ViewSonic continues its efforts to diversity its product lineup, and this time it wants to march straight into consumers’ living rooms with the NexTV VMP75 networked media player. The VM75 can not only tapo into high-definition programming available on external storage devices and on PCs around your home network—it can also tap into Internet-based media, like YouTube, Live365, Shoutcast Radio, Flickr…and Netflix.
“The NexTV VMP75 brings all of your favorite entertainment choices directly into the heart of your home or office with easy and convenient play back or streaming to any HDTV,” said ViewSonic product marketing manager Josephine Chiu, in a statement. “We’re delighted to be opening up the possibilities of digital entertainment to enjoy or share in full HD quality.”
The VMP75 is a tiny little box—just 5.2 inches by 4 inches, and 1.1 inches tall. But it offer s plethora of connectivity options, including HDMI, composite, and S/PDIF for hooking up to HDTVs and home theater systems, along with USB 2.0 and eSATA ports for connecting up external storage (or, in the USB port’s case, an external keyboard and mouse). The system also sports Ethernet and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi for latching onto a home network, where DLNA and UPnP let users tap into content from other PCs. The VMP75 also sports an integrated Web browser so user can surf the Web from their TV (although there’s no Flash support), and the device can tap into YouTube, Flickr, Live365, Shoutcast Radio, and (of course), the Netflix subscription movie service. The VMP75 can handle full HD 1080p streams; like other Netflix devices, though, Netflix high definition content comes in at 720p.
The NexTV VMP75 will carry a suggested retail price of $149.99, and should be available now for pre-order from Amazon.com and Newegg.com.
