576 commentsWe’re giving away an HP MediaSmart server + 1 terabyte of storage!
// October 22nd, 2009
Contest is over! Winner: Jeff Mahoney
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HP has very generously offered to give away one of their snazzy MediaSmart Servers—the EX490 with 1 terabyte of storage—to one lucky Photodoto reader!
This giveaway is sponsored by HP.
I haven’t used one of these but it’s an impressive bit of hardware on paper. In a few years, I wouldn’t be surprised to find new homes being sold with home media servers pre-installed—toilet, check; internet, check; media server, check.
A media server is primarily a storage device that can gather all of your photos, videos, and music and stream those files to your television, across your home network, or on the internet. Here’s a rundown of some of the things you can do with the HP MediaServer:
- Automatically backup important files on multiple PCs or Macs on your home network.
- Automatically collect, organize, and centralize your media files.
- Publish photos directly from the server to Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, and Snapfish.
- Share private photo albums with family and friends.
- Stream photos, music, and videos to your TVs, gaming consoles, and computers.
- Convert videos into formats that can be played on gaming consoles and mobile devices like iPhones.
- Expandable to 17 terabytes.
Find out more about the HP MediaSmart servers at HP’s website.
How to enter / Official rules
To enter: leave one comment on this blog post explaining how you would use the MediaSmart server. Include your full name and email address (email addresses are not published or shared but are required for verification and to contact the winner).
One entry per person. Entries must be received by midnight November 6, 2009 (Pacific time). One winner will be selected randomly. The winner will be announced on Photodoto.com on or around November 6, 2009.
Please subscribe to our feed or mailing list (on the sidebar)! Photodoto is filled with interesting articles for photographers from beginners to pros. Every week, we publish unique content you won’t find anywhere else.
The fine print:
Sweepstakes is open to all U.S. Citizens that are legal residents of the United States except Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories and employees of Photodoto and its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and production agencies, and their immediate families and household members are not eligible. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter as of promotion start date: October 22, 2009. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited or restricted. By entering this Sweepstakes, participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Photodoto and/or its agents. Odds of winning prize depend on the number of eligible entries received.
One Winner will be randomly drawn from all eligible entries received. The Winner will receive an HP MediaSmart server model EX490 (total value: $550) shipped directly from HP or their agent. Winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes associated with acceptance and use of prize. Prizes are not transferable. No substitution of prizes permitted except at Photodoto’s option, including Photodoto’s right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if advertised prize is unavailable.
Winners will be selected in a random drawing on or about November 6, 2009 from the aggregate of all eligible entries received. Awarding of prizes will be conducted by Photodoto, whose decisions are final on all matters relating to the promotion. Photodoto will notify the Winner via e-mail. If the Winner cannot be contacted within 72 hours of notification, an alternate Winner will be selected from the remaining eligible entries. Any prize notification or prize returned as undeliverable will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate Winner. Prize will be mailed to the U.S. mailing address provided by the Winner. The Winner will be required to provide a valid U.S. mailing address and phone number.
Photodoto and its promotional and advertising agencies, and all respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents of each, shall have no liability and shall be held harmless by Winners for any damage, loss or liability to persons or property, due in whole or part, directly or indirectly, by reason of the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of prize or participation in this promotion. Photodoto reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend part or all of this promotion should virus, bugs, unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond the control of Photodoto corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play of the promotion. Photodoto and its promotion and advertising agencies, and all respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents of each, are not responsible for technical, hardware, software or telephone failures of any kind, lost, interrupted or unavailable network connections, fraud, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions, whether caused by Photodoto, users, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the promotion or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of submissions which may damage a user’s system or limit a participant’s ability to participate in the promotion. Photodoto reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual Photodoto reasonably believes to have tampered with the entry process or with the operation of the promotion, or who is found to be acting in violation of these Official Rules. This Sweepstakes is intended and limited for play in the United States and shall only be construed and evaluated according to United States law.
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I would use this to back up photos and important files.
I would use it to keep my video files and pictures all in one place!! Backing up important files would also be a plus….
Backup, Backup, Backup!
I am a teacher creating materials for classroom use – print & web, various graphics, podcasts, videocasts … – I have very little storage and rely too much on shared space that may be unavailable at any moment. This media server/storage would make current projects so much easier and future ones more possible!
Backup my data, stream media to my media player.
Let me fill it! Let me fill it UP!
I’d use it to store my website designs and data, as well as some fun media items I just can’t throw out.
I would rip all of my DVD’s to it and finally build the jukebox I’ve been dreaming about!! Photos too!
I would store multimedia files, graphics and backups. Right now these files are on DVDs in a box.
This would be a great addition to my home network to backup my PC and Mac and store my music and pictures.
