Monoblock IdeaCentre A700: Media Center + TV

I tested this candy bar for a month at home. Initially installed on the desktop, it quickly took the place of a home TV, and so it remained there, at the same time performing the functions of a TV, media center and music player. Although you get a decent keyboard and mouse, and even a Windows Media Center-optimized remote control, the main advantage of the A700 is the touch screen. For a long time, I used the keyboard only a couple of times: the touch screen turned out to be quite suitable for a set of typical tasks. What kind? For example, you can start playing a video or pause it, the same with music and TV programs.

As a result, something unexpected happened: this computer turned out to be a competitor to the home TV and an extender with a built-in hard disk. In most cases, it replaces both of them, and at the same time it costs not much more than a bundle of “computer + monitor”. How convenient is this solution to use? Let's try to figure it out.



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Specifications Lenovo IdeaCentre A700
Processor : Intel Core i3 2.53 GHz (there are modifications with Core i5 and 4-core Core i7)
Memory : 2 GB (up to 8 GB)
Display : 23 ”1920x1080 dots touch MultiTouch
Hard Drive : 500 GB
Video card : ATI Radeon 5650 1 GB
Optical drive : DVD-RW
Connectors : 6xUSB, eSata, FireWire, audio, HDMI in / out, antenna input, Ethernet, SPDIF, video input
Wireless networks : WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth
Optional : webcam, TV tuner, SD / SDHC card reader
Dimensions : 568x430x71 mm
Weight : 14.8 kg



Almost all monoblocks (and Lenovo, and other manufacturers) have in relatives both classic desktops and laptops. The A700 uses notebook processors and a mobile (but rather powerful) video card. But the hard drive is 3.5-inch, a bit faster. Another similarity with a laptop is that for the A700 you do not need to buy anything, everything is already included: a keyboard, a mouse, a remote, and so on. Yes, and the installation itself does not take much time: put forward an emphasis on a certain angle, and ready.



The performance of the model can be assessed in this material on the DesktopReview site. True, a slightly more powerful model with an Intel Core i7 processor was tested there, but the video card was exactly the same. The cost of the model in this configuration - from 33 thousand rubles, "full stuffing" can be purchased a little more than 50 thousand. In this case, you get the same Core i7, a terabyte hard drive and 6 gigabytes of RAM.
A700 is equipped with almost all interfaces that can only be useful in the work, including eSata. You can also connect external devices to the device via composite video input or via HDMI.



Part of the connectors placed on the side panel.



Device control buttons - touch. They are used to switch between video sources, adjust volume and brightness, and turn off the screen.



A separate key turns on the original backlight below the display. It is very convenient if a keyboard is installed directly in front of the computer. The keyboard and mouse themselves are wireless, connected to a PC via Bluetooth. On the back there is a sync button for Bluetooth devices.



The remote control is infrared, its own USB-receiver is provided for it.



Media Center
As I said, in the main tasks the keyboard and mouse are simply not needed. If you use the A700 to watch videos and TV or listen to music, you can control the computer either from the remote control or using the touch screen.

The A700 uses the original Multitouch surface acoustic wave technology. The response to on-screen presses is immediate, it is very convenient to use: the limitations here can be except for the part of the Windows interface, which is not always adapted for this type of control.
Although I tested one of the low-end models of the A700, its performance is quite enough to use the device as a full-fledged home computer. In games, the monoblock also shows a good result, although smaller than that of modern desktop graphics cards.



Tv
The A700 was initially connected to a cable TV network. The TV channels were set up in Windows Media Center, which also kindly provided a program guide for selected (namely, federal) channels. It took about 10 minutes to search about 40 channels at Media Center, and it took 20 minutes more to bring the channel list into a normal form.

Switching TV channels takes a little more time from a PC than from a regular TV - about 2-3 seconds. “Click” channels because of this is not very convenient, but with the help of the menu you can always switch to the desired TV program.

As it happens with conventional TVs with a sufficiently large diagonal, on-air or cable TV looks on the device ... not too impressive. The picture is quite zamylenny, since the display resolution is an order of magnitude larger than the resolution of a standard TV. But the A700, if desired, can be used with more modern digital TV services.

TV + Prefix
Therefore, the next stage of testing was the connection to the A700 set-top box from the “Beeline TV” kit. The prefix was connected via HDMI, and perfectly transmitted TV programs in 1080i resolution, including high-definition video. Of course, there is a theoretical possibility to watch IP-TV directly on the computer, but I did not find a ready-made solution for this option.

When the computer is turned on, using the button below the screen, you can switch between the PC and an external source. But there are certain disadvantages of this solution: it will not work to turn on the A700 using the remote control. The bundled remote is optimized for Windows Media Center. When you use this shell, you can turn off the computer from the remote control. When using an external source, you can turn it off and the display will turn off automatically. But to turn on the screen or the entire computer needs a button on the case.

findings
IdeaCentre A700 is the right solution when you need a computer and a TV. The wide capabilities of a monoblock cause some inconvenience (in particular, with the remote turning on the PC), and a separate TV with a nettop or full desktop, or with a media player in some situations may be more convenient. Nevertheless, the A700 turned out to be an interesting universal solution for the home. At the same time, at the price it differs slightly from the cost of individual components (computer + 23-inch monitor or TV + keyboard, mouse and audio system). You may pay a little extra for compactness, but as a result you will get a ready-made solution, suitable for work (if necessary), and for games and entertainment.