It must be a Sony
Sony's digital home ecosystem is packed with super technology, but how well does it work together? Following our roundups of Apple, Microsoft and open source home theatres puts Sony to the test.
Add it up... Sony is the name behind a healthy number of movie studios and record labels. It's also responsible for one of the most sought-after consumer electronics brands in the world, making everything from the high-end kit used to show epic blockbusters in movie theatres, to home theatre equipment, televisions and stand-alone audio systems.
Oh, and just so that it's not passing up any other possible opportunities, it's involved in the gaming landscape with three different consoles; the mobile telephony space through its joint-venture with Ericsson; the digital photography and videography space with strong offerings for hobbyists and professionals alike; and the notebook market through its VAIO brand.
So you could live quite comfortably within the Sony ecosystem, never touching another brand of content or technology from the moment you got up in the morning to the moment you went to sleep.
THREE OF THE BEST
So, in the same vein as the investigations we conducted into what the open source community, Microsoft and Apple had to offer up for digital ecosystem enthusiasts over the past couple of issues, we felt it was high time we had a look at Sony.
Getting one of everything the company has in its arsenal would have been too much, so we asked the company to narrow things down to a media-centric VAIO notebook, a PlayStation 3 and a portable media device.
While we were also sent an HD HandyCam and a Digital SLR, we didn't include them in this review because we'd already taken a look at these in previous issues. They're good gadgets, but peripheral to the home theatre goals for this story.
So, let's start with the place the media will live in the home - the VAIO media notebook.
CRAMMED FULL OF FEATURES
At face value, Sony's VAIO FZ25G (not actually available in SA, but the FZ15G, which is, is very similar) seems like any other of the 'thin' 15" notebooks available today, sporting a brushed aluminium casing, well-appointed keyboard and trackpad, a good-size screen and an optical drive.
But, VAIO is an abbreviation for Video Audio Integration Operation (good Engrish there - ed), so it wasn't that surprising that the little 15" had a great deal more to offer than initially met the eye.
First up is the fact that the VAIO FZ25G's screen is rated HD-Ready and is capable of delivering a full 1080p picture. Even in standard resolutions, you can't help but be impressed by the screen's brightness and clarity.
Keeping in the HD theme, the FZ25G also features HDMI out, so it's great for hooking up to a serious television set. And that HD capability is combined with a set of convenient media controls located just above the VAIO's keyboard. It's clear that this machine is designed for use as a media powerhouse.
Its 2GHZ Core2Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive and VIDIA GeForce 8400M GT yield it a score that's in the high fours on the Vista Experience Index. And since it's bundled with Vista Home Premium, it comes with Media Centre.
At a recommended retail price of R13 500, the FZ25G is a good value-for-money notebook capable of allowing users to enjoy all of their media, providing they get their hands on the correct codecs.
And the software Sony has bundled with the machine truly adds to the value proposition. Free extras include tools for re-touching and filing photographs, playing back audio and video, authoring and burning DVDs and keeping security in check.
The VAIO does, however, remain a Windows Vista computer in every other regard and as such, is subject to the same issues and benefits from the same niceties we discovered when we tested Media Centre's viability in the digital home. In other words: great client software, pity about the operating system.
GAMING AND MOVIE POWERHOUSE
The PlayStation 3 is undoubtedly one of the most hyped-up products to come out of the Sony stable in the past couple of years. And to be quite honest, if we keep things strictly to the gaming realm, it deserves every inch of that hype.
It is an awesome gaming box. And the graphics, sound and overall polish Sony has thrown into the mix with this third-gen console are all fantastic. It even has a Blu-ray drive for watching high-definition movies. If you can find them on the shelves, that is.
But despite the fact that the PS3 utilises much more modern technologies in delivering those stunning results, it hasn't been as successful as Sony thought it would be.
That's partly because it came to the party a little late. The other next-gen console, Microsoft's Xbox360, currently leads the way in terms of titles - and we all know that the variety of games available for any one console contributes heavily to the buyer's decision-making process.
But if you're prepared to wait a few more months, Sony says a smorgasbord of new titles, both games and Blu-ray movies, are due to arrive.
The company has also done a great deal in solving one of the other issues people initially found with the PS3, namely cost. Sony has reduced the PS3's price tag substantially by introducing a 40GB model in the mid R4 000 range.
We somehow feel that it's going to be playing second fiddle to the Xbox360 for some time to come though, especially if you consider that both of these next-gen consoles are designed to do more than simply play games - they're designed to be media extenders too, and that's an area where the PS3 isn't quite up to scratch.
LAGGING BEHIND AS A MEDIA EXTENDER
While it's theoretically possible for users to share media from their Windows Vista media centre PC (in this case the VAIO we were sent) to the PS3, we couldn't get it to work.
Vista and Windows Media Player 11 see the PS3 on the network and will even allow you to share media with the console - but it doesn't play.
The PS3 is a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) device, which means that the conduit exists for users to stream content from their Vista box (or any other DLNA compliant server) to the PS3 - the problem is the PS3's limited codec support.
