Asus DigiMatrix - The Pizza Box Form Factor

Final Words

Keep in mind that a multimedia PC is like 10 times the cost of a DVD/MP3 player and TV tuner combination. So, there is still a lot of work to be done to drive down the price of the HTPC. Granted, the PC opens the door to a lot more features and capabilities than your average pizza box device.

With the DigiMatrix, Asus takes a very interesting approach to the multimedia PC concept. Instead of taking a Small Form Factor PC and designing it to accommodate the functionality of multimedia functions (what MSI has done), Asus has taken a ground up approach to designing their multimedia solution.

The DigiMatrix definitely is one of the most interesting designs that we have seen thus far of any PC; and if you are in the market for a very low profile PC, this may be just what you are looking for. We first saw this at Comdex, and considering what we have seen in the past 12 months, this is perhaps the best innovation in PC design. To this date, there doesn't seem to be a PC that is even remotely like it.

On the hardware end, it has everything that a HTPC nut is looking for: quietness, reasonable TV quality, DVD/MP3 capabilities, etc. The biggest problem with the DigiMatrix is that it lacks a good software solution to back up the hardware. If this was qualified for Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 OS, it would no doubt be a killer MCE and or multimedia solution. However, thus far, we are unaware of Microsoft qualifying a SiS chipset with integrated graphics. Asus may want to consider using the 9100 IGP solution anyways because of its hardware assist engine for MPEG encoding.

For the general PC user, the DigiMatrix proves to be a very tempting low profile solution that will sit well in any cramped environment. The problem is that you are going to have to drag along its multimedia baggage and hardware limitations. It would be interesting to see a non-multimedia version of the DigiMatrix, since that would help bring down the cost for those looking for just a PC with a small profile.

So basically, if you have the cash to purchase the DigiMatrix, which runs at a little over $400 USD (this includes shipping), this may be the HTPC solution that you have been looking for. It isn't that much more than a XPC, but you are going to be limited to future hardware, since there are virtually no upgrade options. The other consideration that needs to be made is that you will need to be ready to deal with a UI that is a bit intrusive, which means that you may have to shell out a bit more for a better software solution.