Desktops & Servers > From 512 MB to 1.0 GB Desktops & Servers > Microsoft Windows XP Media Center

Advantages: Small and looks great
Disadvantages: slightly low on features

OK, so you just buy one of these and you open the box and you find out that it is actually one of the neatest things! It is soo small and fits perfectly under any monitor. All you have to do is plug in the supplied power cables and the monitor and you're away! Comes complete with windows xp and microsoft works which allows you to get writing and using your L200 within minutes. I certainly found it perfect for when I was going from house to house ... Read review

Advantages: Stylish, Compact, Modern and amazing Media Centre
Disadvantages: Not totally up to date and must have an aerial cable

Well I was brought one of these systems about over a year and a half ago by my parents and originally I was very dissapointed thinking it was just some trendy model without any real decent features but I was wrong.... very wrong. This offers Media Centre where I can simply play my DVDs like any random but cool DVD player or if I am bored listen to the Radio without waiting to stream. Whatever I want I get with this... watch LIVE television? YEAH ...
...drive is extremely useful since I have long ditched my VCR in favour of this. You can download additional add ons for Media Centre such as alarm clocks and packages. One thing I have recently discovered is that I can not add Media Player 11 Beta! This has annoyed me but sooner or later they will configure it to deal with my media centre. Overall, if you are into dvds, tv, radio and interactive features than this system is made for YOU! I do not ... Read review

Advantages: Looks good, fits good, plays DVDs and you can rip them
Disadvantages: Media Center, strange design, strange remote and flashing standby mode

I have been using this machine for almost two years (? - is it possible?) and indeed at first I was amazed by the possibilities. Afterwards, I was shocked by what it cannot do. Why Microsoft doesn't implement ANY management of internet radios in their "Media" Center? No idea. Why the music management is so poor (compared to iTunes)? Why there is no Movie database management? Why I cannot rename a recorded TV programme? I was very disappointed discovering ...
...by the Windows settings, that I had to buy a set-top box anyway. So after a year of recording analogue TV, the fun was over. No TV on Media Center, no recordings. Not mentioning another remote on our table. Remote? Why the hell Microsoft doesn't provide Language(Audio) and Title buttons on their remote? It is incredibly complicated to set the audio track once a movie has started. To the PC itself - it gets noisy when solving something (gets hot ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to upgrade. Quiet.
Disadvantages: Outdated. No DVI. Little RAM.

Great choice, but slightly outdated now. Very, very easy to upgrade with clever slide in slots for drives, etc. Great build quality. Personal Media Drive bay takes up a lot of space and they are hard to source, they are also expensive. The tuner is not digital and the swichover is soon so you will have to upgrade. It has Win XP MCE not Vista but after adding more RAM it runs Vista very well. Should have a DVI graphics card but it does not. ... Read review

Advantages: Extremely fast, Great sound, Wireless keyboard and mouse, Remote control, TV and Computer!, Removable hard drive, Wireless capability
Disadvantages: No monitor, Uninspiring tower design, Flimsy HP flip-down CD flaps

...- on this computers' case HP have added: > HP Image Zone > HP Tunes You select your option using the keyboard, mouse, or remote control, and away you go! The options are fairly self-explanitory:- > Play DVD allows you to play any DVD that you place in the hard drive, with all your usual functionality of a DVD Player. > Online Spotlight - a feature exclusive to the media centre PC - this allows you to surf channel providers, and watch streaming ...
...can be controlled by the HP Remote Control - an extremely useful device! Some of what I've written doesn't even touch the surface of what's available to you in the Media Center software! To get the whole grasp of the Media Center software - I would recommend experiencing it at a computer store - or viewing some screenshots - a quick search on Google will find some helpful ones. That's enough about the software and OS - here's some stats about the ... Read review