PCMag.com reviews Dell XPS 410 with CableCard
March 13th, 2007 by J.R.
PC Magazine has a review of the Dell XPS 410 with CableCard. It is a lengthy review of a prototype product that is not currently available for public consumption. The fact that Dell will offer CableCard-ready PCs provides hope that we might see a sub $1000 Vista media center PC that is capable of watching high definition cable TV (especially since you cannot build a CableCard ready PC yourself because of the certification process). One thing is clear from the review: the potential is there but CableCard makes you jump through a lot of hoops just to watch TV on a computer. I still do not understand the appeal for external CableCard readers though.
From the article:
Right off the bat, I was able to get standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) channels, and all of the usual MCE functions were functioning properly. HD and SD viewing on basic and premium channels, pause and resume, and recording favorite shows also worked. Quality of Service (QoS) was another issue: While the Dell folks assured me that the system worked fine in Dell’s labs, in the apartment where I was testing, HD content and some SD content had stuttering and video artifact issues. While it’s still watchable, the occasional stuttering would be annoying during critical viewing. We’ll be keeping an eye on this to see whether it is somehow related to our second QoS issue.
The article reinforces that the Xbox 360 also appears poised to be the focal point of the home theater. Serving as a media extender, up to 5 Xboxes can stream HD video content from one computer, all the while using the Vista MCE interface. It makes you wonder why Microsoft did not include a HDMI connection with the Xbox, instead relying on component connections.
I am sure more reviews will be trickling in for CableCard-ready PCs. Hopefully such computers will be available to the public soon.
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Related Posts on Floppyhead.com:
[...] It seems there are a lot of benefits in being the big boys on the block. The writers at Engadget had two Dell XPS 410s (estimated cost of $3,400) with CableCard support delivered to them yesterday. One installation went smoothly while the other was a comedy of errors, similar to the PCMag.com article. Here are the links to the articles. Installing a CableCard media center: Fiasco [...]
[...] Where are all the media center computers with digital cable tuners? Digital cable tuners were supposed to have ushered in a new era for media center PCs, allowing HD cable television to be watched on your computer. Unfortunately, reality has been less than exciting. VelocityMicro PC is the only viable vendor for purchasing such a computer system. HP is no longer selling Digital Cable Tuners and Dell, although offering the XPS 410 for reviewing, has not delivered a commercial product. [...]