Review: Toshiba Notebook Plays HD DVDs
The Qosmio G35-AV650 is also quite special. It's the first notebook computer to incorporate an HD DVD-ROM Drive. The drive will play ordinary DVD movies, and it will also play HD DVD movies, of which numerous titles are already for sale. The Qosmio G35-AV650 also features a 17-inch widescreen Ultimate TruBrite WUXGA display with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, which is an ideal match for the 1080p high-definition format. The display looks dazzling even with an ordinary DVD playing, but high-definition video is simply incredible. Toshiba sent along a demo disc containing video in both formats, and the HD DVD format speaks for itself.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray are designed to support high-definition video. Regular DVDs support a maximum horizontal resolution of 480 lines so they are not compatible with HDTV's 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Blu-ray Discs can hold up to 25 Gbytes per layer. Single- and double-layer Blu-ray discs are available, as are pre-recorded movies and players. Pioneer's BDR-101A Blu-ray PC recorder is now for sale and Sony's BWU-100A Blu-ray burner should soon be available. Sony's drive will support dual-layer 50-Gbyte Blu-ray discs and CDs, while the Pioneer drive does not.
HD DVD has a capacity of 15 Gbytes for single-layer discs and 30 Gbytes for dual-layer discs; triple-layer discs are in the works. HD DVD players will play regular DVDs, and special HD DVD discs will contain both formats on one disc. That means consumers will only have to buy one movie regardless of the type of player they have. That's why HD DVD might just have an edge over Blu-ray, even though Blu-ray has a higher capacity.
The optical drive in the Qosmio G35-AV650 cannot record on HD DVD discs. A handful of play-only units are on the market but no HD DVD recorders are currently available. The Qosmio's drive can, however, read and write current DVD formats including dual-layer.
Not only does the Qosmio G35-AV650 play HD DVD movies on its own screen, it also has an HDMI port that supports 1080i so the notebook can be connected to any high-definition TV or display that also has an HDMI port. Graphics processing is handled by an NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 with 256 Mbytes of VRAM. The notebook also includes an integrated TV tuner and a digital video recorder (DVR) for recording and pausing live TV. Top-quality sound is also part of the package, as the Qosmio G35-AV650 incorporates a powerful Harman Kardon bass reflex speaker system. A S/PDIF optical audio connector allows the Qosmio to be connected to a home theater sound system for true Dolby Home Theater 5.1 surround sound.
Another neat feature is the QosmioPlayer, which lets users watch and pause live TV, watch DVDs or listen to CDs without booting up Windows. These functions can be accessed directly from the unit or using the remote control.
Speaking of Windows, the Qosmio G35-AV650 naturally runs Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. The Centrino system is powered by a 2 GHz Intel T2500 Core Duo Processor with a 667 MHz Front Side Bus, 2 Mbyte Level 2 cache and an Intel 945PM Express chipset.
Ample storage is provided by two 100 Gbyte serial ATA hard drives which can used separately for maximum storage capacity or combined in a RAID1 configuration for secure data redundancy and a 100 Gbyte total capacity. The system also comes standard with 1 Gbyte of DDR2 memory. Other features include a 5-in-1 media card reader, integrated gigabit Ethernet and 802.11a/b/g wireless, Bluetooth, four USB 2.0 ports, S-Video in and out, FireWire and a modem.
The hefty Qosmio G35-AV650 measures 16 inches wide by 11.6 inches deep by 1.79 inches high and it weighs about 10 pounds. It's not well suited for travel, but no other notebook will look as good or entertain as well in the home. The notebook is priced at $2,999.99.