You don't have to talk to Fujitsu's people very long to establish they're very proud of the Deskpower TX. To be fair, as soon as we heard that a Media Center PC / LCD TV combo was to become available in Australia we just knew that we had to get it in. We've seen similar devices before at Computex and they always draw crowds. It's easy to see why. The Media Center interface is very attractive and looks best on a big screen like this. For technophobes who don't like computers, an all-in-one system like this, which turns on with a single button, is only going to be attractive.
However, our ardour was tempered a little when we saw it. Previous systems resembled LCD TVs with a slightly elongated back -- the PC was well hidden. Here the TV panel rests on box, which itself rests on a stand. At the back there's what looks like a small suitcase attached. However, you're only likely to ever see it from the front and the separate box is good for heat dissipation (it's as quiet as a set-top box) and doesn't take up much extra room. It looks good in your living room.
The TV panel is marvellous. Lately, the market has become flooded with cheap 32in LCD TVs (see the Acer AT3201W, November 2005, page 96) for around $2000 which immediately makes you question the $5000 price here. But Fujitsu uses a top-quality Sharp Aquos LCD TV and the difference is palpable. In our DisplayMate technical tests it waltzed through everything. Its dynamic range was excellent -- detail won't get lost in shadows or bright areas (like clouds). Our colour ramps were superb with only very faint banding in the white and green sections and the punitive colour spectrum test which blends colours together, was one of the best we'd ever seen. Colour purity was excellent.
For real-world testing we watched several HDTV clips and were blown away with the colours and definition of the picture. There was practically no ghosting or lag either. In short, this is an outstanding TV. Of course, if you want to use it for computing, the 1366 x 768 Desktop is incredibly crisp and clear too.
However, we couldn't test games as the integrated 915G graphics chip couldn't run them. Indeed, the lack of upgradeability here is rather disappointing especially with so much space at the back. The included hardware of a 3GHz Pentium 4 plus two sticks of 256MB RAM are powerful enough to run Media Center smoothly though, as well as perform occasional encoding as an decent overall 2D benchmark score of 0.75 illustrates.
We also like Fujitsu's speakers. The two 5W satellites and 10W subwoofer give you a well-rounded sound with the sub adding just enough punch to the bass. They're not the loudest though. Still, as a standalone TV it's excellent. But, if you want to hook up a home-theatre system the motherboard's six-channel codec-supported optical S/PDIF out and two 3.5mm audio jacks, limits your choice.
There are other disappointments. Making the infrared receiver internal wouldn't take much. Instead it connects externally to a USB port. Also the keyboard and mouse aren't very living room friendly. However, their range and accuracy is superb (around 10 metres) but PC enthusiasts will appreciate this more than simple sitting room dwellers.
Other connectivity options aren't bad. At the front there's a speedy LG DVD recorder which supports DV-RAM and 4x dual-layer disc burning. Next to this a flap conceals the screen's OSD buttons, two USB ports, mini FireWire, S-Video, Composite and RCA audio out as well as a media card reader (SD/MMC, MemoryStick and xD). On the left are two slots for Type I/II laptop PC Cards plus headphone and audio jacks. At the back are four more USB ports, 10/100 Ethernet and two analogue tuners. There's no WLAN but a cheap laptop card costs under $30.
The analogue tuners may disappoint some but make sense considering the Deskpower will be sold alongside set-top boxes which they need to be compatible with. You can upgrade them to digital yourself if you don't mind removing the large back panels. You can't upgrade much though - you have access to the two (generous) 300GB hard disks, memory, processor and power supply but everything else is built in.
No Electronic Programme Guide is bundled but installing IceGuide (
http://www.icetv.com.au) is simple enough (note it costs $3 per week).
Ultimately, the Deskpower feels very much like a first generation product - the second generation could be far more clipped and polished - though it couldn't perform much better. Some may prefer to combine the A-Listed Enspire MCE PC with a Sharp LCD TV and speakers themselves, but we really like the way the Deskpower just works as a single unit. While it's not perfect, it's incredibly desirable and we're more than happy to recommend it.