Features - QuickPlay Implementation

One of the features of the DV1000 that HP has been touting is QuickPlay, which is essentially a cut down OS that is dedicated for multimedia use. And if you have read our Acer Aspire 2020 review, then you should already know that Acer did something similar, called Aspire Arcade.

The scheme for HP is a bit different as they don't have a QuickPlay interface for Windows XP (or whatever the used OS is). Rather, they have positioned it as a separate boot function. It looks to be coded on a Linux shell, actually, which would categorize it as a separate OS. Though, it is stripped of all other Linux functionality. If we bring up the computer management console in Windows XP, we see that QuickPlay is set apart as a separate 2GB partition. Windows simply reads the partition as 100% free because it is not a compatible file format, though it is very much in use by the QuickPlay data.



Click to enlarge.


There are specific limitations for QuickPlay, as music is limited to CDDA (audio CD) and MP3s. If it is a mixed format CD (CDDA/MP3s), the CDDA audio tracks will only be loaded. MP3s must be either stored on a CD or in XP's Shared Music Folder, in order for QuickPlay to access it.

As for video media, DVDs, VCDs, and SVCDs are supported. Video files are not supported. We'll go over the QuickPlay function briefly, but you can read up on its manual if you have more questions.



Construction – Upgrading and Maintenance Features – QuickPlay (cont.)
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  • Biochem101 - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link

    Ohh yeah, just to add.

    The dv1040us machine has at the minimum the following specs:

    Centrino 725 1.6GHz CPU 2mb cache
    64 mb shared video memory (cry, but im dealing with it)
    Those are the only differnces that stand out from the AT review model.
  • Biochem101 - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link

    I just picked one of these puppies up for ~1100 AR. When I was shopping, I was looking for a very portable laptop with some performnce. So far I love it. The screen seems to have a built in anti-glare film similar to the film used on my Sony Trinitron CRT. It provides adequate glare relief in most situations. I did notice the font blur and was somewhat dissappointed with that problem. But all in all, I found a compact, light and relatively powerful laptop with great battery performance. I havent done any performance tests on the machine yet (its the 1.6G version - dv1040us model), but I doubt there will be much difference between my machine and he one AT has reviewed here.

    imho- im glad a ran across this review, I was just looking for some info on the general performance of the chipset in the machine, not a machine specific review. KUDOS to AT for souping up their number of reviews.
  • Pete - Sunday, October 24, 2004 - link

    BTW, the glare on this laptop was pretty harsh when I viewed it in CompUSA, although there was a very bright fluorescent light directly behind my shoulder. My eyes got tired looking at it after 15 mins, whereas the "regular" LCD on the Toshiba next to it was *very* easy to read.

    It's not just that the dv1000's screen was glossy, either. Cleartype fonts looked kind of blurry or oily, not nice at all. Actually, it's possible the screen was something like BGR, and Cleartype was set for RGB subpixel smoothing. I'll have to look into that, as the screen is this laptop's Achilles heel, and one too big for me to ignore.
  • Pete - Sunday, October 24, 2004 - link

    No, but a faster video card will, and the BenQ Joybook 7000 has the same formfactor and screen with a Mobility Radeon 9700 to boot! I'm convinced that would sell like hotcakes here, and I'm not sure why either HP or BenQ haven't started selling them here. Apparently this Intel IGP scores 2.5K in 3DM2001, not even 2003--frickin' abysmal. I'm not even sure it'd be fast enough for something like Age of Mythology or Warcraft 3 at this screen's native res.

    Andrew, start pushing Anandtech's weight around to get a laptop with this formfactor and discrete graphics in the USA! :)
  • airfoil - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link

    Quote: "but for another $100 or $150, you can configure your DV1000 with a 1.7GHz Pentium-M 735 or 1.8GHz Pentium-M 745, respectfully."

    Respectfully? Does a faster prcoessor buy more respect?
  • trikster2 - Monday, October 4, 2004 - link

    #3 that's really strange. 2gb just to play a DVD sounds excessive

    #4 Not sure who the ODM is but there is a Benq Joybean that is identicle

    #3 my main reservation with this notebook is the brightview or whatever screen. The ones I've seen on sony and fujitsu's at frys have a lot of glare. I dumped my CRT for an LCD due to glare (lots of windows) would hate to be fighting glare on a glossy laptop screen too.

    In comparison to a CRT, how bad is the glare on this laptop?

    Thanks!



  • SDA - Sunday, October 3, 2004 - link

    Question-- who makes this notebook? (I know it has an HP sticker, but IIRC HP don't make their own notebooks like.) I ask because I'd like to see if there are any nearly identical no-name equivalents available.
  • AndrewKu - Saturday, October 2, 2004 - link

    #2 - Windows is reading it wrong.
  • Scarceas - Saturday, October 2, 2004 - link

    The article says a 2GB partition is used for the quickplay system.

    The screen shot shows 204MB. 204MB seems more reasonable. Might want to update that.
  • CasmirRadon - Saturday, October 2, 2004 - link

    Sounds great, if/when my old Presario notebook craps out on me in the next year or so this will be the kind of form-factor/functionality that I will be looking for. My friend just got a Pavillion, and I must say that it makes me jealous if only for the exceedingly convenient placement of headphone/usb ports. That is the kind of feature that many of us forget to look for when shopping for a notebook, but makes all the difference after extended use.

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