Why you should consider it: Short-Media wraps up this five part series by cutting the wires in section five. The last thing that is needed, after the HEPC is secretly stashed in the stereo cabinet, is a long trail of wires leading the the scene of the crime.
The HEPC (Home Entertainment PC)
The computer is finding its way into the living room. This invasion brings
about horrifying visions of trailing cables as the PC crawls out of the primordial
soup of the home office. How can the fledgling PC compete against a world otherwise
dominated by components that are chameleons hiding behind names like home theatre
and game boxes?
The PC is itself becoming more of a chameleon whether it hides behind the disguise
of office productivity or of home entertainment center. Can the powerful PC,
supreme in its native office environment, survive in the jungle of your living
room? Does it have to be an eyesore shooting off cables like vines growing wild?
Home Theatre PC or HTPC is a popular term. Home Theatre implies that the PC
will be used to play back DVD movie content with a PC rather than a stand alone
consumer grade player. The HTPC isn’t a “set-top box” either. A set-top
box is a device which enables a viewer to become interactive with the television
set. Set-top boxes may appear to be similar to PCs but they aren’t.
Why a PC in the living room?
We wouldn’t be recommending dragging the tower out of the home office to stand
it beside the TV. We wouldn’t want to scar the decor either with a bland, beige
box noisily whirring away. The thought of cables trailing across the floor gives
us hives.
PCs are more affordable these days. There used to be a time when it was one
TV per household. Now two or three is common. The same can be said for the PC
and with the sheer amount of digital content some are accumulating it only makes
sense to incorporate that into the home entertainment center for music, games
and movies.
The HEPC (He-PC…no pun intended) combines Home Theatre quality DVD playback,
high quality audio, gaming, Internet and all the creature comforts of a traditional
PC into a unit that blends in with the living room or family room environment.
The HEPC offers the ability and advantage of storing large volumes of digital
video and audio. It has the benefit of connecting with other PCs in the household.
There also need not be cables strung everywhere ready to snag limbs as you pass
by like catch wires on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Assembling the HEPC isn’t complicated or expensive and the technology is surprisingly
good. In some cases it may be even better than what is presently sitting in
the home entertainment cabinet. In section
One we looked into PC case choices featuring Lian Li and Coolermaster. Section two explored the latest technology in Micro-ATX motherboards. Section
three answered every question we could think of about audio and presented
a few facts you might not have known. All parts were put into place for section
four: assembly plus a few tricks of the trade.
Short-Media wraps up this five part series by cutting the wires in section
five. The last thing that is needed, after the HEPC is secretly stashed in the
stereo cabinet, is a long trail of wires leading the the scene of the crime.
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Section 5: Cutting the wires
The case has been chosen. The components have been installed.
The operating system is in and somewhere, someone is heard crying out…”It’s
alive!”. The HEPC is nearing completion and it is time to cut the cord.
In this case “cords” would be more appropriate. Out of a PC can shoot
the tangled mess of keyboard, mouse, joystick and game pad cables. The HEPC
must be discrete and a long bundle of cables is a definite can’t have.
Cutting the cords is not as traumatic as one may think.
Internet without wires.
The world wide web may be like a spider web but the HEPC can be
a web without wires. The HEPC is most likely a second PC or even a third within
the household and one Internet connection can be shared. A wireless router can
connect up to 4 PCs by CAT5 and over two hundred PCs by way of a wireless NIC.
Wireless networks have become surprising affordable but they do
have pros and cons. Wireless Internet does offer the convenience of no cables
and casual surfing is typically no different than a hard wired connection so
far as speed. The most most noticeable speed issues are when it comes to downloading
or transferring large files or many files between PCs. If fifty 3-5 MB MP3 files
were transferred all at once across a wireless network there is a risk of “clogging”
the transfer process and thus locking up the computer. Transferring large files,
10-20 MB and above is also very much slower than between hard-wired PCs. Keep
this in mind when looking at 3-4 GB of music or video files that need to be
moved between PCs. A removable hard drive or CDs may be a more efficient and
quicker route.
Gamers may experience some slowdown for online multi player games
due to a lesser connection speed.
The upside is that may wireless base stations support up to four
regular hard-wired connections and over two hundred wireless connections. A
home user would find it almost impossible exceed the amount of PCs that a wireless
router can support. Range may be another issue as connection signal strength
does drop quite quickly with distance. SMC’s 7004AWBR unit says maximum range
is approximately 1500 feet as the crow flies through clear space. This is well
inside the perimeter of most houses.
Wireless networks offer convenience at a price of bandwidth. Expect
Internet surfing to be no different but large files or exceedingly large quantities
of files may take time to transfer over a wireless network.
A mouse without a tail
Logitech spearheaded the cordless mouse revolution and in 2000
with the Cordless Mouseman Optical. It took the enthusiast market by storm.
The Cordless Mouseman Optical is a four button programmable mouse
that is very comfortable for the right handed user. It is a USB mouse that comes
with an PS/2 adapter. The only annoyances with the Cordless Mouseman Optical
was the ever present flashing LED seen through the mouse base and its constant
appetite for double A batteries. Short-Media tracked battery usage of the Cordless
Mouseman Optical over one year.
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Batteries replaced
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February 1
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May 10 |
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July 1
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August 30
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October 12
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December 12
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December 31
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The Cordless Mouseman Optical went through 7 sets of AA batteries
in one year. This may vary a set or two more or less depending on particular
brand name. The Cordless Mouseman Optical has the USB (PS/2 with adapter) receiver
unit which can be tucked into a hidden area and it does not need to be line
of sight for the mouse to function and is very good on range.