According to sources on-line, its audio codec support includes AAC, WAV, MP3 and ATRAC; its video support includes MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 SP and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264; and its image support includes JPEG, PNG, BMP and GIF.
We only had joy sending music (MP3 and AAC files) and images to the PS3. All of the video formats we tried, including a true H.264 MP4 file, failed.
With the recent updates the Xbox360 now supports DivX and Xvid, in addition to the MP4 and WMV support it has had for some time now and it's clear that Sony is lagging behind.
PS3 is a great console and great as a low-cost Blu-ray player - but don't count on using it as a media extender. With that in mind, it's fallen at a key hurdle in the digital home debate.
CUTE, LIGHT AND PORTABLE MEDIA
Consumers are becoming much more cognisant of their freedom to choose what media they enjoy - and that goes right down to what media they consume in their car, while working out on the treadmill or doing anything else, for that matter.
And it's not just audio content people are interested in - just look at how many video-capable personal media players have hit the shelves over the past two years.
Sony's answer for this space is a tiny, 2GB audio and video player called the NW-A806. Available in a range of colours, the A806 is capable of playing back ATRAC, MP3, non-DRM AAC and WMA audio, MP4 video, and JPG stills.
Sound quality is nothing short of awesome (which is exactly what you would expect from Sony) and video playback is clear, crisp and viewable in either portrait or landscape mode.
Getting media onto the player also couldn't be any simpler. The bundled software is great for automating the process of moving music to the A806, but since it's a flash-based device, it mounts just like any external hard disk would on any operating system.
The A806 is a nice and neat solution. Our only gripes are the limited capacity, the tiny 2-inch screen and the price tag - it weighs in at R2 500 at retail. But Sony's always been great at portable media, and this is just another good example.
THE SCORE 2.5/4
So how does Sony play stack up? Well individually each of these devices is great. But it's clear that these devices weren't really designed with each other in mind - the PS3 quite simply doesn't work properly with the VAIO, and the A806 doesn't integrate with the VAIO without installing extra software.
So, we gave the Sony bundle a disappointing two-and-a-half out of four.
The VAIO gets a thumbs-up, since it is one of the most feature-rich Vista notebooks we've reviewed. And if it weren't for the fact that the PS3 is incapable of acting as a decent media extender it would have walked away with two points, one for gaming and one for media centre extension.
Sadly, however, because it's hamstrung as a media extender, it gets docked half a point - it can play some media after all. The Sony portable media player picks up the final point, since it gets checks in every box, except for price, but sometimes you just have to pay a premium for brand names.
Overall, that leaves Apple and the OSS community as leaders in the home theatre plays, with Microsoft right behind. Sony, despite great technology, needs to do a bit of work on the integration to catch up.
Technology Home
Add it up... Sony is the name behind a healthy number of movie studios and record labels. It's also responsible for one of the most sought-after consumer electronics brands in the world, making everything from the high-end kit used to show epic blockbusters in movie theatres, to home theatre equipment, televisions and stand-alone audio systems.
Oh, and just so that it's not passing up any other possible opportunities, it's involved in the gaming landscape with three different consoles; the mobile telephony space through its joint-venture with Ericsson; the digital photography and videography space with strong offerings for hobbyists and professionals alike; and the notebook market through its VAIO brand.
So you could live quite comfortably within the Sony ecosystem, never touching another brand of content or technology from the moment you got up in the morning to the moment you went to sleep.
THREE OF THE BEST
So, in the same vein as the investigations we conducted into what the open source community, Microsoft and Apple had to offer up for digital ecosystem enthusiasts over the past couple of issues, we felt it was high time we had a look at Sony.
Getting one of everything the company has in its arsenal would have been too much, so we asked the company to narrow things down to a media-centric VAIO notebook, a PlayStation 3 and a portable media device.
While we were also sent an HD HandyCam and a Digital SLR, we didn't include them in this review because we'd already taken a look at these in previous issues. They're good gadgets, but peripheral to the home theatre goals for this story.
So, let's start with the place the media will live in the home - the VAIO media notebook.
CRAMMED FULL OF FEATURES
| 1 VAIO FZ25G2 |
| Windows Vista Home Premium * Full of Features |
But, VAIO is an abbreviation for Video Audio Integration Operation (good Engrish there - ed), so it wasn't that surprising that the little 15" had a great deal more to offer than initially met the eye.
First up is the fact that the VAIO FZ25G's screen is rated HD-Ready and is capable of delivering a full 1080p picture. Even in standard resolutions, you can't help but be impressed by the screen's brightness and clarity.
Keeping in the HD theme, the FZ25G also features HDMI out, so it's great for hooking up to a serious television set. And that HD capability is combined with a set of convenient media controls located just above the VAIO's keyboard. It's clear that this machine is designed for use as a media powerhouse.
Its 2GHZ Core2Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive and VIDIA GeForce 8400M GT yield it a score that's in the high fours on the Vista Experience Index. And since it's bundled with Vista Home Premium, it comes with Media Centre.
