In the old days, massive pieces of furniture dubbed "entertainment centers" housed our bulky TVs, stereos, and tape decks. Welcome to the 21st century where the digital world of movies, music, games, and more is just a click-of-the-remote away-and it's all available using a sleek entertainment PC.
Enter the digital age. Entertainment technology comes in more flavors than we could have dreamed a few years ago. An entertainment PC combines everything a regular computer can do (e-mail, Web, etc.) with the best of digital entertainment:
- Record, rewind, and pause TV (even live TV) with the digital video recorder capabilities and incur no monthly fee.
- Listen to music from an online radio station and other streaming sources, MP3s, or your CD collection.
- Use standard PC functions, like e-mail, the Web, and productivity applications.
- Play the hottest games on your TV.
- Share and organize your photos using your TV screen, not the small monitor on your PC.
- Play and burn CDs and DVDs.
With an entertainment PC, you can control everything from a single remote control-so you'll no longer need some of those other clunky remote control devices cluttering up the room.
Getting started. Any retail electronics store that sells computers will offer a selection of entertainment PCs. Consider these features and options:
- Windows* Vista is a great choice for an operating system, because it builds very nicely on the functionality of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005*, adding great usability features and enhancements.
- Make sure the entertainment PC you buy has a TV tuner card so you can watch live TV and enjoy all of the benefits of digital video recorder functionality.
- Remote-control functionality is a worthwhile addition to your machine. When selecting one, be sure to hold the unit in your hand. It should feel solid and easy to use–you'll be spending lots of time with it.
Although most TVs built in the last ten years or so will work with your entertainment PC, some of the more recent TVs are really spectacular. If you don't already have one, consider taking the plunge and buying a high-definition TV and even better, one with PC inputs. In any case, make sure you know what kind of video inputs are on the TV you will be using (see the discussion of plugs and cables below), because you'll need to match them up with the rest of the hardware.
A word about plugs and cables. There is a variety of plugs and cables that you can use to move video signals around in your entertainment setup. We've shown six of the most common types below, moving left to right from lowest to highest quality. Your choice of connection will affect the quality of the picture. The connection type you use may be limited by what kind of plugs your TV has for video inputs (the more advanced connection types will likely be found only on the newer, higher-end sets), but you should use the highest-quality choice that is available to you.
Setting up your entertainment PC. Setup is easy and straightforward. First, read through the user guides, quick-start guides, and other manuals that came with your equipment. That documentation will be your main reference guide during setup.
- Connect the cable outlet to your cable box with a coaxial cable, if it's not connected already.
- Connect the video and audio outputs on the cable box to the inputs on your entertainment PC.
- Connect the video output on the entertainment PC to the video input on your TV.
- Connect the audio output on the entertainment PC to the audio input on your audio system, external speakers, or TV.
- Power up the entertainment PC and launch Windows Media Center using the Start > Programs > Windows Media Center menu option.
- Follow the wizard to complete setup and configuration.
