Elonex Artisan review

Video output is supplied through coaxial, VGA, S-video or DVI outputs, which essentially means that if you have a screen, the Artisan can display video on it. Watching DVDs on a DVI connection is still a rare treat in the living room, and you'll definitely get the best performance if your television can accept this type of connection. As a general rule with Media Center PCs, VGA is good, but S-video is depressingly muddy -- steer clear of it.

Sound is taken care of by a Dolby Digital 7.1-channel surround-sound system that provides substantial clout when linked up to a decent amplification system. If your living room is only equipped with a two-channel system (stereo) then you can use the line-level out audio phono connectors. Alternatively, there are Digital Optical and Digital Coaxial (SPDIF) connections for the more refined audiophile.

DVD playback and recording is done via standard-fare Windows applications. The internal drive is a DVD±R/RW burner which can produce discs that are ready for playback on any normal DVD player. You can also burn audio CDs. Other data storage options include memory cards, the internal hard disk or an external USB or FireWire drive.

A DVB-T radio receiver is built into the LXD version of the Artisan. The Artisan is also Wi-Fi equipped and will home in on available networks and give you the option to join them via the standard Windows control panels.

Our review model came with a Pentium 4 530 processor, 512MB of memory and a 200Gb hard disk. This is more than adequate for PVR tasks and entry-level gaming. The Artisan's 128MB ATI Radeon X300 graphics card is a respectable workhorse and the Artisan is HDTV-ready.

Performance
Thanks to some carefully considered heat sinks and cooling routes, the Artisan is very quiet. In the past, we've heavily criticised Media Center PCs for their excessive operating noise, as it can become very irritating to have the constant whirring of a fan in your living room. VCRs were quiet and Microsoft would love to replace them with Media Centers, so it's a promising sign that these machines are getting closer to silent.

Setting up the Artisan wasn't trivial, but certainly easier than the experience we've had with some other Media Centers. Video readily displayed from the S-video, VGA and DVI outputs without any persistent problems. Windows is not ideally suited to switching monitors and resolutions on the fly, but Elonex has made some wise component choices that make this relatively painless. We got the machine hooked up to our TV just a few minutes after prising it out of the box.

Once plugged in, the Artisan boots Windows and will scan for available channels when you launch the Media Center application. Provided you have your television aerial plugged into the rear of the Artisan, it takes a few minutes for the software to detect available channels. Programme guide information is downloaded via the Internet and relied on us plugging in an Ethernet cable to take the Artisan online via our local network.

PVR functionality on the Artisan matches what we've seen on other Media Centers. Navigating through the slick interface with the bundled remote control is straightforward and the software displays future television programmes on a friendly looking timetable. Clicking a programme once will record one instance of that programme; clicking it twice will make the Artisan record every edition of that programme, until you disable the option with a third click. We quickly stocked up a few hours of EastEnders.

Once a Media Center is up and running, the look and feel of the software is generic. Microsoft programs the software for almost all media PCs, so you would expect a consistent user experience. What sets the Artisan slightly above many of its competitors is the tight integration between this generic software and the hardware. Because of a good choice of components and in spite of Windows XP Media Center Edition's temperamental behaviour with some video outputs, the Artisan pulls through. We still find it difficult to recommend these power-hungry PVRs with huge enthusiasm, but if you're a keen hobbyist on the more relaxed side of hardcore, this is an easier PVR PC to set up than many.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Nick Hide