Customer Reviews

Dell Inspiron Zino HD Piano Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The Dell Zino HD (aka Inspiron 400) has so far been just what I was hoping for: a general purpose PC, small footprint, quiet, and with enough computing power to handle everyday tasks. Of course, how you configure it is up to you.

Specifics:
-- The Zino HD appears to have more in common with a laptop than a typical desktop PC. For instance, the power supply is external and similar to what you'd typically use with a laptop. With a case size just under 8" x 8" x 3.5", I'm guessing that the same engineers who design laptops had a hand in designing the Zino. Also, the CD/DVD drive is typical of what you'd find in a laptop...which is essential given the relatively small case size.

-- The size and overall design of the Zino HD gives you more flexibility on where you place it.

-- The Zino HD is very quiet. The cooling fan in the back makes barely a hum (again, similar to a laptop).

-- Dual-Core Athlon CPU + 4gb Ram + Windows 7 are probably the three "upgrades" you'll want to consider. After all, you can only expect decent performance if the hardware is matched with the appropriate operating system (and vice versa). Windows 7 (so far) has met expectations and appears to be a hit with the general user population out there. Microsoft got it right.

-- The integrated graphics card appears to be a good match for this machine. Online video programming and the sample HD video that comes with Windows 7 look great and without pauses.

-- So far, cooling doesn't appear to a problem - that was my main concern given such a compact case. Being a desktop, it's got a few design advantages over a laptop and I think that has made the difference.

Bottom line: if you want a general purpose, quiet PC, that you can place in the corner of a desk or on a shelf, then consider the Zino HD.

I purchased this system with the express purpose of replacing my DVR. Dell gave me the impression this was an Home Theater PC and includes an HDTV tuner as an option. Note: I am using a dual-core processor, 2GB of memory, and the HD3200 video card.

As a normal PC it seems alright, not that I've done much with it in that regard. Big apps seem to be a bit slow to load, but my desktop is a fast quad core system w/ a 10K RPM hard drive.

Since my intent is to replace my DVR, I hooked up the tuner (hauppage USB HD Tuner) and started Windows Media Center. All drivers installed and WMC quickly located all of my cable channels. That's the last of the good news.

I started by using 1080i resolution on my monitor (an HDMI LCD TV). The video was completely unacceptable. It probably dropped 10-20 frames for every one it displayed. The system performance was so bad it was excruciating to get out of Windows Media Center.

If I put the video 720p mode, I can watch TV with just a little skipping or delay; however, if I bring up the TV guide at the same time the TV is running, forget it. The TV stutters horribly.

Now that I have the system and the problem, I am seeing reports of this problem popping up in audio/video forums (ugh, why didn't I check there first before buying this). In fact, CNET reviews this systems and the CON is it will not work in HD mode with the integrated video card. (The link to the review is removed by amazon, but google "cnet zino review").

I've tried to resolve the problem with tech support, but so far they haven't been able to make it past basic troubleshooting - ie. I haven't made it past the first layer of support technicians.

Hopefully I can return this tomorrow. If not, you might want to watch craigslist for it. I have no use for it if it can't handle HDTV.

Final Note?: No thanks to Dell I have found that by using the VGA connection to my TV (NOT the HDMI connection), I can get HDTV to work in 1280x760 mode (the max resolution of my TV's VGA port) fairly well. All digital signals from cable (QAM signals) work perfectly. For some reason the analog signals still stutter, but I don't care about those.

I cannot stress how disappointed I am with Dell over this. The video card cannot be field upgraded. The returns department (I tried to send this back and get one with the correct video card) said 'No returns after 21 days. Thank you, come again'. The tech support people were clueless. I don't know how ma and pa Kettle get their systems running. You have to have a computer science degree 1/2 the time to get consumer stuff working right.

Final Note!: Dell is taking it back. Perhaps someone there also read the cnet review. Just in time as the VGA port went on the fritz this weekend and now no display port is usable.

