The multimedia laptop is the laptop that has it all: 17” widescreen, powerful graphics and sound cards, a huge hard-drive and superior processing power. Combined with Microsoft Windows Vista with it built-in media centre capability, it serves as a complete entertainment hub. These notebooks are obviously portable but are generally designed to replace the desktop in performance and function so they are not light enough to carry around for the notebook user constantly on the go – most of these machines weigh 7lbs or over. Darren Rennicks, marketing manager with retailer Cantec notes that all new multimedia notebooks have “dual core processors, 64 bit processing power, 100Gb hard drive, 5.1 sound, 128Mb graphics dedicated” that along “with Vista it will enable the laptop to be a fully functional entertainment centre.”
Drives in top gear
These multimedia notebooks come with new DVD formats, either Blu-ray or HD DVD. Blu-ray was developed by Sony and is slightly more expensive the HD DVD but holds more information. While current optical disc technologies like the DVD use a red laser to read and write data Blu-ray and HD DVD use a blue-violet laser, hence the name. The benefit of this laser is that it has a shorter wavelength thus enabling the laser to focus with more precision which means that a lot more data can be packed in – a Blu-ray disc can hold 25/50Gb of information. For consumers worrying that their mammoth DVD collection will become obsolete many manufacturers are making their products backwards compatible. Cantec stock notebooks with the HD DVD format but not Blu-ray as of yet. Darren Rennicks of Cantec says of this new format,“This technology is becoming increasingly more popular, and eventually will completely replace the DVD, this will become more apparent when movie rental stores stock Blu-ray.”
Darling of the catwalk
The HP Pavilion dv9000 Entertainment Notebook PC combines the latest in new widescreen notebook technology. This is HP’s first notebook to include an optional HD DVD player, turning the PC into an entertainment powerhouse. With a17” widescreen display, featuring HP Ultra BrightView (on select models) and powerful Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics, this notebook delivers rich colours, sharp images and excellent gaming for an outstanding digital entertainment experience. SPDIF and HDMI ports enable users to connect to other audiovisual equipment within the home, such as HD TVs and stereos, transforming the notebook PC into a central entertainment hub. A dual hard drive also provides a generous storage solution for music, videos, photos and files, whilst a larger keyboard and numeric keypad gives a comfortable desktop experience. With an integrated HD DVD drive, the HP Pavilion dv9000 Entertainment Notebook PC represents HP’s most advanced entertainment offering to date. HD DVD enables consumers to enjoy high-definition picture quality and enhanced audio capabilities – with Dolby Digital Plus technology as standard on all HD DVDs. For complete flexibility, the HD DVD player is compatible with standard DVDs, ensuring consumers do not have to upgrade their existing entertainment collection. What the consumer can really get excited about is the high definition DVD drive. The HP Pavilion dv9000 Entertainment Notebook PC is a powerhouse for multi-media functionality, is really stylish and has a fantastic 17” widescreen display. This retails at €1599 including VAT.
Blu beauty
Sony developed and supports Blu-ray technology. This technology has since been incorporated in the AR series VAIO Notebook, VGN-AR21S, and the XL series VAIO Home Entertainment PC, VGX-XL202. These formats becoming increasingly popular as they offer the very best in picture quality as well as allowing the user to store huge amounts of information on the recordable Blu-Ray drives. This is currently 50Gb on a dual layer disc. But will Blu-ray completely replace the DVD? Ken Halpin of Sony Ireland says “as with any new format there will always be a period where older formats co-exist, we have seen that historically with Floppy disc and CD, CD and DVD. From this we anticipate CD, DVD and HD formats to co-exist as they suit different user needs.” As for screen size, the VGN-AR21S incorporates a 17” WUXGA X-Black LCD screen with an exceptionally high native resolution of 1920 x 1200, allowing the user to view the maximum 1080p (Progressive) HD resolution video.
Bigger is better
The rule of thumb goes that bigger is better – the more processing power, memory and graphics, the greater the user experience will be. Ken added “We aim to offer the latest technologies from Intel and Microsoft as well as large hard drives, plenty of memory, and excellent graphics cards combined with the latest in screen technology. We recognise that today’s PC user will often be undertaking multiple tasks and storing large amounts of photos, music and video.” As is to be expected with any large 17” Laptop, that incorporates the latest technology, the battery life is not as long lasting as the more portable, lighter laptops. These machines are really desktop replacements but you do have the ability to move around as required. The AR21S VAIO weighs in at 3.8Kgs so it can be moved if required.