WhoHoooooo, Sure would love this!!
Does it help that I was already a subscriber? ;)
Thanks for all the good info!
~kimi~
After upgrading to a Linux distribution, I’d use it as a home server. With a USB sound adapter, I’d move Ampache, etc. to it.
This would be a big help to me.. I am a photographer and studying to be a teacher. So storage is always a problem for me. I have so many files to keep tracks of and have to get new hard-drives all the time. Having everything in one place would be incredible and it would also be a help in the classroom to be able to access these files from this server.
I would use it as a link to my entertainment center as well as photo backup.
I would love to have a back up for all the family photos and treasures on the PC.
I’d use the HP MediaSmart server and storage to store photos, photos and more photos! Right now I feel I’m still in the stone age as far as storage goes . . good ole CDs and a binder to keep them in. Jumping into the 21st century would be great!
I do a lot of graphic design and illustrations. Right now I have about 2 small crappy hard drives filled with work, I’d probably consolidate my hard drives and chuck ‘em!
I would use the media smart to store pictures and graphic for projects and personal use.
Thank You, Joanne
I’d absolutely use this to back up my photos and music files. It would be nice to not worry about putting everything on CDs or DVDs for backup!
OMG if only I had this… I could keep all my photographs in ONE safe place.
I am just getting into photography and this would be great to back up my RAW photo’s! and save me a lot of money. Photography is not a cheap business to get into.
Thanks
I would use the HP MediaSmart server to back up my PCs and Mac as well as to store my digital media! I would also install ad-ins to use in many other ways.
I would use this to backup my computer (and my wife’s) automatically, as well as store music so that we don’t need to transfer data back and forth.
Thanks!
I would put all my music on this thing. It sounds pretty sweet!
use it to back up important things
OK, so I’d have enough room to keep all the photos I take AND back them up!
I would use it to back up all the things I currently don’t back up like digital pictures.
What an amazing device. Backup, having one place for all the media, remote access to files, just too much many great features to list. I keep finding more that it can do!
Set it up to share home videos and photos with friends and family over the internet, and transfer the files off my full hard drive to it off my obsolete 5+ year old PC. I do not have enough money to buy a new PC yet. I would be very thankful and put it to good use! :)
I take a lot of space-hogging RAW photos, so I would love to be able to back them up and not worry about them. I’d name the server George, and I will hug it, and pet it, and squeeze it. In a non-creepy way. Really.
I would use it to store my photos and movies.
I would use this to share my media files throughout the computers on my home server, so that I could watch my media on any computer in my house.
As a photographer, the HP MediaSmart server would surely be a wonderful addition to my life – - backing up thousands of images AND running my personal life as well.
I would use it as backup for all of the articles I’ve written and for future versions of my book manuscript.
I’d back up all my photos in a really good cross-referenced filing system, and store all the music I haven’t yet had room to convert from audio cassettes. I’d also store a lot of old files that are still on an ancient desktop.
I’d use it to (finally!) organize my entire family’s digital life. Images, movies, music, CAD files – everything. And no more sneaker-net!
I would use this to backup and share my photos with friends and family.
I would use it to store multimedia files (pictures, home videos, music) to share them in my home network.
This would go great with my two HP laptops! Thanks for even offering it!
Having three computers, 1 Mac, 2 HP, multiple TV’s, 2 gaming systems I am in utter chaos. With this system, I could finally have all my photos, music, videos, movies, plus more in one location. This system would be an answer for organization! Plus we all know at one time or another we have lost something important, with the data recovery this would not happen, how awesome of a system this is!!!!!
I’ve been looking for a storage solution which can expand with me. I also want something that I don’t have to sink a lot of money into either. I would use this as a file server to serve my HD movies onto my WDTV.
I would love to use this HP MediaServer to backup my computers, store and duplicate all photos, music, and movies!
So I don’t have to worry about losing anything anymore =)
I would back up the HD videos and normal photographs of my son. I would use it as a home server form my home network also.
Oh! I would use it to store all songs, photos, and files I have in my computers right now and organize them. Also, I’ll absolutely need it to back up all important files which I have tons!
Thank you :)
It’s great for back-up.
i would use it save all may data music, photos and everything tyhat i like and come to my way
I would give this to my mother, she works in networking for a small hospital in Morengo, IA. They just had a go-live with a new network they are testing and are having all sorts of server problems with it >.<
i would use it to watch youtube
I’d connect the server to my home network and use it to back up and stream photos/video/music to all the PCs around the house. It would greatly simplify administration of all the digital media collected over the years.
After losing years of pictures and videos due to hard drive failures this server would definetly be used to backup files and serve as the focal point of our home network. The fact that it is an HP product assures us peace of mind and durability.
Oooh, would love this to consolidate multimedia and make available to everyone in the house.