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Photograph courtesy of Toshiba
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By WILSON ROTHMAN
When the Windows XP Media Center Edition PC came out last year, it seemed like a perfect PC for college students. In addition to being a high-performance computer, it's a TV, stereo, DVD player and video recorder. Still, it was a large desktop machine trying to compete where laptops were a much trendier choice. Media Center PCs sold extremely well, but they mostly ended up in family rooms, not dorm rooms.
Finally Media Center laptops have arrived. Toshiba's Satellite 5205 packs a lot into a tight space, including a 2.4GHz Mobile Pentium 4, integrated Wi-Fi, a video encoder for viewing and recording live TV, a Yamaha sound system and a CD and DVD burner. This is the real campus champion.
Here's why: A desktop Media Center PC may not be able to compete with individual home appliances: as a DVD player, it's not as good as a typical $120 machine; in the sound department, it'll never out boom a standalone receiver; and with regard to user interface and reliability, it can't touch TiVo or even ReplayTV. However, when you are packing your kid up to go to school, and you can buy one box that meets every entertainment and academic need, the decision is clear. It may not even inflate your back-to-school budget by much.
The S205's 15-in. screen is great for watching TV. I watched Men In Black II on it using just the built-in sound system, and I was very pleased. (This speaks very highly of the machine indeed, considering the coal-raking MIB II got in movie theaters.)
Of course, I'd like to see some improvements in Microsoft's Media Center platform. Red, white and yellow A/V inputs would be better than standard coaxial cable for the TV input — my picture was often marred by ugly electronic patterns. A closer relationship between the TV recorder and the DVD burner would also be helpful. Last but not least, I'd like to have more control from the couch. Fortunately, Gyration's Media Center Remote (gyration.com) — a motion-sensing remote that gives you full mouse control in mid-air, plus a few more Media-Center-specific tricks — will be available soon.
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