nMedia HTPC 600BAR Case Review

Specifications




Packaging and Accessories


The packaging of the 600BAR gets the job done...in a utilitarian sort of way. Actually, I was surprised to see the case came in a brown box with no alluring pictures like most of the other cases on the market. Many cases come with flashy (and expensive) boxes that you usually throw out right after unpackaging the case.

nMedia packed up the case in thick, heavy duty foam attached to cardboard with user friendly hand slots in order to remove it easily. After dealing with many, many awkward case boxes, kudos to nMedia for that extra little feature.


The accessories include all the necessary screws, some complementary cable ties and clips plus instructions and an internal USB adapter. The best and most useful accessory by far is the media centre remote. With Windows Vista, the only effort exerted to install the remote was to plug in two triple A batteries. While I loathe AAA batteries for their higher price over AA batteries, at least they were included. Usually you would have to buy this remote seperately so its inclusion here contributes to bring down the overall price of your HTPC.

Let's make this clear right away: while the remote looks like the standard Microsoft Media Center remote, it is a custom nMedia-made remote made to LOOK like the MS product. The remote feels a little large and bulky but you will get used to its heft quite quickly. The remote was a little bit too wide and deep to fit 100% comfortably in my hand since I really had to stretch my thumb to reach many of the buttons. In comparison, the Microsoft media center remote is more ergonomic and has a better weight to it but on the other hand, it’s not included with this case. Bundling the nMedia remote with the case does lead to significantly better value since the Microsoft remote is about $30 while this case plus nMedia remote is $107.