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| Intel's Viiv platform packs in plenty of functionality, but these third-party products can add even greater value and help set your systems above the competition. | |||||||||
Z62F Whitebook: VARIES BY CONFIGURATION usa.asus.com Next-Gen Whitebooks Arrive in Style End-users who get hooked on the viiv experience will feel even more compelled to keep their multimedia files and applications with them while traveling. Viiv is still several months from growing into mobile platforms, but that doesn't mean you can't sell a private brand mobile solution that echoes much of the Viiv experience. Users want to bring all of the benefits of dual-core computing to the road, including audio and video as well as multitasking, and the ASUS Z62F is your ticket to competing against the best tier-one media notebooks. This 14.1" widescreen with integrated GMA 950 graphics is the channel's first Napa platform-based barebones whitebook. ASUS goes further by integrating Gigabit Ethernet for full HD media streaming. A 0.35MP webcam mounted above the LCD display accentuates the personal media aspects of this unit. Also note that the Z62F is one of the first channel notebooks to capitalize on the Intel Interchangeability Initiative, at last making use of industry standard battery, optical drive, LCD, and hard disk form factors and mountings. These Common Building Block (CBB) components will make servicing and upgrading the Z62F easier and more affordable for resellers and end-users alike going forward.
X-Fi Platinum: $199 www.creative.com Perfect Audio for a Perfect Media Platform For all of hd audio's attributes, it is something of a lowest common denominator in the Viiv platform. While the best in integrated HD Audio still tries to achieve parity with Creative's aging Sound Blaster Live! family (and related integrated chip), the X-Fi audio processor has taken PC sound to an entirely new plane. Only saying that the X-Fi Platinum sports a 109 dB signal-to-noise ratio and 24-bit/192kHz response misses this product's glory altogether. As with some previous Sound Blaster SKUs, the X-Fi Platinum includes a bay-mounted breakout panel with all manner of audio ports, including optical SPDIF and MIDI, and an accompanying remote control. However, the massive processing power of the X-Fi chip finds expression in Creative's armada of software tools and effects. We've never heard realtime environmental effects and upmixing sound this good, the analog-to-digital recording quality is entirely professional quality, and CPU impact is virtually nil. Tack on support for all manner of Dolby and DTS technologies, a terrific audio driver front end, and DVD Audio playback. There is no better audio solution for Viiv. But if your customer doesn't need the bay device perks, the X-Fi Xtreme Music card delivers nearly the same performance for only $129.99.
M203WX 20.1" Widescreen LCD: $500 us.lge.com Life's Good, This is Better Not all viiv systems connect to tvs. in fact, many will probably reside on desks in offices and bedrooms. But that doesn't mean the user wants anything less than a top-notch multimedia experience backed by a monitor with flexibile inputs, excellent image reproduction, and rock solid refresh rates. Just as a stereo is only as good as its speakers, a Viiv system is often only as good as its display, and in the sub-$500 range, you'll be hard pressed to find a better flat screen than LG's new 16:10 M203WX. With an 8 ms response time, high-action gaming and movie content looks impeccable with no discernable ghosting. The M203WX also features LG's excellent DSP-based f-ENGINE image enhancement technology, which helps in getting images as clear and vibrant as possible with no artifacting. Native resolution is 1680 x 1050, brightness beams at 300 cd/m2, and contrast is a stunning 1,400:1. A 160-degree viewing angle is ample for a single-user desktop situation, and dual DVI and VGA inputs assure maximum backward and forward compatibility. (Keep in mind that DVI can meet next-gen DRM compatibility specs.) LG goes for a simple aesthetic here that is muted while still being high-tech and very CE-friendly.
Production Studio Premium: $1,699 www.adobe.com The Best Tools for Making Top Content Many users will be fascinated by creating multimedia as well as consuming it. The world's most powerful and comprehensive photo/video suite is Adobe's Production Studio Premium, now optimized for multi-threaded systems. This overhauled suite starts with Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2 for still image creation and editing, progresses into Premiere Pro 2.0 and After Effects 7.0 Professional for video capture, editing, and effects generation, delivers complete audio mastery via Audition 2.0, and finally offers pro-grade media authoring with Encore DVD 2.0. Compared to consumer media suites, Production Studio is like a gourmet feast pitted against McDonald's. However, perhaps the greatest advance in Production Studio, now fully enabled for HD video and Macromedia Flash, is the improved workflow and coordination between the suite's programs. For instance, you can now preserve, edit, and animate Photoshop and Illustrator layers in After Effects. Encore DVD menus can now be made in Photoshop. Premiere Pro audio effects now work in Audition. Also, XMP metadata support built into the new Adobe Bridge makes Production Studio a business-class media asset tracking and management system.
