HTPC Cases With LCD Screens: Bringing Bling
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Page 1:Introduction
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Page 2:Moneual 972: Specifications, Bundle, And Unique Features
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Page 3:Moneual 972: Appearance, Fit And Finish, And User Experience
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Page 4:SilverStone CW03: Specifications, Bundle, And Unique Features
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Page 5:SilverStone CW03: Appearance, Fit And Finish, And User Experience
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Page 6:Thermaltake DH102: Specifications, Bundle, And Unique Features
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Page 7:Thermaltake DH102: Appearance, Fit And Finish, And User Experience
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Page 8:Touch-Screen Accessories: Soundgraph's iMedian HD, iMon Manager Software, And The iMon Remote
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Page 9:Real-Life Experience: Using A Touch-Screen LCD With An HTPC case
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Page 10:Noise Benchmarks
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Page 11:Summary
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Page 12:Conclusion
Like many computer enthusiasts, I’m an early adopter. At the turn of the millennium, I decided to construct a home theater PC (HTPC)--before Windows Media Center Edition was readily available as a standalone product. Armed with AMD’s Remote Wonder, a Radeon 7500 with an S-video output, some game controllers, and a DVD-ROM drive, my HTPC was tasked to play DVDs, music, and PC games on the 27" TV in my living room.
The experiment technically "worked"–it played movies, music, and games and I could even play the PC version of TOCA race driver in split-screen mode. However, the system was not very user-friendly and I got tired of explaining and re-explaining how to operate it to my family. It was also a little buggy and temperamental, while frankly yesteryear’s CRT televisions weren’t really capable of making even the low 640x480 resolution look readable. While it was technically an HTPC that could do the job, in reality it was still just a PC attached to my television.
Here we are, almost a decade later, and in the last few years high-resolution LCD and plasma televisions have proliferated extremely quickly. More and more folks are even running dedicated home-theater rooms with HD projectors. In addition, Windows Media Center offers the PC a truly user-friendly interface that even my wife–who is not very tech-savvy–and children can use. Between modern graphics cards being able to offer sublime image quality on HD playback and my desire to try out the latest PC games on my HDTV, I believe the HTPC’s heyday might have just arrived.
It's certainly not 2002 anymore, and there are a lot more case options than beige-on-beige. In fact, there are a seemingly infinite number of unique and interesting HTPC cases available. Notably, we've seen a number of cases offering an integrated LCD touch screen that have both user-interface functionality as well as information-delivery. But are these cases well-optioned, well-built platforms for the serious home enthusiast? Are they worth their substantial price premium over an HTPC case without an LCD display? Or are they just a flashy case with a pretty face?
Let’s find out by taking a hard look at three HTPC cases with integrated LCD touch screens: the Moneual 972, the SilverStone CW03, and the Thermaltake DH102. All three offer full ATX compatibility, iMedian HD media player software, a handy IR remote, and a 7" LCD touch screen.
We'll start in alphabetical order and see what Moneual has to offer, first.
- Introduction
- Moneual 972: Specifications, Bundle, And Unique Features
- Moneual 972: Appearance, Fit And Finish, And User Experience
- SilverStone CW03: Specifications, Bundle, And Unique Features
- SilverStone CW03: Appearance, Fit And Finish, And User Experience
- Thermaltake DH102: Specifications, Bundle, And Unique Features
- Thermaltake DH102: Appearance, Fit And Finish, And User Experience
- Touch-Screen Accessories: Soundgraph's iMedian HD, iMon Manager Software, And The iMon Remote
- Real-Life Experience: Using A Touch-Screen LCD With An HTPC case
- Noise Benchmarks
- Summary
- Conclusion
A+ review in my book
Seriously, this looks so cheap. Who is going to put it on a rack with $20k worth of audio/video equipment.
I have a fairly small space. Lots of Ikea furniture.
But thanks for reading it anyway, I hope the info was useful to you guys.
And thanks for the kind words, Hamsterabed!
I mentioned on the first page "All three offer full ATX compatibility", that includes MicroATX.
1) to set the PC to record something, say I get up in the morning and remember I wanted to record a certain broadcast, I can do that from the small screen
2) to take a quick look at the weather maybe
Actually I've thought about this with respect to just having a large screen and a small screen beside it, sort of the next step beyond "picture in picture". So maybe the touch screen aspect isn't useful but the screen itself might be useful, and if a person didn't want to use the touchscreen in the front of the case, they could use a small monitor or tv setting with the equipment. Some people might want the HTPC to set in the furniture along with the BluRay player and TV tuner, but others might have a more extensive setup with a place to sit and work, video games, multiple screens, etc.
I probably should have stressed it more in the review, but the frontview player shows the weather, time, system properties (like CPU usage), and a news ticker.
And in retrospect, the weather feature is the one I used the most. I might add a note about that in the review, cadder.
If you're watching a movie on your TV, why would you want the same movie displayed on a 7" screen? Or am I missing something?
That sure would be nice for a change.
Here's some from May 2007:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/s/marathon/