Designing Your Audio / Video Dream
Machine: Sony VAIO R Series
Sony VAIO
VAIO R Series
Performance
Memory and
Expansion
Double-Layer DVD
Video and Audio Display and Capture
Digital
Interfaces
Applications
VAIO Experience
References
What would make your ideal dream
machine for video and audio editing? Is it heavy
iron -- a hot processor with big and fast disks? Or
powerful tools -- software for slinging digital
media? For video enthusiasts, an integrated system
with high-end, yet affordable, components can
provide it all -- power and fun in an attractive
package. This is what Sony has been up to with its
VAIO line of desktop and notebook PCs, and the new
VAIO R Series desktop system provides a wonderful
example of how to think about configuring your own
dream machine.
Sony originally introduced its VAIO
PC line in 1996 (www.vaio.net),
with distinctive designs and purple coloring (think
"violet"). VAIO stands for Video Audio Integrated
Operation, as in the integration of video and audio
(obviously), but also the integration of A/V
technology for entertainment with computer
technology for processing and integration.
The latest VAIO products, introduced
in May 2004, include the stunningly thin VAIO
X505 notebook, weighing just 1.84 lbs, and
tapering from 0.8" at the back hinge to 0.38" at the
front. Yet the X505 still includes a 10.4" screen,
with Intel Pentium M 1.10 GHz processor, 512 MB
memory, and 20 GB hard disk (but a CD/DVD drive,
wireless, and even video and network connectors are
external). A definite lust machine, though pricey
(starting at $2999).
But we're going to focus here on the
new R Series desktop systems, the next
generation VAIO designed for "professional quality
video editing and music mastering solutions," and
loaded with the latest technology including
Hyper-Threading processor, Gigabit Ethernet, a hot
new double layer DVD burner, and a liquid-cooled
design. Ahhh!
This is not a hands-on "review" of
the R Series, it's more of a "preview" -- we'll use
the VAIO as a example of how to think about
designing and configuring your own ideal video /
audio desktop system.
The VAIO R Series started shipping
in June 2004, and is available in several models (www.sonystyle.com/vaio).
The VAIO RA710G and RA810G are pre-configured
systems priced at $1699 and $2199, respectively
(display not included). The RA910G is customizable.
Starting at $1,558, you can load it up with features
including a faster processor, more memory and disk
space, and additional optical drive. Sony also
offers a wide range of other options, including LCD
displays, peripherals, software, and, of course,
digital cameras and video camcorders. We'll focus
here on configuring the high-end RA910G, based on
information and pricing from Sony as of July 2004.
The most striking element of the R
Series is the holes sliced through the middle of the
tower case, part of Sony's focus on system cooling
and noise reduction. The system uses a heat pipe
cooling system to pull heat away from the processor,
and then dissipate it through a heat exchanger. A
large low RPM fan then cools the heat exchanger,
replacing the traditional CPU fan. Further reducing
noise, the system also includes an optical drive
with speed-down functionality, a Firmware-supported
silent mode, and large slow speed fans on the
graphics card and power supply. Now you can work in
peace!
Configuring your base system starts
with the core processor. These days only 1 GHz seems
terribly slow, especially for video decoding and
compression, and we want our systems to be doing
multiple things at once without slowing us down. The
VAIO R Series is built on the Intel Pentium 4
Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology,
including 1 MB Level 2 cache and 800 MHz front side
bus, available with processor speeds from 3 to 3.6
GHz ($554 additional).
The Intel Hyper-Threading technology
allows multiple "threads" of processing to run
simultaneously on the single processor, almost as if
you were running a system that actually had multiple
processors (www.intel.com/technology/hyperthread).
This can significantly improve applications that are
written to support multi-threading, allowing you to
continue working while a heavy computation like
video compression (or even reformatting a long
document) runs in the background without swamping
the system. Or it can help to better juggle the
workload when you have several applications working
at the same time.
Then you need enough memory and
storage space to manage all that digital data, and
fast interfaces for moving it around within your
system. The current R Series configuration support
up to 2 GB of 400 MHz DDR memory (add $316).
It features PCI Express interfaces for up to
16x support for fast graphics. All the expansion
slots are used in the standard configuration,
including one 8X AGP slot of the graphics card. In a
pinch, you can remove the modem card (if you are
using broadband networking) to free up a slot.
To speed data transfer to other
systems, the R Series includes GigaBit Ethernet,
sharing another 10X faster, stepping from 10Base-T,
to 100Base-TX, and now 1000Base-TX Ethernet (if your
network supports it).
The platform has two 5.25"
half-height and four 3.5" expansion bays, and
can be configured with one DVD burner, an option
second DVD-ROM reader, and multiple hard drives.
