Month: September 2004

Microsoft has just signed eight additional OEM’s that will now use Windows CE to power IP Set-top boxes. “Microsoft said the chief advantages of using Windows CE in a set-top box includes easier customization, remote management capabilities, the option to add new applications and services to boxes in the field, a rich multimedia experience for users, native support for the Windows Media 9 Series Codecs and DRM. The company noted that the standardization of Windows Media Video 9 into the VC-1 video codec standard (formerly VC-9) is now being considered for ballot as a Final Committee Draft (FCD) with SMPTE’s … Continue reading Microsoft Signs OEMs for Windows CE IP STB’s

According to an article on CNET, Sony has now decided to support the MP3 format in there portable music players.  I’m sure most of ya’ll had no idea that a company that big would not support MP3, but I guess so.  Sony has their own format called ATRAC that they like to use.  Only problem?  The format sucks!  ATRAC stands for Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding and is support it everyone of Sony’s products.  The large problem is that they are the only company who supports it.  Add to that, having to transcode from MP3 (Or WMA, AAC, etc) to the … Continue reading Sony Want’s To Support MP3 Now?!?

Many news sites have been reporting that MCE 2005 will ship in October!  This is great news.  Likely the coolest thing coming with MCE 2005 is Media Center Extenders.  These devices will stream your content to other rooms, this is a big plus for MCE vs. .  Sure, Reply has/had the function, but from what I remember reading it was not the best.  No other HTPC app currently can stream this type of content to a device, that is not another PC.  Plus, we also have Windows Media Connect coming soon that will enable non-MCE PC’s to stream content very … Continue reading MCE 2005 Launching in October

OverviewThe Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility helps you determine if an MPEG-2 video decoder (also called a DVD decoder) is installed on your Windows XP computer and whether or not the decoder is compatible with Windows Media Player 10 and Windows XP Media Center Edition. An MPEG-2 decoder is software that allows you to play DVDs and files that contain video content that was encoded in the MPEG-2 format (such as DVR-MS files, MPG files, and some AVI files). If you encounter a problem while using Windows Media Player 10 to play a DVD or to synchronize (copy) recorded … Continue reading Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility

Interesting!  Yahoo! has just purchased MusicMatch Inc for $160 million.  I really can’t think of a stranger company to purchase MusicMatch, but whatever!  Back in the day, MusicMatch Jukebox (MMJB) was one of the first real Jukebox apps for ripping CD’s, Burning, cataloging, etc.  Now, with the latest versions its not to great, IMO. It will be fun to see were Yahoo! takes MMJB and the digital music services that MusicMatch has.

So, the folks at The Inquirer have done it again.  An article about MCE, without knowing the first thing about the product.  Below are some nice quotes from the aritcle.  Oh, ya.  These are the same guys who had an article last year about how MCE was scrapped.  Not 3 weeks later MCE 2004 was released, so don’t read into, or believe any of this trash. “In fact, since MC05 is just a tweaked version of XP Home” – Wrong.  MCE has always been a superset of XP Pro. I don’t see that changing. “…also comes with Media Center 10” … Continue reading Funny MCE 2005 Article

You tell me!  Post any bugs here that you find in WMP 10.  I’m looking for real bugs in Windows Media Player 10, not exactly bugs caused by third party software.  An example of a bug caused by third party software is an AVI not playing becuase you don’t have the correct codec installed, or WMP locking up becuase of an issue with your video or audio drivers. What do you see what that should not be?  Or what do you not see that should be? ***Comments disabled as no one really understands what a “bug” is.  Sorry.  Post in … Continue reading Any Bugs In WMP 10?

Something cool I just found out about WMP 10 is that with the new Energy Bliss Visualization you can display the album art now while in Mini-Mode!  Just minimize WMP 10 to the Taskbar, Show the Visualization show and switch to the Energy Bliss Visualization and you are done!  Kind of cool. Visualizations for Windows Media Playerhttp://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/getmore/visualizations.aspx

This should be helpful for all the Google searchers.  This is from Steve Zupan, Senior DVD Applications and Support Engineer, InterActual Technologies, Inc. “First, let me explain what the problem actually is so that you understand what the patch is for. In the DVD-ROM content on the T2 disc is a script that performs a “version check” on your Windows Media Player. The way it is *supposed* to work is that if you have an older installation of WMP (6.4, 7, or 8), an HTML screen will replace the video in InterActual Player and advise you to install Windows Media … Continue reading T2:Extreme Edition with WMP 10

If you are not sure how-to do something in Windows Media Player you might want to check out Microsoft’s new Try It! Videos Webpage.  From new features of WMP 10, to basic features that you might not even know about!  Link is below and the videos are stream with Windows Media, of course. Try It! Videos http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/knowledgecenter/videos.aspx