13. AV Instant-On Player With IR Remote Control

These days, users can expect any notebook that a vendor represents as "multimedia ready" to come equipped with the ability to play multimedia directly, using software that enables audio and video playback without requiring Windows to start up. Accordingly, the LW60 includes an Instant-On Player on a Linux partition. The player's functions and its ability to work with the IR remote control are described in the following section.

LG's Instant-On Player

LG's Instant-On Player is hidden in a Linux partition on the unit's hard disk. You can use special control buttons at the top of the keyboard deck in tandem with various keys on the keyboard or the remote control to activate and manage its capabilities.

The top-level audio control menu.

Those who wish to do so can also activate the unit's S-Video output and use a television set for video playback. This function turns the LW60 into a kind of DVD player, one that partially matches the functions found in a typical standalone AV player.

The remote control has an effective range of nearly 33 feet (10 m).

Likewise, you can use special buttons to control the player. Labels for these buttons are simple and readable.

By making the right configuration choices, the LW60 can output audio signals in 2, 4, or 5.1 channel formats, or in purely digital form via the S/PDIF port. In comparison to competing products, the LW60's color levels during playback are more brilliant. Those users who wish to tweak contrast or color saturation levels for video playback can do so easily using the remote control from their sofas by adjusting various menu settings.

Setup of the Instant-on Player is comprehensive.

A comprehensive setup menu allows users to monitor battery status and the system clock, or to set a "sleep timer" for 30 minutes or 1 hour. The player software (Version 1.1.6) does suffer from two flaws, however. First, playback can be jerky during fast video scenes. Second, audio output is deactivated when output is directed through the S-Video port and the remote control is used to switch from video to audio playback. If you load a DVD Video with the LW60 attached to a TV set and then switch over to audio playback for files on its hard disk, the TV loudspeakers turn off abruptly. In this case, audio playback reverts immediately to the unit's built-in speakers, which offer only modest sound quality.