One box to rule all other boxes
Media Center PCs, what you need and Viiv
What is a Media Center PC?
Ever since DivX and mp3 became new buzzwords, having PC power in the front room has greatly appealed to the Smart-Home owner. Helped along with high speed internet, affordable hard drive space and plummeting prices of flatpanel TVs, people have wanted to access the internet and play PC games on the biggest screen in their home, store and access all their media in one place and listen to their digital music archive through their prize front room HiFi.
Strangely enough even with good ol Bills stamp of approval with the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system, Media Center PC take up has been surprisingly disappointing with only a handful of known manufacturers releasing MCPCs and the scene really being kept afloat by DIYers and enthusiasts building their own bespoke systems. Perhaps the MCPC is conceptually flawed and its greatest strength is inextricably linked to the very factor which inhibits its wide spread market penetration. Quite simply, all the power of a PC may seem like overkill for many users in the front room. There are also issues of noise, ugly cases, Microsoft XP MCE reliability, and cost, however these are more fears than problems and can be quite easily avoided.
For the more technologically savvy the MCPC encapsulates the best of convergence and custom-built technology. Replace so many boxes with just one, it is a DVD player, CD player, mp3 player, digital radio, digital TV tuner/recorder, a games console, an internet browser, and a PC for all the usual applications found on a desktop PC. With some imagination, programming and the right components the MCPC could also be an automation hub. For example, a motion detector could be set up to monitor activity only during DVD or TV playback. If motion is detected it could then automatically pause the movie/TV, brighten the lights, and even play intermission music until the person returns from the kitchen with a full bowl of popcorn. With specialist software the video output from a MCPC can also be much higher resolution than common standard definition home theatre components. Upsampling DVDs to 720p for display on a connected HDTV will give a picture that rivals far more expensive dedicated home theatre equipment. This is also true of audio depending on the equipment used.
What should I look for?
Hard drive - Space is king, the whole point of a MCPC is that you can store all your files in one place, record things etc. so you need plenty of space. With any PC enclosure (case) you will undoubtedly only have one maybe two hard drive slots so get high capacity drives. When you do eventually run out of space, and trust me you will, dont worry, there are plenty of external storage devices like the Buffalo Terastation ensuring you never have to delete anything.
Processor As with any PC you want as fast as your money can get you. Applications and games become more and more demanding so starting off with a decent processor will keep your MCPC future-proof for as long as possible.
Memory At least 512mb DDR2 533MHz PC4200 ideally 2 x 512 sticks would be best.
Two digital TV cards so you can watch a channel and record another
Graphics Card High end graphics card if you intend on playing games and upscaling video.
Sound card at least 5.1 channel audio if not 7.1
Operating sound Quiet if not silent
Case save yourself a job of hiding it if its good looking as most control will be done by infrared so a direct line of sight will be necessary.
Network Card - Gigabit Ethernet controller
Raid array - Configured in Raid 5 for speed and to protect your data in case of disk failure.
Viiv and MCPCs
Viiv is Intels attempt to calm fears of average users who might be nervous about complicated new technology. Quite simply Viiv refers to a PC which has a specific type of processor coupled with other components to provide a streamlined PC which can readily handle digital audio and video, share digital content over networks and be easily controlled. The Viiv is the multimedia equivalent of the Centrino, instead of being focussed on mobility, Viiv will concentrate on providing a platform which is digital entertainment focussed.
So what does all this mean for MCPCs? Well, one feature of Viiv will be automatic transcoding. That is, ensuring that audio or video encoded in one format can be translated into one the user's computer can actually handle without user intervention. Another feature will be instant shutdown and start-up that will work as fast as it does in consumer electronic devices such as DVD players. Furthermore, by the time Viiv was released on January 5, 2006 during CES 2006, Intel had already forged agreements for content services with companies including ESPN, Movielink, T Mobile, Tivo, Yahoo, AOL, Napster, Virgin Records, Gametap, Adobe, Google, DirectTV, and Pinnacle. Viiv certainly adds another variable into the world of MCPCs whether it will provide better integration and functionality or only go towards confusing matters further will have to be seen. Intel are certainly one of those companies that, - where they lead, others follow - so their assertive promotion of digital entertainment on a PC platform at least signals the beginning of revi(i)ved R & D money on MCPCs and peripherals.
