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Euro 2004 fever: Ole! Ole! Ole!



For the record


Panasonic DMR-E100H
DVD recorders
Immortalize those golden Euro 2004 moments with some digital magic. We're talking about DVD recorders. These set-top devices can do everything your old, tape-based machine can, and the resulting discs are smaller, more durable, and much cooler than bulky cassettes. Our list includes our favorite recorders, from entry-level to high-end, from DVD-R to DVD+R to DVD-RAM. Other pluses: They can transfer your old VHS soccer footage, home videos, and TV shows to DVDs that play back in just about any DVD player. Get ready to toss that VCR into the trash.

Sitting atop Panasonic's four-product pyramid of 2003 DVD recorders, the DMR-E100H has more features than a lot full of Lexuses. Its 120GB hard disk drive (HDD), currently the largest available in a self-contained deck, can store up to 160 hours of video and be used for basic editing. You can transfer programs from HDD to DVD and even to any type of memory card. All this flexibility and power creates a tough learning curve, however, so people with little patience for user manuals and technical details should steer clear of the E100H. But everyone else in the market for a high-end DVD recorder will find plenty to like.

Media Center PCs

HP Media Center PC
Microsoft's Media Center operating system is certainly changing the way vendors sell PCs. Media Centers are also gradually changing the way people use computers at home: The software and its accompanying hardware turn your PC into a TV and a DVR, letting you watch, pause, and record live TV. And it lets you do all this--not to mention listen to music, watch DVDs, and view photos--from the comfort of your couch with remote in hand. Which is exactly where you want to be when the matches kick off.

HP's first-ever Media Center PC is an all-in-one digital entertainment hub that's designed for small apartments and cramped boarding rooms. Besides handling digital photo, music and movie features already available with the current Windows XP operating system, the new PC also serves as a TV tuner and digital video recorder (DVRs) for copying TV shows to the computer's hard drive.

Streaming media servers

Pinnacle ShowCenter Multimedia Receiver
These new-age devices utilize the latest wireless networking technology. With a media streaming server, your computer becomes the entertainment central of the entire house, granting you the cable-free freedom to record your favorite matches as MPEG videos onto your PC, and later view them from the living room or any room in the house. What's more, setting up a wireless media streaming device is no more difficult than programming a VCR. So in just a matter of minutes you can start shuffling to the beat of "Ole! Ole! Ole!" with your friends.

This slick box of tricks is Pinnacle's first foray into consumer AV electronics. The ShowCenter is a super-slim media streaming server that--like other devices of its ilk--lets you share audio, video, and photo slide shows over a home network--MP3 and WMA audio, and MPEG-1/2/4, DivX and XviD video are just some of the popular downloadable formats supported by this multimedia decathlete. Factor in digital image slideshows and Internet browsing and you've a one-box home entertainment solution. The latest firmware (version 1.51) upgrades this neo entertainment device into a video recording server, too, giving you the luxury of saving those Euro 2004 matches to your computer's hard drive.

Intro | Visual pleasure | For the record | Other creature comforts

 

 
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