In The Box

Before we dig deeply into the functions of the new PlayTV device, we'll take a look at what you see when you start pulling goodies from the box.

The main thing that we'll be wanting to get our hands on is the box itself. Though it looks rather simple, it is the gateway to your goals of multimedia bliss, or at least that is the plan.

Looking at the front of the unit doesn't give much away as far as what it is capable of. The small horseshoe design on the left is simply a power light and the red dot toward the right edge is an infrared sensor for using a remote control unit. But when we turn it around...

Now we begin to see some promise. From left to right we have the primary power socket, then the USB connection, three standard connectors for audio/video output, an S-Video port and a standard connector for hooking up your cable or satellite signal.

Putting all these things together, we can have the unit hooked to our PC via the USB port, then have a device (like a VCR or DVD player) ported in through the three audio/visual connectors and then also have a digital camcorder set up through the S-Video!

With all these ways of hooking up components, it is good to know that the folks at Prolink have you in mind. They also provide all the necessary cabling to get the job done without having to go out and purchase additional items.

Remember when I pointed out that little red dot on the front? Well this unit even comes standard with the remote control. Heaven forbid that we have to manually change the channels while sitting right on front of the computer.