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Product:
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VLSystem M-Play 202 LCD Indicator for MCE 2005 |
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Price:
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$125 (CAN) / $105 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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VLSystem
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Author:
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clsGriner
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Date:
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September 9th, 2005
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Rating:
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Unique to the VLSystem lineup is the remote control. The top of the plastic casing is metallic blue, while
the under side is black. There is a total of 45 multi-colored rubber buttons that adorn the surface. The
remote is not back-lit nor do the white buttons contain any phosphor (doesn’t glow in the dark). The remote
is lightweight yet feels rugged when grasped. VLSystem was kind enough to supply the required AAA batteries,
however I prefer the use of AA batteries instead; as it’s the lowest common denominator among power requirements
among most of my electronic peripherals. The bundled CD is a reminder that this unit can still be used if not
installed in a Windows XP Media Center Edition PC; all you lose is MCE functionality of course. The CD contains
the drivers, software, in depth PDF manuals, and promotional videos. The bundled quick install guide is an
8.5" x 11" full color sheet that summarizes the installation chapter of the soft copy PDF file.
Installation:
In order to test the VLSystem M-Play 202 LCD Indicator for MCE 2005, the following system components were assembled:
- AMD Athlon 2200+ XP
- MSI KT333 motherboard
- 768MB of PC-2700 RAM
- 40 GB HDD
- Hauppauge 250 PVR
- NVIDIA FX5200 graphics card
- Windows Media Center Edition 2005
- Antec Overture II chassis
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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The hardware portion of the installation is very straight forward. If you can install a CDROM drive then you should not
have a problem installing the M-Play 202. The M-Play 202 was secured using the included screws and the USB cable was
threaded from the outside rear of the case, through a vacant PCI slot and into the back of the M-Play.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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I was impressed by how the MPlay-202 is basically Windows XP Media Center Edition ready right out of the box.
You can instantly use the included remote to control your HTPC, and the standard display panel presets require
no configuration. It’s a slam dunk device, but I’ll walk you through all the other features as well. The first
of the configuration screens is the Basic Setup window. Communications is the bulk of the setup here, and that
can be ignored thanks to the USB cable. The only point of interest for this screen is the ability to customize
your startup and shutdown messages.
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Error processing SSI file
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Error processing SSI file
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