Sony's Unveils (Very Swish) MultiMedia PC

Sony announced the VAIO XL1 Digital Living System, a full Home Theater with the brains of a PC. Two sleek components comprise the Digital Living System: a high-end multimedia PC and a 200-disc media changer/recorder.


Sony's New Vaio XL1 Digital Living System

The XL1 Digital Living System lets users control their media library in one location using the wireless keyboard and remote control. The XL1 allows consumersto store and index up to 200 CDs or DVDs for playback on audio and video devices linked to the entertainment center through the PC.

The PC connects to a television via an HDMI cable to output high-definition video and multi-channel digital audio in a single connection.

The VAIO XL1 has been developed in colaboration with Microsoft and runs Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system.

Discs inserted into the changer 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, a synopsis is also downloaded in addition to the star, director, producer details and more. All of this information is sorted and accessed using the included wireless keyboard or remote control.

The XL1 Digital Living system also allows users to back up music CDs to the hard drive. With the touch of a few buttons, users 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. TV series can be also saved to the hard drive and transfered to blank DVDs stored in the changer.

In addition to being a home A/V entertainment center, the XL1 system is a powerful PC. With its Intel Pentium D dual-core processor, DDR2 memory, PCI-E graphics and room for up to three SATA hard drives (RAID ready), the VAIO XL1 system is well-equipped to tackle the most demanding tasks. Internal PC components are liquid-cooled to ensure quiet operation worthy of a living room. Advancements such as Sony's Sound Reality technology also promise audio performance for high-quality digital sound.

The supported web browsing has been also designed for an engaging living room experience. With the touch of the remote, users can expand their favorite web pages for comfortable reading from your couch.

The Digital Living System will be sold as a package and will be available next month for about $2,300 (£1,300) at retailers, online at SonyStyle.com or at SonyStyle stores.

XL1 website: sony.com/xl1