The MCE interface had a number of other abilities that I played around with. When you hit the "Info" button, it gives you the option of initiating Instant Messenger. This can be disconcerting as you'll get messages in the lower left of the screen while you are watching TV. It can be as fun for you as it is distracting for everyone else. The box is small and it only shows a couple of lines of text but it does manage to remain legible while minimizing the screen real estate.

The Internet Spotlight has been mentioned in reference to Internet radio though there were a number of other options available (MTV, Fox Sports, Comedy Central, XM Radio, Game xStream, Movielink, GalleyPlayer, and more). I toyed around with it for a while and found some interesting content but it was far too limited in my opinion. Apparently, the Internet Spotlight is set by Microsoft from providers that request (i.e. pay ) to be included. That means no customization on the user's end. It ended up being more of a "commercial" area allowing limited access or free trials with subsequent pleas for a subscription. More often than not, I just used it to test to see if the wireless network was working. 

The front of the unit has an 11-in-1 internal card reader - Supporting CompactFlash I/II, MicroDrive, Secure Digital Card/Multimedia Card and more. While I didn't really take advantage of it, it is something that a user could use to download pictures into the "My Pictures" folder. The way I would use it, I'd go through my pictures and pick my favorites. I'd either transfer them to the DMS-701 over the network or download them to the card on the camera. I'd then transfer them from the card to the unit via the front ports. Lastly, I'd set those pics as a slide show for the screensaver. Nothing impresses grandparents more than seeing pictures of their grandkids scrolling across the screen. I've got this set up on my desktop and I've often found my parent or in-laws transfixed by the screensaver. Sort of a "grandparent hypnosis" if you will.

The MCE interface has a simplistic version of the video and audio calibration akin to the THX optimizer on many DVDs these days. A movie explaining how it works is not only provided but required in order to make use of the calibration. My take, if you spent $3k on an HTPC and God knows how much on a display, you've probably already done this. If you haven't, or more likely, some well meaning relative "helped" you turn everyone into orange-faced Oompa Loompa's, you could use this feature for a short term fix before getting an ISF calibration.

2partsfusion has a fairly active forum community that is used by users to get answers and staff to disseminate fixes/information. Chances are, if you have a problem, someone else does as well. Customer service from 2partsfusion is like a marriage - a lifetime commitment. Once you buy a machine, you are welcomed and encouraged to seek assistance with everything from problems to upgrades. Your keyboard acting funny? Give them a call. You want to install a new sound card? They'll walk you through it. No six months free then $24 dollars per incident nonsense. They stand behind their product and that is one of the biggest draws of the company.

As much as I've commented on how the DMS-701 acts more like a computer than a set-top box, it is just that fact that makes the unit nearly infinitely upgradeable. Whereas many of the competitors may have more stable interfaces and less conflicting software issues, they also require that you buy a whole new unit. The HTPC model allows you to take advantage of new technologies as they arrive. Of course, you pay for this in ease of use but that is always the case - the more flexible something is, the harder it is to use.

Remotes

The unit came with two remotes, the Microsoft wireless keyboard and the Microsoft Remote Control for Windows XP MCE 2005. For the most part, I liked the keyboard a lot. The keys on the side were fairly well laid out and easily accessible. The keys on the keyboard didn't light up (though that probably would have killed the battery faster than anything), and the symbols on the buttons were a bit obscure - but I didn't really have a problem with that. I learned the three or four I used on a regular basis in a matter of moments and rarely ever looked down. My only real qualm with the keyboard is that the backlight had two real settings; off and millisecond (actually, about 2 seconds by my unscientific count). The few times I realized I had pressed the wrong button, I NEVER looked down fast enough to catch it with the light on. It was that fast (or I'm that slow). The joystick was completely unfit for long term duty and was painful to use (both physically and emotionally) after only a few minutes. If you plan on spending any time at all using the mouse, get a different keyboard with a traditional mouse. My wife absolutely refused to use the keyboard so it mostly gathered dust on my shelf.

Now, the Microsoft remote was spectacular in its ability to suck. I HATED this remote with such a passion that it made my eyes bleed. It was slow to respond, had a number of odd behaviors that were probably driver-related, and was laid out as if someone was playing a bad joke. The keypad was all the way at the bottom forcing you to balance the remote on your leg or risk dropping it. All the audio controls (play, stop pause, etc.) were at the top. The middle had the directional keys, the channel and volume buttons, four quick keys, and the ubiquitous Windows key which would bring you to the main MCE menu even if you are on the desktop. The problems: backlighting and the mute button. The keypad is not lit up - at all. The four most useful buttons to send you (in order from left to right) to Recorded TV, the Guide (listing of what is on TV), Live TV, and DVD Menu are not lit, though, if they were, the text is on the plastic so it would do you no good. Personally, I would have liked a hotkey for "music" (and would have readily switched out the DVD Menu button for this).