Logitech followed up with the MX700. The MX700 delivered the “Cadillac”
of mice by integrating 8 programmable buttons, a wheel and rechargeable batteries.
The MX700 features a cradle recharging station. This doubles as
the receiver unit. The advantage is that batteries will not have to be purchased
and the charge lasts for 48-72 hours depending on usage.
The disadvantage is the cradle has to be accessible and this may
be problem in an already full stereo cabinet.
The Cordless Mouseman Optical sells for $28 USD* ($65 CAD)** and
the MX700 sells for $59 USD* ($95 CAD)**.
*June 10, 2003 Pricewatch.com (USD). ** June
10 Pricenetwork.com (CAD)
Either mouse is highly recommended but the MX700 is the one to
get for the extra dollars providing there is room for the base station. The
fatal flaw is the right handed nature of these mice. Lefties will either have
to conform to the right handed world or pass these great products by.
Logitech does offer other flavors of cordless keyboard and mouse
combinations for either left or right handed users; the Cordless
Navigator Duo and the Cordless
Access Duo.
Microsoft answers Logitech with their cordless mouse and keyboard
combination. There is a “lefty” in this reviewer’s HEPC household
so the mouse had to be for use in either hand.
The Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop is a USB-PS/2 mouse and
keyboard combination that sells for the $40-50 USD ($70-90 CAD) The mouse is
a “no frills” 3-button mouse and very light without the batteries.
The review unit had to be sent back when the first mouse went
*poof* in an acrid curl of smoke after the batteries were first installed. The
second has functioned without failure for over a month. For the HEPC simple
is best in a mouse. Heavy mouse work should take place at a proper workspace
to provide the best ergonomic position for health reasons.
The keyboard features quick access keys designed to benefit, what
else, the Microsoft OS.
The Logitech receivers were found to be more efficient than the
Microsoft counterparts. The HEPC stereo cabinet used was 4 feet high and the
Microsoft mouse/keyboard receiver worked well if placed at a lower elevation
than the keyboard or mouse. If it was placed out of line of site at a higher
elevation then functional problems occurred. Logitech, however, worked better
over a larger variety of positions.
Remember that the HEPC is primarily used for high quality PC audio
playback with secondary focus on gaming and DVD content. Section
two covered the basics on desktop video quality and the answers to the questions
of why desktop imagery on the TV can be poor. The HEPC does not require a lot
of keyboard work.
A wand of wonder
What living room or family entertainment room is complete without
the clutter of remotes? The HEPC should be no exception and thanks to ATI the
Remote
Wonder puts a lot of functions in the palm of the user’s hand.
The ATI Remote Wonder can put the majority of PC functions into
a remote inclusive of mouse control. Audio and video players can be controlled
right from the comfort of the couch with no mouse or keyboard required. There
is no need to point the remote at the PC or be line of site since the Remote
Wonder works on a radio frequency.
The HEPC should not be without a remote and a lot of manufacturers
are beginning to offer this product bundled with motherboards. The ATI Remote
Wonder is on sale for $79 at the ATI
website.
Gaming without wires
While the HEPC does deliver high quality audio the thrill of games
pumped through a home theatre system and shown on a large screen TV is not forgotten.
Logitech comes to the call with the Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick.
The Logitech Freedom
2.4 Cordless Joystick offers almost everything except force feedback…and
cables. There are no wires at all except on the USB receiver unit. The receiver
unit is a small 3″ x 2″ x 3/4″ and features an LED/Connect button.
This should optimally be line of sight to the joystick but it very small and
inconspicuous. Just don’t bury it in the back of the cabinet.
The Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick has an 8-way hat switch, five
programmable buttons (four on top-one on the thumb area), trigger and twist
yoke.
On the base is a throttle, four programmable base buttons and
an LED joystick status indicator.
CD Installation is painless and there’s even a few games bundled
with the Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick.
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After installing the software the connect button should be pushed
on the receiver unit.
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If the joystick is working properly then the appropriate button
should highlight in the software interface as the feature is activated.
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The Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick’s only downfall is that it does
not provide force feedback. Like any other joystick it may require custom configuring
to work with some games. Logitech’s website provides for many game
profiles for the controller. Sheer giddy fun is a flight simulator or a
POV game on the big screen driven through a big sound system.
Cutting to the conclusion
The HEPC is most definitely a second or third PC luxury item.
It is for the “geek” in all of us who can appreciate integrating the
fun and flexibility that the PC offers into a home theatre setup. The HEPC is
not meant to replace a workstation and Short-Media does not recommend that it
be used in a living or family room sofa situation as the main place to complete
an essay or create the firm’s financial report.
We do recommend that the HEPC be used to enjoy DVD movies or play
games in 2, 4 or even 6-channel sound on the “big screen”. The HEPC
is also an excellent device to listen to MP3 content through the home theatre
sound system. When guests come over or the game is done the wireless peripherals
can be tucked away anywhere convenient; no cords to anchor the mouse, keyboard
or joystick.
This concludes the five part series on the HEPC or Home Entertainment
PC. Be sure to check out section
one for PC case choices, section
two for motherboard pointers and section
three for all that you ever need to know about high quality PC audio and
section
four covers assembly.
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