At the moment, your home entertainment system probably comprises a collection of dedicated devices accumulating space beneath your TV - a set-top box, DVD player, recorder, CD player and tuner no doubt. It's the way it's always been done. But nowadays, all of these appliances can be converged into a single system for the sake of convenience, though not without some thought to performance - enter the media centre.
Media centres and servers often look very different to conventional AV sources simply because they have evolved from another source - PCs. With many of us already storing a great deal of our media in a digital format it makes sense to have our collections saved in one location, which can be easily accessed and played through your system. And that is the basic idea behind the media centre.
There are generally two paths you can take towards this concept of convenience - but what are they and what do they do?
The Media Centre PC
Although you can build your own media centre PC it's far easier to buy a pre-packaged model that arrives already equipped with all the criteria you'll need:
A decent processor
60GB hard drive
At least 128MB dynamic random access
DVD drive
Advanced graphics card with TV tuner capabilities
Networking and digital audio output
Hardware encoder that captures video from broadcast TV signals
Remote control
Dedicated media centre PCs are usually attractively designed so they'll blend in will in any living room, often with concealing covers and reduced dimensions that will fit in an equipment rack. Typically they can be connected to a large screen display and stereo system.
Most models use Microsoft's Media Centre edition software, a fully-fledged operating system designed to give you fast, accessible control of functions without using the usual PC pathways. It uses a single, simple interface that offers top-level menus to view the EPG, recording functions, DVD and CD players, media libraries and various other online functions like internet radio. And it can all be completely controlled by remote control.
Sound cards
All new media centres arrive with 6 channel (5.1) or 8 channel (7.1) sound cards built into the chipset courtesy of Intel Viiv. These are fine for most uses but if you want to add to your audio try upgrading to a high-end sound card like Creative's Audigy series.
Graphics cards
Similarly, the integrated graphics cards that come with most media centres are fine for normal video playback. You may need something faster if you're a games enthusiast but beware as these cards need more cooling, which subsequently leads to louder operation.
The media centre PC basically acts as an all-purpose jukebox that allows you to:
Watch and record TV
With an integrated TV tuner card you can receive broadcast signals from terrestrial, cable, satellite and even high-definition sources, which are processed and played through the monitor or a connected large screen display like your TV.
You can use the hard drive as a personal video recorder that allows you to save and archive programmes as well as use timeshift functions like pausing and rewinding live TV. Recordings are made simple using a customised Electronic Programme Guide that is updated via the internet. The quality of recordings depends on the recording mode and your display. If you want to record one programme while you watch another then you'll need a card with dual TV tuner capability.
You can also record TV programmes onto disc and playback on separate devices. Window's Media Centre Edition software lets you playback recordings on any Windows XP MCE computer or a PC with Windows Media Player 9. But you can't record a show that contains a special copy protection signal - called a CGSM-A signal.
Play films through your TV
You can also use the media centre PC's DVD drive to watch films through the monitor or as full screen on your TV. You get the same playback functions featured in dedicated DVD players, all easily controlled from a remote. And by connecting the system to an AV receiver there's also support for movie surround soundtracks.
Play music through your stereo
By connecting your media centre PC to your stereo system you can listen to CDs and downloaded MP3 music files. You can organise and archive your entire music collection onto the hard drive and then use the interface to navigate searches and create playlists with a range of information and playback functions. And, if you have the necessary software, you can burn music onto CDs for playing on portable devices.
And a media centre PC also supports other applications like playing games and viewing digital camera pictures and internet pages on your TV. Although media centre PCs offer versatility and the convenience of a single system they are vulnerable to PC errors like software crashes and performance doesn't rival dedicated components.
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THREE TO TRY
Acer Aspire IDea 500 £850
An ultra-slim and super stylish media centre that won't look out of place with your accompanying AV equipment. And it's crammed with all the multimedia components and connectivity options you could want.
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Shuttle XPC M1000 £1,300
The epitome of what a media centre should be like. The XPC M1000 is stylishly designed, quiet and offers excellent performance with an outstanding array of high-end connectivity.
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Packard Bell Smart TV 320 £2,000
Something a bit different - a 32inch HD Ready LCD screen with a PC already built in. There's HDMI connectivity that will accept future HD DVD and Blue Ray sources, twin TV tuners so you can watch and record at the same time and useful features like a wireless keyboard and gyroscopic remote.
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Media servers
If investing in a media centre PC doesn't appeal then a media server is an alternative option. Simply speaking it's a central repository that stores media files, typically music and video, in one location ready to be accessed and wirelessly streamed to different rooms in your house.
A media server doesn't need to be fast or powerful but it does need enough storage space to carry your collection. The other components you'll need are so-called clients, which is the device that takes stored media from the server, carries it over a network and plays it back through your system. They are similar to set-top boxes and you can use several in different rooms around the house with each one independent of simultaneously streaming different media from the server.
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THREE TO TRY
Hermstedt High Fidelity Pro £800
The High Fidelity Pro is like a CD player that lets you burn music directly from discs to an integrated 160GB hard drive, which can then be played through your stereo system or streamed wirelessly via clients. And it sounds great for a sub-£1,000 server too.
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Sonos Digital Music System £1,159
The Sonos DMS is not a typical music server as it relies on your PC for music storage instead of its own hard drive. Nonetheless, most of us will already have a home PC and the system is incredibly easy to use courtesy of its innovative remote. It sounds fantastic too.
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Yamaha MusicCAST MCX2000 £2500
The MusicCAST is a music server for audiophiles. The 160GB hard drive lets you store files in compressed or PCM (CD quality) format, which will please the purists but does reduce storage capacity. There's also an integrated FM radio and choice of clients to suit your style.
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