With a host of PC-to-TV options in the market, it was only a matter of time before a truly unique solution emerged between them to takeover the market, or at least gave us another choice before making up our minds. Apple TV and Xbox 360 are the prominent of the two, as they allow you to transmit your multimedia data from a variety of sources (primarily PCs) and play it on your TVs. SanDisk's TakeTV does much of the same, but with a twist at an amazing price point.

The idea behind TakeTV is for you to make it easy to watch your favorite video files (yes, they have to be video-only) and watch them at your leisure on the big screen TV. But unfortunately, that's about all it does, and even then, it's strictly limited to DivX, xVid and MPEG4 video standards. This means you can kiss your home videos goodbye until you convert them to the appropriate format. On top of this, you can't listen to music through your home entertainment setup. TakeTV is only optimized for video, and it's a limiting in that regard.

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Initially, the setup process appears to be fairly simple with a remote control that helps navigating through the main display. TakeTV currently supports Composite Video, Analog Stereo and S-Video, which will take care of all compatibility issues. Additionally, it also supports PAL and NTSC standards; resolution of up to 720x576; and 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios.

In addition to ripping content from DVDs or converting home videos, you can also purchase TV shows ($1.99) and movies ($5) from SanDisk's newly announced Fanfare, its iTunes competitor.

TakeTV is compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows (XP and Vista) platforms and comes packed with a remote control with replaceable batteries, the video player, the docking station, the power adapter and the necessary cables. The unit is available in 4GB and 10GB flavors and costs $99.99 and $149.99, respectively, making both versions one of the most affordable portable media solutions in the market currently. Check back soon for our full review of SanDisk's latest in Sansa series.

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