Originally posted by chaz:
Smackie, could you shed some light on on the ease of operation of one of these systems?
Sure. They're not as easy to use as Tivo, though they are designed with the same idea in mind.
They look just like a Windows XP PC, then you click a button on a special remote or a link on you Start Menu and a menu comes up that looks alot like Tivo's menu. This menu gives you the option to watch My Videos, View My Pictures, listen to My Music, Watch TV, and Record TV. You can also use multiple monitors and/or run multiple windows at the same time. The windows can run either computer programs (internet, email, word processing) or media (listen to music, watch TV or a DVD, view pictures) or both at the same time.
I've done a few differenct set-ups with them. One as video editing computer for a law firm and many as the main entertainment unit for a house. I've also set a super sweet multi-monitor setup for a super rich guy that was over the top. He had a desk in the room where the computer was setup with a 20 inch LCD monitor, then a separate 40 inch LCD on the wall. But he had DirecTV in video 1, an X-Box in Video 2 and the Windows XPMC machine in video three. Here's why:
1) Your TV source. While the system is great for watching DVD's, if you have digital cable or Satellite, it can be a pain in the ass, especially with Satellite. Same with TiVo, unless the digital tuner is built in, you're limited to recording what your watching, and I don't feel as though the Windows based DVR is anywhere near as slick as the TiVo system.
2) Multi-tasking. How may things do you do at once. If you just watching TV and checking email, it's fine. If you want to watch TV, record a CD and check your email, you're bound to run into problems. I did run a test where I was watching the baseball games and following my fantasy baseball team in separate windows on a 40 inch plasma and damn near bought the system myself because it was so cool.
3) The types of devices you want to run with it. In nearly every case, the client decided to keep his stereo tuner because the output was much better than the PC could boast. The other reason was that his turntable was old school and wouldn't work with the PC without extra hookups. These things can get very complicated, but essentially most folks considered the PC their DVD player in the stereo unit. I'm sure the A/V rack models described in previous posts are better about RCA jack compatibility, but I haven't had the opportunity to install one yet. I understand that ZT Group has made a fantastic model, but I haven't seen it yet.
4) What exactly you want to with it. The reason I asked Kosmo what he wanted to do is because a lot of people bought the systems thinking it would do everything, but realized later that when they were doing one thing, they couldn't do another and this became frustrating. For example, one client spent a few hours video editing and setting up a home movie collage to give to folks at a family reunion. This was great and easy - he did it all with no problem. Of course his wife who wanted to watch TV couldn't because he was using the PC's sound and pictures. Then he wanted to burn 20 copies - well guess what? He couldn't watch TV either when he was burning because of the resources being used - so you have to be careful. If you're super wealthy and have a play room - this is the shit! If you want it for your front room, you're better off with a PC/Laptop with a DVD burner and a TiVo in your A/V unit because unless you live by yourself, you're going to piss people off.
So I hooked up the machine as video 3 so he could listen to his digital music through his stereo and do video editing or surf the net and watch TV on his 40 inch screen, but when he was editing and burning, he could watch DirecTV without interupting his viewing. He also has a wireless keyboard and mouse, which is essential in this setting. Those that are familair with TiVo know that a Sereis 2 Tivo for DirecTV would have solved many of his problems and wouldn't have required the MC PC, but until that comes out this was the best solution.
