Picking a winner in the high-def wars is easy with this bargain PC, and you’ll never guess where we found it . . .
When you go down to the supermarket today, you might be in for a surprise.
Imagine our shock when we found cut-price supermarket chain Aldi stocking a dual format PC that can play Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs.
The $1,499 system is a Medion MD 8828 Entertainment PC, and the value’s great considering the spec list. You get Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz, 2GB RAM, 500GB eSATA HDD, and Nvidia GeForce 8600 GS with 256MB. Other goodies include 802.11 draft n wireless networking, Dolby Digital 8 channel high definition audio, HDMI-out, and a 2 year warranty. (Note: Despite the site specifying this is a "Design" PC, it's labelled "Entertainment" on the box in shops.)
But the highlight is the LG super multi blue dual format optical drive, capable of playing both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs.
Dual format drives are a potential solution to the current format wars between the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD camps. But the drives are relatively scarce in Australia, with LG the only major brand we can find that’s on sale here. Samsung also has the UBD5000 dual format drive overseas, but is not yet offering the drive in Australia.
Aldi told us that "surprise buys" like the Medion are offered in all Aldi stores, but couldn't confirm whether stock of the 8828 was available in every Aldi shop, so it will pay to check your local branch.
We’ve also just been told HP is also bringing a dual format PC to Australia by the end of January. The HP Pavilion Elite PC m9190 will come with a quad core CPU and will retail for $3,499. Expect more specs and pics as soon as we receive them.
(image source: Aldi)