Home theater PC’s can be a very pricy addition to your home theater. It's not just a matter of throwing any old PC together and hooking it up; if you want a fully immersive experience you need either Vista or XP media edition for an OS and a graphics card capable of doing HD. Also needed is a motherboard and processor that can get the job done. What if I said the PC you have sitting in your office is good enough and all you have to do is spend another $129.99 to get a fully immersive HD experience? Not only do you get this but also integrated OS and DVR capabilities all in one. This may sound too good to be true but the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder is everything you need all in one package. Let’s get a closer look at it:

Price: $129.99

Closer Look:

The packaging for the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder is very well designed. It looks very professional and has all of the information you would need if you were looking for an HD enclosure like this. Some things to note: is that the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder is only capable of 720P or 1080i. For anyone with LCD’s larger than 36 inches this may hinder the full potential of your TV; otherwise 720P and 1080P look exactly the same on anything smaller than 36 inches.

Included along with the enclosure is a remote, composite cable, component cable, manual, transcode server software, and for the really technologically ignorant a big flash card styled sheet for setting it up with your TV.

Let's have a look at the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder:

Closer Look:

The design of the enclosure itself is very simple but still sleek. It doesn’t look cheap I think it would look great in any home theater stand. The part I like the most, is that all of the navigation is on the unit itself as well as the remote. If you are anything like me you lose remotes all the time, so if push comes to shove, you can still use the device without the remote.

Top:

Thumb Drive port so you can even let your friends check out their media.

One thing that is not included with the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder is a hard drive. You can however use the device without a hard drive, but you will not be able to use the dvr functions.

Another great option the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder offers is the addition of a fan, hard drives get hot in these enclosures; the addition of a fan will prolong the life of your hard driver exponentially.

Below I have made a video to demonstrate the menu operating system that is on the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player. I was very impressed with how much was included with this product for its price. It includes everything I wanted in a media box. My capture card is DOA so forgive the quality but I made it very clear with notations what is going on, on screen.

 Let's check out the specs and features:

Features:

 Click Here To Download The Manual

There wont be a testing portion in the review because there isn't really anything to benchmark. The unit itself worked seamlessly, without hiccup, and I was very impressed with it. Let's see the final thoughts:

Out of all the hardware and gadgets I have been reviewing lately the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder is easily my favorite. The only thing I can say that would make this unit even better would be to include an internet browser to watch youtube videos. Other than that this unit has everything I wanted in an HD enclosure. Kingwin hit a home run when combining cost-effective design with functionality. I love all of the little bonuses like the continuation of the video when you are running through menu settings, navigation built into the enclosure design, and the ability to record from any source through its integrated inputs.

The most important question of all is would I recommend this product to others? The answer is a resounding yes! The only person I would not recommend this too is someone craving 1080P that has the money to put out to buy a full-on HD HTPC. For everyone else that is looking for a fantastic HD HTPC experience but can’t afford the high price tag, the Kingwin KM-31BK HD-Multimedia Player and Recorder is the answer to your call.

 Pros:

• Price
• Transcoder Software
• Cooling Fan For HDD
• On Board Navigation 
• Easy to use Menu System
• Network Streaming
• Built in DVR
• Looks Great
• Supports Thumb Drives

Cons:

• No 1080P

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