Media Centre Review: iXtreamer With Apple Dock and AC Ryan Essential

It's not always easy to find your way round the mass of available media centres. The models tested are going for very different targets here: the ultra connected iXtreamer and its dock for Apple devices vs. ultra minimalist connectivity for the AC Ryan Essential.

The iXtreamer is the latest in the range of Xtreamer media centres and stands out for the inclusion of an Apple dock. This means you can connect up devices such as the iPad, the iPhone 4 and iPods so as to display their content on your TV.

The AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential media centre is aptly named because the essential is all you get here, namely multimedia playback and that's it. There's no network option, no LCD display or digital HD tuner. Just a media centre that can house a hard drive and USB/SDHC peripherals. AC Ryan has designed it for users who want to keep it simple.

As usual, all our readings are accessible in the media centre Face-off.

> Review: iXtreamer
> Review: AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential

> Reviews: Media Centres


> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products