Sony is offering hard drive configurations up to a
400 GB drive (add $231), and up to four such drives
for a total of 1600 GB (add $1296). With multiple
Serial-ATA connections, the platform has the
possibility of supporting more than 1.5 Terabytes of
storage.
However, the hottest piece of
hardware on the R Series is the double-layer DVD
burner. Just when you though all those DVD
format were starting to make sense, yes, there's
another new format -- but this gives you (almost)
double the storage on each disc. Sony describes the
burner as a "DVD+R Double Layer / DVD+-RW Drive"
-- so let's parse that in pieces (and back to
front):
- First of all, it works like you
would expect from a CD burner: It works as a
DVD-ROM drive, which means it can read (and play
from) regular DVD discs, including pre-recorded
DVD-Video movies, as well as movies and data burned
to recordable discs. And, as a DVD burner, it burns
R (write once) and RW (rewritable) discs.
- However, DVD formats are more
complicated than CD, so this drive is also
dual-format, supporting both the "dash"
and "plus" varieties of writable DVD media
(i.e., DVD-R and DVD+R). Dual drives helped to
resolve the confusion over these two formats, since
dual burners can burn to either format, and the
resulting disc, whatever format, should be
compatible with most set-top DVD players and PC DVD
drives.
- Just when things stated making
sense, we now have a new format -- "double layer."
Instead of just supporting regular single-sinded,
single-layer writable discs with 4.7 GB of capacity,
this drive supports the new double-layer media,
which provides up to 8.5 GB of storage.
All this time, movie DVDs were
actually manufactured on dual-layer media (called
DVD-9), that store the data on two layers, so that
the laser actually re-focuses through the
translucent upper layer to read the data on the
bottom layer. However, until now, dual-layer was
only available for replicated (manufactured) discs,
and not something you could do yourself with a home
burner. But in the spring of 2004, new recordable
media and dual-layer drives have started becoming
available, lead by the Verbatim Double-Layer DVD+R
media (www.verbatim.com).
Be warned, however, that this is
brand new and tricky technology, so you should
expect that DVD media and drives will be in short
supply, and command a premium price, at last through
this year. In addition, dual-layer equipment will
require new versions of software. For example, you
(or the software) will need to specify where to
insert the layer break, the physical break in your
data between the two layers on the disc. And the
software needs to ensure that the same amount of
data is written to both layers so that the laser can
focus properly.
All this will take some time to
shake out in the drive and media manufacturing, and
the authoring and disc-burning software tools. Early
testing with the first dual-layer products has
revealed some compatibility problems with older
players, so keep in touch with software and firmware
updates for your applications and drives as the
industry works through supporting this new format.
All that fast processing is great,
but your user experience is focused on the video and
audio: the display and the speakers. These days, PCs
need to display everything from scrolling windows to
full-motion video to real-time interactive 3D games.
The R Series includes the ATI RADEON X600 or X800
256 MB card (add $360), with dedicated processing
for 3D graphics and video processing, at up to 200
billion operations per second (Giga FLOPS). To
display these visions Sony offers a range of flat
panel LCD monitors (not included with the base
system), ranging from 15" ($499) to the StylePro
Series 20.1" LCD ($1,099).
Front and back panels
Beyond the visual, you'll want to
experience your DVDs and games with full surround
sound. The R Series includes integrated Intel
High Definition Audio with 5.1 surround sound.
While the base system includes stereo speakers with
subwoofer, Sony offers 4.1 and 5.1 multimedia and
gaming speaker system ($229).
For displaying from the system,
there's a VGA/DVI monitor port / TV-out port,
and an audio S/PDIF output to audio
components, plus a Headphone jack.
For viewing TV, capturing digital
media, and displaying the results, the system
includes a variety of both analog and digital
connectors, available on both the front and rear
panel for convenient access. The integrated Sony
Giga Pocket TV Tuner / MPEG encoder/decoder lets
you watch TV, and record TV and from other A/V
inputs.
For video / audio capture, you can
use the coaxial input (VHF/UHF TV),
composite video / audio inputs (front and rear),
and S-Video inputs (front and rear), plus the
usual Line In and Microphone audio
inputs.
Of course, you also can use the
i.Link (FireWire) and USB 2.0 connectors
to input and export digital media. Sony has studded
the R Series tower with interface connectors on the
front and back to connect to all those peripheral
devices in your digital life.
The new USB version 2.0 (also
known as Hi-speed) steps up to 480 Mbits/sec, from
12 Mbps for USB 1.0 (www.usb.org),
around the same range as FireWire at 400 MB/sec.