Epilogue: After searching the market I couldn't find another system with a form factor I liked so I ended up repurchasing a Dell Zino with the upgraded video card (ATI HD4330) and 4GB instead of 2. This system *works* for displaying HDTV broadcasts. Unfortunately it cost significantly more than the base system. It's had some odd glitches (like audio via HDMI has occasionally stopped requiring a reboot), but it has been OK. OK is about the best I can say given the headache this whole project became.

I ordered this, based on Dell's claims of being great for a HTPC, including 5.1 surround sound. After spending an hour on the phone with Dell "please restart your computer" tech support and several hours of searching the web, I learned that the 5.1 surround only works if you order the $70 optional video card - which *cannot* be added later.

I decided to send it back, which was another hour of pone calls. The CSR claimed they would send a RMA, but they didn't. It took another hour of calls (a week later) to get it escalated to a CSR who could do something for me. My credit card hasn't been credited yet, so I still don't trust them.

Dell released this machine too early (trying to make it in time for Christmas sales) and has failed horribly. There have been all sorts of problems, and the description on the website changes daily. At one point they said you could play DVDs on the "HDMI Player". They also claim it outputs 2.1 channel sound - which is simply not true. It puts out 2 channel sound, and you amplifier & subwoofer turn it into 2.1. They failed to mention that you need the video card to use the HDMI cable for the 5.1 surround sound.

The marketing folks have no idea what this computer is about, what it can do, and what's inside it. The CSRs are clueless and know nothing about it as well.

This has been the most frustrating computer experience I've had in 20 years, and some of the worst customer service I've ever received.

If you need a basic computer, it would be fine. However, I'll never take a chance on Dell again.

I bought this with only one purpose in mind - a media center PC. I've been using comptuers to run my TV's since 1999 when i got my first HDTV, so have been using windows media center since they released the initial XP version. I had a 11 month old Dell Studio Hybrid that was having problems with HDMI and windows 7, so decided to give their Zino a try.

I was bouncing between the Zino and the Mac Mini and ended up with the Zino just because of the pricing. You get more for the money spec wise, though I'm still not convinced it was worth it for the end use results.

Everything I have for content is on a windows home server and i use a gigabit network as well as my 802.11n. The media center has a cat-5 cable coming up to it, so it can run at the full gigabit speed. I have 8 TB of disk space on the server, and all but about 1TB is used. All my dvd's and blurays are ripped to the drives, my audio, home movies, pictures, everything. So I have things from old camcorder rips to the newest 1080p movies to view.

The unit has a relatively small footprint, so it's easy to fit in a lot of places. The fans in my setup here are barely noticable when it's dead silent at night. And if there's *anything* at all playing even at low volumes, you can't hear them at all. So it is not intrusive.

Video playback is really sketchy for me though. I've had issues with it regardless of resolution, source, or size. But I found some help in the Green Button forums for some settings that seem to have resolved most of the issues.

1080 playback is generally flawless. No artifacts, pixellation, skipping, anything. I still get some random times when things are choppy for no apparent reason though, but not too often and not with any consistency. I use the most current version of the Win7 codec pack that's available, and keep it updated each week or so.

HDMI out works well for me for both the video and audio, although I'm only using 2.1 speakers for sound since the layout of my great room doesn't allow for any easy way to do rear channels.

I got the highest processor I could, and upped the video to the 4330, since I wanted to make sure I had the most available power for my HD content.

For the price, it works well. I don't know how long I'll keep using it as my media center if I don't get rid of the occasional choppy playback, but at least that's something that happens rarely now.

The brick is pretty small, moreso than some of the laptop bricks I have. The Esata plugs would have come in handy a year ago before I moved things from an external drive to my server downstairs, but at least it's there if I need it. I also use a USB hub so the lack of enough USB ports in the back wasn't crippling to me.

If you plan on expanding your system though, this is not the system for you. And if you have certain things you require, such as some specific sound card to use with a MIDI system or something, unless it's USB, this isn't the system for you. Other than putting in a larger drive or more memory, there's really nothing you can do to beef it up any more or expand it.

