Tiny Takami Plasma

Have you ever looked at your collection of home entertainment boxes and wished they were all integrated in to one space saving device? Or maybe you've wondered why you need separate DVD players, game consoles, CD players and the like when much of the electronics in each overlaps?

Well, Tiny thinks it has the answer in the Takami. It's pretty obvious from using it that it is really a PC in different clothing, but Tiny is keen for the unit to be viewed as just another piece of consumer electronics. But for this to happen, the box has to be as simple to use as your hi-fi.

It wouldn't look out of place next to your DVD player or hi-fi with its smooth curves and fake aluminium casing. However, even your granny would recognise this as not much more than a PC in a stylish box.

The system we reviewed comprised the Takami PC unit, a massive 42in NEC plasma screen and a set of VideoLogic 5.1 DTS surround-sound speakers. You also get a cordless keyboard and a TV-style remote control.

We couldn't resist opening up the PC case to have a peak inside and it's surprising how much Tiny has managed to stuff in there considering the small mini-ATX form factor. There's a half-height GeForce2 MX fitted in the AGP slot alongside a PCI TV tuner card in the adjacent slot and a PCI software modem next to it. A 40Gb Maxtor drive is also present.

An AMD 800Mhz Duron processor is the powerhouse of the system backed up by 128Mb of PC100 SDRam. Creative's onboard SoundBlaster AudioPCI 128 chip is used for the audio capabilities, but this feeds gold-plated phono connectors for analog audio in/out on the rear of the Takami, rather than the usual mini-jack connectors.

There's also a coaxial digital out that connects to the VideoLogic speakers so you can blow the cobwebs from your ears with surround sound. The VideoLogic decoder supports not just Dolby Digital and Pro-Logic but also DTS, which supplies slightly better sound.

The Takami connects to the 42in plasma screen via the standard D-SUB monitor connector. The screen is impressive, supporting a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024, although it's actually cheaper to buy the Takami with DTS speakers and the screen separately.

When you turn on the unit it boots into Windows Millennium, but Tiny has hidden all the usual icons such as My Computer and the Recycle Bin so it looks slightly odd. To navigate your way around folders and installed programs you have to use the Windows Start bar.

However, the TV-style remote control has three large buttons marked DVD, TV and Music that launch the three Tiny-customised Intervideo applications.

Hit the TV button and the unit loads up DVR, a TV application that allows you to watch TV, pause live TV, or record whole programmes to disc. The DVD button launches WinDVD, while pressing the Music button starts Intervideo's WinRip, a music playing and encoding application.

These applications work well with the remote as many of the on-screen buttons are mapped to buttons on the remote. However, when you load up games or other applications, things become a little tricky as the circular pressure pad used to control the mouse on both the wireless keyboard and the remote makes it fiddly to select smaller icons or navigate dropdown menus. We would have preferred to see a mini-trackball used instead, and a gamepad bundled as standard.

Although the physical layout of the machine makes it appear that the Takami would be good for games - the two USB ports mounted at the front are ideal for connecting gamepads - the low 3DMark and Quake scores dictate otherwise. The machine also produced a lacklustre SYSmark result.

Essentially the Takami is a good idea that doesn't quite come off. This is mostly due to the fact that Windows is not really a suitable platform to use for this kind of device. It just feels clunky and awkward. Perhaps if Tiny had used an embedded operating system or even Linux with customised applications, it would have developed a killer machine. As it is, we're going to stick with our separate devices.

PRICES: £6999 (£5956.60 ex VAT) with plasma screen; £999 (£850.21 ex VAT) without screen.

CONTACT:
0800 783 9812
www.tiny.com