The three TV tuners allow you to record two standard-definition shows and one high-definition show simultaneously. One major drawback is that the HD tuner doesn't work with set-top HD boxes. That's currently a limitation of the Windows Media Center OS. Instead, the z555 relies on an antenna, which you'll need to purchase separately, to receive over-the-air high-definition content. As long as you live in a major metropolitan area, you should find good reception and more than a few HD channels being broadcast.
HP doesn't supply a monitor or speakers, so we paired the z555 with WinBook's PowerSpec LC30D (a 30-inch LCD) and a Panasonic stereo receiver. Although standard-def programs exhibited that slightly soft quality common to PC tuners, we found image color and clarity to be above average. High-definition programming looked absolutely stellar.
We liked HP's wireless keyboard/trackball combination, which can rest comfortably on a lap for couch-based computing. The same can't be said for HP's Media Center remote, which has an inferior button layout to that of the standard MCE 2005 remote and lacks the all-important Aspect button for quickly cycling through TV zoom settings. Two IR Blasters are also included.
If you're willing to give up a few premium features, such as multiple TV tuners and a LightScribe drive, another Media Center system to consider is the WinBook PowerSpec 410. You sacrifice a bit of hard drive space (160GB vs. 250GB) and some graphics horsepower (ATI X300 vs. GeForce 6600), but at half the price, the 410 serves up the same CPU and RAM.
Although the z555 includes only a one-year warranty, HP offers toll-free, 24/7 phone support; real-time online chat; and the promise of e-mail answers within one hour.
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Half-Life 2 1,024x768 4xAA 8xAF |
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System configurations
Gateway 832GM
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.0GHz Intel P4 630; Intel 915G chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB integrated Intel 915G (shared memory); WDC WD2500JD-22HBB0 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
HP z555 Digital Entertainment Center
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.0GHz Intel P4 530; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB Nvidia GeForce 6600 (PCIe); Maxtor 6B250S0 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
HP Media Center m7070n Photosmart PC
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.2GHz Intel P4 640; Intel 915G chipset; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB ATI Radeon X300 (PCIe); Seagate ST3250823AS 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
Polywell MiniBox 939AX
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 2.1GHz AMD Athlon 64 3200+; ATI Radeon Xpress 200 chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 64MB (shared) integrated ATI Radeon X200; Seagate ST3200822AS 200GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
Shuttle XPC G5 8300mc
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.0GHz Intel P4 530; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 6600 (PCIe); WDC WD2500JD-98HBB0 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
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