Bring together your computing and entertainment worlds in one package
and control it all with one remote with the Sony VAIO VGX-XL1 Digital
Living System, which combines a high-end multimedia desktop PC and a
200-disc DVD/CD changer/recorder. Both are designed to fit into a home
entertainment rack and the elegant silver and black casings will nicely
complement the rest of your home entertainment system. With the VGX-XL1,
you can manage all your downloaded digital content--such as music online
stores, home movies from your camcorder, and photos from your digital
camera--but it offers the added ability to easily organize, sort, and
access packaged content from the CDs and DVDs that are sitting on your
bookshelves. The desktop PC portion of the VGX-XL1 is powered by Windows XP Media
Center Edition 2005 (Update Rollup 2), which provides support for Media
Center Extender technology built into XBox 360 game consoles, and a
robust 2.8 GHz Intel Pentium D dual-core processor for powering through
multiple applications simultaneously and without stress. Other PC
features include 512 MB of installed DDR-2 RAM (2 GB maximum), 200 GB
hard drive (with room for up to three SATA hard drives (RAID 0 ready),
an NVidia GeForce 6200 video processor with 64 MB of dedicated video RAM,
CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, 54g Wi-Fi LAN, built-in TV tuner,
multi-format memory card reader compatible with the most popular digital
camera formats, and a wide assortment of pre-loaded Sony multimedia
software titles. The 200-disc changer/recorder features multiformat DVD
and CD burning capability with dual-layer DVD+R support.
Multimedia Features
With the XL1 Digital Living system, you can
consolidate your music library by backing up your music CDs to your hard
drive to be stored along with all of your downloaded music. With the
touch of a few buttons, you can automatically and sequentially record up
to 200 audio CDs from the media changer to the hard drive along with
available album covers and track information. You can also record a
series of television show episodes to the hard drive and easily transfer
them to blank DVDs stored in the changer. The system alerts you to how
many discs are needed and you can burn a whole season of your favorite
TV program to DVDs to take on your next road trip.
Discs inserted into the 200-disc changer/recorder are automatically
detected by the PC which downloads (over a wired or wireless network)
available metadata on each one, including jewel case covers and artist
information. For movies, an in-depth synopsis is also downloaded in
addition to the star, director, producer details and more. All of this
information is easily sorted and accessed using the included wireless
keyboard or remote control.
Sony's SonicStage Mastering Studio software allows you to record music
off of vinyl or tapes by utilizing the Studio's 24bit/96kHz processing
technology, producing crisp digital quality sound. Also included are
four different effects that allow you to enhance the sounds in the
original recordings or to add new effects for remixing. Sony's DVgate
Plus software allows you to import video footage from several sources
and edit it, giving you the freedom to create your own video masterpiece.
Desktop Basics
- Hard Drive: This entertainment-centric desktop is
loaded with a 200 GB Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive, which offers higher
speed transfer of data--akin to Firewire and USB 2.0--than typical ATA
hard drives. While quite large, it is not the largest capacity available
in multimedia PCs, but the VGX-XL1 does offer the capability of adding
two additional hard drives.
- Processor: The 2.8 GHz Intel Pentium D 820
dual-core processor is one of the strongest processors currently
available (as of October 2005). An Intel dual-core processor delivers
additional computing resources and help expand the PC's capabilities by
providing higher throughput and simultaneous computing. You'll be able
to perform multiple tasks such as digital rendering and gaming all while
running virus scan or other background tasks seamlessly. Each core has
1MB of L2 cache onboard (for a 2 MB total), and the two cores share an
800MHz front-side bus. A hyperthreading processor helps a PC run several demanding
applications at the same time. This technology enables the processor to
execute two threads (parts of a program) in parallel, boosting
performance during key high-drain procedures. This results in more
efficient software performance, such as faster reaction times in gaming
applications, and enhanced multitasking.
- Memory: The VGX-XL1 comes with
512 MB of installed PC-4200 DDR RAM, with a very fast 533 MHz speed.
This is a good start, but seems small in comparison to the capabilities
of this machine. You'll want to max out the 2 GB capacity (which is a
bit small for such a multimedia powerhouse) for your 3D gaming and
video-editing needs.
