Comments on: Sony VAIO Digital Living System VGX-XL3: Great design but needs more than one tuner

By: HP m8100y Includes Digital Cable Tuner » Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:55:53 +0000

[...] The good news is that a system can be had with a DCT for under $1,200. The bad news is that you can only buy one tuner, which is incredibly silly. I guess it is good that a large OEM is now actually including DCTs, but like the Sony VGX-XL3, the one tuner is a deal breaker for a full-time media center. [...]

By: Sony VGX-XL3 Media Center Stuck in a Corner » Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:11:22 +0000

[...] A couple of weeks ago I went to the Sony Style store at Tyson’s Corner in Virginia. I wanted to to see if they were selling the Sony Vaio VGX-XL3. It took me a while but I found it stuck in a corner, dwarfed by a 70 inch Bravia HDTV that was the focal point of the store. [...]

By: ZDnet reviews VAIO XL3 Digital Living System » Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers

Sun, 20 May 2007 17:53:32 +0000

[...] Reviews of Sony’s CableCard PC are trickling in from the usual suspects. ZDnet recently published their own review on the system, comparing it with Velocity Micro’s CineMagix Grand Theater. From the review: [...]

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 06 May 2007 13:31:03 +0000

Gregory,

Thanks for the info. Have you actually gotten your hands on one? It sounds like you have.

You should be able to get the premium cable channels to work.

By: Gregory

Gregory — Sun, 06 May 2007 04:07:54 +0000

Be prepared to spend mega hours tinkering and contacting tech. support profusely. The Blu Ray playback is great and breathtaking. It takes some hoop jumping to get to the Blu Ray player, but once you’re there, it’s worth it. Unfortunately, you can only get Blu Ray audio through optical, not HDMI. Therefore, you have to use your Surround Sound Receiver for Blu Ray audio, not your TV speakers. Too bad you cannot do both.

The computing part is fairly typical. It’s a Vista computer, and you can install and use all normal software (with a 500 gig hard drive and ample input/output interfaces).

The really bad news is getting the Cable Card to function properly. Premium channels from cable provider doesn’t come in as promised. Moreover, recording TV content to disk is mostly copy protected (including the local cable access channel for government meetings!). In the Media Center option, you can only use DVD-R/RW^DVD+R/W/DL to function properly (Blu Ray and DVD-RAM doesn’t work in the Media Center recording option). The ULead Blu Ray recorder/editor only works with DV camcorders or flash memory content, not archived TV content on the hard drive. Moreover, if you record to Blu Ray disk and attempt to play on a competitor’s player, it only works on the Samsung unit.

If you are looking for a Vista computer, Blu Ray Player, basic cable player, and Blu Ray recorder for DV Camcorder content all in one, this is your dream machine. If you want more, save your money and wait for a better unit.

By: Walter

Walter — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:24:26 +0000

A major contributor to the high price is the Blu-ray (BD) writer. After-market BD internal recorders are in the $700 price range.

I agree that the lack of a 2nd tuner is unfortunate. Take a look at the picture of the back of the unit. The horizontal slot is for the CableCard TV tuner. Note that there is a blank opening above that .. presumably, a second CableCard-based tuner could go into that spot.

By: Mac Mini Competitor: Sony’s VAIO TP Series Living Room PC VGX-TP1 » Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 02:38:38 +0000

[...] With the HP’s announcement that they will no longer be focusing on their line of Digital Entertainment Centers, I have been looking for media center computers that are stylish enough to be in a living room as part of a home theater system. Sony has a couple of interesting media centers that are scheduled to be released this month, the VAIO VGX-XL3 and VGX-TP1. The VGX-TP1 looks like a round version of the Mac Mini. From the Sony website: [...]

By: Digital Cable Tuners delayed » Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 02:51:42 +0000

[...] Through Velocity Micro PC and Niveus, the first wave of Digital Cable Tuners have been released. However, the next round of Digital Cable Tuners have hit a snag and will not be available until mid-April. Apparently, ATI needs to update the firmware for the system. I went to the Velocity Micro PC webpage and “customized” a media center with a Digital Cable Tuner, at which point I was notified that the tuner would not be shipping until mid-April. In addition, Sony’s VGX-XL3 is scheduled for release on April 17th. It is unclear whether or not ATI’s delay will impact the shipment date for Sony’s latest foray into the media center market. Dell and HP have not yet confirmed when they will be shipping Digital Cable Tuners. [...]

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 01:02:32 +0000

Yup, kind of crazy when you think about it. How can this work in the marketplace?

By: zach

zach — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 05:42:12 +0000

$3000! how ridiculous. i’ll be in this market when they are $1500 or less (and of course include 2 tuners).