Asus W2v - user impressions

OK, well since no one really posted something like this..... I figure no one better than myself to, I suppose... Now, what I want to see (for the benefit of North American customers) is a good honest pros and cons list and a short little statement about some of the coolest things about the unit that just set it apart... I would like everyone to seperate those comments into say two paragraphs. 1 describing the computer itselfs - graphics, screen, design/build, features, etc....... and 2 basically stepping back and commenting on media center everything revolving around it... tv, music, pictures, caller id, 14 day tv guide, "tivo" functionality, etc..


Let me start without listing pros and cons (someone else can do that).... I don't want to sway anyone, but I've never been a fan of a big 17" notebook, infact I always thought 15.4" notebooks were big for my tastes. I love the W2 for what it is and mainly because I'm surprised at how much more than just a powerhouse this system is.... I don't think anyone could ask the computer to do more than possibly do your work (and play) for you..... Now, I asked people to seperate their use of the computer with their use of media center...... now I'm going to tell you what I did which makes it even cooler....... I hooked the cable tv up to the system.... hooked my 5.1" digital klipsch speakers... the phone cable..... and a monster cable (vga to component) cable up from my system to the tv. I sat back and had someone using the remote to control media center on the tv and watching cable(set up the graphics card for dual view with two desktops)..... I sat on the w2 and started to play Battlefield2...... while on media center a call even came in and the caller id was displayed on the screen....... While the system was sitting there looking pretty and running on battery power..... Picture trying to do anything like that with a 17" powerbook.....

I'm not saying it's the best thing since sliced bread, but I'm basically immune to most cutting edge tech..... I know it's good or bad or whatever, but it doesn't excite me. 17" notebooks never excited me and media center never really did anything for me on a desktop.... this however is hard to fault.... the only thing I ask you to do is refrain from saying things like... you wished it was lighter and had a 256mb x800 or 6 hours of battery life and some super high res thats meant for a 20-23 montior..... Based on what it is and what it costs and what it's targeted at... that's what people really want to see. I would like to see if weight 5 pounds and be 3/4" thick and run all day cool as the other side of the pillow.... but that's not realistic.

..... Enjoy... I'm interested in seeing what people who actually have them can say!

 

OK, will do.

I'm still setting mine up, haven't had too much time to play with it, but saying that I'm very pleased would be an understatement.

Once i've got some pics I'll post some impressions. FYI, the media center for me is just an added bonus, but I'll see if I can play with some of those options.

 

If you want, I can sticky this in place of the " Asus W2v UPDATE from PROPortable " thread.

Even though I know I'll never get my hands on this model, i still want to look at the pictures and envy you guys

 

Recieved mine last night so this will be a brief review since i havent had it long enough to make points on everything.

Design: Build:
Small for a 17in notebook it is also light about 7lbs only 1.5 inches longer than a 15.4in motebook. But dont let that fool you in person 1.5in makes a big difference the only thing that makes it cumbersome is the length its light and thin so not to bad to carry. The fit and finish are superb its built well but it seems fagile simly for how thin the metal is i would have prefered carbon fibor but thats more in my head the metal is nearly as strong and it makes it look great. The only thing i can comment on design is it really should have a lcd latch i dont like the magnetic it is cool but opens to easily when carryed and i can only imagine it will get looser over time since its really the hinge tightness that keeps it closed. The display is sharp and clear and great viewing angles the only downside i think is it could be a tad brighter but it is not dim by any means i do believe the z70v is brighter though. Keyboard is as good as they get touch pad is as well so there are only praises there. Sound is loud for a notebook and clear i am very happy with how that turned out. The notebook also runs cool and is pretty quiet the ran noise isnt even worth mentioning its so low.

Features:
This thing has more things than i will ever need 2 remotes media center blue tooth. Media center runs great on this machine. I have a media center pc so this really isnt why i got this laptop but i download tons of movies and music so i do like it and when im over someones house i can just attach it to their pc and it has a great interface. Media center is a great OS and the tivo functionality are second only to tivo its the 2nd best dvr their is I have a cable company one and i hate it its horrible media center dvr is very simple and straight forward. I havent tried the tuner yet though. The only things this laptop is missing which in a way are kinda biggies for what they are is one a DVI port its a media center pc so its made to attach to a tv so the best way to attach to a High Def tv is DVI why they ommited this i i can not understand. and second the optical drive should be removable every other asus is and having a second battery in a mobile media pc should be important it is to me. Would i buy this laptop again yes i would. I will comment more on the other features as i try then like the tuner.
If anyone has a qestion just message me and i will answer.

