Commentary: Digital Media Moguls

Analog is dead. Long live digital.

Digital media is storming the consumer market, unleashing new territory to would-be DJs, movie makers and photographers. The rise in popularity of digital music, photos and movies naturally has led to a new class of personal computers that bring once expensive music, movie or photo technologies into the home. These are the ultimate entertainment computers--and not for those with feint-of-heart wallets. While entry-level systems for doing most digital media tasks sell for under $1,500, the real exciting stuff costs nearly twice that.

For this round-up, I stuck to the high end, where the goodie bags are richest and the fun the greatest: Sony's Vaio PCV-MXS20, the Gateway 700XL and Apple's dual-1GHz Power Mac G4.

Sony style

With the Vaio PCV-MXS20, Sony serves up one of the best digital media systems available anywhere. On board: A 2GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of DDR RAM expandable to 2GB, 120GB hard drive, DVD-R/RW drive, 64MB nVidia GeForce2 MX graphics card, Sony digital audio, two USB and two FireWire ports (one each on the front), Memory Stick slot, MiniDisc recorder/player, TV and FM tuners, 20-watt Sony desktop speakers, Sony GigaPocket Personal Video recording software, WordPerfect 10 and Windows XP Home Edition for $2,800. Sony has done a superb job leveraging its consumer electronics heritage into the PC market. Many of the MXS20's features are accessible by a front control panel or via remote control, just like a CD player or radio tuner. These features include access to TV, radio, DVD player and MiniDisc recorder/player. The speakers delivered powerful, rich sound, which is surprising for desktop models.

Niceties abound, mainly from Sony's supplied software. Rather than tacking on third-party software for dealing with digital media, Sony supplies most of the applications, which are integrated tightly with the hardware. The supplied SonicStage software, for example, offers a robust set of tools for managing and listening to digital music and also FM radio stations via the built-in tuner. SonicStage even can record from radio to any of the storage options--DVDs, CDs, MiniDisc or Memory Stick. The supplied Sony MovieShaker software easily transferred movies from a digital camcorder for amazingly straightforward editing. But the real treasure is the GigaPocket software, which, among other features, can be used to record TV programs automatically at a prescheduled time. As an experiment, I recorded about two hours of Dexter's Laboratory from Cartoon Network, used Sony software to edit out the commercials and convert the file to MPEG2, the standard video format for DVDs. I then burned a DVD using the supplied DVDit! software from Sonic Solutions.

For storage choices, the MXS20 is packs `em in: DVDs, CDs, MiniDisc and Memory Stick. Those options offer tremendous versatility dealing with data, music or video. For digital cameras or handhelds supporting Memory Stick, transferring digital images and music or simple data files is as easy as inserting the chewing gum size storage device into the computer's slot.

As an all-around PC for doing all things digital media, the Vaio MXS20 is tough to beat. But several shortcomings should be noted. On my test unit, the TV tuner occasionally led to a fatal crash and automatic reboot. Performance was slowest of the three tested systems, in terms of boot time, programs start-up time and working with video files or burning them to DVDs. Converting video to MPEG 2 or burning a DVD took more than twice as long as the Power Mac G4. Despite the powerful Pentium 4 processor, the system could be used for little else during both processes. My Dexter Laboratory test took more than an hour to convert to MPEG2 and another hour to burn to DVD. You have to decide whether that is acceptable for a $2,800 PC. While the Sony delivered superb separate applications, they didn't consistently work easily or seamlessly together. The biggest problem: Getting from the video editing to DVD burning stage using the Sonic software. The DVDit! features were OK, but nowhere near what Apple serves up with the iDVD 2 software supplied with the Power Mac G4. Upgrading to Sonic's MyDVD 3.5 would solve some problems, but not everything.

Sony launched new Vaio's on June 3, 2002, but did not boost the Vaio MX's performance to match the Gateway 700XL. But that may not have made much difference. I tested the Vaio RX590G late last year and see little difference in performance between the two systems. Basic features and software were similar, but no MiniDisc recorder/player or front-access control panel. Overall, the performance issue may have more to do with how Sony has put together the software and hardware package.

Not one of the herd

In terms of value, Gateway's 700XL is tough to beat. The high-end desktop delivers a 2.53GHz Pentium 4 processor, 1GB of RDRAM expandable to 2GB, 120GB hard drive, DVD-RAM/DVD-R drive, 40X CD-RW drive, 128MB nVidia GeForce4 Ti4600G graphics card, Sound Blaster Audigy audio, two USB 1.1 and four USB 2.0 ports (two in front), three FireWire ports (one in front), 56k modem, 10/100 networking, five-piece Boston Acoustics speakers and subwoofer, Microsoft Office Small Business and Windows XP Home Edition for $2,999. The monitor and high-end graphics card alone make the 700XL an outstanding bargain. Shoppers searching for power at a great price need look no further. A similarly configured Dell Dimension 8200, for example, but with 17-inch flat-panel monitor, DVD+RW as the recording drive and Altec Lansing speakers, goes for a whopping $4,286.

