Customer Reviews
All flash, no joy 
2008-03-25
I bought this computer in a desperate act because my old one conked in the middle of a project (I work from home) and I had to have one by Monday. It is chock full of useless programs, runs slow, and uses Vista, the worst operating system ever. It seems as if Microsoft was unhappy with the way people had actually learned to use their computers and weren't making enough use of the help staff in some country where English must be the third language or fifth, or who knows? Soooo they invented Vista and called it an improvement. I was warned not to buy anything but Win XP or a MacIntosh, but didn't listen, to my regret.
The only way to get most programs to work on this machine is to use the "COMPATIBILITY WIZARD" and set them to work under XP or WIN2000, because Vista is basically NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ANYTHING. It is particularly not compatible with the Norton Symantec Security that comes installed on it, and if you buy the Norton Security program it will crash the computer and you need to spend a good four hours on the phone with someone halfway around the world who must take over your computer from there to actually make the whole thing run again.
SPECIAL NOTE: You cannot run TurboTax on VISTA! Intuit will not tell you that but the program is simply not EVER going to work.
All the loaded in programs seem to boot with startup, I mean everything, so it moves with the speed of a glacier. I can't find the old way of turning them off so startup takes a good 10 minutes. Push the button and then go make your coffee and read the paper; when you get done the computer will be started. So will the "help Center" which is slow to load and useless.
Good luck finding the "add or remove program" process, and you can't remove all the slugs anyway because they aren't listed there as possible to remove. You can't remove the hundred games, either.
If you need a workhorse, get something else.
Very Good Package - Vista ?????? 
2007-12-26
Overall I am very pleased with this package. Setup and use were a breeze. However I then encountered that dreaded Vista bug with Live OnceCare. It affects copying of files and uploading of Photos. Bottom line, wait for a Vista SP.
See post below.
http://forums.microsoft.com/WindowsOneCare/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2266871&SiteID=2&pageid=0
poor tech support, video input on front panel for show only 
2007-09-17
Just want to watch TV, DVDs and your old collection of VHS tapes using a nice big monitor connected to your PC? Fuggetdaboutit.
Don't buy this. It's a royal pain to setup the TV signals, you need a separate application to watch DVDs and you just can NOT watch your VHS tapes.
I tried connecting the RF output of the VCR to the analog RF input and it doesn't work. I then tried to connect to the audio & video inputs on the front of the unit. There is no application for using them!
When I tried tech support, they suggested I buy an upgraded Roxio application (see chat below). Isn't that for printing text on a DVD?
After spending $1000 for this computer, and several agravating hours searching for a way to view my tapes, I'm left very very disappointed, to say the least.
-----chat session below-------------------
Rugin P: Welcome to HP Total Care for Desktop PCs.My name is Rugin P. How may I assist you today?
Rugin P: Hi Marc.
Rugin P: How are you doing today?
marc desmarais: i connected my VCR to the front audio and video inputs. How do I just view the vcr tape on my monitor?
Rugin P: Not to worry I will let you know.
Rugin P: May I know the operating system you are using?
marc desmarais: vista
Rugin P: In this case you have to upgrade the roxio software which is installed in your PC.
marc desmarais: what are the audio and video inputs on the front of my computer for then? Was I sold something I can not use!?!
Rugin P: In Vista you default you can capture Digital Video, if you want to capture analog video you have to upgrade the Roxio software installed in your PC
marc desmarais: that's not my question. What are the audio and video input in the front panel for?
Rugin P: Yes it is to capture video itself.
marc desmarais: how do I capture video using the video input that came with the computer I paid $1000 for ?
Rugin P: As I told earlier that in vista you can default capture Digital video, in order to capture analog video you have to upgrade the Roxio software.
HPAsset has stopped working error 2007-08-28
Overall, this computer is fine; however, the machine ships with Vista, so you think it would be designed with Vista compatibility in mind. Instead, there is an HP program that runs in the background from time to time, called HPAsset - it's supposed to check your PC's health. It cannot be disabled. It crashes every time, with error message "HPAsset has stopped working" due to its incompatibility with Vista. HP customer support acknowledges the problem, but says there is no solution (they allege they are working on one, but this PC has been out for months, and none is forthcoming, so I wouldn't hold your breath for one). 'Helpful' reminders to buy HP extended service plan also pop up from time to time - customer service's suggested disable methods (which, instead of a simple, 'don't ask me again' button involve digging into the run on startup menu - OK for me, but not for the typical purchaser of this computer, I would suspect) don't work. Very poor. Cannot recommend any HP product based on this; will try DELL next time.
High expectations, unfortunate result 2007-08-26
For a new computer, HP came highly recommended by a techie co-worker. But we've been sorely disappointed. We crashed during the first start-up. The CPU fan is very loud at times, whirring at an irritatingly high volume. Customer Service said that was normal, but no computer I've had before was that loud (and between home and work I've had many). The biggest issue, however, is when we had trouble using the windows media center, Customer service told us we need an updated graphics card! Why would they put together and sell a software/hardware package that isn't compatible!? But I asked twice, and the rep kept telling us we needed to upgrade for the installed software to work. Very disappointed.
