If you’ve ever wanted to get away from closed off, limiting proprietary media computers, the new Myka might be what you are looking for. Windows Media Center computers have, what some say, is a major flaw. They’re Windows-based. Of course, Apple-elitists will tell you that Apple TV is the only way to go. Many others cite their limited number of compatible video formats to be, well, limiting. So, what is a media gadget freak to do?
Myka says, go with the, uh, Myka, a device the official Myka website calls “The Magic Box For Torrent-To-TV Transfer.” The idea is simple enough–it’s a hard drive, with a simple operating system on it (based on Linux, duh) that allows you to download and play videos directly on your TV. Now, if this is your cup of tea, then this is going to be your media-playing-box of choice. They’ve even struck a partnership with the original company behind the original Bit Torrent platform to make sure the emphasis is put on the legal syllable here.
See, Bit Torrent is generally assumed by media moguls to be a great tool for transferring copyrighted materials, which is illegal. So, the Bit Torrent (upper case letters) company, has been trying to “go legit” by striking deals with big media companies to legally allows copyrighted content to be “torrented.” The Myka would be able to do this, as well.
While it leaves off recording and nowhere does the website mention the ability to stream from other computers, the Myka does have all the basic bells and whistles. It’s got wifi, does HDMI, composite and component video output, and it’s even got a USB port for the addition of more storage space. This last bit is particularly good news since the biggest hard drive you can get on the thing is 500 gigs (the Myka also comes in 80 and 160 gig flavors). That might seem like a lot, but you’ll fill it up fast… and with terabyte-sized optical disks around the corner, 500GB might seem even smaller.