The Studio Hybrid had issues at 1080p when navigating menus or the movie database, it got really jumpy. This one doesn't do that, but if I have something playing, it still will. So if I go from live TV or watching a movie, then jump to navigating the thumbnails of my video files, movies, and such, while the video source is still playing, then it can be jumpy. But I almost never do that so it doesn't impact me, since with no video playing, the menu navigation for windows media center is fine.

With the limited power of the AMD chip inside, it's not the kind of thing I'd want to use as an actual production machine of sorts, but for someone who just surfs the web, maybe does email and such, it should be sufficient.

Computers are different things to different people, and five people all using the same PC will all have five different reactions to it and pros and cons. So make sure you know exactly what you want to use this for before you purchase it, and make sure it will fit your needs, since unlike "normal" desktop PC's out there, you can't just throw nearly anything in after the fact.

Edit added March 20:
Still was unable to get rid of the random choppy playback of 1080 content, so hit the local brick and mortar and grabbed a mac mini, which is working flawlessly... Resold the Zino to one of my employees who was looking for something for his wife.

I love tiny PCs. I have the HP Slimline and an Apple MacMIni. Zino is one of the newest line of computers on Dell. We have small tables at home and the less footprint for my technology, the more real estate I have on my desk. Of course, the Macmini is still my favorite but it is now an expensive paperweight on my desk. I got it the first time it came out, pre-Intel, no Wifi, now with a broken hard-drive and a broken DVD- writer. In short, it will cost me more to repair the Mac than to just purchase a Zino (which I did on Black Friday).

My initial reaction when I got my Zino was the size. It was not as small as I thought it would be. Probably double the size-volume of a Macmini. Still, so much smaller than a regular tower PC. It looks simple and sleek. Came with a mouse and a simple keyboard, both of them USB. Keyboard has a rubberized footings that prevent it from sliding from my desk despite its light weight. 4 USB inputs, 2 at the back and 2 at the front. The DVD drive is not motorized, once you press the button, it just pops up mechanically - which is just fine with me. Comes with a restore disk.

I am very happy with it considering the price I paid which is a great value for my money. Performance wise, it has not disappointed me yet. I tried ripping one of my DVDs to test it, although it is not blazing fast, it just did the job. It is not whisper quiet as I want it to be. This little box also has an HDMI connection at the back. Nice touch, if I decide to hook it up with my HDTV. This is also my first experience with with Windows 7, love it. It felt familiar as it is slightly similar with the Mac OS desktop.

Needing a second, home theater PC, I ordered a Zino direct from Dell in mid-November. On the surface, it is a cute, almost-small-enough box of a mini-PC.

Initially, it was supposed to arrive in three weeks. Dell made four (4) delays, three of them without notice to me, and finally shipped it to me after 8 weeks. According to the Dell Zino thread on AVSForum, everyone had their Zino's delayed, with the same lack of notice, and in almost all cases, Dell made no attempt to "make it right" by any of the users by offering anything other than "free next day shipping" on something which already ended up being notoriously behind schedule.

Beyond the miserable treatment to the customers by Dell, let's look at the actual hardware. I also have an Acer AspireRevo 3610 which I purchased slightly after the Zino (but received in only a week), which I will use for comparison.

The Zino does have one distinct advantage: a DVD drive, and is also offered with a Blu-Ray player at a premium price. The Acer comes with no optical drive. The Acer does come with a capable wireless mouse and keyboard, both of which work at long range (long enough to have across the room for home theater use), and work natively, as if they are plugged in, so they function just fine for accessing BIOS configuration functions. Neither the keyboard or the mouse are fancy, but their simplicity is nice for a theater setup. The Dell comes with a wired USB mouse and keyboard, but for home theater applications, you'd want to invest in something else.

The Zino is fairly quiet but not silent. In a quite room, with the Zino not doing anything (other than being completely idle), I can hear the computer whirring. This is unfortunate, as it is in my bedroom. The Acer though is for all intents and purposes silent.