Great computer or the money 
2007-07-30
The HP Pavilion Media Center TV Desktop PC is designed and built for your digital life. Take control of your digital entertainment with a PC that helps you consolidate, organize, and play your favorite TV shows, movies, music, photos and videos. The built-in TV tuner and personal video recorder (PVR) lets you watch, pause, rewind, and record live television on your Media Center PC. 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Optional HP Personal Media Expandable Drive Bay Optical Drive - SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology 16x DVD+-R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+R DL, 8x DVD-R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 16x DVD-ROM, DVD-ROM, 40x CDR, 32x CDRW and 40x CD-ROM 10/100Base-T Network Interface Personal Video Recorder - NTSC TV tuner, over-the-air ATSC high-definition television tuner, and FM tuner Expansion Slots - 2 PCI slots (occupied), 1 PCI-E x16 slot (available), and 1 PCI-E x1 slot (available) Expansion Bays - 2 external 5.25-inch (one available), 1 external 3.5-inch (one available), and 1 internal 3.5-inch (occupied) External Ports - 6 USB 2.0 port(s) (2 Front, 4 back), 2 FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports (1 Front, 1 back), Microphone/Headphone, S-Video, Composite Video, Audio inputs (L & R) (FRONT), 2 PS/2, Digital Audio-out, LAN, Rear speaker-out/Side speaker-out/Center (subwoofer), VGA-out, Microphone/Line-in/Line-out Front panel 15-in-1 memory card reader - Supports SmartMedia, xD, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital (SD), Compact Flash I, Compact Flash II, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, RSMMC, MMC Mobile, MMC+, Mini Secure Digital, IBM Microdrive Operating System - Windows Vista Home Premium Dimensions - Length 15.16 x Width 7.60 x Depth 16.54 inches Weight - 32 pounds
Excellent product and operating system 
2007-07-30
I bought this computer three months ago as a substitute to an aging one. Installation was extremely easy. I added an addtional 2GB of memory and the system recognized the additional memory wihout any trouble. The computer is very well built with a motherboard by ASUSTEK, which is a very well known manufaturer of gaming and high performance motherboards. The computer and OS are fast. The firewall protection incorporated in the OS is excellent, much better than any antiwhatever that you may add. So I suggest always enabling Vista's firewall The media center is quite good. Perhaps some people might want more out of this, but for most users it will be more than what they will need and use. I added an HP 500GB Personal Media Drive, which is an external hard disk drive that fits into the front bay in the computer. It is fast and as you need more you can always buy additional media drives.
The computer is connected to my home LAN and network performance is excellent. Vista's network maintenance options are very good indeed. I recently upgraded to Vista Ultimate 64 bit edition and reconfigured the memory to 8 GB and the preformance increased substantially. Up to now, the computer and Vista have been operating wihout any major problem.
Highly recommended!
5 Star Product - 1 Star HP Support = 3 Star Average 2007-07-26
Great PC, but heaven help you if you need any support. I was transfered 13 times trying to reach the right department. I think they were trying to make me talk to everyone in India. If you want to take the risk of having no issues - It is an awesome PC for the price. I feel for you if you have to call them. I am a PC Tech and they wasted 2 hours of my life and did NOT solve the problem when I did reach the right dept. Hope this helps.
a little buggy but still very cool 2007-07-23
I've had this computer for about 3 months, and for the most part I love it. I bought a 22" widescreen monitor and disconnected the other tv in the room. It's amazing everything that this computer will do.
I did run into the same problems that are already listed here. I found that they were worse when I had large files stored (photos and recorded tv programs, mostly.) When I deleted a bunch of things it ran much better. An external hard drive would definitely help.
Another thing that made a huge difference was downloading the available update for the video card. I'm an illustrator and use a lot of video-intense programs. Suddenly, they all work great.
I have run into some Vista compatibility issues, but downloaded updates and drivers have mostly eliminated those problems. I'm *still waiting for HP to come up with a Vista 64 driver for its Personal Media Devices. Very frustrating considering that there is a bay for it built into the front of this computer.
Totally agree about HP support. I'd rather slit both wrists than contact them ever again. Still love their products, though. Oh well.
Problem- Is it HP or Vista 2007-07-21
I purchased this computer several months ago. While I have enjoyed the computer so far I have never had a computer lock up and crash so often. I am not at all impressed with Vista and would not get Vista again if I had a choice. The hard drive seems to run way more then any other computer I have had. Sometimes when I run defrag it defrags in about an hour then the next time its a day later it's still trying to defrag and you have to hard boot the system. While I have had several HP computers not sure I would buy this one with Vista again until the bugs are out. Oh and by the way trying to get HP Tech support is next to impossible and when you do they don't seem to have a clue!