 

Now that I've worked out a few of the kinks it runs great! I am kind of wondering why my 2.4 ghz pentium 4 dell inspiron 5100 that is loaded with **** still boots faster than my W2 though -_- Anyone else having this problem???

 

A couple things.. just because I noticed:

sdiagneault-

1. You said media center was just a bonus for you.... that's what I felt and that's why I wanted people to seperate their comments..... I feel that media center alone is just so complex, it's not just a little menu and a remote that controls a basic tv program and plays dvds....... The reason I wanted people to comment after they had more hours of use under their belt was so they'd get over the initial feature shock and get into media center, set it up, and have a night to really play around with it........ I think most people, even those like you who say it was just a bonus.... (my included) will end up thinking it's a quite valuable bonus and something that's pretty darn cool and useful.

SRD -

1. I think you're one of the people who need to get the micrsoft remote.... because what you've got doesn't work with media center... but you should already know that because we talked about this.

2. About the removable cd drive.... no it's not true all Asus units have them... it's actually only the M series (M3 (Z60)/M6(Z70)/M7(Z71)) with the inclusion of the W3(w3v; z63a) models........ the W1, W5, V6 don't use those... a little bit more is involved than just a spring clip like you see on your z70v...... setting up the modular bay requires more space..... if you took out your w2 drive and took out your z70v drive... you'll see there's an extra pcb board that changes the cd drives connection to the connection on the notebook.... we're talking about 1/4" more space.... but on both the w1 and w2, you don't have much space between the drive and where the subwoofer is........ I know what you're saying, but I looking into it and its not as easy as either of us may think.

3. about the latch...... actually after a year of use on my w1 (which was mainly done by someone else who I could find to use it everyday for year)... it's still as tight....... the magnets obviously won't weaken, but that hinge stays about the same too...... now you're on the other side of the isle about the magnets not holding it together strong enough... others say they're too strong...... I say, look at it this way..... they're there so the two sides don't just flap in the wind... if you're carrying it in a bag or under your arm or straight out in front of you.... what else does it need?

eggy -

1. There's a LOT that the W2 is loading up when it starts..... run "msconfig" and check out what's in the start up...... but it's still xp pro below media center and it's startup times shouldn't be any slower than any other xp pro machine.. unless the xp pro system was stripped and isn't starting anything in the background.

 

Hello Everyone,

Well I have the w2v for a week now, I recieved the first shippment from startech, with the old remote (they haven't called yet to tell me about the new remote). The old remote dosen't work with the media center or asus software. Everything on it seems fine, but the tv turner is not working at all, I can't recieve a signal on the antenna and or the cable direct line to the tuner? I called startech and the said that they are specking with asus now and they will get back to me asap, I hope so. Besides the tv tuner, the notebook is the best I have ever owned. Everone should make sure to down load the newest drivers at the asus website. If anyone has any ideas about the tv turner, please let me know. Thanks!

chemmaster

 

I don't think people listen to me at all.......

1. Those remotes aren't supposed to work with MCE
2. that antenna is for of the air digital broadcasts which 1 requires the digital tuner, 2 only works in europe, and 3 doesn't work with MCE ... two reasons we have the analog

3. Install your tv tuner drivers (I can tell you they're not on your system) and you may need to install asusDVD as well if it's not already on there...

4. You can tell Startech Asus will send them new remotes when they come in.... i've already made Asus aware of this and they ordered them last Tuesday.

5.... just in case you were thinking about it... don't install Asus mobile theater..... that's what your remotes work with, but it doesn't work with the tuner..... this goes back to why there are two models.. a Windows MCE model and a Windows XP w/ Asus Mobile Theater model.....

 

Has anyone managed to receive analog VHF or UHF over the air TV signals using an appropriate antenna (rabbit ears, rooftop, etc.) on the W2V in the USofA?
Also, IMO, it's a mind boggling oversight that there is no DVI output on this type of machine.
Justin, would it be tenable to use an external digital (ATSC) TV tuner on this computer?