At a recommended retail price of R13 500, the FZ25G is a good value-for-money notebook capable of allowing users to enjoy all of their media, providing they get their hands on the correct codecs.
And the software Sony has bundled with the machine truly adds to the value proposition. Free extras include tools for re-touching and filing photographs, playing back audio and video, authoring and burning DVDs and keeping security in check.
The VAIO does, however, remain a Windows Vista computer in every other regard and as such, is subject to the same issues and benefits from the same niceties we discovered when we tested Media Centre's viability in the digital home. In other words: great client software, pity about the operating system.
GAMING AND MOVIE POWERHOUSE
| PS33 |
| * Next generation gaming console * BluRay DVD drive * Next generation hardware * Brilliant video and audio quality * Too few games available * Incapable as a Media Extender |
It is an awesome gaming box. And the graphics, sound and overall polish Sony has thrown into the mix with this third-gen console are all fantastic. It even has a Blu-ray drive for watching high-definition movies. If you can find them on the shelves, that is.
But despite the fact that the PS3 utilises much more modern technologies in delivering those stunning results, it hasn't been as successful as Sony thought it would be.
That's partly because it came to the party a little late. The other next-gen console, Microsoft's Xbox360, currently leads the way in terms of titles - and we all know that the variety of games available for any one console contributes heavily to the buyer's decision-making process.
But if you're prepared to wait a few more months, Sony says a smorgasbord of new titles, both games and Blu-ray movies, are due to arrive.
The company has also done a great deal in solving one of the other issues people initially found with the PS3, namely cost. Sony has reduced the PS3's price tag substantially by introducing a 40GB model in the mid R4 000 range.
We somehow feel that it's going to be playing second fiddle to the Xbox360 for some time to come though, especially if you consider that both of these next-gen consoles are designed to do more than simply play games - they're designed to be media extenders too, and that's an area where the PS3 isn't quite up to scratch.
LAGGING BEHIND AS A MEDIA EXTENDER
| A806 Portable Media Player |
| * Small, light and capable * Limited codec support * 2GB capacity * A little pricey |
Vista and Windows Media Player 11 see the PS3 on the network and will even allow you to share media with the console - but it doesn't play.
The PS3 is a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) device, which means that the conduit exists for users to stream content from their Vista box (or any other DLNA compliant server) to the PS3 - the problem is the PS3's limited codec support.
According to sources on-line, its audio codec support includes AAC, WAV, MP3 and ATRAC; its video support includes MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 SP and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264; and its image support includes JPEG, PNG, BMP and GIF.
We only had joy sending music (MP3 and AAC files) and images to the PS3. All of the video formats we tried, including a true H.264 MP4 file, failed.
With the recent updates the Xbox360 now supports DivX and Xvid, in addition to the MP4 and WMV support it has had for some time now and it's clear that Sony is lagging behind.
PS3 is a great console and great as a low-cost Blu-ray player - but don't count on using it as a media extender. With that in mind, it's fallen at a key hurdle in the digital home debate.
CUTE, LIGHT AND PORTABLE MEDIA
Consumers are becoming much more cognisant of their freedom to choose what media they enjoy - and that goes right down to what media they consume in their car, while working out on the treadmill or doing anything else, for that matter.
And it's not just audio content people are interested in - just look at how many video-capable personal media players have hit the shelves over the past two years.
Sony's answer for this space is a tiny, 2GB audio and video player called the NW-A806. Available in a range of colours, the A806 is capable of playing back ATRAC, MP3, non-DRM AAC and WMA audio, MP4 video, and JPG stills.
Sound quality is nothing short of awesome (which is exactly what you would expect from Sony) and video playback is clear, crisp and viewable in either portrait or landscape mode.
Getting media onto the player also couldn't be any simpler. The bundled software is great for automating the process of moving music to the A806, but since it's a flash-based device, it mounts just like any external hard disk would on any operating system.
The A806 is a nice and neat solution. Our only gripes are the limited capacity, the tiny 2-inch screen and the price tag - it weighs in at R2 500 at retail. But Sony's always been great at portable media, and this is just another good example.
THE SCORE 2.5/4
So how does Sony play stack up? Well individually each of these devices is great. But it's clear that these devices weren't really designed with each other in mind - the PS3 quite simply doesn't work properly with the VAIO, and the A806 doesn't integrate with the VAIO without installing extra software.
So, we gave the Sony bundle a disappointing two-and-a-half out of four.
The VAIO gets a thumbs-up, since it is one of the most feature-rich Vista notebooks we've reviewed. And if it weren't for the fact that the PS3 is incapable of acting as a decent media extender it would have walked away with two points, one for gaming and one for media centre extension.
Sadly, however, because it's hamstrung as a media extender, it gets docked half a point - it can play some media after all. The Sony portable media player picks up the final point, since it gets checks in every box, except for price, but sometimes you just have to pay a premium for brand names.
Overall, that leaves Apple and the OSS community as leaders in the home theatre plays, with Microsoft right behind. Sony, despite great technology, needs to do a bit of work on the integration to catch up.
Technology Home
© 2009 ITWeb
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