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It's a PC! No, It's a TV!

Compaq Computer and Thomson Electronics show off their competitor to Gateway 2000's Destination.

By Brian McWilliams, PCWorld   

As expected, it%squots a high-end machine with top-of-the-line components for both personal computing and television. Powered by a Pentium MMX-200 CPU, it comes standard with 40MB of EDO RAM, a 3.8GB hard drive, and a 16X CD-ROM drive.

On the home theater side, there%squots stereo sound and picture-in-a-picture capability. But the heart of this hybrid multimedia machine is the monitor -- a 36-inch unit that uses progressive scan technology, just like computer CRTs.

%dquotIt looked really good playing the movie Space Jam,%dquot said Carla Thornton, PC World senior reviews editor. %dquotIt%squots very clear, very crisp, the sound was good. It looked much better than any big screen TV I%squotve seen in Circuit City.%dquot

Compaq product manager Jeff Lininger reported that the $5000 unit is aimed at what Compaq calls digital upscale believers, or DUBs--folks who want to use the PC Theater for home entertainment and education.

%dquotIt%squots surprising how many people out there today have a 27-inch or a 31-inch television,%dquot said Lininger. %dquotWe see PC Theater replacing their television in their living room. But no one really talks about the big-screen multimedia experience, playing games on a 36-inch monitor. We%squotve had kids come in testing this thing, and they won%squott leave! %dquot

Although Compaq and Thomson called today a %dquotdefining moment in the convergence between consumer electronics and the PC,%dquot the PC Theater isn%squott really a true convergence product. It doesn%squott contain the circuitry to handle forthcoming digital TV broadcasts, nor does it come with technology to handle today%squots Intercast content. Similarly, the PC Theater isn%squott bundled with a digital video disc player or DVD-ROM drive.

But PC World%squots Thornton feels that the unit may, nonetheless, find a find place in the living room of DUBs.

The PC Theater is shipping today to CompUSA and Circuit City stores in six areas: San Francisco/San Jose, Seattle, Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Washington, D.C. National distribution is planned for the fall.