Multimedia PC’s for your Living Room HDTV

As technology progresses, more and more companies have released all-in-one desktop PCs, or more popularly known as living room PCs. These devices were clearly influenced by the success of the Apple iMac. Companies such as Dell, Sony and Gateway are racing to give consumers what they want. These devices incorporate touch-screen interface, Blu-ray options and included TV tuners. Recently, manufacturers HP and Sony have introduced new models in their all-in-one series that are even more clearly geared toward making these desktops into an HDTV alternative.

Sony, now, has released the Sony VAIO RTWith. This is Sony’s new VAIO LV with a 24-inch LCD option that cranks the resolution up to 1,920×1,080. This allows users to watch Blu-ray discs in full 1080p via the optional Blu-ray rewritable drive. It also offers an HDMI input, which means you can hook up a set-top box to it instead of having to use the built-in TV tuners - which by the way, is included with the device. It becomes even more sweeter with the 1TB of storage for DVR duties.

Sony also announced the 25.5-inch VAIO RT, with the same HDTV features but designed more for heavy-duty multimedia-editing tasks with options for Intel Core 2 Quad processors and up to 8GB of RAM. However, these devices can cost you a small fortune as the RT price starts at $3,299.99, whereas the lowest-priced LT configuration is $1,699.99. Both series will be available in November.

Then there’s the HP Touchsmart IQ804. The 25.5-inch display also shows up in the latest TouchSmart series, the IQ800. For $1,899, you get a bigger screen than the equivalently priced LV, but the IQ804t doesn’t come with a Blu-ray drive at that price, nor do you get an HDMI input. For Blu-ray, you’ll need to wait for November for the IQ816, which will cost a couple hundred dollars more, though you’ll also get a superior graphics card (the Nvidia GeForce 9600M). And, of course, you get the touch-screen interface, which lets you easily flip through your media collection.

With these advances, a PC and an HDTV might now become synonymous. These ideas and these gadgets is even more practical if you are living in a small space (25.5 inch screens). Whatever is the case, these babies cost a lot. So its all up to the consumers. Do you want a PC in the living room for your HDTV needs? Or would you rather have the traditional TV set and let the PCs go where they are supposed to go?