Both devices are setup and configured with HDMI out to respective 1080 HD LCD sets, and both produce comparably similar pictures. Audio is also over the HDMI connection from both systems. Both are outfitted with identical USB HD receivers (but no MPEG encoding on the receivers). Both the Dell and the Acer run Windows Media Center on Windows 7 fine under normal circumstances. We have run into a problem on the Dell from time to time, when we stop either playback of a program from the Internet or from a DVD, where the audio output of the computer goes into a loud stuttering loop, running like a machine gun until we choose to play something else or turn off the computer. Obviously a bug somewhere in the system, but not welcome right as we're stopping a show in order to get ready to sleep... really gives one an unwanted boost of adrenaline. Not good. Still looking to find the solution to that one.

If I had to purchase another system, I'd opt for the Acer, an Asus, or some other non-Dell brand. The Zino just doesn't do enough more than the AspireRevo, has issues, is quite a bit larger, and can't be mounted on the back of the monitor. If I want a built-in DVD drive, I'll look to the Asus Eee Box EB1501.

I have owned two Zinos. I had VASTLY different experiences with each one.

I bought them solely to replace my broken DVR.

The first one I bought was the cheapest version with the single-core AMD Athalon 1.6, 2 GB of RAM, and the on-board video. I got it with Windows 7 hoping to use the Media Center functionality. Wow, was I ever disappointed. I got an AverMedia AverMax Hybrid TV Tuner (usb) that was Windows 7 certified. The tuner worked beautifully on my laptop. However, when I hooked it up to the Zino HD and tried to watch live TV, my CPU went to 100% utilization, the video stuttered, and I couldn't change channels, use the channel guide or even close Media Center. I had to hold down he power button on the machine and turn it off. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Dell support. They reinstalled drivers, but it didn't help. I promptly returned it.

I hesitantly purchased a second one on a black Friday deal from Dell's website. It had better specs with a dual-core Athlon processor, 3 GB of RAM, and a Blu-Ray drive. When I connected my USB TV Tuner to it, the difference was like night and day. The dual-core Zino has performed amazingly well. Watching and recording live TV is excellent. The system is quick and responsive. I love the tiny form factor as well.

I recommend the Zino, but would steer clear of the single-core processor version.

My system is not capable of playing itunes videos full screen, stutters when playing DVDS and blue screens on a regular basis. Nothing is more frustrating than a 400 buck dvd player that can't play DVD's. Dell tech support is a joke, and they have the single most frustrating customer support experince ever. I would rather have a root canal than speak to Dell again. I would rather be audited by the IRS while on fire than speak to Dell again. Save yourself the pain, and buy a cheap DVD player rather than buy this as a home theatre PC.

I have the upgraded model with dual core and the best video card option. I bought it solely to watch TV - Netflix, Hulu and DVDs etc. It often will overheat and is almost guaranteed when I play a DVD. Dell community forums are a buzz with this problem and Dell will not acknowledge the overheating problem, often replacing components that have nothing to do with the real issue which is poor thermal design. Under the bottom cover is a small heat exchanger that gets so hot you can't touch it and the fan is about worthless. If heat rises why would any intelligent engineer put it at the bottom. Duh! I have my Zino placed according to Dell specification with no air restrictions. My next step is to build some kind of cooling platform to assist circulation since I know Dell will just give me a run around and a headache if I complain. I bought mine from Dell shortly after they were released. If you want a Zino make sure you are getting a newer revision with thermal improvements. I can not recommend the one I have.

Bought this exact unit to play Hulu, Youtube, and other online media as well as to be a basic function PC. It does the basic function tasks okay. Web browsing, word processing, and other basic applications run fine. However, THIS IS NOT A HOME THEATRE PC. Hulu cannot be played at fullscreen without constant lagging and hiccuping, the same goes for YouTube and any other online media streaming. I would have upgraded the RAM to fix this problem but I'm pretty sure its the integrated video garbage causing the problem. It cannot multitask to save its life. Have more than three basic applications open and you have to wait for the OS to respond.

I'm thinking of selling it and buying a laptop with HDMI output instead. A decent laptop can be a perfectly fine HTPC with the lid closed while connected to an HDTV. You'll just need a wireless mouse/keyboard.

But don't buy this. It was a good idea, but was very poorly made.