Niveus Media is taking the wraps off of two new media centers: the Rainier and Denali editions.

Building upon the company’s 2006 Denali, the media centers feature Niveus’ Glacier Passive Cooling technology, as well as the patent-pending Niveus ConvergencePanel. Claiming faster frame rates, higher quality television, faster music encoding, rich graphics, and quicker response time, Niveus says its 2007 editions are among the first Windows Media Center systems to incorporate Intel’s Viiv technology, Core 2 Duo processors, HD DVD and HDMI output—all in an audio/video component form factor.

Based on Windows Vista software, the new Rainier includes: HDMI (carrying both audio and video), an integrated IR Receiver/ Blaster, Serial (RS-232), Wireless 802.11b/g, and an integrated flash card reader (SD, MMC).

As Niveus’first entry-level media center priced for mid-to-high end home theaters, the 2007 Rainier measures half the size of the Denali at just over 4 inches tall. The Rainier has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to three television tuners, 750 GB of storage, 2 GB of memory, Nvidia’s GeForce Series 7 graphics, and 8-channel audio. Additionally, the Rainier will become one of the first Windows Media Center-based products to offer 1080p playback via the HD DVD platform, according to Niveus.

Niveus Media’s 2007 Summit Series, Rainier and Denali Edition, have MSRPs starting at $3,199 and $7,999, respectively.