Entertaining options
The TV features work well too, allowing you to watch and record Freeview TV programs using Windows Media Centre. There’s a separate remote control included with the DX730, but you can use the touchscreen controls here too – and I actually had a bit of a Minority Report moment when realised I could use my fingers to flick through the TV guide and other options in Windows Media Centre. I was also pleasantly surprised by the Onkyo speakers, which gave the DX730 the best sound I’ve ever heard from any all-in-one PC or Mac.
Somewhat pricey, but a decent performer overall
Verdict
For a desktop PC costing £1000 should a discrete graphics processor, and possibly a quad-core i5 would not seem out of place, but no doubt the additional cost of the touchscreen has seen corners cut here. Unlike Toshiba's Qosmio branded latops, this all-in-one PC is no gaming rig, but the sleek design and the versatile multimedia features of the DX730 will appeal to many home users, especially for use in a bedroom or study where it can also double up as a TV and music system. ®
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Toshiba Qosmio DX730 PC TV combo
COMMENTS
The software bundle is a problem
Possibly not so much on this system, but a friend of mine bought a cheapo toshiba laptop the other day and brought it to me for fettling.
Out of the box it was broken - windows 7 is fine as plain install but with the toshiba crapware installed it took over five minutes to boot to desktop and then a further 30 mins to stop auto installing stuff - three of which then auto started and then promptly crashed, freezing the screen in the process.
If I wasn't so tech savvy I would have taken it back as broken. It took me over four hours with PC de-crappifier, CC cleaner, and Windows update to get *most* of the stuff off and it's still not quite as quick as I know it should be - but of course they don't supply the media for a clean W7 install.
Shocking.
WAYYYYY overpriced for what it is!
But christ why has it taken so long to integrate a PC into a telly? This should have happened along time ago!
Not true for a long time...
"It’s actually configured more like a laptop – perhaps no surprise there, Apple has been doing this with iMacs for years "
All new iMacs come with 4-core Intel I5s (up to 3.1 GHz), with discrete Radeon graphics and up to 16GB memory. This isn't a laptop with a built-in large screen.
Actually it's been done a lot
For example there was the Siemens FD 204, which had both a complete TV and a complete PC in one case, you had a button to switch the monitor between both modes. The problem was it was overpriced.
Such combined PC-TVs are a fairly small market. And that market is probably only going to get smaller now that you can simply buy separate PCs you can screw onto the VESA mount on back of your TV or monitor.
Not the first desktop
Toshiba have in the past done a range of desktops, some of which where sold in the U.K. One can start off with the Equium 7000 series based on the NLX chassis released in the late 1990's. A quick Google and you can still find web pages on the Toshiba Europe website about them.
