Category: Windows Media Center

Round up of posts

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First Impressions of the Linksys Extender

Tonight I had my first play with Linksys’s DMA2100 Media Center Extender, so here are my first impressions. I have been using an Xbox 360 as an extender for nearly two years now and am very happy with it so going to be hard for the new Extenders to match…

Bigscreenglobal.com + v2 products

Niall Ginsbourg has launched his new site http://bigscreenglobal.com and the public releases of Big Screen Photos v2 and Big Screen Weather v2 As I did with this weeks The Media Center Show next week I will be giving away a full copy Big Screen Photos…

Video: Walking the CES show floor with Tim Cutting from Niveus.

This is my last video from the 2008 CES. Tim Cutting from Niveus and I walked the show floor looking at Extenders and had some fun searching for Sideshow devices. Lookout for a Niveus product announcement at the end where Tim mentioned a free application…

Video: Linksys DMA2100 Unboxing and Setup

As promised on my "first impressions" post here is the video of the unboxing and setup of the DMA2100. The video shows the unboxing and how I setup the Extender to connect with my Media Center PC. It wasn’t all plane sailing, mainly due to the…

Niveus Media Companion for Free!

In case you didn’t watch the CES video I recorded with Niveus founder Tim Cutting (why not!), Niveus are releasing Media Companion Basic edition for free. I really like Companion ( see my review ) and its a great move by Niveus to offer the software for…

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Media Center Extenders top PCPro’s “Ten techs to watch in 2008”

It that time of year to predict trends for the new year and PC Pro have their predictions for the top techs of 2008. In the list are things like Rich Internet Applications, 10 gigabit Ethernet and commercial P2P, topping the list are Media Center Extenders, which is properly the first time I have seen Media Center related technology top a list like this. Part of the reason why they top this list is the fact that they will be available in the UK for the first time.

HP and Linksys released Media Center Extenders in 2004, but they didn’t take off in the US and never made it across the pond. They’re back for 2008, this time from Linksys, D-Link and Niveus – and they’re coming to the UK.

By streaming the Windows Media Center interface directly to a receiver, you get all the same features as when using the computer locally, but in a small, silent box. This includes access to the PC’s TV tuners to stream live broadcasts, watching or scheduling TV recordings, or viewing music, photos or video

It’s good to see Media Center getting the attention it deserves and with a bit of marketing by Microsoft and it’s partners Media Center could be one of the success stories of 2008, hopefully given a boost by some announcements at CES. Other one other  Microsoft product in (at no8) the list is Windows Home Server

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/146148/1-media-center-extenders.html

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Ed Bott gets a Media Center Extender and loves it

As the Extenders for Windows Media Center have finally started shipping Ed Bott has got his hands on one.  Ed’s first impressions seem very positive especially for things like startup time and quietness. The unit Ed got is the diskless DMA2100 which looks incredibly small and neat. I am looking forward to seeing the Extenders at CES

Performance on menus is fast, very fast. It takes about 10-12 seconds to go from a cold start to the Media Center interface. By contrast, the Xbox 360 had to first load its own interface, then log me in, and then finally connect to the remote system, a process that could easily take a minute or more. In operation, the system is faster as well. I’m using a Logitech Harmony remote to control the extender, and response to each button press is instantaneous. That wasn’t always the case with the Xbox 360.

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1840

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DIRECTTV and Sky Media Center hope? – Chris Lanier’s Blog

Chris Lanier has a glimmer of hope that Sky and DIRECTTV maybe coming to Media Center. He found a couple of jobs indicating that development has started.

There is nothing official but like Chris I am hoping that some new will be out at CES

According to the job posting, Microsoft is working with newly developed dual satellite tuners.  Among the basic features will be Pay-Per-View (PPV) access and H.264 HD.  These features aren’t that exciting if you understand how satellite works; you must have two-way communications for it to function so you are not going to run into the one-way OCUR issue and DIRECTV has moved to H.264 for all new HD.  That said, it is now confirmed that it will support both.

In addition, DIRECTV support in Media Center appears to support in-band EPG data.  Instead of using Internet-based EPG listings, it looks as if Media Center will use the EPG data currently delivered by satellite.  This is important for several reasons, but among the top is more accurate data delivered whenever needed.

In a second posting, Microsoft states that they working with satellite TV providers in both the US and in Europe, which could just mean Sky TV users will have something to look forward to next year as well.

 

First DIRECTV Tuner Details? – Chris Lanier’s Blog

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Zepto Helios TV with Media Center?

I reader sent me a link to Zetro’s latest Helios LCD TV and the interesting thing about this TV is that on the web site it say that you can add the option of a built in "Wireless MediaCenter". A flash demo on the site shows the TV displaying Windows Media Center via a wireless connection. It does not say its a Windows Media Center Extender so I don’t think its the same as HP’s MediaSmart TVs with Extender for Windows Media Center built in but it does look to offer the same functionality.

