Having survived several tough weeks, including a gruelling Le Tour De France, my Vista-powered media centre has clearly defeated the Beyonwiz personal video recorder to take the yellow jersey and earn its place in my lounge room.

Neither is perfect, but after several weeks of punishment it's become clear that a Vista Home Premium media centre certainly has what it takes to survive in the digital lounge room.

Admittedly I was rather impressed with the Beyonwiz DP-S1 when I first tested it out in May, although it was clearly an unfinished masterpiece. After I sent it back I spent the next month building my Vista MCE box. The Beyonwiz returned a few weeks ago, so I could test out the latest Beyonwiz firmware (which was rather disappointing).

Considering the Beyonwiz can almost match the Vista box feature for feature, at least in theory, I think the reason my household opted for the media centre was ease of use (yes, we actually put it to the vote). In the Beyonwiz's absence I'd forgotten just how fiddley its menus are, whereas Vista MCE is surprisingly user friendly - particularly when you add an iMon LCD and remote control like the Silverstone MFP51.

Of course the Beyonwiz DP-S1's main shortcoming the fact Beyonwiz has been slow to add some of the promised features such as the ability to copy recordings to and from a network drive. The fact you can't play DVDs and record television at the same time is also annoying.

I never though I'd say it, but I actually trust the Vista MCE box after its admirable performance during Le Tour De France - largely thanks to the MCE veterans at www.xpmediacentre.com.au who helped me fine tune the box. The fact I was using all new hardware and very little third party software also helped on the stability front. The key to a good media centre is to set it up and then leave it alone. Resist the urge to tinker with it, try to forget that it's actually a computer.

My wife is a fan of Le Tour De France and has watched every minute of it this year thanks to the media centre - an experience that certainly swayed her vote. It's a good lesson for those of you struggling with the Wife Acceptability Factor. Use the media centre to record something your loved ones want to watch, such as Wimbledon or Le Tour, not just what you want to watch.

A media centre PC is certainly not for everyone, especially considering the amount of work require to get one running smoothly. If you're prepared to invest the time and effort, you will be rewarded.