Antec Veris Multimedia Station E-Z Author:  William Halbyrd Date:  2008.10.15 Topic:  Peripherals Provider:  Antec Manufacturer:  Antec

Antec Veris Multimedia Station E-Z

Introduction

As the cost of large-screen plasma and LCD TVs goes down, setting up a home theater gets ever easier to afford. Navigating through the maze of set-top boxes for getting music and video to your living room is a chore, and many people have decided to chuck out the dumb boxes in favor of a Home Theater PC (hereafter abbreviated as HTPC). Capitalizing on this trend, Antec has come out with a series of HTPC-related products under the Veris moniker. From top-end HTPC enclosures down to add-on remote/software packages, Antec has the entire range covered, and with style. Today, we'll be looking at a product down near the budget end of the lineup, the Multimedia Station E-Z. Designed for use with laptops, or already-configured desktop systems, the EZ comes with the bare essentials for adding HTPC functionality on the cheap. Is the EZ an A-list performer, or is it destined for direct-to-video obscurity? Let's find out.

Packaging

Opting for the less-is-more approach, the EZ comes in a compact little box. Almost too compact, in fact. At first, I wasn't even certain it had room for a software CD.

What's Inside

The contents of the box are fairly standard: remote, receiver, USB cable, driver software and install guide.

The USB Cable doubles as the mounting clamp, with rubberized feet to hold it in place without marking your monitor. The receiver plugs in front, and swivels on its plug to afford some adjustability. The assembly isn't locked down in any way, so adjustment should be done carefully. Once in place, however, no real adjustment is needed. It's hard to photograph, but the plastic cap on the left side lights up in a soft red glow when the device is connected and your PC is turned on. In use, this light was not bright enough to be distracting, and it is mostly invisible when seen head-on.