Home Theater PCs

摘要

NEW SOFTWARE AND CHEAPER HARDWARE MAKE A COMPELLING CASE FOR THE PC AS ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE. BUT SHOULD YOU BUY ONE OR BUILD YOUR OWN? The computer industry has been trying to sneak its way into the home theater since 2002. That's when Microsoft first introduced Windows Media Center, a version of the company's media player with a "10-foot" user interface - large type and simplified menus that could be read and operated easily from couch distance. Apple followed in 2005 with Front Row, a Jobsian take on the 10-foot UI that was also used in the Apple TV. The computer-as-entertainment-device idea was compelling to technophiles (after all, people were already migrating massive amounts of music to their PCs), but it was a hard idea for most people to swallow back then. Dedicating a powerful, $1000-plus computer solely to TV duty was fine for the super-enthusiast, but computers at the time had few options for video (don't I already have a DVD player?), plus cable boxes and DVRs were becoming more computer-like anyway, so the computer as video recorder was an awkward fit.