HP's MediaSmart servers gained some attention at Macworld Expo 2009 for providing home server solutions for cross-platform environments including Windows, Mac and Linux. The MediaSmart EX485/EX487 servers were honored with a "Best of Show" award at the expo.
Electronista reports that HP is preparing to release a software update to the servers that enables video streaming to mobile devices, as well as automatic video transcoding to provide mobile devices with smaller, lower-resolution video content.
The new video converter automatically transcodes non-protected video to H.264 format in two resolutions -- one for mobile devices and a higher resolution for home use. To avoid performance issues, the converter works in the background as a low-priority function. Video can be downloaded directly to a variety of mobile devices including the iPhone, iPod touch, Sony PSP and Microsoft Zune.
HP will also be releasing a free iPhone application via the App Store to enable access to a wide variety of content based on a user's home server. According to the report, the application will provide access to video, photos and music over Wi-Fi or 3G.
