Review of the Tranquil PC T7-MP2 Media Center and Special Offer

May 30, 2010 by 10 Comments

Here we review the brand new media center pc from Tranquil PC – the T7-MP2 and we have a special very limited time offer for our readers.

Media Center pcs are great – they enable you to record and watch tv, listen to music, view photos and do so much more all from the comfort of your sofa in your living room or bedroom, or any other room in the house for that matter.

Tranquil have released a new media center pc, called the T7-MP2, and here is how they describe it:

  • Powered by the ION chipset from Nvidia, you can now enjoy HD movies etc with ease
  • Intel dual core Atom CPU ensures low energy consumption with excellent performance
  • Near silent operation – there are no fans to be heard, or suck in dust
  • Integrated Media Centre Receiver and Media Centre remote control
  • Tiny foot print – the size of a hard back book
  • Connect to almost any screen, HDMI (1.3) – DVI or VGA
    and almost any audio player HDMI – SPDIF (Coax or Optical) – Analog
  • Expand storage with 6x rear USB2 ports and 1x eSATA port
  • Built in WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) and GigaLAN interface
  • Desirable quality – made from all extruded aluminium parts
  • Ideal for Media Centre Playback of your media files, web browsing etc
    or Live TV / Recorded TV playback, or CD/DVD/BluRay playback – via optional USB devices
  • Runs Windows 7 Home Premium with Media Centre + IP TV services
  • Optional VESA TV bracket, to mount the T7-MP2 on the back of your large screen TV
    (75×75, 100×100 or 200x100mm VESA mount points)
  • Enjoy new IP services from :
    SKY Player – BBC iPlayer – ITV Player – Channel 4 Watch Online – FIVE Demand – etc

We have been talking to Tranquil about the T7 for a while now, and have been sworn to secrecy, and so were very happy when our T7 arrived earlier than expected.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Tranquil T7-MP2 Tranquil T7-MP2 Tranquil T7-MP2 Tranquil T7-MP2 Tranquil T7-MP2

Unit dimensions : 387 (w) x 356 (d) x 66 (h) mm

Unit construction  : Aluminium and steel (typically >70% recycled materials)

System heat sink : Aluminium with custom heat pipe cooling system (TranCool3)

CPU : 64 bit ready Dual Core Intel Atom D510 (2 x 1.6GHz)

Chipset : Nvidia ION

Graphics : Nvidia GeForce 9xxx (up to 1920 x 1440)

Memory  : 2x DDR2 667/800MHz (up to 4GB)

HDDs : 1x or 2x 2.5″ SATA

Colour options : Satin Black

Front panel : Power switch and Power / HDD activity LEDs / IR RX (suitable for All MCE remotes, not MCE keyboard)

Rear panel : 12V DC power in / 6x USB2.0 / 10.100.1000 LAN / Audio In / Audio Out / Mic In / COAX SPDIF / TOSLINK SPDIF / PS2 / HDMI / DVI / VGA / eSATA / WiFi / Power in

Weight  : Base unit (nett) 4Kg

Power supply : External AC/DC with country specific power cord

Working temp : Maximum 48’C ambient

Mounting options : Desk or Wall

Power consumption : from 21W (base unit)

Acoustics : 17dBA (incl 1x HDD) or 0dBA with SSHDD

Software :

Windows 7 Home Premium
IP TV Add Ins
Video Decoder pack (incl MKV HD video)

WHATS IN THE BOX?

Apart from the T7, the box also contains a power supply, a full copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, a wireless aerial and a Philips Media Center remote control (complete with a Green Button).

Tranquil T7-MP2 Tranquil T7-MP2 Tranquil T7-MP2

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About Andrew Edney

This post was written by who has written 3673 posts on Connected Digital World. I am the owner and editor of this site. I have been interested in gadgets and tech since I was little. I have also written a number of books on various tech subjects. And I am honoured to be a Microsoft MVP for Windows Home Server since January 2008.
View all posts by Andrew Edney →

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  • Paul

    I have been waiting for more info on this unit, thank you!

    I'm a bit surprised it's shipped with Windows 7 Home Premium, which is not able to host Remote Desktop sessions. I imagine configuration is easier via RD once the unit is fitted on the wall or on the tv. Do you know if it's possible to have it shipped with Windows 7 Pro?

    Thanks

    Paul

    • Andrew Edney

      Paul

      No, it only ships with Home Premium.

      However you could perform an anytime upgrade to Pro, or there are "hacks" to get RD to work (just do a search on google)

      Andrew

  • Jack

    Perhaps an easier solution, as I use, is the free logmein.com rdc – simple, and runs through the internet :)

  • Paul

    Allright, thanks for the quick answers guys. I will have a look at the logmein.com solution.

    • http://usingwindowshomeserver.com Andrew Edney

      Cool – if not the "hack" is very simple and works great.

      Andrew

  • Rowan

    Thanks for the review. Good to see how responsive Tranquil are to your suggestions.

    Do you have any view on whether it would be worth the upgrade to 4GB Ram for

    • http://usingwindowshomeserver.com Andrew Edney

      Hi Rowan

      Re the memory, to be honest if you just going to watch stuff and record stuff, then you can probably get away with 2GB – thats what I have in my main Sony MC right now.

      As for the SSD, I'm not really sure it's needed. I have an SSD in my main computer running the OS drive and its certainly faster, but Im not sure you would get a great deal of benefit of using one on a MC box.

      Andrew

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  • ern

    Whilst its a great bit of kit It surly cannot be a media centre as there is no tuners or DVD/Blueray. Plus its way to expensive

    I bought a stock Acer 1300 mid size pc

    Fitted a Sat DVB-s2 Card, Twin Usb DVB-t Stick added the windows remote

    All for

    • http://usingwindowshomeserver.com Andrew Edney

      Hi Ern

      I agree that the T7 is expensive without those items, but it is still a media center. Media Center after all is the software as well, and it all depends on what you want to use it for.

      Obviously if you do want to watch BR discs and live tv, then you would need to spend more money, which makes it even more expensive.

      Personally I would wait for one of the new ixL machines as they look fantastic. I should be getting my hands on one in the next week.

      Andrew