You can watch, record, and pause live TV programming as well as schedule the PC to record upcoming episodes or entire series. The built-in TV tuner (providing both standard NTSC and high-def ATSC transmission) and personal video recorder (PVR) let you watch, pause, rewind, and record live television--up to 440 hours on the dual 360 GB hard drives (for 720 GB of total built-in storage). An online Electronic Program Guide (EPG) lets you review the TV schedule and select individual episodes or entire series, so you can watch your favorite shows on your own time, at your own convenience. And you can easily burn TV shows and home video to DVD for friends and family with the dual-layer, multi-format LightScribe DVD/CD burner (16x for DVDR). It also incorporates an HD DVD drive that's compatible with the new high-definition DVD disc format. Enjoy amazingly crisp and vibrantly colorful imagery from this new format.

Built-in drive bays fit optional HP Personal Media Drives and Pocket Media Drives, for up to 660 GB of additional storage that you can carry away with you when you go (media drives not included). Other features include 3 GB of installed RAM (8 GB maximum), Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT graphics (with 256 MB of dedicated video memory), Gigabit Ethernet, 15-in-1 memory card reader, up to 8 channels of surround sound output, FM tuner, and a remote control with up to 16 feet of range.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center. In addition to easily playing your DVD movies and managing your digital audio library, you'll be able to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV). Vista also integrates new search tools throughout the operating system, includes new parental control features, and offers new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures.

The Basics

• Processor: With four execution cores, the 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 blows through processor-intensive tasks in demanding multitasking environments and makes the most of highly threaded applications. Whether you're creating multimedia, annihilating your gaming enemies, or running compute-intensive applications at one time, new quad-core processing will change the way you do everything. The Q6600 has a top-of-the-class 1066 MHz front-side bus (FSB) and dual 4 MB L2 caches (for a whopping huge 8 MB shared L2 cache). (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

  With four complete execution cores in a single processor, you get four dedicated, physical threads help operating systems and applications deliver additional performance that enhance multi-tasking and multi-threaded performance across many types of applications and work loads. The Smart Memory Access feature improves system performance by hiding memory latency, thus optimizing the use of available computer data bandwidth to provide data to the processor when and where it is needed. The Advanced Digital Media Boost feature effectively doubles the execution speed for instructions used widely in multimedia and graphics applications. And with the Intel 64 Architecture, the processor can access larger amounts of memory. With appropriate 64-bit hardware and software, platforms based on an Intel processor supporting Intel 64 Architecture can allow the use of extended virtual and physical memory.

• Hard Drive: The incredibly huge 720 GB capacity from the dual 360 GB Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives (7200 RPM) offers a wealth of storage space--enough for storing up to 440 hours of television programming, a vast multimedia collection, or for editing digital video. This SATA hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to FireWire and USB 2.0.

• Memory: The 3 GB of installed RAM (PC5300, 2 x 1 GB, 2 x 512 MB) is an excellent start, but this desktop has room enough for 8 GB of RAM (4 x 2 GB) to speed along your multimedia and gaming applications. It also offers a top-of-class 667 MHz speed. To receive the faster data transfer benefits of the dual-channel DDR2 RAM, any RAM additions require memory modules of same capacity and clockspeed.

• DVD/CD Drive: This HP Elite desktop offers the next generation of DVD entertainment with the HD DVD ROM optical drive, which provides the superior image and sound quality of high-definition images and multichannel surround sound as well as backward compatibility with standard DVD movie discs and content burned onto DVD-R/RW, DVD-RAM. The HD DVD ROM drive offers the following read speeds: 2.4x HD DVD-ROM, 5x DVD-ROM, and 15x CD-ROM.

  It also includes a second optical drive that's compatible with dual-layer (DL) DVDR discs that can hold up to 8.5 GB of data. It features the following speeds: 8x DVD+R DL, 8x DVD-R DL, 16x for both single-layer DVDR, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 12x DVD-RAM, and 40x/32x for CD-R/RW. It reads DVD-ROM discs at 16x and CD-ROMs at 40x.

• Keyboard & Mouse: This desktop comes with a wireless HP keyboard with extended range (up to 16 feet) and a wireless optical mouse.

The video card includes composite TV out, DVI video out and HDMI audio/video out options. This PC also offers an integrated audio card that can produce high definition surround sound configurable to 8 speakers.

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
This desktop can be wirelessly networked with the integrated 54g Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g). You also get super-fast wired connectivity via the Gigabit Ethernet port (10/100/1000). For expansion, it includes drive bays that fit an optional HP Personal Media Drive (for adding 500 GB of storage) or an optional HP Pocket Media Drive (for adding 160 GB of storage)--for a total of up to 660 GB of extra storage. For expansion slots, it has one PCI (occupied), two PCI Express x1 (one available), one PCI x16 Express slot (occupied), two 5.25-inch bays (occupied), three 3.5-inch bays (occupied), and the following external ports:

• 6 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players (2 in front, 4 in rear)
• 2 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals (1 in front, 1 in rear)
• Composite video, S-Video, and analog audio inputs
• Video out: S-Video, DVI, HDMI, and VGA
• Headphone and microphone jacks
• Digital SPDIF audio input/output
• Surround sound speakers--rear, side, center (subwoofer)
• 2 PS/2 ports for connecting keyboards and mice
• 15-in-1 media card reader on the front, compatible with CompactFlash (Type I and II), MicroDrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick/Pro/Duo/Pro Duo, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, XD Picture Card, RSMMC, MMC Mobile, MMC+
• 56K modem

Operating System
Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit version) is the operating system for users with advanced computer needs, and it includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center for watching DVD movies and accessing your digital audio library. You can also use Windows Media Center to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV) and to access new kinds of online entertainment content. Computers that include Windows Vista Home Premium and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access key data even when your computer is off. It is also easier than ever to share files between other PCs in your household and to manage your laptop computer settings to more securely connect via Wi-Fi.

Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family's use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.

Preloaded Software
Symantec Norton Internet Security 2008 (60 days of complimentary live update), HP PhotoSmart Essential, Muvee autoProducer, Cyberlink DVD Suite, Microsoft Works 9, Microsoft Office 2007 Student and Teacher Edition (60-day trial)

Dimensions & Weight
This desktop measures 16.61 x 7.0 x 15.51 inches (LxWxD) and weighs approximately 24.25 pounds.