[KevinW]

The Panda PC certainly is an interesting product, and has piqued my curiosity, and is a potential purchase.  Plaudits certainly go to Michael Barnes for going out on a limb with a crossover design.

What I want is a device to act as an MP3 jukebox with excellent sound.  Convenience would be a key factor, as in I would like to be able to just pop in a CD to the jukebox, and have it record with one or none clicks.

Given my above desire, how would the Panda PC be a better solution than a standard PC?

If the Panda PC's only special ability is to play DVD's, how is that going to be better than a dedicated DVD player of decent quality ($500 and up)?

Also, what is the processor used on the Panda?

Does it have a built-in LAN.  A wireless LAN would be even more attractive.

[wunderlast]

Given my above desire, how would the Panda PC be a better solution than a standard PC?

The panda doesnt have a noisy fan. That would be a BIG improvement.

[KevinW]

I am aware of the lack of the fan.  I agree this is a nice feature, and I appreciate the effort to develop a fanless PC.  But there are plenty of regular PCs that don't have an audible fan (e.g. my Dell desktop), and regular PC could be placed in a cabinet to mute whatever noise is there.

Upon reading more about the Panda, I noticed that it appears to have a high quality DAC and video codec.  How does this compare to the better quality sound cards and video cards?  Has anything been done to improve sound quality in the Panda implementation?

[lo mein]

There's a review on that VIA board from the U.K. I lost the url though... Saying the sound is excellent.

Alex

[taketwo]

and regular PC could be placed in a cabinet to mute whatever noise is there.

I think he's refering to the fans inside the PC so I doubt putting a PC inside a cabinet would help give better sound quality.

[mbarnes]

The Panda PC certainly is an interesting product, and has piqued my curiosity, and is a potential purchase.  Plaudits certainly go to Michael Barnes for going out on a limb with a crossover design.

What I want is a device to act as an MP3 jukebox with excellent sound.  Convenience would be a key factor, as in I would like to be able to just pop in a CD to the jukebox, and have it record with one or none clicks.

Given my above desire, how would the Panda PC be a better solution than a standard PC?

If the Panda PC's only special ability is to play DVD's, how is that going to be better than a dedicated DVD player of decent quality ($500 and up)?

Also, what is the processor used on the Panda?

The Panda PC uses the VIA M9000 board. This has a 933 Mhz VIA processor which is roughly equal to a Pentium III.  The video chip is a Castelrock. This has integrated MPEG II and the playback for DVD is excelent.

The sound chip is the PL1616. This chip is the best I have heard in a computer. VIA bought out a high-end sound solution that was previously used by recording studios.

M-Audio makes outboard devices that are based on the same chip.


Does it have a built-in LAN.  A wireless LAN would be even more attractive.

[Woodsea]

Cool, about the sound board, was thinking about building a  system around that!

[azryan]

I've been very interested in an all-in-one A/V solution and this HTPC looks to be along those lines, but it's fairly confusing to me the extent of what it can do, can't do, what you can do to it, who it's targeted at, etc...

It seems to be a DVD/CD player, scaler, preamp, plus assorted PC stuff like internet, CD burning, MP3 encoding... but I'm not sure?

note- I'm none too computer savy...

"-The video chip is a Castelrock. This has integrated MPEG II and the playback for DVD is excelent."

Compared to what DVD players? Is it a 'good' prog. scan DVD player, or is it a 'fantastic' one?

More directly, can you configure the output to optimize the resolution and scan rate for a 1080i RPTV or various resolution digital projectors?

If yes... can it rescale an external input -say the output of my sat. box to 1080i or a digital projector?

Looks like there's no DVI out? Could one be put in for an all digital link to a display?

It seemed like on the web site it talked about programs able to be loaded onto the Panda for us?
Does this mean that the owner can't really deal w/ this system like a normal PC where you add whatever programs/drivers etc.?

Can it's hard drive be used as a Tivo type of system? Not that I care really about that feature too much, just wondering if it's an option like w/ a conventional HTPC.

"-The sound chip is the PL1616. This chip is the best I have heard in a computer."

Does this mean it's a decent DAC, or would most people looking for very high quality sound still want to use an outboard DAC? I have no idea how good a great sounding computer is to an audiiophile DAC or quality pre/pro?

I'm just trying to figure out what level out quality the diff. aspects of this system are.

Also, can it do bass mang. on CD's, and bass mang./time allign. on DVD's?

Would someone find this to be a high quality solution mated to your tube amps and a pair of 9.0's and subs, or is this not really what this is meant for?

I assume it decodes DD and DTS right as it has 5.1 outputs?

Can it downmix a phantom center? I don't use a center chan.

Can formats like DPL2 be added, and/or can additional 6 and 7th chans. be added? -neither a big deal to me, but just wondering?

