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The Entertainers
New media-savvy PCs aim to replace your TV, VCR, and stereo. We test six models--plus upgrades that turn any PC into a living-room powerhouse.
- Ingram SOUNDCARD SB AUDIGY MP3+ SOUND BLASTER SB0090M (Creative Labs-70SB009003000) »
- Logitech Z-680 »
- ATI All-In-Wonder VE 64MB DDR Video (ATI-100711041) »
- ABS Media Center PC 8500 »
- Alienware Navigator Extreme »
- CyberPower Media Center PC »
- Gateway Media Center PC »
- PC Power & Cooling Sleekline 2800AV »
- Sony VAIO PCV-RZ26G »
- Hauppauge WINTV-Go FM 125 Channel Tuner (Hauppauge-191) »
- ATI TV Wonder VE NTSC (ATI-100703102) »
- eVGA Personal Cinema »
- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (Creative Labs-70sb024000007) »
- M-Audio M-Audio Sonica Theater »
- Creative Creative INSPIRE 6.1 6600 (Creative Labs-51000000AA286) »
- Logitech Cordless Elite Keyboard/Mouse (Logitech-9672310403) »
- Sony Dual DVD+RW/+R DVD-RW/-R 4.7GB INT EIDE (24x/10x/32x CDRW) (Sony-DRU500AX) »
- Toshiba RD-X2 DVD Recorder (Toshiba-RDX2) »
- Panasonic DMR-HS2 DVD Recorder (Panasonic-DMRHS2) »
Most ordinary PCs are big and boxy--and they have no business inhabiting a spot in your living room. But new home theater PC systems are designed to serve as digital entertainment hubs, marrying the latest hardware and software to provide DVD and digital music playback, photo slide shows, TV, and video recording capabilities. Many of these computers sport the same look as your other components, with physical dimensions that fit nicely into an entertainment cabinet.
The home theater concept isn't entirely new; you can even upgrade a current PC to make it an entertainment hub. But Microsoft has given the idea a push with Windows XP Media Center Edition, a superset of Windows XP with a launcher interface that lets you control the PC's DVD player, music application, photo viewer, digital video recorder (DVR) application for recording TV shows, and TV program guide. The interface's large text is easy to see from your couch or desk chair.
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