 

No....... cable input only... at least through MCE which is the only place I would even waste watching tv anyway........

DVI or no dvi...... yes dvi is better and yeah, I can see the difference..... but not until I step up to my 23" widescreen..... The thing is I think DVI would be better on a smaller system, like a 12"...... (hear me out).... after using the W2 all week, it's 17" screen at about 18" away from my face (comfortable typing position)...... seems about as large as my 23" at about 24" away. If I were going to output video from such a large notebook screen, it would have to be way bigger than my 23" computer monitor... The only thing I see worth outputting this to would be a 40 to 60 some inch tv............ IF you want to know the best tool I've found and want better than s-video quality...... VGA breaks down to component video quite nicely and I'm not sure what anyone is going to do with anything higher than component quality going to their tv from their computer.......... check this out, I got one of these a while back and thought it was a worthwhile investment:

http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2537968


--- Again, I'm just saying for the type of output you'd logically do with a system with such a big screen, it's gotta be out to a big screen tv (the media center function of the unit seals that deal obviously)....... but even with my 23" desktop screen.... I can't see the need to have to output to it. Maybe if I had a 30" and a res a step above WUXGA (i forget what res that is)..... but I also know I've never seen a higher res on an lcd and if they make it the screen would be about 10 grand... That's why I think if it had a 12" screen and magically all the same components of the w2..... then dvi would be important to me because I'd be outputing the video to my large, fast, desktop lcd.... and would be going that for graphic design purposes..... not just casual video watching.

If you could give me an idea for dvi that I'm missing, please let me know....... I've spent a lot of time with issues like this and I'm very much an audiophile and schooled enough in video to actually be able to identify the quality difference from coax and rca up to DVI and HDMI... it's just that if the screen can't handle a res high enough to get in and do some serious abobe premier editing or something like that... I can't phsyically see a better quality on a tv above using that vga to component switch..... and the difference between that and s-video is minimal, but certainly still noticeable.......

 

Thanks for the insigth, and I did everything you said, and the MCE when on is very hard to see a clear picture? any suggestions? Thanks.

chemmaster

 

.... we're pulling my topic off topic a bit. If by clear picture you mean the cable picture..... just like on a tv........ if you're going to be up on the computer 18" away... you don't want that fullscreen...... step back 5-10' and let me know what you think. Also, check the connection and cable. Regular cable is pulling in 800 x 600 res (just like any tv)...... and your notebook is probably set to 1600 x 1200 or something..... When you're using the computer and want to watch tv, scale a window that's like an 1/8th of the screen.......... when you're sitting back on a couch or a bed... make it full screen.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, Justin. What I'm looking to do is output to my 50" Fujitsu plasma display. As you probably are aware, DVI can make a noticeable difference, more on a plasma than an LCD. This is why I'd like a solution that will also allow output of, ideally, an ATSC OTA signal. The portability of it all is a factor to me cuz I'm going to be a snowbird and it will save me a lot of grief and cash if my ideas can be implemented.
I've been noticing some murmurs of ATSC tuners becoming available for notebooks so my interest is becoming piqued.
This may be better mentioned in another thread but have you heard mention of the newly announced Clevo M570A? This might be a W2v killer (if it incorporates an MCE option)....

 

The only reason i wanted DVI was to output to a high def tv makes a big difference compared to component. the colors come out better as well i believe.

 

Well that's just it.......... the tuner probably won't work with MCE (yet anyway)...... if it does, then you can get it and install it in your unit...... There's never going to be a clevo that will "kill" the W2........The W2 could have even more power, obviously.... but at the expense of weight, heat, battery life, price, design..... etc....

 

Well I didn't mean that , I can't get the picture to come up at all, I do get alot of static but no picture. Any ideas?

chemmaster

 

Did you screw your cable onto the analog or digital input......? I'd be willing to bet that's the problem... Did you have media center set up and autoscan for the channels?

 

I have the cable on anal and I have MCE set up correctly, wierd I know. By the way, thanks for all the help.

chemmaster

 

Run through the set up for the tv settings in MCE.. let it do it automatically instead of your messing with anything.. let me know if that helps.

