HP Omni 27

If you're a video hobbyist or movie aficionado, you may be tempted to buy the HP Omni 27 ($1,249 direct) for both viewing and editing videos. You would be making a great choice, as the Omni 27's huge 27-inch 1080p HD screen is essentially a theater-sized screen when you're sitting a few feet away. It has the power to create and transcode video for distribution online, plus the built-in Blu-ray means you'll have access to the thousands of titles that aren't available on Netflix or other streaming services. Plus Blu-rays usually have the special features that film geeks love to view over and over. For this and other features, the HP Omni 27 earns our Editors' Choice award for midrange all-in-one desktop PCs.

Design and Features
The Omni 27 looks like a ramped up version of the HP TouchSmart 520-1030 ($899.99 list, 3 stars) we saw last year. Instead of a 23-inch monitor, the Omni 27 has a huge 27-inch screen at the same true 1080p HD (1,920 by 1,080) resolution. The Omni 27 has a seamless, edge-to-edge piece of glass over the screen, since the system doesn't have to worry about supporting a touch interface. In contrast, the HP 520 has a raised bezel to accommodate the touch screen sensors. Not a huge thing, but the seamless glass results in smoother lines in the design. The components are built into the screen, which is suspended above the base by two silver-colored arms. The system follows HP's unique design ID, and it works really well.

The large screen on the PC looks very much like a 27-inch HDTV. At first I thought the screen would have too little resolution for the size, since the Apple iMac 27-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,999 list, 4 stars) has a 2,560 by 1,440 resolution screen with more pixels and a larger desktop area. You will be able to see a "screen door" effect from the pixels on the Omni 27's display, but only if you get too close for usability, about 3 to 6 inches away. Viewing from desktop distance (about 3 feet) gives you a decidedly movie theater feel, and viewing from 5 to 8 feet away gives you a home theater-type view. The screen really fills your field of view from desktop distance. All in all, the system is both attractive and highly usable as a home entertainment PC.

The Omni comes with a quad-core Intel Core i5-2400S processor, 8GB of memory, 1TB hard drive, integrated Intel graphics, a Blu-ray player/DVD burner combo drive, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, SD/MMC/MS card reader, and a HDMI-in port. This means that aside from a touch screen, the Omni 27 has just about all of the hardware components that we look for in a large screen all-in-one PC. The USB 3.0 ports feel like light speed (5Gbps) compared with plain old USB 2.0 (480Mbps), and the HDMI-in port lets you continue to use the system's screen when the internal components like the i5 processor eventually become obsolete. You can connect a future laptop or desktop to the Omni 27 and use the latter as a 27-inch monitor. The Omni 27 calls the HDMI-in "game mode," so they're also intending the port be used for gaming consoles like Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3. The system comes with Cyberlink PowerDVD 10 for playing back DVDs and Blu-ray movies. Beats Audio enhancements help both music and movies. There's a subwoofer jack in the back to connect HP's optional Pulse subwoofer ($129.99). We tried the Omni 27 out with the Pulse sub, and it makes a big difference with music and movies. The included speakers are adequate without the subwoofer, but adding some bass goes a long way to movie and music enjoyment.

There are a few nits on the system however. For instance, it has a lot of icons strewn on the desktop. These include eBay, HP Download Store (AKA HP Marketplace), HP Magic Canvas (the full-screen interface seen on TouchSmart systems), HP Support Assistant, Office 2010 Starter, Norton Internet Security, HP Games, Rara Music (a paid music service), Snapfish, and Zya Music. Just about all of these programs are also found in the Start menu, so feel free to delete the icons you don't use. Our review unit came with a 15-month subscription to Norton Internet Security, a huge improvement over the usual 30-day free trial.

Performance
The Omni 27's Intel Core i5-2400S processor gives it the oomph to return pretty good scores at our benchmark tests. The system returned a decent 1 minute 28 seconds at our Handbrake video test and 3:31 at our Photoshop CS5 test. This is significantly faster than the Core i3-powered Editor's Choice Sony VAIO VPC-L231FX/W ($999.99 at Staples, 4.5 stars) (2:22 Handbrake, 5:34 CS5), and a smidge slower than the Core i7-powered HP Compaq 8200 Elite All-in-One ($1,859 direct, 3 stars) (1:18 Handbrake, 3:02 CS5). The system's PCMark 7 scores (2,783 points) also follow pricing and processor positioning, with the HP 8200 Elite coming out on top (2,863). What's notable about these scores is that the Omni 27 is closer to the 8200 Elite than the Sony VAIO (which scored 2,167), which means we can consider the Omni 27 as a powerhouse system.

The HP Omni 27 is a bit more expensive than our former Editors' Choice Sony VAIO VPC-L231FX/W, but the Omni 27 has a much larger screen, longer Norton subscription, much faster performance, a Blu-ray Player, and more system memory. The Sony L231FX/W's main differentiators are FireWire/i.Link (no big deal), a touch screen (not a big deal until Windows 8 gains traction), and a few more connectors like composite video in and HDMI-out. Ultimately, the Omni 27 is a better multimedia system because of the larger screen and faster performance. The screen and Blu-ray drive also outclass the former midrange Editor's Choice Asus ET2410IUTS-B018C ($999.99 list, 4 stars), which was begging for better sound and a Blu-ray. About the only system that trumps the Omni 27 at video and photo is the 27-inch iMac, but you'll have to pay a $750 price premium for the Mac's better screen resolution, 3D graphics prowess, and Thunderbolt port. The Omni 27 is aimed more at the prosumer anyway, leave the iMac to the professionals who can afford the price premium. If you want Blu-ray and online movies, get the Omni 27.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

COMPARISON TABLE
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shannon de lima joe torre west virginia university michele bachmann jessica biel tim howard west virginia