Sony VAIO VGX-XL2 Digital Living System (Intel Pentium D Processor 920, 1 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Optical Drive) | List Price: $1,999.99
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Brand: Sony
Binding: Personal Computers
Features: - Multimedia desktop PC combined with 200-disc changer/recorder with dual-layer DVD burning support
- 2.8 GHz Intel Pentium D 920 dual-core processor (2 MB L2 cache), 320 GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM (2 GB max), additional dual-layer DVD burner
- Automatically and sequentially record up to 200 audio CDs; record TV episodes to the hard drive and transfer them to blank DVDs stored in the changer
- 54g Wi-Fi LAN, built-in TV tuner, multi-format memory card reader
- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Update Rollup 2)
Does NOT work on computer monitor [Posted on 2007-02-21]
I bought this new off Ebay to use as a computer with my 24" Sony monitor only to find it only works off a TV. I'm sadly disappointed to find out I can not use it this way. Now I have to resell it on Ebay and take the loss.
I thought this should be noted for those who want to use it for anything other than a entertainment device for their TV.
Nothing like it. Would buy again. [Posted on 2007-03-09]
Read all the reviews on this product. Did'nt want to fork out the money in case it was'nt what it was cracked up to be. It was. Controls media at 100%. Can do, what I want to do with other components pieced together, but to get a clean simple (1) component to do it all, was worth the price.
Reviews I'd read are correct, wireless keyboard is low point to XL2. You can work with it, but Sony should really upgrade it. So far, Very Pleased.
Well... I Got What I Expected [Posted on 2007-03-21]
... and I am extremely satisfied with this purchase. Despite the fact that I have researched this item for almost a year, I must admit that I slowly became a bit skeptical of committing to the purchase. But after understanding that the people submitting such low ratings were victims of oversight, lack of CIS courses, and/or faulty equipment, I became more apt to make the purchase [...].
Like many of the customers, the first thing we noticed was the immensity of the size. We were afraid that it would not fit the shelves of our media stand. But in a way it did (we placed the changer on a shelf and the CPU on the top).
Hooking up the system was a breeze. Confusion reared its ugly head only when we could not understand why there was no visual through the AV receiver (which supports HDMI). After a few hours of tweaking and programming, we found that the AV receiver only needed the programming and more time to affiliate with the visual signal.
I have only 2 complaints about this system. The first one has to do with actually getting 5.1 surround sound pushed through the AV receiver (we are only getting 2.1). This complaint leads up to the second one, a manual that is more in-depth.
Overall, I am greatly satisfied with this purchase. Once again, Sony has not disappointed me.
And DVD copying on this system is possible.
Very disappointed [Posted on 2007-07-08]
I have been a Sony customer for a very long time. This is my third, yes third, computer of theirs and I've bought a long list of other Sony products (camcorder, cameras, PDA, etc...). I was able to get this system for a very good deal from another seller so I purchased it along with an additional changer. My review will focus primarily on the setting up of it and not on the changer itself. I'm very good at computers having owned at least 9 over the last 10 years and currently own 5, including a Mac. I teach/train other on the usage of them and upgrade my own so I know quite a bit on how to set them up. In other words, I'm not a novice.
I currently own another Sony that has a TV tuner in it. I plugged in a coax cable from the wall, uploaded the channel guide and was on my way. No big deal. I recorded television shows all the time from it. I loved it. I decided on this system because I wanted to take advantage of my digital cable package and movie channels. While I know the quality may not be superb, I knew I would be able to get the upper channels. I understood I could either go straight in from the wall to the PC with a coax or go through the box, depending on my cable company. I opted to do the latter. I went through the Media Center set up. That was a b****. It would recognize the remotes (the media center/sony and cable) and then it wouldn't. It couldn't make up its mind. I finally got it to work. With some patience, I realized I would have to use the cable remote to watch TV via the computer. I couldn't use the media remote at all when it came to recording items or changing channels. There went my great idea of recording TV with titles and DVR-like convenience (I could do it but at a great time expense and using both remotes). In the end, I had to hook up an S-video cable because it wouldn't 'recognize' the coax. It gets worse. I went on vacation and came back. Suddenly, Media Center was telling me that it needed to be calibrated. Not Again! I tried to set it up. Same problem with remotes, however, when you test the channels, they wouldn't change with either remote. (Well, the numbers for the Media Center remote changed, but unless the cable box was on, the screen was black.) Unless I had the box on, I saw no TV. Basically, the PC was being used as a makeshift VCR/cable box viewing device. In addition, I could hear nothing going on from the cable box on my surround sound. I could hear anything I did on the PC, but not the cable box.
Like other people, I do want to make this a CD/music storage computer and store my DVD's in the changers. However, I also wanted to record movies from my movie channels so I could watch them at my leisure (my DVR gets a little jam packed at times). I don't know if the issue is the computer or media center, however, the system itself isn't stable. At one point, I can at least change the channels with the cable remote but can't really effectively use it for recording. Then, media center doesn't work and I can't use the remotes (even though both 'pass' the test).
I won't even go into how it keeps losing my wireless signal. That's another horror story. (I have three other computers to test the wireless ability so it isn't my router. :-) )
Depending on what you want to do with the computer will determine on whether or not you should buy it. I will go through and upgrade software per what I've read here. I believe part of the issue is having to go through the S-Video cable (just a theory) but I have no other choice at the moment. If things get worse or better, I'll update my opinion.
Oh, the directions for setting up the computer stink. You kinda have to know your way around cables and cords to know what you're doing. Just a thought.
Changer is poor design [Posted on 2007-12-08]
I bought 3 of the changers to go with this system, If you load it up (200 disks) eventually (3-4 months) the stepping motor will die.
Between the 3 of them I've had them in service 6 times in less than one year. The service guys are good and the warrentee covers it however after my year is up then what. I guess I could buy the 1 yr extended warrentee Sony keeps offering me for $200.00 per unit (ya right!)
Sony has a lot of work to do in QA and test IMO
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