Look at this picture below... look for the tv tuner... remove that cover and tell me if there are two cables plugged in or just one. The analog tuner only has one imput and the other cable should be taped off........ the W2vc's originally came to us with the digital tuner but when Asus took the units back to put MCE on them, they swapped the tuners. It's my understanding that Startech didn't ship theirs back to Asus and loaded MCE themselves........ they were supposed to swap the tuners, but since they didn't catch that the remotes didn't work, they might not have caught that........ the digital tuners wouldn't work as all in MCE...... you've got static.... so that might not be it, but check because it's not difficult to do so.

 

Thanks, I did you what you siad and I only see one plugged in and the other taped off. Should I contact asus directly instaed of going though startech? Thanks again.

chemmaster

 

Ok, then they changed out the tv card (I was pretty sure they would have, but nothing wrong in checking) ........ umm... do you have a cable box that you have to go through on your tv? I know that some companies scramble the signal and then you need a box that unscrambles it.... just trying to think of possible issues.

 

So, it appears that no one in the USA has, as of yet, been able to get a picture using a terrestrial antenna. Has anyone even tried? Justin, do you have any local TV stations that you can try to receive via antenna using the (NTSC) tuner?
Also, is the tuner capable of QAM reception? Or is it simply a "pass thru" for cable/satellite?

 

Just curious.
I thought one was supposed to post their impressions on the w2v not issues they are having.
Just wanted things to get back on track.

 

When we had the first set of units here, both remotes worked, contrary to belief.

The tv tuner worked through the antenna (on the new ones at least). I checked it myself. We picked up some local channels, though from inside our building, the signal wasn't the greatest. I am told it works much better outside.

Chenmaster, please contact our service department for help with getting a cable signal.

 

John - that's funny, because the two remotes work, but don't and never have worked in MCE. If you even try to pull the fact they have, you're lying. Asus even knows they didn't work and Tiawan said the built-in consumer IR isn't even recognized by MCE......... Yes the remotes work in Asus' mobile theater, but that doesn't work with the new tuner and shouldn't even be on the computer with MCE. Asus will send you new remotes and should have made you aware of this a week ago.

 

Yes, I know new remotes are on the way.

 

We got the appropriate remotes and recievers in this morning for the remaining units we have with the improper remotes.

Also, as a side note, it's my understanding that Asus is probably going to discontinue the inclusion of the remote and reciever as well as the carrying case for future shipments of W2v's to the US.

 

Sorry about the slight post hijack but ...
I may be asking the obvious here but could you clarify the above statement? Would the user have to buy all the omitted items or will they be added by the reseller? One of the big attractions for me for the W2v was the ability to watch and record TV programs. I have been trying to decide between the Toshiba G25 Qosmio and the W2v. The specs (and price) are real close. If I have to buy the 'accessories' needed to do this, then I may be more inclined to buy the Qosmio G25 instead, which includes the tuner and remote control.

 

No - the tv tuner is included and always will be....... for now the remote, reciever and carrying case will be included as well.... It's my understanding that the remote, reciever and carrying case may very well be eliminated within a months time as part of the "standard package" in order to bring down the cost a bit.... but they've be available as optional items at that point. For now, we've got 30 some units still in stock and they're all good to go.

 

Impressions on the W2v ...

I've had the Australian model with XP for just over a week now and it's without a doubt the best laptop I've ever worked with, with a caveat or two.

Opening up the box revealed a world of goodies, everything I needed was provided, mouse, bag, antenna, more cables and widgets then I knew what to do with staight away. Kid in a candystore rush.

Aesthetically it's beautiful, the brushed metal casing and interior are cool to the touch and, so far I've found, remain that way, even through a full day's use. The touchpad and the function buttons on the right hand side are cleverly integrated and it really does feel like some thought was put into the design.

The screen is huge, bright and crystal clear and the contrast is amongst the best I've seen on a notebook screen. I believe that this is the first time I've ever had a notebook that I haven't run at full brightness by default. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like the glare/reflective style screen, but it's no worse than my matte finish screen for visiblity under bright light. In fact, with the brightness on the W2v turned right up, it's better. I just have to get used to occasionally catching a glimpse of my ugly mug reflected back.

