We’ve seen several manufacturers make use of FIC’s Spectra case before, but few have made such a good job of it as Pioneer. The case is the only low-profile option on test but you wouldn’t be settling for an inferior product. The DreamVision looks great and will easily fit into any living room.

Some may find the blue lights on the front a touch garish – certainly the over-size display is a touch uncouth - but at least you can read it from a distance unlike others this month. The optical drive looks like a VCR. A flap beneath it folds down to reveal two USB 2 ports, FireWire, audio jacks and an optical S/PDIF in, and a middle flap folds down to reveal a media card reader.

It’s quiet, too. We couldn’t hear the hard disk, and the passively-cooled Intel Pentium 4 660 CPU and near-silent PSU fan makes this suitable for the living room. Only the low-profile ATI RADEON X700 graphics card lets the side down with its whooshing, but this is mostly channelled out the back.

At the back, along with regular connectivity options, are, unusually, RCA in and out ports which could be a blessing for some people. It’s worth noting, though, that the graphics card only has a solitary DVI-out connector – this could seriously hamper your efforts to connect it to your living-room TV so be sure to check before buying.

Unlike other Spectra’s, this one makes use of its PCI riser card, which laterally supports two full-size PCI cards in one low-profile slot. Both of these have been taken up with digital tuners. Other things to note are that it’s the only machine this month to offer a fully-functional internal IR receiver. While other cases offer some internal reception, the Windows MCE keyboard won’t work without the bulky external receiver. Also offered is the free EPG guide from EPG runner. While this can be preferable to paying for Ice TV’s EPG for many, remember that it’s from a home-brew website (http://epgrunner.net) with no support and could stop working at any time. Still, it’s nice while it lasts and installing Ice at a later date is a breeze.

But these aren’t the only boons. Pioneer also throws in a one year on-site warranty. Only outback dwellers will pay more than $20 for delivery. But best of all is the price. Considering there’s a whopping 400GB hard disk included (you won’t fit another one in by the way), in this company, $2999 is a bargain. While it may lack the refinement of the silver cased rivals this month, there’s no denying that the DreamVision is a good-looking bargain that will tempt many.