HP Pavilion dv8000z

If you’re looking for a large, bright screen, TiVo-like capabilities, and Windows Media Center, the dv8000z delivers. We previously reviewed the HP dv8000 with more pedestrian components, but this version is the best one HP offers in the series.

The 17-inch screen is a beauty. Its glossy finish is great for watching movies, but it tends to reflect ambient light. It’s also true high definition and offers Ultra BrightView technology, meaning the screen has a second backlight. If you’re like us, you’ll find yourself turning down the brightness for office applications and turning it up to watch video. Movies look sharp and crisp in the 1440 x 900 widescreen format.

The screen is perfect for using Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. On our unit, HP included the optional ExpressCard TV tuner, which worked perfectly. You can watch, record, and time-shift live TV and get a program guide (all with no monthly fee). TV viewing was bright and as clear as a PC TV tuner can be. The included IR receiver and remote control make this a good choice for dorm dwellers or small apartment residents.

The music and picture capabilities of MCE worked flawlessly. For those who don’t want to wait to boot up Windows, HP includes its QuickPlay technology, which uses a 204MB partition on your hard drive and loads Linux to run multimedia apps.

You can press the DVD button to play a DVD or the QuickPlay button to listen to music (MP3s or CDs). Both launch in about 20 seconds, compared with 50 for a full Windows boot. We also found that the dv8000z’s built-in Altec Lansing speakers produce very good sound for a notebook. We should note that this is the older version of QuickPlay. Version 2, which supports photos, is currently shipping with newer HP notebooks, but not this one.

The large keyboard on the HP Pavilion dv8000z has an entire number keypad with a button above it to make the on-screen calculator appear. The keyboard is responsive and has a smooth feel to it. The border around the keyboard has a glossy finish similar to the screen, which unfortunately makes dust and fingerprints quite common.  HP still has a thing for blue LEDs. The Power, DVD, QuickPlay, Volume, Wireless, HD Activity, Power Status, and Calculator buttons all light up blue, giving the system a soothing hue.

The 2.2-GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-40 is a fairly powerful processor designed specifically for desktop replacements. The dv8000z scored a 198 in MobileMark 2005, which is okay yet not as good as top Intel-powered desktop replacements that score above 230. The previous HP dv8000 we reviewed scored 176 with its Turion 64 ML-37 running at 2 GHz. Our dv8000z came with 2GB of RAM, but HP has temporarily stopped offering that memory option.

The Turion 64 CPU and ultrabright 17-inch screen are powerful components that both negatively affect battery life. The dv8000z ran for 2 hours and 50 minutes with Wi-Fi off and only 2 hours 37 minutes with Wi-Fi on.

With a paltry 1,566 3DMark03 score, the dv8000z is by no means a gaming notebook. However, the machine’s ATI Mobility Radeon Xpress 200m can handle 3D titles if the user doesn’t mind playing them at low resolution.

The dv8000z is full of ports, with four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire, S-Video, VGA, headphone, microphone, and Ethernet jack, along with a modem and an Expansion Port 2 slot. The Expansion Port 2 can be used to hook up the optional HP xb2000 Notebook Expansion Base, which saves a lot of space and gives your notebook a desktop aesthetic. In addition to the ExpressCard/54 slot, the dv8000z offers a standard PC Card slot.

As for software, the dv8000z includes HP ImageZone Plus for photos, an all-too-short 60-day subscription to Symantec Norton Internet Security 2006 (which includes Anti-Virus), InterVideo WinDVD 5.0, Apple iTunes for Windows 4.7, Muvee AutoProducer 4.0, and Sonic Digital Media Plus 7.0.

A boatload of impressive features, good performance, and excellent video quality make this a solid choice for a desktop replacement if you’re willing to sacrifice gameplay. The HP Pavilion dv8000z is relatively expensive at $2,004, but if you want something to play your videos, movies, and any other type of media, look no further than this system.