When Microsoft first touted the idea of using the PC as a substitute TV, critics joked about having to reboot your telly every half an hour. But the company ploughed on and launched Windows XP Media Center Edition at the end of October 2002 in the US.

It took everyone by surprise with its slick and intuitive interface that gave more than a gentle nod to the menu system used on innovative personal video recorders such as the TiVo.

However, this first version of Windows Media Center had some failings, so Microsoft has returned with an updated 2005 edition that fixes many of the problems and adds extra features such as the ability to record one program while watching another (provided the hardware is up to the job).

While it is true that you can get much of the functions of Media Center Edition using software from other companies (photo, video and music organisation, for example), the charm of the operating system is that it brings everything together in one place under the command of a dedicated remote control.

Microsoft claims that it's also the best version of Windows currently available for consumers as it offers the most functions and the fewest bugs. As a result we're likely to see this operating system appearing on more and more PCs in the near future.

With this in mind we decided to check out six of the most exciting Windows Media Center PCs currently on the market. Our test covers not just traditional PCs, but computers that are designed to be used in your living room with your TV.

Advent MC3040
www.pcworld.co.uk
The Advent's mirrored front may attract smudge marks but there's no doubt that it does give the PC a real air of class. We also liked the way the case has been designed so that it can either be stood up as a tower or laid flat to look more like something you'd place under your telly.

However, we were less fond of the awkward and flimsy flip-up front panel that hides some key ports such as the digital audio output. Nevertheless, here you'll also find other useful sockets such as the headphone connector, FireWire port and a multi-format memory card reader.

Advent has included an analogue TV tuner card, which means you can't use it to watch digital Freeview channels. Changing channels within Media Center was a bit sluggish and, worryingly, the audio and video on TV shows went out of sync a few times during testing.

This was a problem that affected many of the previous generation of Media Center PCs, so it was disappointing to see it on a new machine. We were also unimpressed by the remote control - some of the buttons are too small and too tightly bunched together.

Considering the high specification, we found this PC to be a bit of an under-performer and the 2.9GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512Mb of memory, 160Gb hard disk and GeForce FX5200 graphics struggled to make it shine in our tests.

In fact, apart from the smart looks and good price (it's by far the cheapest here), there really isn't an awful lot to get excited about. It does the job, but it is outclassed by the competition.

Evesham E-media Tower
www.evesham.com
This powerful PC from Evesham takes advantage of one of the key new features of Windows Media Center 2005: support for dual TV tuners. What this means is that you can record one program while watching another, in a similar way to Sky+.

Thankfully, both TV cards in this machine are of the digital variety so you get more channels and sharper pictures than you would with analogue tuners. This also translates into excellent recording quality.

If the 200Gb hard disk starts filling up, Evesham has included a recordable DVD drive that can write to plus and minus formats so you can archive recorded shows to disc. In fact this machine was the only one we looked at that included both a DVD-ROM and a recordable DVD drive, which is handy if you need to copy CDs or DVDs.

The PC is presented in a traditional tower case so it's designed more for the study than for the lounge. The 19in Viewsonic monitor means it's large enough to allow the PC to act as a second TV in a bedroom. However, it's a little noisy, so you wouldn't really want it in your living room anyway.

In Windows Media Center, the dual tuners performed flawlessly and being able to record one show while watching another was a real boon. The system was fast and responsive thanks to the 3.2GHz Pentium 4 processor and 512Mb of memory and the ATI Radeon X700 graphics card also put in an excellent showing in the latest games.

Overall, this is an excellent Windows Media Center machine. You wouldn't use it in the living room to replace your TV, but as a PC/TV hybrid for the bedroom or study it performs admirably.

Hi-Grade DMS3000
www.higrade.com
Out of all the Media Center PCs here the Hi-Grade most closely resembles a piece of consumer electronics. Not only is it one of the quietest multimedia PCs around, but it features an infrared remote control receiver built into the case. Most Media Center PCs come with an external USB infrared receiver that looks a bit untidy sitting next to the machine, so full marks to Hi-Grade for mounting the receiver inside the chassis.

The PC is built around a 3GHz Pentium 4 processor and 512Mb of memory in a suitably small case with clean lines and slot-loading recordable DVD drive. Only the front-mounted USB and FireWire ports give away the fact that there's a PC inside.

Around the back it's a similar story. This is the only Media Center PC we've seen to feature Scart sockets for connection to a TV. Hi-Grade has even provided Composite and S-Video ports alongside the hi-fi-style phono connectors for audio on the rear. In essence, there's no doubting that it will fit right in alongside your other home cinema kit.

In fact, you'll need other home entertainment equipment because the DMS3000 only has a single analogue audio output. This means that to get surround sound from the system you'll need to hook it up via the digital audio connector to an external surround sound decoder.

It's also disappointing that Hi-Grade hasn't provided a DVI socket. Surely some customers will want to connect it up to a big plasma screen or LCD TV?

Considering the price we were also a bit surprised that there's only an analogue tuner card. In fact our machine refused to tune any TV channels at all, something we were unable to solve before the conclusion of the test.

