HP Media Center m7260n

The HP Media Center m7260n Photosmart PC may not have the diminutive, living-room styling of some other Media Center PCs, but its silver midsize-tower case houses a PC that's user friendly and works equally well as a media hub and as a work PC. Inexperienced users will appreciate the m7260n's easy setup. HP's two excellent manuals, the Getting Started Guide and the Start Here pamphlet, are well thought out, well written, and clearly illustrated. This will come as a breath of fresh air to anyone who has struggled with the many audio and video connections necessary to integrate a PC and a home entertainment center. Also very helpful are the exceptionally well-labeled audio and video connectors on the case, which include the usual USB, FireWire, and 5.1-channel surround-audio ports as well as VGA, composite, SVideo, and coaxial digital audio ports. Notably missing is a DVI connector, leaving you no way to send a digital signal to a display device-a must for connecting to a big-screen TV.