I wonder how they are doing this? My guess is Wireless video sending. Have a look at the site and see what you think.

http://www.zepto.dk/helios/site_com/main.html

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Update on Media Center Health Monitor

I thought I would do an update on the status of Media Center Health Montior. The Windows Client has been updated to fix a number of bugs and the Web service has been significantly updated. All the pages on the web site have been "Ajaxed"  so the main status page now automatically updates when there are any status changes and with it being Ajax there is no unsightly page refresh. I have also added RSS feeds to the application. There is an RSS feed for the status of your Media Center systems and an RSS feed for the events coming from Media Center. This means you don’t have to visit the web site to check the status you can use your favourite RSS reader (I have tested it with Google Reader and IE). With the RSS feed you can use the RSS feed Reader gadget for Windows Sidebar and get the status alerts there.

The 10 Foot Media Center UI only does not work on Extenders due to a security problem but I am re-writing it so that it will work and it will monitor multiple Media Centers

To register for the service go to Health.TheDigitalLifestyle.com, create an account and download the client software

Any feedback go to the forums or email me beta [at] Thedigitallifestyle.com

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Microsoft start big push for Media Center Extenders

I have a conference call today with Microsoft on Windows Media Center Extenders and managed to get some details:

Today Microsoft has started a marketing campaign explaining the benefits of Windows Media Center Extenders, so far the marketing of Extenders has been low key but now with the coming of CES Microsoft appear to be raising their profile. They are going to be advertising Extenders in numerous places on the web and they are even adding a title in Media Center promoting the Extenders.

Some additional details on the Extenders:

  • Dlinks DSm750 supports XP via their own Media Lounge software, so if you have XP you can still make good use of the Extenders (Sadly no availably on UK release but there are hints that the European devices will support 50Hz)
  • HP MediaSmart TVs with 1080p and Media Center Extender functions, built in wireless, again no European rollout plans
  • Linksys will be releasing their models in the UK and with 50hz HD output!!!
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Media Center Health Monitor Update – Now with Web Service and Alerts

I have added some more features to Media Center Health Monitor . The application now also sends updates to a web service on TheDigitalLifestyle.com where you can log in and check the status of all of your Media Center Systems. If you enable the web service on the client software it will send a status update at regular intervals enabling you to view its overall heath and the events happening on each system, such as Recorded OK, Recording Errors, Service problems and disk space issues.

You can also tell the client to email main status changes and Recorded TV problems to your email address.

The system is still in private beta at the moment, so if you want to test it email beta [at] TheDigitalLifestlye.com

UPDATE: The web login is available now, so if you want to test it go to http://health.thedigitallifestyle.com, create an account and wait for a reply back from me and then you can download the software and monitor the health of your system online.

 

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Great Video Demo of Media Center and its possibilities

This video on On10.net shows Steve Lindsay from Microsoft showing this Media Center system. He shows off Webguide, his 4 tuner system, Windows Home Server and a custom application for streaming DivX files.

What I like about the video is it shows the real possibilities of Media Center using existing components and some ingenuity.

http://on10.net/Blogs/Brianjo/amazing-media-center-setup/

Steve has started a blog on Media Center too

http://on10.net/Blogs/EnglishBloke/time-to-introduce-myself/

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I think it’s time for Vista a “Home Media Suite”

Joe Wilcox posts an interesting article on the problems Microsoft has had with Bundling and Vista. He highlighted that with Windows XP Media Center Edition, Media Center had it’s own identity and that now its integrated in to Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate it is now "invisible"

The point: Integration doesn’t need to be a problem, but Microsoft has made it one by the way it bundles features into Windows. A year ago, Media Center was a clearly identifiable Windows sub brand. Now, it’s nearly invisible. That’s too bad, because Vista Media Center is a great improvement over its predecessors.

Twelve months ago we were all heralding the fact that Media Center would be bundled with Vista and how that would raise the profile of the product. Could we have been wrong? Is Media Center Invisible now? How could Microsoft improve the marketing and branding of Media Center to raise it’s profile?

I know plenty of people with Home Premium that have not even loaded Media Center yet. In Joe’s article he points out Apple’s strategy is to bundle the application as a suite of applications rather than integrated features.

So my idea is that Microsoft could offer just one SKU of Windows Vista then ship an optional business pack for business users and a  "Home Media Suite" containing Windows Media Center, Windows Live Photo gallery, an updated Windows Movie Maker and other consumer orientated products and this would be the option offered by OEMs selling to the consumer

What do you think?

Microsoft Watch – Channel – The Problem with Bundling

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The Media Center Show Podcast

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