GST Deskstar 7K500 500GB SATA: $395 street www.hitachigst.com A Desktstar As Big As Its Namesake One of the most under-utilized sales pitches with HTPC systems is storage capacity. After a few months in action, DVR users are likely to have plenty of shows set to record every week, some of them probably in high-definition. But distractions happen. When no one watches and deletes recordings, the new material either forces out unwatched content or doesn't get recorded at all. A solid home theater PC can remedy this problem. Whether inside the local system or across the network, users need all of the storage capacity they can get for music, photo, and video files--particularly high-def DVR recordings and soon HD camcorder footage. Today, the highest capacity you can buy in a desktop drive is 500GB, and no finer 500GB unit exists than Hitachi's Deskstar 7K500. The SATA version of this monster comes with a 3.0 Gbps interface and Viiv spec Native Command Queuing (NCQ) backed by a 7,200 RPM spin rate. Hitachi goes the extra mile in this higher-end consumer design. The rotational vibration safeguard will be welcome in systems where any noise is an experience killer. The latching SATA connector guards against accidental disconnects, ECC protection is built in, and there is an optional low-power mode--ideal for exceptionally small systems.
All-in-Wonder X1900: $499 www.ati.com The Most Power Available for One Slot The bane of compact htpc systems, whether Viiv-based or not, has long been a lack of expansion slots. ATI's All-in-Wonder series is an industry favorite for blending the power of a cutting edge GPU with a high-quality analog TV tuner (plus an FM tuner in recent models) in only one slot. The latest and greatest addition to this card line is the X1900, which blends the Radeon X1900 graphics processor with ATI's Theater 200 tuner chip. This is a sure fire way to keep 3D enthusiasts and TV/DVR buffs alike satisfied. Much of the AIW X1900 is AVIVO-compliant, meaning that output is optimized for maximum quality across several device types. Also note that the X1900 GPU supports hardware-based H.264 decoding, making it a stellar solution for high-def playback platforms. Core functionality aside, ATI bundles in plenty of extras. Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 plus Premiere Elements 2.0 is an outstanding consumer photo/video editing set, ATI's Multimedia Center software is a persuasive alternative to Windows XP MCE's 10-foot UI, and the Remote Wonder Plus can perform minor miracles in PC control that MCE remotes simply cannot. For maximum performance in the smallest space, this is the HTPC graphics card of choice.
PC-cillin Internet Security: $49.95 www.trendmicro.com Always-On Should Mean Always Safe If only because viiv systems are more likely than most to be left on 24 x 7 (for show recording), they are at a higher risk from malware and hacking, so a strong security solution should be mandatory for Viiv buyers. Perhaps the most underappreciated PC security software on the market, PC-cillin has been quietly racking up awards right alongside the likes of Symantec and McAfee. Trend Micro repeatedly proves that its software is at least as good as the competition at virus and spam filtering. That's a good start, but Trend keeps going with defenses against phishing and pharming attempts. A personal firewall is included, as is spyware protection. The spam filtering system ties seamlessly into MS Outlook, and parenting controls make content blocking fairly straightforward. We particularly like some of Trend's proactive touches, such as notification if an unauthorized user hops onto the wireless home network and a system-scanning vulnerability assessment that pushes users toward the proper patch downloads. PC-cillin Internet Security is the new benchmark in home system protection. As such, you might want to give Trend's technology a fair shake in your corporate solutions, too.
Fusion Case: $200 Street www.antec.com Power User Smarts Meet HTPC Savvy Some cases look the part of an impressive HTPC solution, but beauty may only be skin deep. Antec knows how to make top quality cases from the brushed aluminum exterior down to the internal cable management. The aptly named Fusion brings many of the structural points of brilliance from the recent P-series towers, melds them with the sleek, compact appeal of the Minuet line, and brushes in a fascia that tastefully blends PC and home stereo functionality. On the outside, this microATX desktop sports a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) mounted above the stealthed optical drive bay. Audio, 1394a, and USB 2.0 ports line up along the front face, and a large volume knob helps this unit blend into any home theater. Under the hood, a triple-chamber design isolates heat zones for more efficient cooling. This arrangement is aided by twin side-mounted, 120 mm fans, a rear panel grill for a third 120 mm fan, broad bottom venting under the hard drive chamber, and the inclusion of Antec's own SU430 HT high efficiency power supply. Rubber and silicone padding is strategically deployed to help further reduce vibration and noise. For customers who want the best overall Viiv experience, look for the Fusion this spring. |
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