Editorial Product Review:Item Description:Includes: remote control, wireless keyboard, wireless optical mouse, IR Blaster, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2, Photoshop Elements, Works 8.0, Quicken 2005 New User Edition, Roxio DigitalMedia SE, & more. Sony VAIO(R) VA Series Desktop PC - Over the past few years there have been computers designed to integrate with your TV. Sony has gone a step further by combining the two, so now your PC is your TV! Or is it, your TV is your PC? Either way, you get a full-featured desktop computer built into a stunning 20' widescreen LCD TV. So you can watch, record and pause live TV on your computer using the easy-to-use interface that's provided by Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system. You can even capture, edit, and burn hi-definition video with the included Double Layer DVD Writer and bundled software. Integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi Wireless Network Adapter 1GB of PC2-4200 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM 2 RAM Slots - (0 available) 250GB 7200RPM SATA HDD ATI Mobility Radeon X700 graphics with 256MB of memory (128MB are dynamically shared from the main system's RAM) AGP 8x Graphics Interface Giga Pocket MPEG2 Realtime Encoder board with TV Tuner Double Layer DVD Writer - (write speeds) 2.4x Double Layer DVD+R, 8x DVD-R, 8x DVD+R, 4x DVD-RW, 4x DVD+RW, 24x CD-R, & 10x CD-RW Double Layer DVD Writer - (read speeds) 8x DVD-ROM & 24x CD-ROM 5 Integrated Speakers for 2.1 channel playback 56k v.90 Fax Modem Multimedia Card Reader - Memory Stick, Memory Stick(R) PRO, Memory Stick(R) Duo, Smart Media, xD Picture Card, Secure Digital (SD), & Compact Flash PCMCIA Type I/II Card Slot with CardBus support Slots - 1 PCI (available) Ports - 10/100 Ethernet, 4 USB 2.0, 1 4-pin Firewire, 1 Composite S-Video & Audio In, 1 S/PDIF Out (supports 5.1 surround), 1 Mini Microphone Jack, 1 Stereo Headphone Unit Dimensions - 22.5 (w) x 17.5 (h) x 10.1 (d) Unit
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Buyer Reviews
Average Buyer Rating:
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Thanks Sony
Here's another Sony innovation which has been given the short end of the advertising stick! The Sony Vaio VGC-VA10G is a fast, quiet and easy machine to set up. While I have only had it for a day, it has been so far a joy.
The only things which I haven't gotten accostomed to yet, are the wire-less keyboard and mouse (read buy rechargable batteries for this system: 2 for the keyboard, 2 for the remote and 2 for the mouse).
I personally enjoy using computers for media collection and manipulation, so some of the features that attracted me to this unit was the TV tuner as well as the extensive collection of bundled media software. There is also a built in media card reader which will accept almost any media card from any camera, recorder or anything else which stores data to a removable card.
Regarding features that I was slightly disappointed with, but can learn to live with is a total of only 4 USB ports. This might pose a problem to those who have external drives, recorders, routers, printers, scanners, etc. This however can be solved by the purchase of a good USB Hub, such as the Adaptec stackable hub. The only other thing that posed a bit of a problem for me is the lack of a printed manual. While I know that there is a manual residing in the hard drive in a PDF file, I would rather have a hard copy. Also, a tour of the machine would have been a nice touch for beginners. Finally, a motorized DVD drive would have been welcomed. With this unit, the drive platter will pop open, but then must be opened and closed manually. Not the biggest problem, though.
All and all, I'm very pleased with this system, and hope that you will be too.
Customer Rating: -
BEST ALL-IN-ONE VAIO YET
I love--LOVE--my new VAIO. The sound and display of this computer are AWESOME.
The display is the crispest, brightest screen I've ever seen. The base to which the monitor is mounted also contains an amplifier, kicking out most-impressive sound once equalized with Media Player.
The new bundled software is also a step up from the previous all-in-one: Bugs common with Windows updates when using Click-To-DVD and SoundStage have been addressed. There's also a new Roxio program which makes DVD copying and backing-up SIMPLE.
Also improved is new, front access to the DVD player and Memory Stick, both neatly hidden behind an integrated door. My previous all-in-one Vaio tended to shift its whole base when the monitor was spun to access these things.
The design commands a lot of awe and attention, too. Its ultra-modern styling make it look like a piece of art sitting in my living room.
Customer Rating: -
Wonderful computer with a great screen
Best screen I have seen on any computer. Pictures and DVDs are as good as it gets. On the internet I have used both the wireless(I connected to my neighbors wireless internet for free for this test) and direct and both worked very good and were easy to connect. It looks great in the den, I leave it on 24/7. We had a party last night and I took over 100 digital pictures, as I took the pictures I would copy them to the VA10G. It was easy to take the SD card from the camera and inset into the slot on the front of the VA10G. After loading the pictures onto the hard disk I used the XP picture viewer software to run a slideshow. We had a great party and the beautiful pictures on the VA10G were the hit of the party.
MS Office runs great and the extra width of the display is great for picturers and large Excel spreadsheets. My wife is so impressed that she is ordering a VA11G for her desk.
The TV works good but the shows coming over the basic(analog) cable channels are not as good as the great video from DVD's.
Access to the DVD and picture card slots are in front and easy to get to. The USB ports are on the side and easy to access also. I wish it had two more USB ports.
The audio from the built in speakers is excellent and the VA10G looks great sitting on the desk and takes up very little space.
I could not be happier.
Customer Rating: 
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A waste of space!
This machine was in my den for all of about 4 days. In which time it proved to be the slowest, quiriest, piece of junk Ive ever owned. The quality of the video is terrible. The sound is muffled from the built in speakers. Even the fit and finish of this computer is bad. It seems poorly made and as slow as most Intel driven machines are using the Windows OS. (Which only adds to its unstablness.) I wouldnt buy this if it was half its current price. DO yourself a favor and buy the iMac G5 out now and not only save some money but get a much better OS and platform on which to manage your digital media. The time has come for Sony to reliase its once grand products in computing are now only junk.