Review HP Mediasmart 42 and 47 Full HD 1080p LCD TVs
First the easy stuff: The LCD TV and associated specs are exactly what you would expect from any of the top 1080P providers. There isn't a significant difference between this display and similar displays from Samsung, Sony, etc. The image quality is tremendous. The available connectivity options are as expected. Great warranty. Great price point. Gloss black frame may be rather unique compared to some other displays.
Now the real differentiator - MediaSmart: HP's MediaSmart solution is incorporated into this fine 1080P HDTV and provides some truly unique value for anyone with a home network. (Wired or wireless, or both). With built-in ethernet (hard wired and 802.11 b/g/n) you can easily make the TV the hub of your entertainment experience. Using just the TV remote you will be able to access all the pictures, music, and videos stored on any PC in the house.
Music - Even using 802.11b, your music will stream flawlessly through the MediaSmart TV. I use 802.11g and can stream music while someone is using the PC that the music is stored on. No interuption for either person. Very cool.
Pictures - After kicking off a favorite music playlist, or creating a new one from the TV, you can then switch over to your pictures and start a slideshow of favorite pictures or a favorite folder. The slideshow will transition between pictures very gracfully as your music plays in the background. I use this during parties for the kids or when adults attend I take 30-40 quick pictures of the couples/group and download them to the shared folder on the PC. In under two minutes you can display brand new pictures in VERY high resolution to your guests. I use a dSLR camera with 10 megapixels and the results are stunning.
Video - Since I do not yet have Blu-ray or HD DVD, I downloaded a few 1080P videos off the internet to really show off the 1080P capabilities of the display. The videos are stored on the local PC and via the TV remote you select the movie of choice and press play. It's that simple! I stream the videos via 802.11g, but if someone is using the PC at the same time you really need 802.11n or a hard wired ethernet connection to get uninterrupted streaming. A simple $125 wireless router upgrade is in in my future.
As a final note, I also have an HP Digital Entertainment Center connected and the display is outstanding as a PC Monitor. The HP DEC connects via one of the three HDMI ports and is very easy to see even from 15 feet away. Using the included wireless keyboard, I can sit on the couch and surf the internet or play games with ease.
I also have a DVR cable box, bose sound system, and Nintendo Wii connected to this TV. Even with all that, I still have an open HDMI port for a soon to be added blu-ray or HD DVD player as well as component video connections if needed for other devices. Throw in a SlingBox and you have a virtually perfect home entertainment system for your family room.
MediaSmart is the real deal. Better then AppleTV and Sony's difficult solution. Highly recommended.
I originally picked out a LCD TV at a local retailer. They told me that model would be back in stock in 3 weeks. Since I had a lot of setup (and it was still in time for the Super Bowl!), I decided to wait. Well the day before delivery, the store said it wasn't coming in.
So I was looking on the web and found this media smart TV-42" from HP. I called the hpshopping.com number and they answered all my questions walked me through the order and got a great price. Ordered on a Thursday night, TV was delivered via Federal Express on Monday.
And wow! It was totally easy to setup, get all the new sound system, DVD wired. Picture is absolutely spectacular. It plays all the stuff off my media center PC which is totally awesome. You can order online movies with it from the web, all kinds of cool stuff. Did I say the picture was beautiful. Looks nice too.
