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In the Forums... |
Posted: April 19th, 2002 Written by: Tuan Huynh DVD Playback I have to admit, after watching DVD’s for a while using nothing but ATI card’s, it’s hard to switch to using another solution, as ATI has spoiled me with the excellent hardware DVD playback on their Radeon line of graphics cards. Nonetheless, the SS50 was able to play DVD’s using Power DVD XP 4.0 with Hardware Enabled perfectly without any frame drops. Though I have to complain about the picture quality, though it produced a pretty nice image, it seemed to be a little bit dark. It’s hard to find out who’s at fault for this, as it could either be a Hardware issue, or could easily be fixed with a patch for Power DVD XP, as when using the color profiles in Power DVD, it actually makes the image extremely dark, and when changing SiS Display drivers, it makes virtually no difference. For the average user who’s not a quality freak, the onboard graphics performs fine for watching DVD’s. For those of you who are quality freaks, I suggest going with a Radeon SDR PCI or AIW Radeon PCI. Multimedia Use Though the onboard C-Media audio works very well for being onboard, I couldn’t help it but to install my Game Theater XP in the system. Coupled with the Leadtek WinTV2000XP and a 5.1 speaker system, like the Pro Media 5.1’s, you’ll have your own little mini Theatre setup. The FM Radio on the Win TV2000XP has very good reception and sounds good, when the audio is coming out of the Game Theater XP and 5.1 speakers, you’ll get the Radio in 5.1! Though it’s not true 5.1 you do get audio out of all 6 speakers. On the TV Tuner side of things, the WinTV2000XP can capture decent quality video, though it is no match for ATI’s All in Wonder series. One gripe I have about the video capture is even with S Video it is a little bit blurrier then normal, other then that the Win TV2000XP would be a perfect companion if you wanted to setup the SS50 as a Tivo type box. Conclusion Shuttle has done it again! Last summer they impressed me with their SV24 due to the sheer size of the unit, this spring they’ve done it again! The amount of power and integration packed into such a small unit is unbeatable. Designed around the P4, not only do you get an attractive looking aluminum case that’s well designed and built, you also get 6 Channel Audio output, Firewire, Ethernet, TV Out, and 2 PCI slots! Though some might argue that having one AGP and one PCI for expansion would make the unit even better, I personally prefer having 2 PCI slots, as not everyone will utilize the AGP slot, as the unit already has onboard TV Out. Due to its sheer small size, the possibilities are endless on what you can use it for. From using it as a set top box, kitchen PC, office PC, or a little server, the SS50 will be perfect for the task. For parents who have kids going off to college or kids who are going off to college and don’t want to lug a huge PC to their dorm room, the SS50 coupled with an LCD flat panel would be perfect for that college bound student. In the end the SS50 is another great and innovative product released by Shuttle. The SS50 can be had for $355 on New Egg and is a very good bargain considering what you get. Pros
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