Performance wise the W2v is rock solid, I've got the 2Ghz processor with 1Gb of RAM and everything I've thrown at it has been handled with aplomb. I haven't done any rigorous benchmark tests on there, or tweaked the OS beyond what came preinstalled from Asus. I'd categorise myself as a mid to heavy user. There's a decent amount of screen real estate to run multiple applcations and I like to use it all, from multimedia, iterating spreadsheets, a bloated Lotus Notes install and quite a few network admin utilities.

The W2v has an abundance of connection options, I'm spoilt for choice. This is where a couple of the caveats come in though, I think I'm missing the bluetooth module. The drivers stall at 56% installation and ask for the bluetooth module to be switched on. No go. I've called Asus and I've to bring it back to base to have it checked out. No big deal, I use bluetooth rarely and I don't doubt that this will be fixed when I get a chance to bring it in. I'm just reluctant at the moment to give up my new baby, even if it is only just for a day or so.
I've also had a few instances of the wireless network dropping out when it shouldn't. It's a small issue and one that's addressed in driver releases for this module previously so with a bit of tweaking I'm sure I can resolve this one.

The hybrid tv tuner was one of the selling point for me on this notebook. I'm heading to England for 6 months and the W2v can run as my entire entertainment system for that period, and with Australia also running DVB-T frequencies it's a win all round. Unfortunately where I'm currently living seems to be a digital dead zone, but I've no problem picking up a clear analog signal. I've taken the notebook to a friends place and gotten every available digital channel crystal clear. Perhaps it's time to move apartments. The Asus Mobile Theatre works with both remotes (Big for home, small for travel) and isn't a bad piece of software, and does most everything I want, but I've yet to try out any other PVR or TV viewing programs.

Sound and speakers, as you may have noticed from some of the other threads in this forum have been a gripe from myself and a few others. The sound is decent on the W2v, though currently not, for my way of thinking, as good as previous reviews and the advertising for the product have led me to believe it should be. There's a noticeable distortion from the internal speakers at high volumes, but the volume is adequate at a lower setting. A bit of clarification from Asus on exactly what their sound setup should do would be nice. They've advertised it in different places as 4 channel stereo and a subwoofer, 5.1 surround, and 7.1 surround. I feel very petulant complaining about this because I'm actually deaf in one ear and only hear in mono anyway, but I do want to make sure I'm getting the best out of what is a relatively expensive purchase. (and of course for my wife who has two fully functioning ears)

I'm in no way disappointed with the Asus W2v, it's a great piece of hardware that comes bundled with every accessory I want. It's the high standard that it sets which means that any small flaw is magnified, and they are small flaws. It's also the case that this is still a young laptop, a driver or a bios update down the track is likely to sort out these issues. Everyone I've spoken to at Asus has been professional and helpful and returned phone calls and emails promptly. So no complaints there.

Okay, this has almost turned into a fully fledged review, I'm afraid brevity was never my strong point. I love my new W2v and I'm not giving it back. There's so much more I can do with it that I've yet to try, it's only going to get better.

Paul

 

Good work Paul and thanks for prefacing you've got an AU model without MCE.... VERY important. Add some pictures and you've got yourself a review!

 

Well as time goes by I notice more and more things that are really starting to bug me... sometimes when I start the computer I get no sound capabilities. It says there is an error with the sound drivers or something like that. This has happened about 3 or 4 times so far, is it just my W2?

Also, I notice when I come out of hibernation and I had a program like MSN running, everything is frozen and the computer runs extremely slowly, so slow that I have to reboot the thing. I can't even check messages that people left for me because I am unable to open up windows that have been automaticaly minimized by the computer's hibernation.

What's going on I expected stuff like this with my old Dell but why is this computer giving me so much trouble~!

 

I don't know what's up with your system, but I think there's a good chance that tv tuner isn't really bad and it's something else....... with two weeks under my belt with the production unit, everything is running like it should... I talked to some of the customers like I mentioned above and the only problem they're having is finding a way to use all the features (not really a problem obviously and I don't mean to hurt your feelings because you are having problems either)..... but unfortunately, the 8-9 regular forum members that I know picked these units up from us, have been surprising quiet.... I email a couple of them and it seems they used the forum for what they needed and now they're off playing with their systems... if they have problems, you'll be sure to see it.

Keep in mind, our units had the tuner and OS loaded and tested by Asus. The reason some people were able to get them before others is because they loaded their own OS and tuner.... it could have something to do with the image they used because it certainly sounds like some settings are off. If your unit is going to go all the way back to Asus I'd request the format your hard drive and load their own image.

