Category: Windows Media Center Edition

The trouble with the Xbox 360

Today’s big news: Microsoft Unveils Xbox 360 Elite03-27xboxElite

Shiny black finish? Check.

HDMI support? Check.

120GB hard drive? Check.

But the one question that this press release doesn’t address is the one that matters most to me: How much noise does it make? I’ve got two Xbox 360s here, purchased almost exclusively for their Media Center Extender capabilities. The one that was installed in the master bedroom has now been banished because of the godawful noise, which made TV viewing unpleasant. The one in the living room is still in service, but the noise level, while tolerable in the larger room, is still noticeable, especially when watching a quiet movie on DVD or streamed from the Media Center PC in the other room.

I really hope that the engineers who work on the Xbox 360 pay some heed to the many complaints about this issue. Read the comments on this thread, for instance, to see that I’m not alone: the fan noise is “pretty distracting, actually”; “annoying and the wife acceptance factor just isn’t there”; “makes the 360 useless as a media player”; “for bedroom purposes, useable only if you want to drown the fan noise with louder audio”; and so on.

Spousal acceptance factor is the key metric. These comments from the same thread are identical to my experience:

Vista works flawlessly with the new XBOX 360 as an extender. The graphics are great, HD, recording, etc. everything works as it should through the XBOX. The only problem is the fan noise on the XBOX 360, unbelievable. It’s unrivaled as appliances go, and my wife is not too pleased with it.

and

In the bedroom we have a Linksys extender and there is NO noise from the box. It is a very [quiet] unit, BUT it will not stream HD. The wife likes this box as an extender and uses it every day. Please wake up to the fact that any audible fan noise is NOT acceptable if Microsoft want the xBox 360 to be a true set top box.

As much as I love Vista’s Media Center capabilities, I can’t use them, at least not today. I’ve pulled the old first-generation Linksys Media Center Extender out of mothballs and put it back in the bedroom, and XP Media Center 2005 is running the show.

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If the MacOS is so great, why do I need Windows…?

Charlie Owen takes note of the buzz surrounding the Apple Boot Camp announcement and asks the logical question:

If the MacOS is so wonderful why do I need to even consider running Windows?

I can think of a couple of good, non-snarky answers.

Some people genuinely prefer the Mac interface (pick your reason: it’s better looking than Windows XP, it’s more secure, your friends like it). But given the demand to make a binary choice, they pick Windows because the productivity software they want or need is only available for Windows.

If you think the Mac OS is wonderful, but you’re also a gamer, you’ve got no choice but to live in two worlds.

Maybe I don’t think the OS is all that wonderful, but the hardware is slick and stylish. If I don’t care about paying a premium, I might be willing to buy, say, a Mac Mini and run Windows Media Center on it. (Personally, I think the AOpen Mini PC would be a better choice, but hey …)

Welcome, Macsurfer visitors! Be sure to also read these posts:

A better Windows than Windows?

Apple’s Boot Camp is just the start

Dual-boot, no; virtualization, yes

 

Yes, Windows Media Center runs on Intel-based Macs

PC World’s Harry McCracken has some questions about Apple’s new Boot Camp software, which lets Intel-based Macs run Windows XP. Like: “Does Boot Camp let you run Windows Media Center?”

Microsoft’s Sean Alexander has some answers:

MCE (and an unreleased player) are running like champs.  I’m hearing reports of Vista running as well.  Battery life still stinks compared to my sony but hey, this is a desktop replacement riight?

Windows Vista running on Apple hardware? The mind boggles:

Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, biblical?
Ray: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor… real Wrath-of-God-type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies.
Venkman: Rivers and seas boiling!
Egon: 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanos.
Winston:The dead rising from the grave!
Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats, living together… mass hysteria!

PC World also has more details on the new $50 virtualization software from Parallels, which claims to allow Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP, several flavors of Linux, and even OS/2 Warp in a virtual machine without dual-booting.

Update: Screen shots and more info about Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta for Mac OS X. Because it’s currently in beta, it’s free to use.

A high-def upgrade for DirecTV subscribers

IGN has details and pictures on the new DirecTV Plus HD DVR:

[W]hen does the HR20 finally come out and how much is it going to cost? DirecTV would not give us a firm date, but it did state that the unit will definitely be available in Q2 2006. “Really Q2, we swear,” a spokesperson told us. Meanwhile, we’re able to report some fantastic news for early adopters who picked up a DirecTV TiVo HD DVR. DirecTV reps confirmed to us today that the HR20 will be made available “completely free of charge” to select HD TiVo owners as soon as the former becomes available. By select, the company means owners who live in the PST or MT areas of the United States, as these regions will be the first to make the switch to MPEG-4 broadcasts. HD TiVo owners who live in other parts of the US can either wait a little longer for the same deal or purchase the HR20 for only $99 smackers. Brand new customers will pay approximately $200 for the device and will get a significant mail-in rebate, according to DirecTV.

But wait! There’s more. Thomas Hawk hung around the Microsoft booth and got word on some possible partnerships:

I got to talk to Matt Goyer a bit about some of the recent Microsoft announcements. Matt seemed very optimistic that we would in fact see HDTV via DirecTV for the Media Center sometime next year with Vista. This is the most exciting thing I’ve heard come out of CES yet. I was super excited when I heard that we would finally be getting premium HDTV with Media Center a few monts back but I’m even more excited about the possibility of things with DirecTV. DirecTV has recently launched a bunch of satellites and promises to bring much more HD content in the future. I really think that DirecTV will be positioned to be the king of HD content delivery next year and to see that they are now working with Microsoft and that we will see an HDTV DirecTV combo for Media Center is huge.

