Those looking to augment their TV viewing experience by bridging the gap between online and traditional content have essentially two options from which to chose – a digital media streamer or home theater PC (although some manufacturers are now shipping TV’s with in-built networking features).   While most digital media streamers offer comparatively similar media support and feature sets (including network connectivity) at relatively low prices, they don’t offer the higher end computing power and flexibility of their more expensive home theater PC counterparts.

The recent announcement of Myka’s ION digital media player blurs the line between these two device classes.  Utilizing a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 processor instead of the Sigma Designs chip used in so many of todays media players, the Myka ION also boasts a NVIDIA ION graphics processor for high bitrate, smooth 1080p video playback.  It has 10 USB ports, both VGA and DVI connectors, a 1 gigabit LAN port, 2 SPDIF ports, and an eSATA plug amongst several others.

The mini-ITX based device is fanless and supports just about every codec you’d ever want to play.  Its HTPC flexibility allows it to simultaneously support several of the most popular media player user interfaces currently available, including Boxee, XBMC, and Hulu, in addition to Internet browsing.  And with an MSRP of $380 (compared to the $1000 Fujitsu’s ESPRIMO), the Myka ION should get a lot of attention in the coming months.  Check out video below…