Category: Windows Media Center Edition

eBay listings coming soon to Media Center

In the comments to my TiVo versus MCE versus Cable post, Christoph Bünger sends along this teaser to his upcoming eBay plug-in for Media Center:

mceAuction will include:

  • Search auctions
  • View auctions with images and description
  • Bid on auctions
  • ‘Buy Now’ support
  • My eBay (“Items I’m Watching”, “Items I’m Bidding On”, “Items I’ve Won”, “Items I Didn’t Win”,”Items I’m Selling”, “Items I’ve Sold” + “Unsold Items”)

All “after auction handling” has to be made with normal browser. all things are “read-only” (Except the bidding-part of the application, that is real user-interaction with eBay).

The plugin will be officially eBay-certified and proofed. It comes with multilingual support (english and german at release, more languages when someone translates them for me), installation/deinstallation.

This one has the potential to be a real winner. Christoph’s other add-ins are first-rate. If you use MCE, the mceWeather add-in is a must-have.

More from Microsoft’s Media Center Bloggers

Thomas Hawk has posted Part Two and Part Three of his four-part interview with three Microsoft bloggers who focus on Media Center. (If you missed Part One, you might want to read it first.)  I especially like the fact that these guys encourage questions and comments from readers:

[Sean Alexander]: The most valued comments I get on my blog are the feature suggestions and constructive criticisms. For years I’ve tried to get that level of feedback in Usenet newsgroups from other users but it was unwieldy.

[…]

[Matt Goyer]: I do not see the interaction of my blog directly influencing product development… yet… but my readers can take this as a challenge to send more suggestions via email and the comments.

Maybe they can spread some of that attitude into the groups that do Media Player and Internet Explorer.

TiVo versus MCE versus my cable company

These are rough times for a TiVo fanatic. The company and its groundbreaking box are getting squeezed into irrelevance. On the one side, cable companies offer their own DVR boxes, which may not be elegant but are easy and cheap. On the other side, you have PC-based solutions like Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, which do more than a TiVo and are improving by leaps and bounds every year.

I’ve been thinking about this topic for the past month, after I received a weekly Circuits e-mail on the topic from David Pogue, a sharp and funny writer for the New York Times. (It took me 20 minutes to navigate through the Times’ horrible search facilities, but I finally found David’s column online. You can read the whole thing here until the Times decides to put it behind their paid-subscribers-only firewall.)

Tivo_guyAnyway, David’s thesis was that TiVo (the company) isn’t doomed, because TiVo (the gadget) is so refined and elegant and ingenious that nothing should be allowed to compete with it. And to prove it, he provides a laundry list of features that make the TiVo so hip it hurts. The list comes with a qualifier, of course: “I do realize that many rival boxes have some of these features. But none that I know of offers all of these them — and especially not in such an easy-to-use, brilliantly designed software package.”

Green_buttonWell, it’s a very good list. And since I am in the enviable position of owning a Series 1 TiVo, two PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, and a high-definition Explorer 8300HD digital video recorder from Scientific Atlanta, I thought it might be instructive to compare all three.

Continue reading “TiVo versus MCE versus my cable company” →

Thomas Hawk interviews Microsoft’s Media Center bloggers

What’s most remarkable to me about Windows XP Media Center Edition is how quickly it has developed a high-quality user community. You’ve got independent sites with busy forums (The Green Button and xpMCE.com). You’ve got Media Center MVPs like Peter Near and Chris Lanier, to name just two. And then there are enthusiasts who work at Microsoft and have their own blogs that focus on Media Center issues.

This week, Thomas Hawk interviews Microsoft’s Media Center Bloggers – Charlie Owen, Matt Goyer, and Sean Alexander. In part 1, Matt Goyer has a good summary of what’s missing from Media Center today:

One, we need to take our HDTV support to the next level.

Two, we need to keep our user interface simple and clean while adding more functionality and features.

Three, we need to create buzz around our product. Media Center awareness is way low.

A bit later in the interview, Sean describes the ultimate test of a new consumer electronics device, using a technical term I predict you’ll never, ever find in any official Microsoft marketing copy:

…there’s something what we call internally here at Microsoft the “SAF”- Spousal Acceptance Factor. It’s a very important informal metric we use internally just like the “eating our own dogfood” metric where we take builds home to test in addition to formal betas and usability testing.

In general I’ve noticed that my wife’s friends really gravitate towards the photo and home video features in Media Center whereas the guys seem to just want to grab the remote are into the TV and Music aspects.

I’ve found in either case after a few minutes of just letting people use the remote and get comfortable, Media Center sells itself. Our challenge is getting people to take the test drive.

I can’t wait to read the next three installments. Oh, and if you’re wondering what Media Center is all about, watch the two-part video from Microsoft’s Channel 9 (that’s Robert Scoble asking the questions).

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 setup instructions

Charlie Owen’s new blog is up and running, and his first substantive post includes some very detailed content for anyone thinking of going the do-it-yourself Media Center route. His collection of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Setup Instructions consist of four PDF files that explain (and show in great detail) how to back up and restore WMP10 licenses; replace your video card and add a TV tuner; add a second hard drive; and install an OEM copy of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.

In all, these documents list more than 100 steps, complete with screenshots and tips. Even if you’re sure you know what you’re doing, this is a useful checklist to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.

Turn your Pocket PC into a Media Center remote

eHomeUpgrade picks up this intriguing press release for a new Pocket PC program called Niveus Pocket Remote.

The Niveus software enables the Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC to communicate wirelessly with any Media Center PC, allowing users to control their Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based PC from the palm of their hand, and any location in their home. By tapping the full-color LCD screen of the Pocket PC, users gain full control over their digital music collection, Internet radio, and more.

The Niveus Pocket Remote is the ideal solution for controlling multiple audio zones in the home. With support for an unlimited number of zones, the Niveus Pocket Remote software uses UPnP™ specifications and your wireless home network to discover and control the appropriate zone and corresponding media center pc. Once a connection is established, the user can view their entire music collection, including album art, and make selections of their favorite songs, playlists, and Internet radio stations.

This is tempting. You also get a license to use this software if you buy a Niveus Media Center PC. Of course, since those admittedly gorgeous devices start at $2,999 and top out at well over $5,000, you might think twice before plunking down for one.

What I want to know is: Will this run on my Smartphone?

A new Media Center contender?

Wired News has a solid story on the DEMO conference: Six Minutes to Stand Out.

Reporter Daniel Terdiman singled out one company that also impressed me with its six-minute presentation:

…cable TV companies may find themselves threatened by Mediabolic, whose network media player is designed to give TV viewers a previously unavailable level of personal control.

The media player allows users to run custom-designed web-based applications on their TV. For example, users can get instant eBay auction alerts, view their Netflix queues, play their Live365 music collections or any of hundreds of other applications — all on their TV.

Amazingly, all of their applications looked exactly like Windows XP Media Center Edition. In fact, several portions of their demo used add-ins that are running on my Media Center PC. It’s not a program you can buy and use to build your own Media Center. Instead, they’re selling a development platform that hardware companies can adopt. We’ll see how much interest they can muster.

Find Media Center-compatible components

Thinking of building your own Media Center PC? Chris Lanier points out the the hardware compatibility list, officially known as the Designed for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Logo Partner List, was recently updated. I was surprised to see how many TV tuner cards are now on the supported list.

Also, don’t miss the long list of MCE add-ins that Chris has assembled in a thread at The Green Button.