Media/HTPC Notebook: Sony EA series

Media/HTPC Notebook: Sony EA series

Our pick here was a complicated one. With the launch of the new Core i3/i5/i7 processors, any laptop with a basic Core i3 and Intel’s integrated HD Graphics solution had enough power to handle 1080p video playback and a standard HDMI output for connecting to an HDTV. Even adding the requirement of a Blu-ray drive (fair expectation in a notebook used for media playback) didn’t help much, since most 14”ers from mainstream manufacturers like Dell, HP, and Sony have at least the option of a BD-ROM drive these days for not a whole lot of coin. With standard media playback about the same regardless of notebook, the differentiating factor is going to come from something else.

Something like Intel’s Wireless Display. I really love the concept of WiDi, which is having a notebook wirelessly connect to a TV’s HDMI port. Press a button, and bam, what’s on your notebook screen is on your TV, simple as that. Pretty awesome. Very focused, very user friendly, not a lot else going on. There are a couple of problems, starting with the 720p limitation and the 2 second delay between laptop and TV. Also, you need to buy a $100 box to connect to the TV. The delay isn’t much of a problem, since WiDi will be mostly used for videos, which work smoothly, just 2 seconds behind your laptop. The 720p cap was implemented for bandwidth purposes, but it goes away in the WiDi 2.0 (which also eliminates the delay time). The problem of the box still remains: a Benjamin is pretty pricey for what is essentially the wireless replacement for a $4 HDMI cable. Overall, it’s a slick piece of technology, though it’s still got a ways to go as far as market traction, and some of my fellow editors (*cough*Jarred*cough*) don’t see the value in it. On an economic level, the skepticism makes sense, but it’s a very elegant solution and would make sense for a few specific uses, like watching downloaded and streamed movies on your TV (which is what a lot of HTPCs are used for).

The Sony VAIO EA series is one of the few notebooks that has both WiDi and Bluray. In addition, it has a 14.1” 720p screen, Core i3/i5/i7 processors, Intel HD graphics with an optional ATI Radeon HD 5470, and all the other standard stuff. Oh, and it’s available in every colour of the Skittles rainbow, and then some. The $999 model with an i5-450M, 4GB/500GB, Intel HD, WiDi, and Bluray is probably the best config for purely media purposes. Customizing your own model gets pricey (Sony price gouges on options like no other), so if you need the dedicated graphics you’re probably better off getting a different notebook.

If you don’t need the WiDi, you can look at something like the 14.5” HP dv5t, which is available with a BD-ROM drive starting at $749, though that only has a Pentium P6000 processor at that price and likely poorer build quality and display than the VAIO.

And if you’re more like me and don’t use physical disks anymore, all you need is an HDMI out and a fresh install of VLC, so basically any newer notebook will suffice. 1080p playback is no longer a big deal, any computer costing more than $500 can do it fairly comfortably. So if that’s your only criteria, you have an unlimited number of choices. But for overall media playback versatility, the VAIO EA series is about as good as it gets, with both Bluray capability and Wireless Display.

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