- CD/DVD Drive: Offering the latest in DVD writing
technology, the VGX-XL1's changer/recorder has a multi-format DVD/CD
drive that's compatible with both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as
dual-layer DVD+R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. For DVD-RW
discs, it has a 16x write/6x rewrite speed, while for DVD+RW discs it
has a 16x write/8x rewrite speed. For dual-layer DVD+R, it has a 4x
write speed. For CDs, it has a 40x write/24x rewrite speed. The PC
portion of the VGX-XL1 also includes a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, which
offers 24x write/rewrite speeds for CDs and 8x read speeds for DVDs.
- Keyboard, Mouse & Accessories: It comes with a wireless Vaio keyboard
and remote control (but no mouse). It also comes with an IR blaster for
controlling a cable or satellite TV box and a wireless antenna.
Video and Audio
This desktop comes installed with NVidia GeForce 6200
video/graphics card, which offers 64 MB of dedicated video RAM, which is
a bit small for such a video and multimedia PC. The GeForce 6200
features Nvidia's TurboCache technology, which is designed to increase
notebook performance without increasing the size or draining the battery.
NVIDIA PureVideo technology delivers smooth HD video in all formats for
superb picture clarity.
The integrated TV tuner features Sony's Giga Pocket MPEG2 Realtime
Encoder Board with composite video/audio, S-Video, and RF coaxial
(VHF/UHF) inputs. It offers a very good range of video connections,
including HDMI, DVI-D (via HDMI to DVI-D adapter), and component video
outputs and gold-plated composite and S-Video inputs on the front (for
connecting to a digital video camcorder).
Connectivity and Expansion Slots
For expansion, the VGX-XL1 has three
half-height 3.5-inch bays (one occupied), two PCI slots (one occupied),
and one x16 PCI Express slot (occupied by graphics card). It also has an
integrated 54g wireless LAN that's compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g
networks (requires 802.11b or 802.11g compatible access point). It comes
with the following external connectors:
- 4 USB 2.0 ports (2 front, 2
back) for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras
to MP3 players - 3 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) ports for
connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals (2 6-pin in
rear, 1 4-pin in front) - 1 microphone, 1 headphone
- 2 infrared transmitter
out - Multi-format memory card reader on the front, compatible with Memory
Stick, Memory Stick Pro/Duo, CompactFlash (Type I and II), MicroDrive,
SmartMedia, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, and XD Picture Card
It
also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port
for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems. The
changer/recorder offers two Firewire (i.Link) ports. Preloaded System and Software
The pre-installed Windows XP Media Center
Edition 2005 (Update Rollup 2) is essentially Windows XP Professional
Edition with a variety of tools to help you to create, organize, and
enjoy digital media ranging from music to home movies to photo slide
shows. The Update Rollup 2 upgrade offers support for the Windows Media
Center Extender technology built into XBox 360 game consoles, which lets
you access entertainment from your Media Center PC--whether it's live
and recorded TV and movies, music, photos or Online Spotlight--on any TV
in the house
It also comes loaded with a bevy of Sony multimedia software: Click to
DVD (DVD creation), SonicStage (digital music), Vaio Media (network file
sharing), DVgate Plus (digital video), and Image Converter (for PSP
transfer). Other pre-loaded software includes Adobe Photoshop Album
Starter Edition, Quicken 2005 New User Edition, Microsoft Works 8.0
(with word processing, spreadsheet, and calendar), Norton Internet
Security (with 90-day subscription), Intervideo WinDVD, Roxio
DigitalMedia SE, and SpySubtract.
Dimensions and Weight
Combined, the desktop PC and 200-disc
changer/recorder measure 17 x 13.8 x 19.5 inches (WxHxD) and weigh
approximately 86 pounds.
What's in the Box
This VGX-XL1 package contains the desktop PC and
200-disc changer recorder components, IR remote control (with batteries),
IR blaster, wireless keyboard, HDMI cable, Firewire cable, S/PDIF
optical cable, HDMI/DVD-D adapter, Mini-DVD disc adapter, wireless
antenna, power cords, and printed operating instructions. It is backed
by a 1-year limited hardware warranty.
