Dell Zino HD, thoughts?

[User Name]

Just saw this, looks like it would be a great piece of hardware for a home theatre PC. You can get a blu-ray drive etc all in there for around $400. Depends on what upgrades you need... I was wondering what everyone though would be a good amount of ram to playback 1080p HD? 4 gigs? I'm generally not a fan of dell, but this looks pretty sweet.

[mykalberta]

I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Dell, if you want to make money, come up with an original idea for a change - thanks.

[User Name]

Thought someone might say that. I'd consider the mac mini, but it doesn't have a blu-ray drive, or HDMI out... the display port doesn't send Hidef audio, so that really isn't the same.

I love my macbook, but this is cheap, and would work awesome as a home theatre pc, you have to admit.

[tripin_billie]

Engadget has a note that the TV tuner isn't available yet for it. I would wait for that, then have a full HTPC for not much more that $400.

When Apple can bring up-to-date hardware to me, for a pricetag that isn't rediculous, then, then I might consider their products beyond the iPod.

I love OS X, but I just feel like I could get so much more power for my dollar from other systems. Then, I can also play games.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by User Name

Thought someone might say that. I'd consider the mac mini, but it doesn't have a blu-ray drive, or HDMI out... the display port doesn't send Hidef audio, so that really isn't the same.

I love my macbook, but this is cheap, and would work awesome as a home theatre pc, you have to admit.

Its also 2X the price.

That matters, especially when you are hawking this to people who arent sure about technology anyway. Anyone who knows about such tech things knows there are better alternatives out there.

Also, what is the difference between this and a PS3, except that the PS3 is $100+ cheaper which you could use to purchase a 500GB external hard drive.

And that is just one option of many available.

[User Name]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Its also 2X the price.

That matters, especially when you are hawking this to people who arent sure about technology anyway. Anyone who knows about such tech things knows there are better alternatives out there.

Also, what is the difference between this and a PS3, except that the PS3 is $100+ cheaper which you could use to purchase a 500GB external hard drive.

And that is just one option of many available.

Well, for starters the PS3 isn't a computer. Can't play computer games on it. Can't play MKV's (without transcoding)... lots of things. Don't get my wrong, I like my ps3, but I've always wanted more computer functionality in my HT PC.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Also, what is the difference between this and a PS3, except that the PS3 is $100+ cheaper which you could use to purchase a 500GB external hard drive.

Hate to nitpick, but ~$100 is enough to get a 1TB external hard drive these days.
$139 is enough to pick up a 1.5TB HDD + external enclosure at memory express.

[User Name]

Originally Posted by tripin_billie

Engadget has a note that the TV tuner isn't available yet for it. I would wait for that, then have a full HTPC for not much more that $400.

When Apple can bring up-to-date hardware to me, for a pricetag that isn't rediculous, then, then I might consider their products beyond the iPod.

I love OS X, but I just feel like I could get so much more power for my dollar from other systems. Then, I can also play games.

Good to know! thanks.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by User Name

Well, for starters the PS3 isn't a computer. Can't play computer games on it. Can't play MKV's (without transcoding)... lots of things. Don't get my wrong, I like my ps3, but I've always wanted more computer functionality in my HT PC.

I am sure some people will find this usefull, I am just saying from a perspectie of someone who wants Dell to succeed if only to shut Mac guys up - but this product just doesnt do that.

None of our parents will buy this and use it for anything other than a cheap computer. In other words by making this a computer connected to the TV they are yet again undercutting there margins. What happened to Micheal Dell, i guess money does really ###### some people.

And what will be the most popular version I wonder, maybe the $250 version with a low end Athlon and 2Gb of ram, and people who buy that garbage setup will complain about windows 7 being slow when its the hardware maker that should be putting a minimum standard setup for this. Not a 1.6 Athlon for a new computer.

[jharp]

I have been eying this all day too. Back to the OP, I too wonder how much RAM will be necessary to run videos well?

I recently purchased a second xbox to use as a media center for a TV not connected to a PC but I am have trouble running some video formats when not hooked up to xbox Live.. Lame. I am inclined to sell the xbox and grab one of these.

Does anyone have any interesting insights to this piece or a comparable piece at a similar price point that could effectively be used as a media center?

[User Name]

Originally Posted by jharp

I have been eying this all day too. Back to the OP, I too wonder how much RAM will be necessary to run videos well?

I recently purchased a second xbox to use as a media center for a TV not connected to a PC but I am have trouble running some video formats when not hooked up to xbox Live.. Lame. I am inclined to sell the xbox and grab one of these.

Does anyone have any interesting insights to this piece or a comparable piece at a similar price point that could effectively be used as a media center?

If you dont want the computer functionality, I'd go with the WD media center. Its cheap, plays all video/picture/music files. You do have to add your own HD, but thats not really a big deal I dont think.
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...23455(ME).aspx


As for RAM for the dell... I think i would go with no less than 4gigs. No real technical insite, but thats my best guess.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by User Name

Just saw this, looks like it would be a great piece of hardware for a home theatre PC. You can get a blu-ray drive etc all in there for around $400. Depends on what upgrades you need... I was wondering what everyone though would be a good amount of ram to playback 1080p HD? 4 gigs? I'm generally not a fan of dell, but this looks pretty sweet.

