Double-take, gape, gawk, ogle, ooh and ahh: That's what we did when first seeing the HP Envy 17 (2012)'s ($1,484.99 direct) screen. What HP calls a Radiance Full HD Infinity display is simply one of the best, if not the best, laptop screens we've seen, with bright whites, rich blacks, vibrant colors, wide viewing angles, you name it. Set in Control Panel to show text and icons at 125 percent size—100 percent can be a bit small or squinty at the 17.3-inch LCD's 1,920-by-1,080-resolution—it made Windows dialog boxes remind us of hand-inked and -lettered comic or poster pages rather than computer video, and made our digital-camera snaps look like fine art. If you don't mind a glossy rather than matte finish, it's a superb screen that'll spoil you for any run-of-the-mill laptop panel.
But as dazzling as the display is, it's not the only reason we're elevating the HP Envy 17 to become our Editors' Choice among media center laptops, replacing the HP Pavilion dv7-6163cl ($949.99 list, 4 stars)—although we do feel it's time our media center honoree offered full 1080p resolution instead of stopping at 720p. The Envy 17 complements its vivid visuals with awesome Beats Audio, thanks to a six-speakers-plus-subwoofer setup highlighted by a good old-fashioned volume dial. It's great for cranking up the volume and playing Blu-ray movies. It even plays demanding games, as long as you resist the temptation to max out on resolution and detail settings. Add a handsome aluminum chassis and bountiful battery life, and you've got a first-class ticket to multimedia.
0 comments:
Post a Comment