But as a DVD recording PC, the 700XL is in some ways a bust. Gateway has done only a mediocre job providing the necessary software for making DVD movies. For the most part, the company relies on Roxio VideoWave and CD Creator software, neither of which comes close to what either Apple or Sony offer. Pinnacle Systems Studio Deluxe or Sonic MyDVD would solve most of the software problems, but not weaknesses in the hardware. Gateway chose DVD-RAM/DVD-R as the DVD recording drive. DVD-RAM, one of the first DVD recording technologies to breakthrough into the consumer market, is wonderful for dragging and dropping data but the discs are poor choices for burning movies on home players. Fortunately, the drives also can burn DVD-R discs, which are compatible with more than 90-percent of consumer DVD players. This should be a good thing, but there's a catch: The drive burns DVD-R discs at 1X vs. 2X for the Apple and Sony drives, making Gateway's offering the slow poke of the herd.

The 700XL's photo capabilities really rely on those built into Windows XP--and they're not bad. In fact XP does a great job retrieving digital images from cameras and printing them out in a variety of formats and layouts. For digital music, Gateway offers up MusicMatch 6.1. There's no question, MusicMatch is a great application for ripping, managing, listening to or burning digital music. But, hey, Gateway, how about serving up the current version, 7.1?

Still, it's hard to dismiss the 700XL's value and performance. With some small software purchases, most 700XL buyers can fix the majority of the problems. Given the beefy graphics, powerhouse processor and stunning digital flat-panel display, the 700XL delivers one hell of a great experience editing video, watching DVD movies or burning home movies to DVD.

Mac Maker

Apple serves up the most expensive system, as you get fewer features for the price paid compared to other high-end digital media computers. For $2,999, expect two 1GHz PowerPC G4 processors, 512MB of SDRAM, 80GB hard drive, DVD-R/RW drive, 64MB GeForce4 MX graphics card, integrated Apple audio, two USB 1.1 ports, two FireWire ports, 56k modem, 10/100/1000 networking, Apple Pro speakers and Mac OS X 10.1.4. The system bus is a paltry 133MHz compared to 400MHz for the MXS20 and 533MHz for the 700XL. In simple terms: The faster the bus the faster data moves among important components. Apple is not expected to ramp up bus speed--probably to at least 266MHz--until the next Power Mac upgrade, which could come as early as July. The Power Mac also lacks a productivity suite, and Microsoft's Mac Office, while an outstanding product, costs $299 as an upgrade. Other dings: The better GeForce4 Ti card is a $250 add-on, something Gateway serves up as standard fare; adding a subwoofer is another $60 for Harmon Kardon's iSub; antivirus software, standard on both Gateway and Sony systems, is extra cost, too.

The Power Mac G4 may hit your wallet harder than the two other two systems, but, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. For doing digital media better, faster or easier, the Power Mac G4 blasted the 700XL and MXS20. While Sony did an outstanding job bundling in great digital media applications, Apple has done better. Apple's iMovie 2, iDVD 2, iTunes 2 and iPhoto applications cover the range of digital media applications, with iMovie 2 and iDVD 2 providing a seamless environment for capturing, editing or burning movies. No other consumer DVD burning software can match iDVD's ease of use or sophisticated feature set. For example, the software can create full-motion menus, similar to those found on professional, Hollywood DVDs. If anything, the features are so easy to use they may be at first be difficult for some people expecting a more complicated process.

Two microprocessors and the Mac OS X 10.1.5 operating system also give the Power Mac G4 tremendous performance clout. Converting video to MPEG 2 or burning a DVD did not all-consume the system during testing, in part because of the way Mac OS X handles multiple tasks and due to the advantage of having a second processor available for other chores. The Power Mac G4 did not disappoint.

Another nice touch: Apple has integrated DVD recording support into the Mac OS X file system, so that files can be dragged to the DVD for convenient burning. Windows XP can do this with CDs, but not DVDs.

As for other digital media functions, Apple again excels over competitors. For managing, listening to or burning digital music, iTunes 2 leads the pack. The software also makes excellent use of that second processor, for faster ripping MP3s or burning them to CD. As for iPhoto, the program in some ways does for digital images what MP3 players did for digital music. Apple has created the most straightforward program for retrieving, managing and sharing digital images. Neither of the other systems offers a program of this caliber for working with digital cameras or the images they produce.

For nuts, like myself, who enjoy watching DVD movies on a computer, the Power Mac G4 delivers sharper playback, truer colors and the least blurring of the three systems. In fact, playback was phenomenal. But watch out for DVDs, such as Star Wars: Phantom Menace, with Windows PC-only features.

You Decide

All three systems are compelling for different reasons. The Sony Vaio PCV-MXS20 delivers the broadest range of digital media options, adding analog TV and radio to the mix. The front-side control panel is a marvel of consumer electronics-PC technology. But performance issues and the ease of using some features are major shortcomings.

The Gateway 700XL delivers the most bang for the buck. Big performance and a great 18-inch digital flat-panel monitor make the 700XL a great value. But as a DVD recording system, Gateway hasn't served up enough tools for the majority of users. Other digital media features are OK, but not exceptional.

Apple's dual-1GHz Power Mac G4 easily beats the other systems in terms of power, performance, ease of use and output. This computer will produce the most professional-looking DVD movies of the lot. Apple also did its homework on compression algorithms so that you can squeeze lots of video onto a DVD with the least amount of quality lost. Digital music and photos are better on this Mac, too. But the Power Mac G4 is no cheap date, either. For those willing to take out a less-demanding sibling, look at the 933MHz Power Mac G4 for $2,299 or the $1,899 flat-panel iMac.

My fav: The Power Mac G4 by a hair over the Vaio PCV-MXS20.

Joe Wilcox has been covering technology since 1994 and now spends his days writing about Microsoft for CNET News.com. More rants and raves from Joe can be found on his Web site, joewilcox.com.

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