Laptops Desktops Monitors & LCDs Graphics Cards Handhelds Phones Software Networks Printers More »
search
AnchorDesk

David Coursey
Why you'll own a Media Center PC someday

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Monday, December 9, 2002
TalkBack!Add your opinion
This is the second in a two-part column looking at both the concept of Microsoft's Media Center PC and reviewing one of the first examples of it. If you haven't read the first column, which ran Friday, you might want to stop here to go read it first. Or not. Your call.

THE SPECIFIC SYSTEM I've been testing is HP's Media Center PC 873n. Costing about $1700 (less monitor), it's built around a 2.53GHz Pentium 4, with 512MB RAM, a 120GB hard drive, CD-ROM drive, and combo DVD+R writer and CD-writer combo.

It also has a four-slot adapter that accepts six different kinds of removable media: SmartMedia, MMC/SD, CompactFlash I and II, and the Sony Memory Stick format (which I wish would just go away). And, oh yeah, there's a floppy disk drive, too, which doesn't seem to work properly.

The machine also includes support for USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394/FireWire peripherals--an example of how the HP includes everything I'm likely to use, not just the Microsoft stuff. These two ports, for example, give me high-speed access to things like digital cameras and MP3 devices.

The Nvidia GeForce4 MX420 graphics system has both composite and S-Video interfaces, allowing the Media Center PC to feed a variety of monitors and devices, not just a computer display. Sound is provided by a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy 24-bit card with Dolby Digital 5.1 and analog surround sound.

Alas, one of the differences between the mid-range and high-end HP models is the speakers. Both come with very nice Klipsch sound systems, but only the high-end one comes with 5 speakers. At the mid-range, I'm "stuck" with the luxury of "only" two speakers and a subwoofer. The 200 watts of speaker power is quite capable of filling a large room.

BUT WHICH LARGE ROOM? Over the long haul, a Media Center PC or some descendant of it (which doesn't have to be from Microsoft) will play a central role in people's home entertainment centers, be they large or small.

I could very easily feed the output from this computer to my big-screen TV and use the Media Center remote control in my family room. Or in a small apartment or dorm room the unit could replace the entire entertainment system, once I added the FM radio. (Or XM Radio in my case).

This unit, however, sits on my desktop--which is where I think most of these machines are ending up--and is being used almost entirely in 2-foot mode. Media Center's 10-foot mode won't really come into its own until systems are designed more specifically to fit into an existing home entertainment center. I've seen designs for these living-room-friendly boxes. But those designs won't matter much until wireless capabilities are added, allowing the Media Center device to store and feed content to an entire home.

Nevertheless, the 10-foot UI is a critical first step toward making that happen.

It's important to note that Microsoft's actual contribution to Media Center PC is that of bringing pieces together, building the support into the OS, and hammering the hardware vendors to create these machines and do a good job of it.

PC video tuners, for example, are nothing new. But Microsoft gave us a free program guide and PVR features that seem a lot less clunky that what has previously been available.

SOMETHING MICROSOFT doesn't give us--almost amazingly, considering the pain this issue has caused them--is an easy way to record TV programs onto DVDs. The first Media Center PCs, including this one, can burn DVDs, but those discs can't be played on anything but the PC that burned them. This is because I'm supposed to be using the drive to make an archive of programming (freeing up hard drive space), not burning discs that can be viewed on another computer or consumer DVD player.

This copy-protection issue overshadowed the introduction of Media Center back on Oct. 29. (Actually, that intro was overshadowed twice: First by the MSN and Tablet PC introductions that took place within a few days of one another, then by protests over the copy protection.)

Given the state of the DVD-burning feature on the Media Center PC, I wish Microsoft had never touted it. Right now, it takes a third-party app--I use Sonic MyDVD--to create a disc. This means that burning a TV program onto a DVD is possible, but it's not as easy as it could be. Microsoft is working on building wizards to make it simpler, but they shouldn't have claimed the feature was available until it was easy to use.

Microsoft eventually relented on the copy protection/rights management issue (DVDs will not be "locked" to a specific machine for playback). But the whole painful mess could have been prevented if the feature hadn't been released before it was actually ready. Live and learn, I suppose.

THE HP MACHINE is remarkably pleasant to use. And while I didn't immediately appreciate the multislot media reader, it has become a lifesaver. Now I can easily move pictures from a camera to the PC simply by moving the storage card from one device to the other.

Yes, I know accessory readers are available, but it's really convenient to have one built-in and integrated with the machine so each storage format shows up as a different drive letter. And not having to worry about camera cables is nice, too. Now all the cables stay in the camera bags, for use on the road.

Only about 20 percent of what I like about this machine is specifically attributable to Microsoft. The rest can be credited to HP, which has created a very nice computer, with the right combination of hardware features to make a media-centric user very happy.

While HP was first out of the gate with the new hardware, a number of other vendors have signed on as well. These include Alienware, best known for high-powered game boxes, and Gateway, which offers a Media Center PC at a very attractive price when purchased with one of the company's (relatively) inexpensive plasma displays.

Alienware's new Media Center PC WHOEVER'S SELLING the hardware, Media Center is Microsoft's way of turning the PC into the digital hub that sits in the middle of your entertainment, be it TV, music, digital photos, home video, radio, or the Internet. It is also a way to get a home server into your home slowly and by degrees.

One day, you will wake up and new computers will have all the Media Center features and there will be add-ons to integrate most of your entertainment systems with the computer. I expect the consumer electronics industry will develop products to compete with Microsoft on this. So far, however, none of the companies has stepped forward with anything like a vision, much less the fairly complete one Microsoft can offer and has the ability to implement.

Bottom line: If I really loved you (and some money fell from the sky), I'd give you a Media Center PC for Christmas, either the HP I've tested or the cool-looking Alienware unit I expect to test before next month's Consumer Electronics Show. ("I'd like to buy the world a Media Center" sung by an international choir of children dancing around the Microsoft campus could be a great TV commercial--not!)

But even if I don't give you one, I suspect that within 3 years most consumer PCs will include the features this HP offers today. Apple is already well down this road with its iMacs and OS X.

We used to call this convergence. I am not sure what to call it today except the natural process of PC evolution. Having long ago conquered the business desktop, personal computers now live in home offices. With Media Center PC, family rooms are the next step.

What do you think? Is there a Media Center PC in your future? TalkBack to me! 

   

Special sponsor stores