Windows Vista Sports Lounge Quick Review (Missing Remote) | Mike put together a great review of the new Sports Lounge at Missing Remote. This is one of the most interesting new features to come with Vista Media Center, and it really works well (both my personal opinion, and the basic conclusion of Mike’s article). Check out the full review at Missing Remote var dc_UnitID = 14; var dc_PublisherID = 11967; var dc_AdLinkColor = ‘6699cc’; var dc_adprod=’ADL’;
The Media Center Show #92 | 25th January 2007 (33mins 27secs) MP3 – 11.5MB (Download Here) This week Ian Dixon has his final set of interviews from CES. Steven Cheung from Vidabox talking HD-DVD. Christoph Buenger author of mceWeather explains what he was doing at CES, Ted Singh from Embedded Automation talks home automation and about the winner of their Digital Home contest and finally Jonathan Sass from Simplifi Digital talks about their digital audio solutions. New The Media Center Show Extra this week too. It’s the new video accompaniment to the show and this week Ian shows got a look at the … Continue reading The Media Center Show #92
There are tons of people out there not understanding all of this “Vista DRM”, mainly because of less than accurate media reporting. That’s completely understandable, but lets run down a quick list here of some of the popular content out there. DVD Rip (DivX, XivD, etc) downloaded from Bit Torrent/IRC/etc: Output at whatever resolution you want. No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP. Don’t pirate stuff! DVD Rip (VIDEO_TS, ISO) download from Bit Torrent/IRC/etc: Output at whatever resolution you want. No restrictions. Works the same as Windows XP. Don’t pirate stuff! WMV HD Downloads (MariposaHD, etc): Output at whatever … Continue reading What Content Will Be Crippled When Output in Vista?
A common discussion with Media Center is where does the PC actually belong in the home? It has been thought by some that people in general don’t want a PC in the Living Room, they would rather have a Set-top Box (STB). Then, there are some people who think that a PC needs to be in the Living Room. It is after called an “HTPC” for a reason. This, of course ignores the fact that the majority of people don’t have a true “Home Theater” to speak of. As I’ve said in the past a major advantage of Media Center … Continue reading Where Does the Media Center PC (or HTPC) Belong?
There is little reason for Media Center users to upgrade or install Vista x64. Microsoft has shown that it’s still not ready for primetime with several of their applications not working correctly on x64. For Media Center users and most consumers in general, installing x86 will serve you a lot better. Not only Microsoft’s own applications (such as Internet Explorer, which has several issues), but drivers are another huge problem. With several companies lacking in the x64 driver department, it’s going to take a while for them to really get where driver support should be. Just install x86, maybe look … Continue reading Don’t Bother With Vista x64
Embedded Automation Announces Winner of the First Annual mControl “Digital Home” Contest (Pictures Included) | Today, Embedded Automation announced Link Your House as the winner of the first annual mControl “Digital Home” Contest. The mControl “Digital Home” Contest was open to all Embedded Automation’s mControl digital home software users. Users were encouraged to present original or innovative ways that mControl is being deployed within their digital home. Link Your House’s pioneering work to provide a standardized digital home package for new home construction was a stand out from other entries. Link Your House is a Georgia, US-based home automation company … Continue reading Embedded Automation Announces Winner of the First Annual mControl “Digital Home” Contest
Microsoft Announces Extended Support for Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition | Microsoft Announces Extended Support for Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition Microsoft adds the Extended Support phase to two consumer products, providing customers with an additional five years of support. REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 24, 2007 Who: Microsoft Corp. What: Today, Microsoft is announcing the addition of an Extended Support phase for the Windows® XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition operating systems, providing consumers with an additional phase of support. With the addition of Extended Support, the support life … Continue reading Microsoft Announces Extended Support for Windows XP Home and Media Center Edition
VidaBox to offer all-in-one systems with CableCARD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD |GARDEN CITY, NY – January 23rd – VidaBox, a manufacturer of premium media center systems, is delighted to announce that it will be offering a new CableCARD option to its line of media center products. With dual internal digital cable receivers, VidaBox CableCARD systems will not only feature integrated tuning for premium high definition digital content, but users can also add Blu-ray, HD DVD, and more than 3TB of RAID-5 protected storage. “We’re thrilled to be the only manufacturer to offer the latest in high definition – CableCARD, Blu-ray, … Continue reading VidaBox to Offer All-In-One Systems with CableCARD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD
Windows Vista Content Protection – Twenty Questions (and Answers) | In case you missed it, Microsoft replied to that great Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection with a good piece that summarized all of the information that has been out for the better part of a year. It’s important to remember that everything talked about relates to copy protection systems that are already on the said media. Your general HD content will not play at a reduced resolution, your SPDIF connection will not disabled while playing your favorite DVDs, etc. What will happen is when you are playing a … Continue reading Microsoft Replies to Vista Content Protection
Since I’m already taking about Proxure, I thought now would be a good time to bring up that January is the month MCE Tunes will get Media Center Extender support! I wrote a quick review of MCE Tunes a bit ago, and just checked out the new version (public release in a little bit). MCE Tunes Pro supports playback of purchased iTunes Store tracks (and video). They have been doing this for months, however Media Center Extender support is new in version 2.0 and I just walked downstairs to an Extender to give it a try and it works great. … Continue reading MCE Tunes 2.0 Brings iTunes Music to Media Center Extenders (Xbox 360)
