PC Magazine has a review of the Dell XPS 410 with CableCard. It is a lengthy review of a prototype product that is not currently available for public consumption. The fact that Dell will offer CableCard-ready PCs provides hope that we might see a sub $1000 Vista media center PC that is capable of watching high definition cable TV (especially since you cannot build a CableCard ready PC yourself because of the certification process). One thing is clear from the review: the potential is there but CableCard makes you jump through a lot of hoops just to watch TV on a computer. I still do not understand the appeal for external CableCard readers though.
From the article:
Right off the bat, I was able to get standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) channels, and all of the usual MCE functions were functioning properly. HD and SD viewing on basic and premium channels, pause and resume, and recording favorite shows also worked. Quality of Service (QoS) was another issue: While the Dell folks assured me that the system worked fine in Dell’s labs, in the apartment where I was testing, HD content and some SD content had stuttering and video artifact issues. While it’s still watchable, the occasional stuttering would be annoying during critical viewing. We’ll be keeping an eye on this to see whether it is somehow related to our second QoS issue.
The article reinforces that the Xbox 360 also appears poised to be the focal point of the home theater. Serving as a media extender, up to 5 Xboxes can stream HD video content from one computer, all the while using the Vista MCE interface. It makes you wonder why Microsoft did not include a HDMI connection with the Xbox, instead relying on component connections.
I am sure more reviews will be trickling in for CableCard-ready PCs. Hopefully such computers will be available to the public soon.
Tue, Mar 13, 2007
Blogroll, Vista Media Center