OT What is new and unique in the "HP Media Center?"
[on edit] Nothing revolutionary that doesn't already exist in a number of different individual products, but the convergence into one box might broaden the market to the average Joe, who may not be adept at hacking together a networked PC controlled media server.
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Chicago Tribune Binary Beat Column
November 3, 2002 8:51am
Nov. 3--HP'S MEDIA CENTER PC SUPERB--AFTER SETUP: Before this column begins a fawning rave review of the new Media Center PC from Hewlett Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp., there needs to be just one warning upfront: It's a real bear to take out of the box and set up.
But my, oh my, boys and girls, you're going to be in hog heaven when you've finally got your Media Center home computer properly connected.
A brilliantly designed control system built around a familiar video remote clicker lets HP's Media PC double as your computer-scheduled television set, home video recorder and home CD music player.
It's also your digital camera's virtual darkroom, your home video studio and your DVD movie player.
Oh, yes, it's also your own personal DVD recorder, your Internet portal and, almost incidentally, your family's main computer, equipped with all of the productivity software most of us ever require. With both video-in and video-out ports, this machine handles feature-rich video viewing and powerful home video creating.
You're going to love owning this awesome bit of home technology, but the love will set in only after you have waded through the morass of wires, cables, power bricks, antennas, infrared control devices and other items.
Because it connects to the Internet, to a high-fidelity music system and to one's cable television box as well as to printers, scanners and other computer gear, there's more wires in the Media Center PC than in an orthodontist's toolbox. If ever there were a time to tell a buyer to RTFM (Read the Finely crafted Manual), this is it. Figure an hour setup time even if you're quite familiar, as I am, with putting computer setups together.
I reviewed the top end of the new product line, which costs $2,000 without a monitor. A lesser version that lacks DVD burning and a few other features costs $1,400. And you absolutely need a good monitor. I used a borrowed HP 17-inch flat panel, and there just aren't words to describe the clarity of the cable TV programs when played on a digital display.
Microsoft executives who met with me to give a demonstration of the new Media Center XP software that powers the HP emphasized they expect most users will put the machine on a desk and use it as a computer and TV set.
The tutorial enclosed with the machine shows a group of 20-somethings cavorting in what could pass for a dorm room, viewing the television on the monitor screen while using the other features such as digital photography and home video production.
For the sake of experimentation I used the video-out card included in the Media PC to display content on a 50-inch television set as well as the 17-inch monitor. It was superb.
Connected to the Internet with a humble America Online dial-up account, the Media Center PC delivered TiVo-type features, including letting me pause live programs and use the remote box to skip past commercials. To record shows on the massive 120-gigabyte hard drive, you just go to the program schedule, which gets downloaded from the Internet in the background. It can be set to record a favorite show every time it runs, or you can supply key words like actors' names and the machine will automatically record everything with that actor in the cast.
Music is even more impressive. You feed music CDs into the CD drive and rip them to the hard drive. Then you can use the remote to scan through all your albums or use the numeric keypad to do key word searches for desired tunes.
The included Klipsch amplifier and speaker set (subwoofer included) delivers superb sound for music and video. This system stands head and shoulders above even the best speakers on lesser computers.
For digital photo buffs, the machine boasts a set of six slots on the front of the case that will take camera memory cards and move images onto the hard drive.
It's even better with digital video, thanks to an included DVD+R burner and the latest Sonic movie editing software that can work wonders. (See accompanying review.)
Nothing is skimped on the hardware. There are USB 2.0 ports and FireWire ports for video cameras, digital cameras and portable MP3 music players. Also on deck are a CD player and a floppy drive to augment the combined DVD/CD player/burner drive. The 2.5-gigahertz Pentium 4 comes with 512 megabytes of RAM.
The Media Center software is a specialized version of Windows XP professional; when one wants to do ordinary computer stuff, the multimedia bells and whistles fade into the background, leaving the familiar Windows desktop.
To call this multilayered treasure from HP the Swiss Army Knife of the digital century is not to say enough. This baby does everything that one could ask for. Everything but set itself up. There definitely is some assembly required.
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But note the more muted enthusiasm demonstrated by Hiawatha Bray at the Boston Globe:
boston.com |
