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Rating: 
Summary: M370N Media center sucks!!!!!!!
Review: DVD-RW failed with in four months of purchase and it was out of waarranty since refurbished. This can happen to anybody. HP refuced to service the unit FOC.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy it only if you are a computer whiz
Review: I was considering various options for Digital Video Recorders (DVR) like TiVO, and since I am one of those computer geeks, I decided to go for HP Media Center m370n. It has been a month that I have owned this machine, and it has given me problems almost every couple of days. As much as I am a fan of the Windows XP Professional operating system, I think the Media Center Edition coupled with HP machines is truly a bad combination. Read on to know why:1. HP comes pre-installed with loads of software. Now you may think this is great. But most of them manage to hang your Media Center. This means that you would have to reboot or kill some programs while watching TV. The three biggest culprits in this category are HP online help software, WeatherBug, Norton Anti-virus. The solution: use msconfig (from the Start -> run) and disable these from starting automatically. (For the anti-virus, I would just recommend live with the problem or try a different one - you wouldn't want to risk your system with viruses).
2. My system came pre-installed with nVidia GeForce FX5200 graphics card. It seems that the designers of this card have completely ignored the fact that the card could be used to send video output to TV. First, it does not have an RCA TV output. This means that you will need an S-video to RCA converter (Which is shipped with the m370n). Second, the card driver has a bug that resets its output mode to monitor only. This means that you will also be required to own a monitor even if you are planning to use the computer only with the TV - just to configure the graphics card to output video on TV every few days.
3. The entire process of configuring your media center to work with your TV signal and TV guide can be quite dauting if you dont get it right the first time. I have had to reset my media center a couple of times (no simple feat... you have to call support and they will walk you through the process which involves deleting some hidden files and system registry settings) when I upgraded my cable service from standard to digital.
4. The synchronization of the PC infra red controller with set-top box provided by cable operators is poor. there is a more than 50% failure rate in changing channels, that is, when you change your TV channel using the HP remote control, media center thinks it has changed the channel, but the channel actually does not change on the set top box. This could be painful when you are watching TV and trying to change channels. The real problem is if you have scheduled recordings - chances are the wrong program would get recorded because the channel simply did not change on the set-top box. I have changed 3 set-top boxes till now, and have finally got one with a serial connection to see if this would work better (the manual recommends only one way of connecting - using Infra Red port - the one which causes all kinds of problems).
5. On the usability side - its still quite complex to use. My wife (who has a BS in Computer Science) nor my mom can use it comfortably (which could be considered a plus - I get the control of the remote - just kidding ;)
6. Another word of caution - do not attempt to do anything else while burning CDs or DVDs.. it is quite likely that your system will crash (yes even such a powerful system ...512MB RAM, 2.8GhZ processor with 800MHz bus capable of hyperthreading - the very technology that is supposed to make multi-taking efficient - cannot still handle any other program with DVD/CD burning).
7. The machine comes out-of-the-box with the original release of Windows XP Media Center operating system. HP and Microsoft provided me with a free upgrade to the 2004 edition, which is claimed to solve issues with the previous version. It may have solved a few issues, but none which I encounter on a day-to-day basis. On the plus side, if you have the patience (like I have), the media center is a pretty cool concept - you have your own home media server - a single repository for all your video, audio, and pictures. What is more appealing as compared to owning a TiVO or a replay TV is you can upgrade the machine with advanced video cards and larger disks for a fraction of cost as newer technologies are introduced.
Rating:
Summary: problems after problems
Review: I was really excited to buy a new computer. after few hours of installing stuffs and experiencing the fastness, problems started to show up. First of all i think hp computer doesn't match well with ATI radeon graphic cards. It would often show error messages and when it tries to resize the moniter, it would just restart the computer. and the hp printer doesn't work well with hp computer. Have to try 4~5 times to get a copy (waste of paper). Its just a pc with flaws.
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