42-Inch Allio HDTV-PC Goes Lite

This morning Silicon Mountain announced a "budget" version of its Allio All-In-One LCD HDTV-PC, built for consumers pinching pennies and looking for AIO rigs at lower prices.

Unlike its beefier predecessor, the Allio Lite HDTV-PC comes packed with Intel's dual-core Atom 330 CPU with hyper-threading, clocking at 1.6GHz, as well as a DVD-CD player/writer and the standard Allio 42" 1080p ($1599) and 32" 720p displays ($1299). Both models come with Windows Vista Home Premium installed, a 250GB hard drive, and 2GB of high-speed DDR2-800 memory. The Allio Lite even features most of the inputs and outputs seen in the higher-priced Allio models.

“We have been overwhelmed by the positive reception and accolades that Allio and Allio Lite HDTV/PC  received at the 2009 Consumer Electronics show,” said Tre' Cates, President and CEO of Silicon Mountain Holdings, Allio's parent company.  “The response at CES was clear – converged entertainment is something that the consumer wants, and Allio Lite with its simple feature set and appealing prices really caused a stir at the show.  Early adopters normally pay a premium for convergence.  Allio stands alone as the market leader in this category and Allio Lite represents value during the introductory phase of digital convergence.”

According to the company, the Allio Lite HDTV-PC users can check email while watching a television program, enjoy a movie on DVD while working on a spreadsheet, or update a Facebook page while streaming high-definition content to the large screen. But what Lite users can't do -in comparison to the Allio models- is watch multiple media sources simultaneously, enjoy Blu-ray and Dolby 7.1 support, use databases or even benefit from standard PC multi-tasking. The Lite version doesn't offer much in the gaming department either, sporting an integrated Intel GMA950 video processor. The Lite version also doesn't offer HDMI and DVI output connections, offering only VGA and S-video outputs.

Still, both models of the Allio Lite do provide a few great features, utilizing the Hauppauge HVR-950Q TV tuner, connecting to the network or Internet via wireless 802.11b/g, four USB 2.0 ports, and is wall mountable. By comparison, the $2800 Allio (prime) model sports Intel's GMA X4500HD video processor, the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, 4GB high-speed DDR2-800 memory, a 2X BD-ROM Blu-ray player and more. However, with the Allio Lite's cheaper pricetag, Silicon Mountain will probably have more luck reeling in consumers during the current economic situation than the meatier Allio models.