 

Well after having this unit at my disposal for the past week. I offer my initial thoughts.

The Good

Fit and Finish are Superb.
Solid Construction, I love metal
Design is Good
Look is beautiful
Keyboard feels good
Dual Tuner is awesome
MSMCE is fabulous
Remote is flawless
Audio is Excellent
DVD RW fast, and quiet (loading and ejecting is noisy, but my experience most are)
Serious Gaming Power. BF2, Doom, HL2 no problem
Very fast
Sweet Screen - Super Hi Res
Nice and thin
Light for a 17" with this much Horsepower
Top notch accessory bundle

The bad?
no DVI (I'll get an adapter)
Very little space between screen and k/b when closed (be carefull setting weight upon the top! I had a piece of Sand get in there when I closed it and it pitted the metal just under the mouse buttons.. minor, but be warned)
Hopes the no latch design holds up
TV Tuner cover seems a bit flimsy?
Keyboard could be a tad bigger.. Room for a num pad

Minor issues though as I totally love this thing. I own a Fuji n6010 and the Asus is superior in every way except the Fuji screen is Brighter, and he Fuji's Sound System is a bit louder.
The fuji's also sport a full size numpad which I love

In my opinion ASUS has basically hit a home run so far. No Glitches of any kind, and to me it's Worth the Dollars.

Stay Tuned for a full review in a week or so with benchmarks and pics.

-Nitro

 

It's very odd because my system was already loaded by Asus so I don't see why I am having these fluke problems. Should I be demanding a new system or something? I'm so frustrated and I have 2 weeks until I leave for Japan.

Any advice would be strongly appreciated. Should I just f4 on startup and reformat the comp and see if this stuff still happens?

Also, one last thing, are there any programs I can remove from the startup bar because I notice I have a whole lot of stuff running in the bottom right corner and the taskmanager is extremely busy as well

 

What do you mean? I know for a fact that Startech loaded their systems up (and this is not a knock or anything, just a fact.) When we shipped our systems back to Asus, Asus told us they could ship them back to us and we could load the OS and the tuner or they could do it. They warned us that Startech decided to do it themselves and that would give them a couple day head start on getting them out. I'm not saying one way was better or not, but since our units were already at Asus, we figured why not make them do it? It probably has nothing to do with that at all as none of their other customers have said anything, but from what you've mentioned... I don't think it's a hardware failure or problem either....... so that what make me look towards the drivers and settings....... if you didn't change anything yourself, then you only have one place to look.

If you reload using Asus' disc, then you're going to load Asus' image that was built in Tiawan.... I suggest it. Even the units we have the Asus loaded in Fremont was off their own image that they built here in the US........

Basically you don't need much to start up with your computer.......... most all of that stuff is using up ram, but it's not that big of a deal because you've got a 1gb at least in there...... anything you don't often change settings in, you can close.. just remember where they are in the programs menu when you need them.

________
Nitro - If you look at the design of the W1... and reviews and personal comments online... the magnetic latch will "hold up" ... the magnets don't lose their pull and therefore it never loosens.... same with the W2... all they do is pull the screen to the base so that don't flap in the wind... it's not designed make it impossible to pull them apart (if you can understand the logic there)

Also, the flap where the tuner and svideo are... that should hold up... it's got a magnetic latch as well and there's no reason it wouldn't hold up unless you broke it off ($3 to replace)..... the W1 has one that goes the length of the one side and people are always opening and closing it... I've seen or heard of only a couple breaking off because of extreme use in the last year and half.... so since you won't use cable or svideo as often as say usb or the dvd drive or something....... I think it hides those ports and keeps them clean... it'll hold up

also, keep in mind who's designing this......... keep in mind the design of the powerbook..... a number pad was no where in their mind...

 

Thanks Justin. I didn't buy this machine from Startech, i bought it from a dealer in Toronto, and the unit came with everything installed already. I just did a restore of my c drive and things seem to be working a bit better now. I'm just gonna hope for the best

 

I have posted my detailed impressions in these two threads:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=21399
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=25827

To summarize: I think the machine is great in almost every way - EXCEPT for the bad sound quality, which is a dealbreaker for me.

