To date, all of the integrated home cinema systems we have come across have been geared to playing disc media like DVDs, CDs and MP3s. The £550 MX6000i from Philips, however, can be hooked up to a PC or broadband network to expand your choice of entertainment significantly.

Among the additional goodies the MX6000i brings into the realms of possibility are games, photos, movie clips and internet radio. It will also play MP3 music and DiVX/XViD video content stored on your PC's hard disk.

The MX6000i looks like just another snazzily-styled home cinema in a box. The glossily-finished front panel gives you a five-disc autochanger, a giant amber LCD info screen and the main playback controls.

The speakers are styled to complement the unit. All bar the centre are identical, employing two 3in mid-range drivers and a 1.75in cone tweeter. In contrast, the low-profile centre speaker ranges two pairs of smaller (2in) mid-range drivers - which are angled, presumably to aid dispersion - around a centrally-positioned tweeter.

The front models plug into columnar stands that each incorporate a 4in subwoofer, so there's no need to find space for a dedicated bass box. The surround speakers, meanwhile, are supplied with wall brackets. All speakers have removable grilles.

Around the back of the system unit, you'll find a fair sprinkling of connectors. These include an RGB-compatible Scart as well as composite phono and S-video outputs. Unfortunately, the Scart cannot itself be configured to output S-video and there's no component output, prog-scan capable or otherwise.

Audio connections include colour-coded, springclip speaker terminals for ease of set-up, a pair of analogue stereo inputs and a coaxial digital input. These are complemented by analogue and coaxial audio outputs, which are intended for audio recorders. Finally, we have FM and AM aerial inputs for the MX6000i's built-in RDS-capable 40-preset radio tuner and the system's pièce de résistance - a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port.

This is the key to the MX6000i's flexibility, although an internal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b/g) transceiver is included as a wireless alternative. The internet settings are entered via a menu system before use and thankfully, DHCP is supported for ease of installation. You need to switch between Wi-Fi and wired networks manually.