I’ll be looking at some Viiv PCs today and trying to get a hands-on look at the new DirecTV box and the new TiVo Series 3 gear. And of course I’ll be at the Media Center Show awards tonight.

A high-definition year

The one thing you need to know about CES: Getting from point to point in Las Vegas takes more time than you can imagine. Everything’s spread out, and the traffic is nightmarish. That, in a nutshell, is why I didn’t make it to Bill Gates’ keynote last night. Fortunately, Joe Wilcox watched the webcast and provided an excellent summary:

The longest single chunk of his keynote focused on Windows Vista. What bothered me: how little new there was in the Windows Vista demonstrations. I’m beginning to realize that there may not be much more new for Microsoft to reveal about Windows Vista.

Windows Media Center got about as long a demonstration as Windows Vista. … this is the first event where I saw Microsoft really show off the new Windows Vista Media Center user interface.

I found to be most interesting part of the Media Center demo: Windows Live Messenger and the concept of “activities” that are not necessarily related to people. The demonstration revealed how an automated TV advisor could make program recommendations, show TV previews and even remotely schedule recordings on a Media Center PC via instant messaging.

The Media Center demo also focused on high definition, whether HD DVD or HD content downloaded to the PC–all capabilities coming later this year.

Digital media, especially HDTV, is going to be the big story of 2006, a fact that was abundantly clear from a short walk around one press event last night. The biggest crowds were gathered around booths showing off digital video solutions and display hardware.

Update: Robert Scoble and Engadget did play-by-play coverage. Thomas Hawk notes that 6.5 million Media Center PCs have now been sold, with 5 million of those going out the door in the last year. The official Microsoft release is here.

Podcast alert

I’ll be a featured guest on Ian Dixon’s Media Center Show this week. And don’t let the title fool you. Although we talk about Media Center, we also talk about Windows Vista and Office 12, so there should be something for everyone. We recorded it a couple weeks ago, and my short-term memory isn’t what it used to be, so it should be just as much of a surprise to me as it is to you.

You can listen to the show here. I did make one small mistake: I started Ed Bott’s Windows Expertise in December 2002, not 2003.

Shuttle’s new HTPC – wait till next year

The new Shuttle M1000 is about as good looking as it gets.

Shuttle M1000

Here’s how Shuttle sells it:

The Shuttle XPC Media Center’s built-in analog TV tuners, FM radio tuner, dual format DVD writer, and 8-in-1 card reader, make it easy to enjoy TV, video, music and photographs with your friends and family.

Based on Shuttle’s all new ‘M’ chassis, the Shuttle XPC Media Center sits stylishly within any home audio/visual entertainment center. But don’t be fooled by its simple exterior. Inside the attractive case you will find; analog TV tuners supporting HDTV, time shifting, and real time or scheduled recording, high definition 7.1 channel audio, FM radio with pause and replay capabilities, and 3D graphics processing power from NVIDIA.

What’s the catch? How about the $1899 price tag? That’s a lot of money for a PC that’s going to sit in your living room and not be used for anything else. (And if you’re thinking about buying this box to use in your office, well, you can spend half the money and get just as much computer.)

The good news is this base configuration has everything you need (sans speakers and monitor, of course) – no missing pieces, no hidden upgrades. The only quibble I have with the configuration is the onboard B/G wireless networking, which really should offer 802.11A support as well.

AnandTech has a typically comprehensive review that nails the real problem with this box:

The problem is, someone looking for an expensive but capable HTPC probably has some other wants as well. HDTV compatibility is a major flaw in the design. Sure, you can watch DVDs without trouble, and you can even download movies from the Internet and watch them on your HTPC. The NVIDIA output either through component or DVI to an HDTV works great. The inability to record or view HDTV broadcasts on its own makes this, at best, a secondary A/V component for many people.

[…]

In the end, there are several things holding back the HTPC market, and none of them are Shuttle’s fault. The DMCA and similar legislation are definitely not helping the home user get the most out of their electronics. Content providers share the largest portion of the blame, as standards like cablecard were promised years ago and yet content providers are still “nervous”.

[…]

What we want in a fully featured HTPC is the ability to record SD and HD content, and even better would be compatibility with cable and satellite subscriptions. You can get all that for $10 a month from many providers, though other compromises are made in those systems. HDD size is never as large as we would like, and networking support is generally omitted as well – likely to keep the content secured on the device. Shuttle has the right idea with the M1000 design, but unfortunately it won’t meet the demands of many Home Theater enthusiasts.

If there’s anyone to fault for the problems with HTPCs, it’s Hollywood, the MPAA, the RIAA, and the cable and satellite providers, because while the ability to create our dream HTPC exists in theory, it can only be achieved with more cooperation among all of these parties. The hardware manufacturers would love to be able to sell new hardware that supports the necessary features, but those features are as yet undefined.

Can I recommend this computer today? No way. As gorgeous as it is, I can’t justify its high price tag until it does HD. And without a guarantee that this box will be upgradeable when CableCARD hardware and software upgrades appear next year, it’s too risky.

[Cross-posted at Ed Bott’s Media Central]