Tesco have started offering a Blu-Ray PC in-store for only £599, making Blu-Ray playback on a computer affordable out of the box. The PC, which is a Medion Akoyo P36888 has a quad core Intel processor, as well as coming with 3 GB of RAM and a huge 1 TB hard drive, quite large for a PC at this price.

Other features include an NVidia GeForce graphics card along with 8-channel surround sound, a convenient dual TV tuner and an 8-in-1 card reader. At £599, there HAS to be a catch. This PC must be using the cheapest components to be available at this price.

I’m no fan of Tesco, mostly because of their ever increasing dominance in the UK market as their stock grows and competitors struggle against it. For me, this computer seems too cheap. The TV Tuner for example, could just be a dual analouge tuner, which wouldn’t be suitable for DVB-T digital TV that is fast becoming the standard in the UK for Freeview TV. Also, what about playback software? I am sure WinDVD or PowerDVD now has Blu support, but is that software free with the computer, or is is trial software (as it usually comes, installed as crapware).

I remain dubious of this PC for now, but I can’t really say anything until someone takes the plunge and tests one out.