Thermaltake’s DH 101 iHome Theatre PC combines many or all components of a home theatre setup into one box. It is basically a mix between a PC, a digital video recorder and and a digital media player. So it’s designed to make your life a whole lot easier and your lounge a  lot less cluttered. 

The DH 101 that we tested came with Windows Vista Ultimate, although Vista Premium and Linux systems are also available.

Inside you’ll find a 2GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core CPU E2180, 1GB RAM and a 250GB hard drive (which is plenty of space to store all of your pictures, movies and songs).

It is HD compatible and comes standard with an HDMI connection. Add to this pretty simple operation seeing that it’s really just like using a normal PC. The only really time consuming part is setting up all the wires.

Onboard you’ll find a CD/DVD RW drive, so not only can you watch CDs and DVDs (rendering your current DVD player unnecessary), but you can also burn both DVDs and CDs. You can also plug your 5.1 surround sound system directly into the DH 101. The fact that it can also record your favourite TV programs is one of the major benefits of the system. All you have to do is set the channel, date and time the recording should take place. It also has two USB ports into which you can plug your removable storage devices.

The DH 101 comes with the option of iMEDIAN software. iMEDIAN is a media centre which manages all multimedia files and devices in your PC. With iMEDIAN you can use an iMON VFD remote control (included with DH 101) which will allow you to manage all the controls and settings from your couch. Alternatively you can use the HyperMedia Centre or the Windows Media Centre software to organise all your multimedia files. Unfortunately with these programmes, you won’t be able to use the remote for this.  

Not only is the DH 101 ultra functional, it’s also very ­stylish and will add a real touch of class to any lounge. It has piano mirror coating with an aluminium front panel design.

The very useful Media LAB LCD display rounds it off incredibly well. Could home entertainment get any easier? We don’t think so and that’s why the Thermaltake DH 101 comes highly recommended.

You can contact Maraboe Information Technology Services on 083-709-9913/ 086-632-6303 or alternately you can send an email to jean@maraboeit.co.za to find out more about their range of Media PCs.