I see no mention of DVD-A or SACD... Are there any PC boards that could upgrade the Panda in the future to add these formats? Is the Panda board even configured to add something like this if a future DVD-A/SACD sound card came out?

Also... the black and white 'panda' look is VERY original, and I like it, but it seems a little too 'cute' for me. I'm thinking I'm not the only guy out there who would care for a cute PC in the center of his HT....

Any chance there'd be an 'All Black Panda' for those of us who are boring, and like everything in our systems to be black and not stand out at all??

Sorry for all the questions, but I can't figure out what this system can all do, and what other products it could eliminate (DVD/CD player, pre/amp, pre/pro, DAC's, scalars, etc...?)

Currently I have the Outlaw Audio 950 pre/pro and the Pannie RP-56, and a Mitsu RP HDTV (but looking at some of the new digital pj's).

I think the Outlaw sounds very good, but not stunning and I know there's better, and the Pannie was very cheap and looks great but again... I know there's better.

Just trying to figure out if the Panda might be a good alternate solution (plus the coool internet/MP3/CD burning features), a step backwards in some ways, or an improvement over these components?

If the Panda isn't meant to do all the things I've asked about and at a high end level.... any chance of thier being an (I assume more costly) audio/videophile version in the future?

Thanks.

I think this will clear things up for a lot of people looking into this system.

Feel free to add/edit this to your site as part of a FAQ on the Panda PC.

[Woodsea]

Only the audigy 2 from creative is able to produce DVD-A, from a pc sound card.

[mbarnes]

The Panda PC is based on the VIA M9000 board. This is a very nicely integrated board with very good multimedia built in.  The board itself is a good starting point for a multiimedia system. What we do is build the case, power supply, heat sink and integrate the components.

I looked at many options for a multimedia PC.  One option was the A-Open board. The A-Open board is very costly. The board is $250.00 USD or so.  That is without a processor.  

The issue with all Pentium 4s and Multimedia (as well as AMD), is that they both generate a lot of heat and it is very difficult to get rid of that heat--particularly in a small package.  

I don't believe that  a system that is large or makes a lot of noise is going to make sense in an audio system.  

We use Laptop components because these are quieter.  While you don't hear the disk drives in most systems because the noise of the fans mask the noise of the drives, without the fans, you would be surprised how loud the drives are.

Imagine having a computer in the bedroom and listening to the drive spin up and spin down all night long.  2.5 inch drives are far more expensive than 3.5 inch drives but they are quieter, more rugged and take less power.  

The Panda PC certainly is an interesting product, and has piqued my curiosity, and is a potential purchase.  Plaudits certainly go to Michael Barnes for going out on a limb with a crossover design.

What I want is a device to act as an MP3 jukebox with excellent sound.  Convenience would be a key factor, as in I would like to be able to just pop in a CD to the jukebox, and have it record with one or none clicks.

Given my above desire, how would the Panda PC be a better solution than a standard PC?

If the Panda PC's only special ability is to play DVD's, how is that going to be better than a dedicated DVD player of decent quality ($500 and up)?

Also, what is the processor used on the Panda?

Does it have a built-in LAN.  A wireless LAN would be even more attractive.

[azryan]

'bump'

Any chance some or 'any' of my questions about the Panda could get answered?

While it's clearly a cool products, and a great price, I'm still confused about what it can and can't do, who it's aimed at, and/or what type of typical HT gear it's meant to replace... i.e. -DVD player, scalar, preamp, DAC, etc.??

Please see all the questions I posted on the 13th.
Thanks

[mbarnes]

If anyone has a specific question, it is always better to write me directly.  I might not get to this website often.  

As for the Panda PC, it is designed to be a multimedia computer that is quiet, consumes little energy and takes up little space. There are applications for such a computer in offices and homes.  We have built a DC power supply so the Panda PC could be put into an automobile.

We are not suggesting that the Panda PC replaces anything.  There are companies making "HTPC" and these are generally quite expensive.  

The Panda PC is a good product for playing movies and playing CDs.  However, there are still issues that might not make it the ideal replacement.  These include, booting an OS to access the features and not having a remote control.

We are working towards a BIOS that will play DVDs and CDs automatically but that is probably a few months away.

The main point is that it is a small, energy efficient and silent computer capable of playing DVDs smoothly and with a very good audio decoder.  

'bump'

Any chance some or 'any' of my questions about the Panda could get answered?

While it's clearly a cool products, and a great price, I'm still confused about what it can and can't do, who it's aimed at, and/or what type of typical HT gear it's meant to replace... i.e. -DVD player, scalar, preamp, DAC, etc.??

Please see all the questions I posted on the 13th.
Thanks