Xbox 2 - Media Center Like Device

greghuber — Tue, 03 May 2005 17:48:00 GMT

I just came accross this article, which mentions that the next XBOX will have Media Center type capabilities (in addition to being a kick-butt gaming system!). I'm pretty excited about that, as I am a big fan of the MCE and Xbox (I play Halo 2 a lot). I think this is a step in the right direction and it will be interesting to see how well the MCE capabilities tie in, especially in terms of software development opportunities. This could be the vehicle for Bill to get a windows PC in every living room. :)

Great HTPC / Media Center Writeup

greghuber — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 00:50:00 GMT

If you are looking into exploring options on Windows Media Center, Beyond TV, Sage TV, and Myth TV- take a look at this article. It is one of the most comprehensive I have seen on the subject and highly recommend a read. The article is a well-thought out, factual presentation of all the features from a consumer perspective (doesn't dive too deep into development).

A couple of quotes that I really like:

“Comparing the HTPC with the VCR is like comparing a truck with a horse and wagon. It can do so much more for you.“

Favorite quote from conclusion:

“When you work in IT and you're pounding away on workstations and servers all day, every day... sometimes the love for computers and what they can do starts to wane. I've fallen prey to this myself over the years. The innovation of the HTPC gave me a jump start, so to speak. It was something that really excited me again and that was why I set out to write this article. I knew when I set out on the journey that it was going to be a long one, but the amount of words I've managed to share with you all has even surprised myself.“

Amen to that!

Getting ready for a presentation on MCE 2005

greghuber — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 20:45:00 GMT

I will be presenting Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 in less than a week at the Northwest Ohio .NET User Group and again in a few months at the Findlay Area .NET User Group. Getting ready for this presentation has been a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Overall I am very pleased with MCE 2005. Here are a few observations- consider it a “sneak preview“ for the presentation.

Some of my favorite things about MCE 2005-

First, a little background. I originally wanted to buy a TIVO. I was appalled by the fact that they charged a monthly fee (or, you could pay a bunch more and get a “lifetime“ service). I wanted to find an economic way to be able to record TV. A VCR was way too 80's, so my quest began. I did some research on MythTV, the linux open source way. I was originally thinking I'd try this, but it looked like it would be more time consuming than it was worth. There were many issues with different hardware drivers that I didn't want to have to wrestle with. Not only that, but I felt the MythTV approach wouldn't work the greatest with my satellite dish, as I'd have to figure out my own way of doing the IR blasting and what not.

Anyway, I ended up going the MCE 2005 route. I was really glad I did- after getting a tv-tuner card and throwing a few new components in an existing system, I was up and running in an evening! The set up went really quickly and it worked with my “older stuff“. System specs:

Athlon XP 2200
GeForce4 440Mx card
256 mb ram
DVD-RW drive
Emuzed Maui TV tuner with MPEG 2 encoder
30 GB Hard Drive
OEM Remote

The total cost to set up a system like this would be a little over $300. If you don't have MSDN Universal (every developer SHOULD have a copy!) you can purchase it with the remote for about $130. In other words, to build a complete MCE 2005 system, you can do it for $400. I believe either way this is cheaper than going with a TIVO. MythTV is potentially cheaper up-front as there is no OS cost (just the time to figure it out, find your drivers, etc).

Initial Impressions:

1. It works very well. The main reason I got it was for watching and recording TV .Note: you must have a DVD decoder that works. My motherboard came with one, so I was all set. Most DVD drives will come with one. The TV guide is great- it downloads a weeks worth of TV at a time for all my channels. I use DISH Network, and there are a lot of channels to wade through (minor complaint- it gives me ALL possible channels, even though my package only has 120).

There are a lot of “smart“ options for how long it keeps tv programs, based on space, frequency of recording, etc. It can record “series“ of TV shows, so you don't have to worry about queuing up every last thing. It also can record shows while it is in the hibernate mode. Furthermore, I can do a bunch of stuff while I am recording TV with NO noticable slow down. There is also support for more than one tuner, though I haven't tried it.

As far as non-TV stuff goes, there are also plenty of features that I like:

1. A great slideshow for JPG's/GIF's.I can watch my digital camera pics simply by clicking on the folder they are stored in. For added effects, I can queue up some MP3's and listen to them while watching.

2. The remote control is great. There is a button for “live tv“ and “recorded tv“ which makes it really simple to get in and do what you want. Also, watching recorded TV is great- you can skip through the commercials by (on average) hitting the “skip“ button about 4 times.

3. Ability to watch recorded videos from other sources (such as an AVI from a digital video camera)

There are several (minor) issues that I am still working through as well. The biggest is that MCE 2005 doesn't include support for .NET version 1.1 which means you have to compile everything in v 1.0 . So far the official word from MS is that they are aware it's an issue, and no word when it will change. I'm hoping they will add support soon :) but in the mean time, v1.0 will be the way add-ins are developed.

Greg Blogging On .NET : Geeky Stuff

Xbox 2 - Media Center Like Device

Great HTPC / Media Center Writeup

Getting ready for a presentation on MCE 2005