PCs will invade the living room

Reed Stevenson

SEATTLE: With the recent release of a new breed of remote-controlled PCs that can play DVDs, CDs and record TV programs, PC makers are betting that most home computers will no longer be confined to hide-away spaces, but will take on a new role as the entertainment hub of the home.

Last week on the floor of Comdex, the industry's biggest trade show, PC maker Gateway, unveiled a home entertainment system featuring a 42-inch, flat-panel TV display hooked up to a PC with a 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 processor with a TV tuner, CD/DVD drive, increased memory and advanced video capabilities.

Priced at $4,000, with much of that cost going toward the plasma TV display, the Gateway system allows users to switch among their digital TV, music, picture and video files with as much effort as it takes to flip through TV channels with a remote control.

While the Gateway setup represents the top-of-the-line offering, most of the new media-friendly PCs to be built by a long list of PC makers -- such as Hewlett-Packard Co., Japan's NEC Corp. and South Korea's Samsung Electronics -- will in most cases cost between $1,000 to $2,000, depending on whether they include a desktop-sized monitor.

To be sure, PC entertainment enthusiasts have been building PC media centers for years using third-party hardware such as the Hauppage TV boards or software from SnapStream to turn their PCs into digital entertainment hubs.

Digital video recorder systems, like the one by TiVo Inc., are nothing new, with their ability to store TV programming for flexible playback. Sony Corp. has been selling media-friendly PCs in Japan for years.

But the breakthrough this time, says Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group, is that the newly introduced multimedia PCs are a fraction of the cost of custom-built systems. "The cost of entry has gone way down," Doherty said, "these are real bargains."

Early adopters would make up the initial audience, but eventually these new video- and CD-playing computers will catch on with a wider audience, Doherty said. According to report by Forrester research, more than three out of five users listened to music on a their personal computer, while nearly one half used it to watch DVDs.

What’s inside the box

Behind this new PC platform is the company whose software runs nearly all of the personal computers today: Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker. Microsoft, facing slower sales of PCs, has made no secret of its desire to get its products into living rooms.

The Redmond, Washington-based software giant has invested heavily in cable businesses, continues to make software for interactive TV and launched the Xbox video game system a year ago. Formerly known under the code-name "Freestyle," the new multimedia PCs run on a special version of Microsoft's flagship Windows operating system called Windows XP Media Center.

"We think this is a real value proposition," said Murari Narayan, marketing director of Microsoft's eHome division. Narayan said that Windows Media Center PCs were also expected to do well in "space-constrained environments," such as teen-age bedrooms and college dorms, where the typical young user is savvy with digital media.

Although longtime Microsoft rival Apple Computer Inc. has been nurturing that kind of customer for years by creating iconoclastic software and hardware, Windows-based PC makers are also rethinking standard boxy PC design. While many of the new Windows Media Center PCs are designed with sleeker lines, specialty PC maker Alienware Corp. is designing new PCs that look more like stereo components than the standard PC box.

Alienware, which specializes in building high-end PC systems for hard-core gamers, is already selling a compact black PC that would look out of place on a desktop but right at home next to a TV set. One prototype on display at Comdex was a silver rectangular box that would fit perfectly onto a shelf meant for a video or DVD player.

Remote controls shipped with all Media Center computers will feature a "Start" button just like that on all Windows desktops. That button brings up a simple, straightforward menu that replaces the standard Windows desktop that provides direct access to the various media functions on the PC.

Although meant to be used as entertainment centers, the new breed of PCs aren't giving up any ground on their home turf. At the slightest nudge of the mouse, Windows XP Media Center reverts back to the familiar Windows desktop and allows users to check their e-mail, surf the web and use programs just like any other plain-vanilla PCs.

© Reuters