All about XPS
Dell’s latest and most advanced offering yet is the XPS M1710. This beast of a machine promises “absolute control over multimedia”, providing easy photo editing, video management, access to online content providers, optional external TV tuner, DVD playing and more. With Windows Vista on-board, it helps you turn your notebook into a complete audio/visual solution. Its unique Media Direct button means that with the notebook off, one press of this button gives you quick access to items on your hard drive, optical drive, a USB key or from the integrated 5-in-1 media card. This is Dell’s most powerful graphics notebook ever, equipped with the Nvidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX which gives up to 512Mb of dedicated graphics power. The GeForce Go 7950 GTX graphics card supports DirectX 9 Shader Model 3.0, Nvidia PureVideo technology and other advanced graphics enhancements ensuring crisp 3D graphics and stutter-free, high-definition video playback. The XPS M1710 with Blu-ray Disc includes the Nvidia PureVideo HD graphics solution. This is designed to provide picture clarity, smooth video, accurate colour, and precise image scaling for movies and video. PureVideo HD includes content protection circuitry (HDCP) for delivering a Blu-ray Disc video experience that can far outstrip the detail of standard DVD movies. Like the other multimedia laptops out there, Dell’s XPS M1710 has a 17” screen and to compliment this it’s Blu-ray Disc offers up to 1080p resolution which certainly outdoes DVD format and had more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and claims to outshine HD DVD. As far as portability goes it boasts RoadReady technology – this combines a tough outer exterior, heat management and an internal StrikeZone hard-drive shock absorber making it an ideal candidate for mobile computing. The XPS M1170 retails from €1,529.
Eastern promise
The Lenovo V Series notebook has new multimedia function keys are built into the keyboard, making it easy to access Intervideo InstantON and play DVDs and CDs with the touch of a finger. With the InstantON feature, there is no need to launch Microsoft Windows – just press the instant on button while your system is powered off and Intervideo InstantON is ready for you to listen to music, watch movies, or browse photos. This gives you access to all your media content faster than operating within Windows. To enhance your multimedia experience it has dual stereo microphones – equipped for noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation which are located at the top of the keyboard for easy use and clear sound and it’s stereo speakers are located on the front of the keyboard for more robust sound and better listening range and volume.
The art of smart
Toshiba’s Qosmio G30 series touts itself as “the art of smart entertainment”. Battery life ranges from around two and a half hours to over three hours. Along with a 17” screen and Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics it also comes with the new Dolby Home Theatre certified 1-bit Digital Amplifier and Harman Kardon bass enhanced speakers, capable of 24 bit stereo with a 96kHz max sampling rate, enough to satisfy the hardcore music or movie fan. Like other multimedia notebooks it offers instant-on entertainment but with the QosmioPlayer.
Software smarties
In the 50’s all the family would gather round the wireless and listen to the Archers. By the 60’s most families had turned their backs on the radio and pulled up to the television. Now the torch has been passed to the desktop and notebook in the form of a remote control with Windows Vista and its Media Centre capability.
This transforms your notebook into a complete home entertainment centre. Using the accompanying remote control you gain instant access to all your media content with the push of a button. The graphical user interface is simple, intuitive and attractive and the menu offers the option of watching DVDs, viewing photos, playing videos, listening to the radio or your music collection as well as using MSN messenger or downloading music from Napster.
The family entertainment part of the media centre notebook really comes into its own with regard to images and homemade videos. You can grab and organise collections of still images into animated slide shows and include the background music of your choice. Still image-editing functions include cropping and resizing, red-eye removal, and all kinds of image and colour enhancement tools. Likewise, Windows Movie Maker which is included in Vista lets users take their own home digital videos and edit them as they like, including all kinds of transitions, special effects, and other image-manipulation techniques. Again, it’s also possible to add music to existing audio to create a real soundtrack for home movies. The Media Centre notebook’s potential to manage moving images goes beyond support for DVDs and multimedia CDs; it also includes TV capture and playback capabilities. A TV tuner is a central component in all Media Centre notebooks so all include TV playback and digital video recorder capabilities. The Windows Media Centre notebook is ultimately a Windows computer so the user can obviously bring PC-based entertainment into the entertainment centre, you can play computer games and surf the net all within Vista.
Apple alternative
The Apple MacBook and MacBookPro come equipped with FrontRow. Like Microsoft Media Centre the aim is to transform your notebook into an instant multimedia experience. FrontRow is activated by the Apple Remote, a slimline minimalistic remote with only six buttons, typical of Apple’s design ethic. Pressing the menu button activates FrontRow to navigate your media. Sitting anywhere in the room you can access and control all your music, photos and movies.
Contacts:
Apple – www.applestore.ie
Cantec – Cantec Computerstores in the North East
Dell – www.dell.ie
Toshiba – www.toshiba.ie – Harvey Norman stores nationwide
HP – www.hp.com/ie
Sony – www.sony.ie – Sony Centres Nationwide
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