12. Using The DV8299X

Watching TV and DVDs on the HP is about as good as it gets on one of these notebooks, though the glossy bright screen is subject to reflections in brightly-lit environments. Nevertheless, the colors are bright and the contrast is good enough that even dark scenes remain viewable. The quality of images is also quite good and remains sharp and free of artifacts even during high-speed motion scenes. As a personal DVD player, this unit is among the best of this bunch.

Listening to music is also about as pleasant as it gets on a notebook computer. Though the speakers include no separate bass element, channel separation is good and sound quality is among the best of our test units. Maximum volume level still isn't loud enough to fill a sizable room, but is more than adequate for personal entertainment (though sound quality is of course better and volume levels more dramatic on headphones.)

The HP unit includes a built-in IR receiver, so it's not necessary to give up a USB port to use the remote unless you want to use an IR blaster to drive a set-top cable or satellite box through MCE. In that case it's a must, which explains why HP includes one with this unit, along with two IR blasters. The HP remote is about the same size and heft as the Microsoft MCE remote, but comes in black, features a slightly different button layout, and isn't as curvaceous. The laptop also uses a small, proprietary video out cable that hooks up to the ExpressCard TV tuner on one end, to which either standard S-Video or composite video jacks may be attached.

Overall, this notebook also impresses with its intuitive design and usability. The controls are easy to understand and use; unlike lots of other MCE notebooks, we were able to figure out these controls without consulting the manual. Even special uses for the function keys are well labeled and reasonably easy to master.