Sony's Entertainment Central

A PC that can conveniently take the place of your stereo and video equipment is still a ways off, but the Vaio XL2 Digital Living System comes pretty close

by Cliff Edwards

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Well-designed media-center PC, with giant CD/DVD changer

The Bad: Occasional software glitches mar excellent performance

The Bottom Line: An Intel Viiv-based system that stands out from the clutter

Reader Reviews

The thought of installing a PC as the centerpiece of a home-entertainment system is enough to make some people cringe. While media-center software has made great strides in the past half-decade, it still has a ways to go before I would truly recommend a computer as a replacement for your TiVo, CD changer, and DVD player.

That said, my recent experience with Sony's Vaio XL2 Digital Living System comes very close to delivering a true entertainment experience that anyone could love.

True to Sony's roots, the $2,400 system is by far the most stylishly designed in a series of Intel Viiv-branded systems I've recently reviewed. The XL2, with a glossy black finish and silver accents, is divided into two parts: the PC and a gigantic 200-disc CD/DVD changer. Out of the box, you also get a wireless keyboard, remote, and an antenna for tuning in FM broadcasts.

PC Functions Secondary

Another nice touch not common to most media-center PCs is the addition of an HDMI connector for sending uncompressed high-definition digital and audio signals to a similarly equipped high-definition TV. With HDMI and built-in wireless capability, setup of the XL2 system is a snap, and took about five minutes. (Setting up the Windows Media Center software takes another 20 minutes.)

With the XL2, Sony clearly is focusing on the entertainment experience. In fact, despite the wireless keyboard, I found it an unnecessary chore to figure out how to actually access Web and other PC functions not directly tied to the accompanying Windows Media Center software. And unlike other media centers using Intel's Core 2 Duo chips, the XL2 uses an older, less speedy dual-core 2.8-gigahertz Intel Pentium D desktop chip.

The PC component of the system includes its own CD/DVD drive, with multiple audio-visual connection options. A flip-down front panel offers easy access to media-card readers, two USB 2.0 connectors, and connectors for gaming devices. Two other USB and FireWire connectors are on the back.

Rip-Roaring CD/DVD Changer

For the music and video lover, though, the XL2 shines. One of the niftiest features of the changer is the accompanying software that lets you load up to 200 discs and rip them to your hard drive. It'll take you half a day to do it, but all you have to do is press a couple of buttons once you've loaded the discs. In my tests, the system accurately scanned about 85% of the CDs, adding song title and artist info from its Web connection to music databases. The system did get hung up on some more obscure classical CD titles, as well as some CDs encoded with anti-ripping software.

You also can load your entire DVD collection and see cover art and info, if available. Sony sells additional changers for $800, and lets you connect up to five changers for megacollections.

The changer, however, tends to be noisy, delivering an ugly sound when switching discs because of a chain-based drive that Sony execs say is more durable than other methods. The unit also is sealed, with only a front-loading slot that's a bit of a challenge to see in a darkened room. It also makes it difficult to view or remove discs if something should go wrong with the unit itself.

Not So Instant-On

Another issue, which seems to be common to the Viiv systems I've tested, is the occasional failure of the system, if you're using HDMI, to "talk" with the TV. I've hooked Viiv systems up to a 26-inch Sony Bravia LCD, 50-inch Samsung plasma, and 32-inch Dell LCD, all of which performed ably. But when I've attempted to come out of the sleep mode that Viiv systems tout for instant-on, the TV doesn't recognize the system. That's forced me many times to reboot the system, leading to the long Windows boot-up that instant-on technology is meant to avoid.

While I'm not ready to give up other entertainment devices just yet, the Vaio XL2 does a nice job of offering an alternative to home installers and regular consumers who want to eliminate some of the clutter that characterizes digital home setups.

Edwards is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Silicon Valley bureau.