The Zotac Zbox HD-ID33 and HD-ID34 Blu-ray series are the world’s first mini-PCs with an integrated Blu-ray drive.
Like the Zbox HD-ID11, the new HD-ID33 and HD-ID34 are designed as HTPCs, but in an even more compact Mini-ITX form factor. They both feature a slot-loading Blu-ray drive capable of 4x Blu-ray, 8x DVD and 24x CD speeds and the ability to write to DVD±R/RW and CD±R/RW discs.
They are powered by a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Atom D525 processor and NVIDIA ION GPU with 512MB of video memory. The multimedia credentials also include the ability to stream video over the onboard 802.11n Wi-Fi, HDMI (with audio) and DVI-I ports (with a VGA dongle included), 6-in-1 card reader, optical digital S/PDIF and 7.1 channel LPCM digital audio and DirectX 10.1 support. There’s also two USB 2.0 (one a combo eSATA/USB 2.0 port) and two USB 3.0 ports.
The only difference between the two Zbox Blu-ray series models is the inclusion of 2GB of RAM and a 2.5-inch 250GB HDD with the HD-ID34. Those opting for the HD-133 will have to source their own RAM and 2.5-inch HDD. There’s no operating system installed on either system but they support Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Linux, and a copy of Cyberlink’s PowerDVD 8 is included with both systems. No word on pricing or release date for the Zbox Blu-ray series as yet.