(What Sony calls i.LINK is what you know as
FireWire, also known as IEEE 1394, see
www.1394ta.org.)
The R Series includes seven USB 2.0 connectors and
two i.Link connectors (4-pin on the front for
connecting to consumer devices, and 6-pin on the
rear for computer and peripheral connections).
The connectors on the front panel
are great for hooking up devices to transfer data,
including digital still cameras (typically USB), DV
digital camcorders (typically FireWire), portable
devices and music players, and even USB thumb drives
for transferring data. Stepping up to USB version
2.0 is a great help with these for faster uploading
of digital photos and quicker backup to thumb
drives.
The rear connecters work well for
more permanent connections, such as external DVD
burners and external hard disks for backup and
auxiliary storage of large video files. You can use
a pocket-size USB or FireWire drive for easy backup
and mobile storage (around 60 GB for under $300), or
a big, big FireWire / USB 2.0 drive to offload those
huge video files (around 500 GB -- half a terrabyte
-- for under $600).
Unfortunately, the R Series does not
include the new yet-even-faster FireWire 800
interface (also known as IEEE 1394b). Although it's
not yet widely supported in today's devices,
redoubling the FireWire bandwidth will supply plenty
of headroom for activities like real-time DV capture
to external hard disk while simultaneously burning
to external DVD. However, since all the slots are in
use on the R Series, adding a new interface board
may require some juggling (such as removing the
modem card).
Once you have built your A/V dream
system to enjoy playing your DVDs and photos and
music, you might also want to take advantage of that
power to design and share your own media creations.
Sony bundles a broad range of VAIO Creation Suite
software with the R Series, with its own media
software, plus Screenblast products from its Sony
Pictures Digital group (www.screenblast.com)
and some third-party products from companies like
Adobe (www.adobe.com).
To organize and edit your digital
photos, use Sony PictureGear Studio to import
and manage digital photos, and Adobe Photoshop
Elements 2.0 for image editing.
For organizing and creating your own
music, start with Sony SonicStage music
jukebox to manage your music library and export to
compatible portable devices, and SonicStage
Mastering Studio with MP3 Encoder to import and
enhance analog music. Then use Screenblast ACID
to mix your own audio soundtracks from loops, and
Screenblast Sound Forge to edit and enhance your
digital audio.
To organize and edit video, use
Sony Dvgate Plus to capture, edit and record
digital video, and Adobe Premiere LE for more
advanced professional video editing (the Video
Premium package ($170) upgrades to the full version
of Adobe Premiere).
And for DVD, use the InterVideo
WinDVD player to watch your discs, and Sony's
Click to DVD tool to author your own DVDs.
Sony also includes the VAIO Media
application to share your files and media across the
network.
Sony's VAIO systems are great
examples of how to design A/V dream machines that
combine the horsepower, interfaces, and applications
required to not just enjoy digital media, but to
create your own productions. Any such system walks a
fine line between cost and performance, built-in vs.
external components, and stable vs. cutting-edge
technology.
Some general suggestions:
- You can always build your own
system for less if you have the time and knowledge,
but there are great advantages to an integrated
system like the VAIO supported by a single vendor.
- With the advent of FireWire and
USB 2.0 you can easily add on more disk space and
other external peripherals, but it's probably worth
spending a little more up front for more built-in
memory and disk space in your main system. And, if
you have any more room in your budget, paying extra
for a larger-resolution display does allow you to
juggle more windows on the screen.
- The base configuration of the R
Series definitely should hold you for a while
without needing to upgrade, with its PCI Express
bus, serial ATA disks, and Gigabit Ethernet. You may
eventually want to step up to FireWire 800, which
will require juggling slots. Just be aware the
Double Layer DVD drive is very new, so expect some
software and firmware upgrades to get it fully
mastered.
The final point on the VAIO R Series
is that it runs actually runs the Windows XP Media
Center Edition 2004, so you can use it in a living
room kind of environment and control its media
functions by a remote control. When you're done
creating and computing, you can kick back, relax,
and dream away, playing music, or watching TV with
the integrated TV programming guide.
Sony VAIO Information - VAIO.net
www.vaio.net
www.vaio.net/models/desktops/r
Sony VAIO Products - SonyStyle
www.sonystyle.com/vaio
Intel - Hyper-Threading
www.intel.com/technology/hyperthread
USB-IF - USB Implementers Forum
www.usb.org
FireWire - 1394 Trade Association
www.1394ta.org
Verbatim - Double-Layer DVD+R media
www.verbatim.com
Sony - Screenblast digital media
software
www.screenblast.com
Adobe - Photoshop and Premiere
www.adobe.com
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center
Edition 2004
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter
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