The more glaring problem, in my mind, was simply the key layout. If I relax the remote in my hand, the mute button lands squarely under my thumb. I think they were shooting for the Windows key but in my hand it was the mute button, which is directly below the windows key. There are a number of ways that this layout could have been improved, most noticeably by moving the directional keys to the center (with the OK button landing under the relaxed thumb) and the keypad moved up slightly or the overall length of the remote increased so that you could actually use the buttons. My biggest suggestion, upgrade to one of the other remotes offered by 2partsfusion (the Logitech Harmony 880 or 890). Clint reviewed the 880 and gave it high marks.

I should note that for IR remotes, these two worked astonishingly well. I practically had to take them out of the room to get them not to register my keystrokes. I've only experienced this kind of performance on a RF remote. The unit came with an IR blaster (looks like a Cyclopes eye) which could be used but unless you store the unit in another room, I don't see how you'd need it.

Issues

While set top boxes are known for their stability, they tend to have limited upgradeability. The DMS-701 HTPC Media Server is completely upgradeable, but it had a number of problems that were as amusing as they were confusing (amusing because this is a review unit that I didn't pay for, if I had paid $2800 for this unit, I may not have been laughing as much as I did). The two major issues were the internal wireless card and a standby problem. Apparently, with the dual core processor that I was using, the unit would freeze once it went into standby mode. 2partsfusion had me disable the standby mode while they researched the problem. This is one of the reasons I was so keen on the Visualizations during music playback - preventing burn-in. 2partsfusion eventually found out that there was a driver conflict and the manufacturer was putting together an update but it was not completed for in time for the review. Personally, this sounds like a relatively minor issue, and once it was fixed, it was. But it caused all sorts of problems at weird places so it took me a while to figure out what it was. Once we disabled the standby mode, 90% of my issues with the unit were resolved.

Manufacturer's Note: Standby issue occurs only with the combination of the Hauppauge PVR-500 and AMD Dual Core-Processors. This is related specifically to the present Hauppauge PVR-500 drivers and is being addressed. Additionally, at this time there is a workaround and does not affect the DMS-701 utilizing a different PVR card(s) or other DMS models.

The internal wireless card was another separate issue altogether - one that was never actually fixed. For some reason that no one can understand, the wireless card would not initiate on startup. At the same time, I was having problems with my wireless keyboard (more on that below) and would have to plug in a PS/2 mouse in order to navigate the windows desktop interface. Well, whenever I plugged in the mouse and restarted, magically, the wireless card would start working. After two or three times of this, I made the connection and tested it empirically. Yep, no matter what I did, the internal card wouldn't initiate unless I had a either a PS/2 mouse or keyboard plugged in. Eventually, 2partsfusion sent me a USB wireless adapter and that was that. A strange problem with an easy fix.

I had many remote/wireless keyboard issues. First one would work, and then the other. I'd have double scrolling or none at all. For a while, when I hit OK while watching TV, it would send me back to the last channel viewed (I liked this) until I had a different problem and the "fix" for that problem "unfixed" the other functionality. For a while, hitting the button "Live TV" would send me to whichever channel I was last watching. Later, it would send me to the TV menu and I'd have to select live TV. For a while the remote was doubling all the button presses and later it would only take one. Many of these were obviously driver issues. Once I got the bulk of the remote issues under control, I didn't want to try to fix the little stuff for fear of breaking something else. Regardless of what driver I was using, double entries on the remote keypad (except 11 and not the keyboard) would almost always register as a "back" command. So, when I wanted to view SciFi (66 in my area), I'd have a press 6, wait a second, then hit 6 again or risk going back to the last menu I was on. If I waited too long, it would send me to channel 6.

Placing a DVD in the drive would bring up a prompt asking if you want to play the disc. Leave the disc in the drive for too long, and suddenly, it is not there anymore, at least not to the unit. If you leave the disc in and restart it (and the unit starts back up which sometimes it wouldn't), the disc wouldn't be recognized. Not a huge problem as all you had to do is eject and reinsert it but it was an annoyance that is surely the result of the PC platform.

Conclusions and Overall Perceptions

As this product is really marketed to the HTPC market - people that have neither the time nor the ability to put together an HTPC on their own, this product is a success. Once the kinks were worked out and the most of the conflicts resolved, the unit worked like a dream. It would hiccup occasionally as if to say, "Hey, don't forget, I'm a PC!" I asked my wife what she thought of the DMS-701 and her response was, "I love it." When asked why, she said it was because she could record TV with the caveat that she didn't really know what else it could do. And therein lays the rub of the unit: the PC platform. If you expect this unit to operate like a set top box, you are going to be disappointed. If you are at all PC savvy and don't mind having to fiddle with it a little, the DMS-701 can be a toy that will bring you years of pleasure. As much as I like to think of myself as a thorough reviewer, I've only covered a small amount of what the DMS-701 can do. It is limited only by the latest technology, your computer literacy, and your imagination. At its price point and features, no set-top box can touch it (at least nothing that I've reviewed). When you factor in the customer service, the extra cost of having 2partsfusion build it for you rather than putting it together yourself balances out. If you have the ability to build your own, then do so. If not, and you want to buy a box that is thousands less than its set-top counterparts and customer service that you can count on, you should take a hard look at the DSM-701.