Elonex has pioneered the concept of the lounge-friendly Media Center PC and, despite its price tag, the Lumina is a highly seductive solution to a host of home entertainment needs. This design-led 32in widescreen LCD screen may look just like a posh television, but built into the monitor is a powerful computer, capable of recording three digital television programmes at once, or watching one while recording two, onto a decent-sized 200GB hard drive. Tired of TV? The Lumina has enough space to house all your digital music too. It can blast out the Bloc Party album — although you’ll want to add external speakers — then bore your relatives rigid with Tuscan holiday snaps. The remote control makes navigation a breeze as you recline on the sofa, and the screen’s true 16:9 resolution of 1,366 x 768 is ideal for widescreen films, even if the limited horizontal viewing angle is irritating. There is a choice of digital or analogue outputs for 5.1 surround sound, to help bring rattling gunfire to life. Unlike some of its competitors, this machine is relatively quiet, so it won’t disturb any tender moments with too much whirring — no more so than, say, a Sky+ box. This clever system is tailor-made for style-conscious entertainment buffs with deep pockets who want to get truly digital.

NEW-AGE WIRELESS
Hi-Grade DMS II 3400
Price: £1,099 from www.higrade.com
A whisper-quiet WiFi entertainment centre
Four stars

With its green LCD display and aluminium fascia, the DMS II looks more like part of a hi-fi separates system than a computer-cum-home entertainment hub — albeit a tad 1980s in style — and is designed to slot into your living-room stack, with minimum spaghetti-junction wiring. Although the price does not include a monitor or keyboard, the thin casing conceals a full media-centre computer that you can plug into any monitor or TV. The DMS’s multimedia arsenal includes either two analogue TV cards or (a better option) a single Freeview digital TV card, and the 250GB hard disk affords room to store 100 hours of compressed television or radio, three times as much as you’ll fit onto most personal video recorders. You can also connect the Hi-Grade to most set-top boxes, including Sky and cable receivers, and make use of programme guides for simple digital recordings, though there are no Scart outputs. You could even replay Big Brother’s psychological sadomasochism on a separate laptop through the DMS’s built-in WiFi, although this networking trickery requires some technical nous. On top of its audiovisual treats, this is a pretty powerful computer, with excellent gaming potential — so you can watch the latest 3-D shoot-’em-ups unfold as smoothly as a Tom Cruise action flick. If you want the last word in “convergence” home entertainment kit, and already own all the audiovisual caboodle to let this wee beastie shine, the Hi-Grade is a star.

LUXURY STUDENT LIFESTYLE
Toshiba Qosmio G20-108
Price: £1,707 from www.unbeatable.co.uk
A space-saving box of tricks
Three stars

The Qosmio laptop is a powerful, if hernia-inducing, desktop replacement. At 4.4kg, this black beauty isn’t one for frequent flyers, but with a large widescreen, potent multimedia tricks and a decent computer, it’s ideal for student digs or trendy bedsits. This all-in-one entertainment box isn’t cheap, but it saves you the expense of a separate stereo, television, VCR, games console — and computer. Its best trick is the ability to fire up in a few seconds when you get back from the pub, ready to enjoy TV or DVDs without waiting for Windows to grind into life. Everything is controlled through the remote control or an excellent keyboard. Infuriatingly, the single built-in TV tuner is analogue, so you’re restricted to the five basic channels unless you add a USB-based digital TV widget. The wide 17in screen masks two backlights, so text and video are clear, even in bright sunlight — not that most students will see much of that. The hard drive is split into two, in reality offering just 80GB. Not bad for a laptop, but a bit tight for TV storage. A DVD burner will archive movies or “educational” material.

DIGITAL HOARDER
Evesham Teramedia
Price: £2,858 from www.evesham.com
A top-spec PC, unsuited to life in the lounge
Three stars

The Evesham has enough high-end components under its bonnet to send any geek into jelly-kneed paroxysms. A mind-boggling 1.45TB (1,450GB) of storage can house 350 full DVD-quality blockbusters or more episodes of The Bill than you can shake a Radio Times at. Even the most die-hard telly addict will struggle to fill this cavity. There are two digital television tuners, so it will work as a personal video recorder, using an electronic programme guide to record an entire series at the press of a button. As a mighty multimedia computer, the Teramedia cannot be faulted, but you really wouldn’t want it lurking in your lounge. For starters, though the supplied ViewSonic VX912 monitor is a great 19in TFT screen, this baby cries out for a larger widescreen display. It’s also rather garish to look at — and, despite industrial levels of cooling, it produces a steady low hum. The gaming and video-editing performance are both top-notch, but these are “keyboard and mouse ”, as opposed to popcorn-munching, remote-control-tastic activities. If you want a blazing-fast PC, this is your monkey, but housed in your lounge, it will swiftly grind your organs.

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