5.1 surround sound AC3 is a nice thing to have on a macintosh. You ask why would anyone want one when you can buy a standa-alone dvd player thats supports dolby digital, dts?? Why??? Because of the HTPC market (Home Theater PC).
A Standalone DVD even progressive scan only supports 480i/480p resolution which is insufficent for a nice HDTV display? Sure, you can go and buy a dscaler which cost $300 and up (good ones cost several grand). Some HDTV players do line doubling but it is a hit or miss depending on brand. Hence, use a PC. A Windows PC for under a grand can play Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS and scale for HDTV up to 1080i hdtv res. Again, why use a PC when there are stand alone hardware for this...
Conside a high-end progressive scan DVD player ($700), a high end scaler ($3000), a DVHS or HDTV recorder ($1000), and satellite reciever/hdtv reciever.. YOU CAN HAVE A windows XP machine do all of this fo under $1000.
The HTPC, if configured properly will play better and give you stuff like region free than any high-end PC. This only applies for HDTV viewing, if you have direct tv, use a regular DVD player. Also a pc through software is upgradeable to new formats like DIVX, Vogg orbis, DTS EAX, Dolby Digitaql EAX instead of being hardwired to a standalone device.
I run a PC in my home entertainment system, it is insulated so it is quiet, no fan noise. It has a remote control (zapstream), it boots up, I have a server that stores over 400 gigs of DVD movies (VOB files), I have over 100 gig of MP3s and it is all controlled by a remote control and windows XP.. Using Talisman, you don't see the Windows desktop but a interface customized for your HDTV viewing/media entertainment center. I don't even use a mouse or keyboard, it is all seemless to an end-user.
Soon, MS would offere Freestyle of Windows Media Player which allows seamless integration that all us HTPC buffs being doing with different software hardware (see <a href="http://www.avsforum.com)." target="_blank">www.avsforum.com).</a> So now, the mac platform as the digital hub is a myth if it cannot support HTPC requirements (5.1 sound, HDTV res, remote control and UI interface).
BTW, You can build a Windows machine using a nice soundcard with SDPIF/5.1, running PowerDVD for under $400.
Go to <a href="http://www.avsforum.com" target="_blank">www.avsforum.com</a> and read up on what people are using PCs for now.. Hopefully, macs will catch up here.
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