The DMS 3000 is a brave stab at a living room-friendly Media Center Edition PC, but at such a high price (considering it doesn't come with a monitor and has only a 120Gb hard disk) we expected more for the money.

HP Media Center m1150.uk
welcome.hp.com
At first glance this computer from HP looks very traditional. It's only when you take a closer look at the front of the case that you see there's something more at work here. One of the front panels slides back to reveal a host of video connectors including Composite, S-Video and FireWire ports.

The second panel hides a slot for HP's optional Media Drive. This is a removable hard disk that can be used as an alternative to the 160Gb hard disk. You slot the Media Drive into the bay and it appears to the PC as a standard hard disk. Once out of the slot you can connect a power lead to it and hook it up to other machines via USB.

HP is also pitching this PC at image-editing enthusiasts. At the top of the tower there is a multi-format memory card reader and you'll find a dedicated HP Image Zone menu within the Media Center Edition interface. This acts in much the same way as the 'My Pictures' menu, allowing you to manipulate and print pictures via the remote control.

The company has also added an HP Tunes menu that allows you to manage your iPod from within Media Center, something you can't do with other Windows Media Center machines. There's an FM tuner too, so you can schedule recordings of your favourite radio shows.

Unfortunately, the TV features aren't quite as hot as the rest of the system. The PC has a standard analogue TV card so you can't receive free digital channels.

The PC is nothing special in terms of performance, but the 2.9GHz Pentium 4 processor and 512Mb of memory have more than enough power for everyday tasks. On the whole, this computer's interesting range of features make it a pretty decent all-round media PC, but it would have excited us more if it had a digital tuner card.

Mesh Media+Cubex64 3500+ MCE
www.meshcomputers.com
While other manufacturers have opted for either tower systems or living-room friendly devices, Mesh has found a third way. Its machine is housed inside a mini cube case designed by Shuttle Technology.

The case feels well made and the black and silver finish looks good. It also uses Shuttle's Silent X technology to help keep down the noise, although it's not by any means completely silent.

For such a small device this PC is a good performer, and the combination of the Athlon 64 3500 processor, 512Mb of memory, a massive 300Gb hard disk and ATI Radeon 9800Pro graphics card made it pretty fast.

Mesh has chosen to use the motherboard's nForce on-board chip for audio. This can feed a surround-sound amplifier either via the 5.1 analogue outputs or digital connectors. Mesh has only supplied the PC with a set of Creative I-Trigue 3200 2.1 speakers, though, so these will need to be upgraded if you're serious about home cinema audio.

When it comes to using the PC for watching television it puts in an impressive performance. A digital terrestrial TV tuner card is included so you can pick up all the Freeview channels. We also liked the supplied remote control because it has large and well-spaced buttons.

The built-in recordable DVD drive can write to plus and minus formats and means you can easily archive recorded shows to disc and the 19in TFT monitor, although not widescreen, produces good pictures and is large enough to act as a second TV should you wish. All this contributes to what is a very impressive offering from Mesh.

Minicomputers Theatrino Base Unit - High End Packe 3
www.minicomputers.co.uk
This is one of the smallest and most expensive PCs in the test and looks more like a DVD player than a traditional PC. The size has been kept down by using an external power supply, which reduces noise as fewer cooling fans are needed inside the case.

The front of the case houses an attractive slot-loading DVD drive and on the left-hand side there's a port for plugging in a Compact Flash memory card from a digital camera. Apart from the blue power light and hard disk status light there's only the power button to break up the minimalist lines.

Unfortunately, things aren't so well laid out around the back. There's only a single mini jack for outputting analogue audio, although you do get an optical digital output for hooking the unit up to a surround-sound system.

The layout of the video connectors is also a bit haphazard. There are DVI and S-Video ports, plus a VGA connector bolted to the left-hand side of the unit. However, this is placed too close to the edge of the case so it's difficult to attach a cable to it properly.

Despite being mainly built around components designed for notebook PCs, such as a Mobile Pentium 4 and an ATI Mobility Radeon graphics card, the system performed admirably in our tests.

Thankfully, when it comes to TV, the company has decked the PC out with a digital TV tuner. We experienced some problems with the card when trying to tune digital stations - it just wouldn't find any - but as it uses the same digital card as other machines in this test we suspect it was just a one-off problem. Once going, there is a 400Gb hard disk to store video on.

The Theatrino is an interesting attempt at a living room-friendly media PC but it needs more work before it's ready for prime time.

Center of excellence
Picking a winner from this batch of PCs was a difficult task because they differ hugely in both size and function. The offerings from Hi-Grade and Minicomputers are designed to be used in the living room hooked up to a big TV, while the more traditional-looking units from HP and Advent are better suited to the bedroom or study.

In the end, we thought there were two PCs that stood out from the rest: the Mesh and the Evesham. We liked the Mesh because we felt the mini case was a good compromise between a traditional PC and something that would be at home in the lounge. It also impressed us with its speedy performance in our tests.

However, in the end we decided to give our Buy It award to the Evesham E-media Tower. It is a sterling performer for gaming and office tasks and also offers dual tuners. We felt its range of features and top-notch specification made it worthy winner.