 

Oh - well worse news then Eggy, because I at least trust what Startech would have done......... The reason the W2's were in Toronto before here is because we shipped out units back to Asus.... once Asus shipped to Canada, they didn't want to ship back across the border so they told that distributor to load the OS themselves as well...... otherwise the W2's would still be 3 weeks from showing up in Canada........

 

Yeah, well if you pass up the notebook because of that, or return it if you happen to have it...... it'll be something you regret..... the sound on this system is the best of any laptop thats made right now..... and Asus of all people want them work right.... so a driver fix is a sure thing... especially since they used this setup because it was so successful on the W1 and the drivers worked fine there........

 

Hi PROPortable,

I purchased my W2V in Toronto this week, and it is scheduled to arrive on the 22nd or 23rd. Would this be a new batch, or the ones that Asus shipped out incorrectly configured?

 

I don't see how it could be. After the shipment that went out to ourselves and Startech, Asus held the rest of the shipment because they had the wrong remote controls....... they told us they would import the right ones, but after a while they told us to go and get them from microsoft because they couldn't get them for a while.... so it's my understanding that no more have even been released from Asus as they are waiting for their parts...... I believe all Canadian W2's were fixed by the distributor up there

 

Thanks for the response, I don't really mind the fact that I won't get the MCE controller, since I already have one from the last MCE machine I built. I'll probably do either a restore from the Asus disks or just rebuild it on my own. Anyone have recommendations for bags/carrying cases for the W2V? I'm thinking that maybe the 17" Powerbook cases would fit and there are some stylish ones out there.

 

Well, if the dimensions of the W2v and the 17" Powerbook are nearly identical, I don't see why you couldn't use a Powerbook carrying case...

 

Yeah... the most stylish stuff you're going to find is obviously going to be for a powerbook and they are almost identical... you should be able to pick up just about anything.

In terms of the MCE controller.... this is what really bothers me...... Ok, we realized what was going on and there were a couple people we had to ship the remotes out to because we didn't have the remotes the first day and some people just wanted the laptop and knew we'd ship them. Then Asus found out they couldn't even get them because there was a backorder in Tawain.... so we had to buy them, and ship them ourselves...... Now we were able to get them.... and Asus knew about what was going on. Asus said they called everyone who they shipped them to and told them what we found and to inform their customers. Apparently they didn't tell you.... I would call up the place you got it, just to tell them that here in the states all this has been straightened out and Asus should be providing those remotes at some point and you want them to send one to you... and also tell them you think there's something wrong with their image that they built your W2 with..

 

.... I received the W2 in a box from California, it had never been opened, ever. In fact the people at the store were dying to see the machine. I came 5 minutes after the package arrived, so they would have had to do some REALLY crazy opening/installing/repackaging in W2V box/repackaging in delivery box. Could it be possible you're wrong?

Let's just assume that somehow they managed to reprogram the OS, what are the steps I should take to correct this problem?

*edit

I just want to clarify my system came packaged with all the updated gear and software, it did not have any of the old remotes or software, etc. etc. This i why I have a tough time believing that it was set up by the distributor.

Could you please help me understand a bit more about what an "image" is and how it can be corrected, I"m a bit confused reading some of the posts.

 

Do you have a VC or VB model?

I only ask because Asus broke out some new boxes for some of our units.... they shipped them cross country to us and then we had to ship them all back..... so they get beat up after that much traveling, so they did replace a bunch of them completely..... Regardless, it does mean it's got an Asus image on it, but here's the thing... I bet you have a Vc and not a Vb, because the Vb models have the MCE remote from the factory. The Vc models were ALL opened......... and the tuner's were swapped.... did I already ask you to look at the tuner and see if it had one cable attached or two?

 

My box says VB, I am pretty sure he tuner has 2 cables attached



Mine came with everything there.

 

You can shoot me a pm if you purchased from pacific notebooks.

 

Ok - well you said it didn't come with the MCE remote though, correct?

If you got the VB model, you should be safe and you should have gotten the MCE remote.... Also, take the cover off the tv tuner, because you only have 1 cable attached and one should be taped off... the tuner with two cables attached is the hybrid digital and angalog and that doesn't work with MCE..... but it should NOT have even been in the Vb box....... I know that.