I can't find these anywhere on the Canadian Dell site, and the only ones I see on the US site have very lousy starting specs. AMD procs, low-end graphics and none of them have Blu-Ray.

Edit: I took the cheapest one they have on the US site and upgraded the important stuff.

Base Model ($229)
- Upgraded the processor (important for HD movies) ($110)
- Upgraded the OS from Vista Basic to 7 Home Premium ($30)
- Upgraded the RAM (important for Windows) ($70)
- Added Blu-Ray ($100)
- Upgraded the video card (obviously important for HD movies) ($75)

SYSTEM COLOR Piano Black
PROCESSOR AMD Dual Core Athlon™ Neo X2 6850e (1MB L2, 1.8GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis - Important Information
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter, 30-Day Trial
MONITOR No Monitor
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMM
HARD DRIVE 250GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
OPTICAL DRIVE Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 4330 512 MB
SOUND Integrated 2.1 High Definition Audio
KEYBOARD Dell USB Entry Keyboard
MOUSE Dell USB Optical Mouse

Total comes to $614US without shipping. It's actually $676 when you factor current exchange rate and GST. The only catch to that math is that Dell never uses exchange rates. I'd be willing to bet this same config would run about $800 on the Canadian site. Since the US site won't ship to Canadians, we're stuck waiting for stuff to hit the Canadian site and then paying their "Non-American Tax."

All in all, it really sucks that Apple refuses to add Blu-Ray to their products. The Mac Mini with a Blu-Ray drive would be perfect. The HDMI port is arguable, since the Mini DisplayPort + Optical cable works just as well.

I guess I'm stuck still using my PS3 for media center goodness.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by User Name

If you dont want the computer functionality, I'd go with the WD media center. Its cheap, plays all video/picture/music files. You do have to add your own HD, but thats not really a big deal I dont think.
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX23455(ME).aspx


As for RAM for the dell... I think i would go with no less than 4gigs. No real technical insite, but thats my best guess.

It works AMAZING.

Fantastic as I don't need to convert all my movies anymore.

Thanks for giving me the heads up on the product, also FYI for anyone buying it, Best Buy is selling for $110 right now.

[MickMcGeough]

A 3250e + 3200HD should play BD and 720p MKV fine. Might need CoreAVC. $389US for a HD HTPC is pretty sweet. Still not at the point where I wouldn't just build my own, but it's good to see some competition out.

[Fire]

I'm tempted in getting the Popcorn Hour C-200. http://www.popcornhour.com

You have to buy a Bluray drive separately though.

[jharp]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

It works AMAZING.

Fantastic as I don't need to convert all my movies anymore.

Thanks for giving me the heads up on the product, also FYI for anyone buying it, Best Buy is selling for $110 right now.

That's a pretty good price. This was the option I was looking at before the Zino and now that I have a better understanding of the WD TV I think I will pick one up today.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by jharp

That's a pretty good price. This was the option I was looking at before the Zino and now that I have a better understanding of the WD TV I think I will pick one up today.

The WD TV is just awesome.

I am watching Terminator Salvation Blu Ray right now on it.

I used to use my PS3, but it has been confiscated by the g/f so she can play some video games, and my 360 doesn't play the VOB files the PS3 does.

Now I don't even have to worry about converting videos, hehe

[User Name]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

I can't find these anywhere on the Canadian Dell site, and the only ones I see on the US site have very lousy starting specs. AMD procs, low-end graphics and none of them have Blu-Ray.

Edit: I took the cheapest one they have on the US site and upgraded the important stuff.

Base Model ($229)
- Upgraded the processor (important for HD movies) ($110)
- Upgraded the OS from Vista Basic to 7 Home Premium ($30)
- Upgraded the RAM (important for Windows) ($70)
- Added Blu-Ray ($100)
- Upgraded the video card (obviously important for HD movies) ($75)



Total comes to $614US without shipping. It's actually $676 when you factor current exchange rate and GST. The only catch to that math is that Dell never uses exchange rates. I'd be willing to bet this same config would run about $800 on the Canadian site. Since the US site won't ship to Canadians, we're stuck waiting for stuff to hit the Canadian site and then paying their "Non-American Tax."

All in all, it really sucks that Apple refuses to add Blu-Ray to their products. The Mac Mini with a Blu-Ray drive would be perfect. The HDMI port is arguable, since the Mini DisplayPort + Optical cable works just as well.

I guess I'm stuck still using my PS3 for media center goodness.

Just a bit of a nitpick here, but mini displayport +optical isn't the same.. as you can't get 5.1/7.1 Hidef audio out of an optical port, only hdmi. However how much difference it makes is debatable.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

A 3250e + 3200HD should play BD and 720p MKV fine. Might need CoreAVC. $389US for a HD HTPC is pretty sweet. Still not at the point where I wouldn't just build my own, but it's good to see some competition out.

What would it cost to build your own HD HTPC? Roughly speaking.