3. Feature Tour

Removable Storage

The z556 has a myriad of useful front ports and accessories that are hidden in three well-disguised compartments behind the front bezel. The brushed aluminum doors to the compartments have a nice smooth motion and feel as if they are held shut by a light magnet. The top-right compartment houses an HP personal media drive bay (Figure 3), which is a proprietary removable storage expansion solution from HP. The drive connects to the z556 through a modified USB 2.0 interface located in the drive bay and conveniently allows you to increase your storage capacity without needing to crack open the z556's case.

The drives are also compatible with standard USB 2.0 ports through the use of an adapter, so they can be used for file transfers and backups between computers. However, on the downside, they usually cost twice as much as a standard USB 2.0 drive of the same capacity while offering no increase in performance or storage space. The only real benefit of the personal media drive is that it stows nicely into the drive bay out of the way.

Figure 3: Personal Media Drive bay

Card Reader And USB

A couple of USB 2.0 ports and a nine-in-one multimedia card reader are housed in the compartment underneath the personal media drive bay (Figure 4). For those who enjoy digital photography, a multimedia card reader is essential for transferring and displaying digital photographs on the HTPC. The card reader supports the following card types:

Secure digital (SD) xD Smart Media (SM) Multimedia Card (MMC) Compact Flash type I Compact Flash type II Microdrive Memory Stick Memory Stick Pro

Figure 4: 9-in-one card reader and front USB 2.0 ports