Evesham E-media 2.6

Windows XP Media Center Edition has been eagerly awaited here in the UK since its launch in the US last year. At last, it has arrived, with manufacturer Evesham the first to provide us with a unit for review.

We will be exploring the total capabilities of Microsoft's new operating system in the next issue but for now, all you need to know is that Media Center PCs are designed to replace your home entertainment equipment such as the VCR, DVD player and hi-fi.

Opening the box reveals a stylish case - a good start, considering this PC is intended to reside in the living room. Microsoft has set high specifications for PCs running Media Center and the Evesham is no exception. A 2.6GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 512Mb of memory and an ATi Radeon 9600 graphics card promise - and deliver - excellent performance. There's also a 120Gb hard disk, huge by anyone's standards but this is a system that will need it.

There's no monitor or speakers included as the E-media connects to a television via the TV-out port on the graphics card and 5.1 on-board audio allows you to connect the PC to a home stereo system or amplifier.

A flap on the front of the case conceals headphone and microphone sockets, two USB 2 ports and a FireWire socket.

The E-media does come with a wireless mouse and keyboard but Media Center is primarily controlled using the supplied remote control. Pressing the big green button activates the Media Center application and you're presented with a scrollable menu screen comprising links to My Music, My Photos, My TV and My Video.

Setting up the TV function is very easy, with a helpful wizard guiding you through the channel-tuning process. If you have an internet connection the PC will automatically download the next 14 days of TV listings. Using this on-screen TV guide, you can select the programmes you want to record to the hard disk.

You can even set a 'series-link' to record every episode of a particular series. Media Center also allows you to 'pause' live television, which works in a similar way to digital video recorders.

If you've got a collection of digital music files, such as MP3s, these can be accessed through the My Music folder and played during a photo slide show of any digital images you have stored on the PC or a home network.

Video files can be viewed through the My Videos folder and Evesham is planning to include software that can be used to edit video files saved from a television broadcast. DVD movies can be played using the DVD-RW drive.

Although Microsoft is offering a new direction in home computing, there are some drawbacks. To perform any non-Media Center-specific tasks, you have to return to the familiar Windows Desktop, which looks poor on a television screen.

Also, if you use the memory card slots to view photos taken from digital cameras, there isn't the option to copy the images to the hard disk. Moreover, the PC case is huge and will look very unsightly if not hidden from view.

If you can justify splashing out £1,000 for a new computer and want to reduce the number of boxes sitting underneath your TV, then the E-media is a good all-round solution.

Contact: Evesham 0870 160 9500
www.evesham.com