it can be programmed to run other home theater components.
  • The wireless mouse and keyboard are the ideal solutions for enjoying the PC from the couch. The Gyration Ultra GT wireless mouse is the only mouse that can be used up in the air with simple hand gestures or on a flat surface such as a coffee table.

    “The Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center’s unique form factor takes full advantage of the simple, convenient and integrated entertainment experiences provided by Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004,” said Joe Belfiore, general manager of the Windows eHome Division at Microsoft Corp. “This is a great example of the hardware innovation that is taking home digital entertainment to new heights.”

    The Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center fits right into the entertainment center; it easily connects to an existing TV, or can be paired with one of Gateway’s award-winning thin plasma, DLP rear projection or LCD TVs for a dramatic viewing experience. Home theater enthusiasts can connect the Gateway 901 to an array of additional audio and video equipment such as the new 1,000-watt Gateway KAS-303 Home Theater system, thanks to the standard connections on the system including S-video in/out, VGA, DVI, composite A/V in, 5.1 and 7.1 line out and SPDIFF. Also, conveniently placed media card reader, USB 2.0 ports and IEEE 1394 ports ensure that digital cameras, digital camcorders, MP3 players, game pads and more can be connected directly to the unit. Also, it is broadband-ready with integrated 10/100 Ethernet.

    Models, Pricing, Availability and Limited Warranty
    The new Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center is available in two value-packed models, priced at $999.99 and $1,799.99 without a display. The new PC is ready to be ordered today and will begin shipping in mid-December.

    Priced at only $999.99, the Gateway Family Room Media Center model Gateway FMC-901 has an Intel Celeron 2.60GHz processor, 256MB DDR RAM, an 80GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive and 6-in-1 media card reader. It also boasts integrated 5.1 channel audio and 128MB nVidia GeForce FX5200 Graphics Accelerator.

    The Gateway 901 Media Center PC model Gateway FMC-901 X brings even higher performance to the living room. The system features an Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz processor with Hyper Threading (HT) technology (800MHz FSB), 512MB DDR RAM, 250GB hard drive, DVD burner, and 6-in-1 media card reader. Also, for video and audiophiles, the system boasts the 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics accelerator card and Sound Blaster Audigy 2 7.1 channel audio. It is priced at only $1,799.99.

    The new Gateway 901 Family Room Media Center is supported by Gateway’s standard one-year limited warranty. As with other Gateway products, additional service and support options are available.

    • ©2008 SmartTVandSound Magazine